In 2018, US trade deficit in apparel rose nearly six per cent from a year ago. The share of US textile and apparel manufacturing in GDP dropped to 0.15 per cent in 2017 from 0.57 per cent in 1998. However, US textile manufacturing is gradually coming back. The value added of US textile manufacturing reached its highest level in 2017 since 2009.

The size of the US textile and apparel industry has significantly shrunk over the past decades. Textiles accounted for over 80 per cent of the total output of the US textile and apparel industry as of 2017, up from around 50 per cent in the late 1990s. Clothing accounted for only 12 per cent of the total US fiber consumption in 2012, whereas the manufacturing of non-apparel textile products in the United States, such as industrial and technical textiles, has been growing particularly fast over the past decade. In 2018, US textile manufacturing and apparel manufacturing lost jobs. However, improved productivity is one critical factor behind the job losses.

The United States remains a leading textile exporter and apparel importer overall. For the first time since 2001, the US textile sector has experienced a trade deficit rather than a trade surplus.

Tirupur-based knitwear industrialists are visiting Ethiopia to analyze the prospects of making investments in the African country. The Tirupur cluster is witnessing an increase in production and operation costs. Many established players are looking for expansion opportunities and Ethiopia offers investment opportunities. With that, they can improve their market shares. Ethiopia offers advantages including cheap labor, ready-to-use sheds, income tax breaks and training subsidies and offers tax-free gateways into the US, Europe and China. From Ethiopia exporters can ship garments without duty to these two major markets.

In Ethiopia, Tirupur units hope to concentrate on producing bulk quantities of basic styles of garments rather than tough styles. Besides the labor cost, which is 50 per cent lower compared to India, another big advantage in Ethiopia is that land and building are readily available. So it is just a plug and play model with cheap power.

Indian textile mills are also setting base in Ethiopia. KPR Mills from Tirupur has started a unit in Ethiopia. Other prominent textile players to have followed suit are Raymond, Arvind, Best Corporation and JJ Mills. KPR has invested in a capacity of ten million units, providing employment for nearly 1000 people. Raymond’s plant in Ethiopia has a capacity of two million jackets.

An Apparel Sourcing Show will be held in Guatemala City from May 14 to 16, 2019. The show will demonstrate the capabilities of the apparel and textile sectors in Central America. It will showcase the region’s competitive advantage in the face of changing world market trends. It is the only regional platform where all members of the apparel and textile value chain in Central America can present their capabilities to buyers and promote the integration of the supply chain. The trade show will present the latest in supply chain enhancements, including innovations that optimize time and resources, technical developments in cotton fabrics, intelligent technology in synthetic fabrics and recycling and regeneration processes for sustainable garments.

The exhibition floor will feature 200 exhibitors, representing the entire supply chain, including raw materials and finishings, textiles, packaging, shipping, technology and machinery. Textile exhibitors will make up 39 per cent of the exhibitors, finishing and sewing machinery will constitute 20 per cent of vendors and the rest will be made up of clothing, services and accessories companies. Half of the exhibitors will be expected to be from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, the United States, Turkey, Canada, China, Korea, Brazil, Spain and Peru, among others.

The American denim brand popular with millennial shoppers Madewell recorded 22 per cent rise in same-store sales in fourth quarter. Madewell is a casual wear brand belonging to J Crew. The brand opened four new stores in the US this year and is planning about six more by February 2020. As of now, there are about 130 stores. The brand’s focus has always been on denim. The difference is that it’s starting to look at some new formats as it starts to open stores in markets where there may already be a Madewell store. The new formats may mean ones that go all-in on jeans, part of an effort to stay nimble and relevant as the traditional mall-based retail sector remains under siege. Jeans focus will be on full display at Madewell’s new retail concept, Denim Edit, slated to open soon. The 2,800 sq ft store that houses Madewell’s largest assortment of denim has a spot for customers to get their jeans embroidered and clothing tailored.

The focal point on denim comes at a watershed moment for the jeans industry, which is showing early signs of coming back after years of market share loss to yoga pants. The jeans category in the US has risen in 2018 after four straight years of decline.

Lycra will launch its latest spandex/elastane innovation for the global personal care industry. The HyFit T859 fiber offers diaper manufacturers, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene products significant cost savings. The fiber cuts overall elastic consumption by 20 per cent, delivers more meters per kilogram of fiber by replacing heavier decitex with lighter decitex, decreases the amount of product handling and warehouse space required, produces a more environmentally-friendly product with a smaller carbon footprint and reduces emissions and transportation costs through regional product sourcing. As with all Lycra brand fibers, this innovation is backed by unmatched technical support that helps diaper manufacturers keep their operations running efficiently. The fiber was developed to help manufacturers reduce their operating costs and carbon footprint without sacrificing a garment’s quality or performance, or the consumer’s wearing experience. Lycra is committed to advancing the hygiene industry by innovating products that meet the consumer’s need for exceptional comfort and fit while also helping customers achieve their goals.

Lycra is an innovator and producer of fiber and technology solutions for apparel and hygiene industries and specialty chemicals. Based in the US, the company owns brands like Lycra, Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex, Tactel, and Terathane. Lycra invented the original spandex yarn, Lycra fiber.

The Italian textile industry has adopted blockchain in a big way. Blockchain is a technology that enables use of a distributed database in management of shareable transactions between manifold nodes of a network. Every block of the chain will track, monitor and authenticate the movements that concern it to make a network which guarantees the traceability of all transactions. The technology uses cryptographic tools in order to ensure the maximum security per individual transaction. Blockchain technology is aimed at supporting the made in Italy project, protect its uniqueness and quality such as certifying the supply chain thanks to the mechanism of the shared register which enables attaining maximum security regarding counterfeit stabs. In particular the traceability of the tanning and textile sector chain by the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) will add something significant to protect the made in Italy goods. Some Italian companies have already started applying blockchain technology in their production chain.

Traceability of the supply chain, through the use of Blockchain technology, is expected to contribute to protecting the Made in Italy product, certifying its effective implementation in Italy, contributing to increasing consumer confidence, also creating conditions of transparency, guarantee for employment and environmental protection.

For the fourth quarter Guess’ revenue increased 5.7 per cent. For the full year, revenue rose 10.4 per cent. International sales have accelerated during the past few years, and today Guess has distribution in more than 95 countries and a global retail value of over five billion dollars.

Denim has always been at the core for Guess as a dominant product category, one that brings the customer into the store. Guess hopes to get back into denim with a great product assortment, strong store presentation and effective marketing. For denim, the company’s focus will be on improving assortments, fabrics, washes, fits, styling and commanding a greater relevance on the fashion side, too. Guess, that will turn 38 this year, has been engaging new millennial and Gen Z customers—which Alberini said now represent more than half of the online customers doing business with Guess in the US—through innovative initiatives and meaningful collaborations with key celebrities.

Key areas that offer significant opportunities for further development are China, Japan, and eastern and northern Europe, which saw double-digit growth this past year. As for opportunities for savings, Guess has seen logistics and distribution costs increase considerably, though there’s hope that will abate.

Net sales of New York-based G-III Apparel Group increased 10 per cent to $3.08 billion over the previous year. Net income for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2019, more than doubled reaching $138.1 million, or $2.75 per diluted share, compared to $62.1 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, in the prior year.

The company forecasts net sales will grow approximately $3.28 billion and net income will be in the range $162.0 mllion and $167.0 million, or between $3.18 and $3.28 per diluted share, iin fiscal 2020. 

Morris Goldfarb, Chairman and CEO attributed this growth to its five global power brands -- DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld -- in conjunction with DKNY and Donna Karan products being created and developed in-house for the last full-year. The group’s sales have flourished since acquiring the DKNY and Donna Karan brands from LVMH in 2016, seeing double-digit growth. 

Bremen Cotton Exchange says estimates of water used in cotton farming are exaggerated. It says the majority of cotton is irrigated by rain water and that cotton is able to grow in especially dry climates. It is commonly assumed that between 10,000 and 17,000 liters of water are necessary to produce one kilogram of cotton. Bremen Cotton Exchange is out to dispute such claims which are found on the internet, in newspapers and magazines, on radio and television, as well as on social media. The cotton exchange says false information is being reproduced. It points to recent global research by the International Cotton Advisory Committee which shows that producing one kilogram of ginned cotton requires on an average only 1,214 liters of artificial irrigation water worldwide, that 41.3 per cent of the total volume of cotton production does not require artificial irrigation and that 55 per cent of the global cotton growing area is irrigated exclusively by rain.

In recent years, cotton producers in many countries have used modern irrigation systems, which have led to a huge increase in the efficiency of water use. Thus, it is now possible to produce significantly more cotton using less water using computer-controlled sensor technology.

The value of Vietnam’s leather and footwear exports in 2018 was up 8.3 per cent. The industry has targeted growth rate of 10 per cent export value this year.

Vietnam exports a billion pairs of shoes every year and is the second largest leather and footwear exporter in the world. The footwear industry’s export revenue from CPTPP members is expected to increase by 10 to 15 per cent in 2019 because of the high reduction in tariffs and other regulations in CPTPP that became effective in Vietnam earlier this year. Vietnam signed free trade agreements with many CPTPP member countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The localisation rate in the industry has increased rapidly, reaching 50 per cent. With this rate, rules of origin under commitments of the agreements are not a big obstacle to domestic footwear enterprises in enjoying preferential tariffs.

Vietnam’s leather and footwear industry is expanding its export markets. The industry is using new technologies and environmentally-friendly materials to increase shares in fastidious markets. Global demand for leather and footwear in recent years has reached about 23 billion pairs. Shoes are mainly produced in 10 countries, including China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia.