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Tilmann Wrobel, Creative Director, Monsieur believes that sustainable denim manufacturing is in a better place than it was during the Great Recession, as both demand and awareness for better products from both the industry and consumers—is higher, and the supply chain has more sustainable solutions to adopt. Many brands and retailers are opting for either sustainable fabric at a lower price or at least at an equal cost to denim without this property. Therefore, now is not the time for mills to retreat to old habits and undo the progress they’ve made.
And as Wröbel point out, denim mills now need to find new ways to incorporate protective performance qualities to their fabrics. The need to adapt to the next big thing should be the focus.
As the pandemic is teeing up a correction in how consumers buy and how brands manufacture, it is more important to invest in sustainable practices and take care of the workers and the environments where denim jeans are being produced.
Wröbel believes the pandemic will offer designers a chance to flex their creative and strategic-thinking muscles. Monsieur-T is focusing on ideas about what could be done with the inventory that is in the warehouses around the world, and which can probably not be used before the next season.
Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association's (PHMEA) Central chairman Chaudhry Salamat Ali has demanded the government to restore Zero Rating on Sales Tax – No Payment No Refund Regime reinstating SRO 1125 in the budget terming it indispensable to surmount liquidity hardships of exports and in the national interest to enhance exports and earn foreign exchange to strengthen the economy.
Ali pointed out that due to global business slowdown and Covid-19, he pointed out that the economy of Pakistan is also in dire straits and the current volume of exports cannot be unsurpassed unless the burning liquidity problem being faced by exporters is not appropriately addressed by the government.
To achieve a great milestone in enhancement and development of exports, it is crucial that the government must facilitate the export sector introducing export-friendly policy as the five export oriented sectors have been highly aggrieved due to rescinding SRO 1125 and imposition of 17 percent sales tax on exports which government imposed in the last budget with a view to collect sales tax on domestic sales of textiles. This unilateral move by the govt penalized the export sector as their precious liquidity in shape of sales tax refund was held unreasonably with government, which also caused disruption in enhancement of exports.
Like other countries, Turkish textile industry is also playing an effective role in measures against Coronavirus pandemic. The country is producing 1 million pieces of disposable masks in a day, as well as performing the production of the masks, named N95 and N99, providing top protection used particularly by medical personnel.
Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank stated that the country can produce disposable masks upto 2 million per day and the raw materials of masks can support up to 8 million daily productions.
As a result of the R&D studies initiated by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) within the scope of the measures taken against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the manufacturing of an automatic 3-layer wired ultrasonic surgical protective mask production machine was completed in Istanbul Küçükköy Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. Production of 100 thousand surgical protective masks per day started in high school.
The export of technical textiles increased by 3-3.5 percent in March though the export volume decreased 17 percent. This is the result of the demand for nonwoven masks and protective clothing.
Copenhagen Fashion Week announced recently that it will move its event from August 04-07 to August 09-12 to align with the apparel trade shows CIFF and Revolver. The organizations will be among the first in the industry since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic to host physical events.
The events, however, may have a more local flavor this season. Since the lockdown, event organizers and industry organizations Dansk Fashion & Textile, and Wear have discussed various options available for the upcoming fashion week.
Other fashion events have mused alternatives, too. Both London Fashion Week and Paris Couture Week, which were slated to take place in July, are planning to digitize their events, while others like Pitti Immagine Uomo and Project New York are postponing their events to September.
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) recently urged Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi to impose anti-dumping duty on Indian yarn imports to protect the $8 billion domestic textile industry.
The backbone of Bangladesh readymade (RMG) industry, the primary textile sector annually produces yarn worth $12 billion and the local millers supply 85 per cent raw materials to the knitwear sector and 35 per cent to the woven sector. According to BTMA, Bangladeshi millers sell the widely consumed 30 carded yarn at a price between $2.80 and $2.90 per kg, whereas the same quality Indian yarn is sold between $2.60 and $2.70 per kg in Bangladesh.
The letter also asked the authorities to scrutinize import prices of yarn at land ports along the Bangladesh-India border.
BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon said in the letter, Bangladesh exported $566 million worth of garment items to India in the fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 but imported $7.74 billion worth of textile-related items including raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton fabrics and textiles during the same period this year.
To cushion the COVID-19 impact,primary textile millers urged for a 10 per cent increase in cash incentives from the existing 4 per cent.
According to Nomura analysts, with economic growth in the major economies of Europe and the Americas set to drop by around 15 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, China’s exports seem poised to fall.
As the official data revealed, factory activity in China expanded at a slower pace in May as the country attempts to get back on track after the coronavirus with the global economic slump making the sector’s recovery difficult.
China’s factories stirred back to life after the lifting of strict lockdown measures imposed when the deadly pathogen surfaced in the central city of Wuhan, but the spread of the virus worldwide has dragged down key foreign markets – weighing heavily on Chinese exports.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of activity in China’s factories, was at 50.6 points in May, remaining above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction each month.
But the figure was down slightly from 50.8 the month before, and 52 in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Non-manufacturing PMI was at 53.6 in May, a slight increase from the month before, with the NBS flagging that the construction and service industries are showing signs of recovery.
Business activity in the cultural, sports and entertainment industry, however, remains low with many entertainment venues still closed amid fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
According to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted Bangladesh’s marketing year (MY) 2019/2020 cotton imports and consumption. As a result Bangladesh’s raw cotton production is forecast to slightly increase over MY 2019/2020 to 146,000 bales and imports are forecast to rebound to 7 million bales.
Between August 2020 to July 2021, both yarn and fabric production rates are expected to grow to 730,000 MT and 4.1 billion meters, reflecting a 1.39 and 2.5 per cent improvement over the respective 2019-20 era estimates. The forecast increase is based on the anticipated marginal increase in New Year’s yarn and fabric demand as the local RMG sector recovers from Covid-19 ‘s negative economic effects.
In 2019-20 marketing year, yarn and fabric production forecasts have been revised down to 720,000 MT and 4.0 billion meters, which represent an 11 and 17 percent, decrease from 2018-19 figures, respectively. This decrease in production is the result of Covid-19 mitigation efforts and depressed demand as the global economy slows.
The USDA report says, in 2020-21 marketing year, the consumption of raw cotton is expected to rebound to 7.2 million bales, assuming that demand for garments will start to return to pre-Covid-19 levels. Raw cotton consumption levels in current marketing year are estimated lower at 6.9 million bales due to reduced RMG consumption in the world market as an impact of COVID-19.
Likewise, yarn and fabric usage is projected to increase by approximately 5.5 per cent to 0.95 million MT (MMT) and 3.33 per cent to 6.2 billion meters in the coming marketing year, based on increased demand as retail stores and shopping outlets reopen.
According to the National Board of Revenue provisional data compiled by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, RMG export by the country in the 29 days of May this year declined by 62.09 per cent to $1.07 billion from $2.81 billion in the same period of 2019.
RMG export in March-May of 2020 might fell to $5 billion, with possible unsettled liability of $2 billion for the country’s clothing sector.
According to the data, the country’s RMG export in April this year declined by 85.25 per cent to $374.67 million from $2.54 billion in the same month of 2019 due to shrinking demand for goods and suspension of production in the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.
RMG exports in March this year, when the coronavirus was first detected in the country, declined by 30.19 per cent to $1.97 billion from $2.82 billion in the same month of the last year.
Although the production has started in the country since April 26, factories have been running with limited number of workers due to health concerns and fall in demand in the all export markets.
All export markets experienced fall between 8 per cent and 22 per cent and unit value decreased by 0.90 per cent from the US and 1.87 per cent from the European Union during the pandemic.
Marvel Garment Co, a leading knitwear manufacturer from China has signed a lease agreement for additional land with Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc (PPSP). The transaction involves the lease of 6.4ha of land and is another symbol of cooperation between the two companies to jointly vitalise employment and the economy.
Marvel Garment is the local arm of leading Chinese clothing manufacturer Shenzhou International Group Holdings. The company has continuously expanded its project at PPSEZ and is currently in Phase III of development – which covers an area of 43ha.
The project is designed as a cluster of garment manufacturing plants, with tailoring, sewing, packaging, warehousing, and printing and embroidery in a complete set.
The company has begun to prepare worker’s dormitories and surrounding facilities and expects the project to create 17,000 local jobs.
Paris-based Spanish designer Johnny Coca has been named the director of women’s fashion leather goods at Louis Vuitton after his stint at British brand Mulberry.
Coca will become one of the primary creative linchpins for the luxury brand alongside Virgil Abloh, director of menswear and Nicolas Ghesquiere. Johnny will oversee the handbags, bespoke orders, eyewear and luxury leather products for women.
He has had a long history working with LVMH, starting his career with a professional contract during his years of education, followed by his work at the Celine design studio where he did notable work with Phoebe Philo. He was serving as the creative director of Mulberry up until 2 months ago and the company is reinforcing their creative outlook by onboarding an experienced veteran of the luxury world.
LVMH has ramped up its efforts to help the pople deeply impacted by COVID-19. Several brands under the conglomerate have participated in the charity auction organised by Fashion Journalist Laurence Benaïm’s, which benefited the ‘SOS EPHAD’ initiative launched by the Fondation Recherche Alzheimer. The funds will be used to support nursing homes, which have been greatly impacted by the health crisis.
