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Since Esprit was founded, conducting business responsibly has been a key component of the corporate culture and an important part of the brand’s identity. This commitment has resulted in the first sustainability report for the financial year 2014/15 which is intended to bolster and secure the work of the company in this area and make it measurable and transparent.
Having reported a positive result for the financial year 2015/16, Esprit is now in the process of publishing its second global sustainability report. In spirit of the founding philosophy, the company is continuing to expand its activities in the area of sustainability and social compliance focusing on the three main topics of sustainable materials, social sustainability and environmental sustainability. The said report has been written in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 ‘Core’ Level and will be published in English and German on Esprit’s website.
The company has been able to further advance these important fields of action among other things through valuable strategic co-operations with partners such as IndustriALL, Canopy and the Better Cotton Initiative.While in the financial year 2014/15 the focus in the area of sustainable materials was on the Tier 1 suppliers, the focus has moved to the Tier 2 and cotton farms and suppliers in the financial year 2015/16.
This goes to show that Tier 2 suppliers are now also integrated into the HIGG index and thus their environmental impacts in the value chain can be measured. In February this year, Esprit also became a learning member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) that contributes to the promotion of organic cotton production. The new alliance with the non-profit organisation Canopy ensures the sustainable production of viscose, which, besides cotton is the most important textile fibre at Esprit.
To guarantee social sustainablity, Esprit co-operates with various initiatives and programmes such as the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Better Work and Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. In addition, in September last year, Esprit joined the Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) programme1 in which the company works with other members to ensure fair living wages in the textile industry.
In order to implement environmental sustainability in the textile industry, Esprit is a member of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group (ZDHC) to completely eliminate hazardous chemicals from the supply chain by 2020. This process was completed in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the financial year 2015/16. Esprit is also a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). In addition to participating in these initiatives, Esprit also has its own department which examines the risks associated with sustainability and social responsibility and works to implement national and international requirements.
Texcare Asia will take place in China, September 27 to 29, 2017.
This is a biennial event organised by Messe Frankfurt and the China Light Industry Machinery Association.
This event is a highly specialised trade fair for modern textile care, catering to manufacturers and suppliers in laundry and dry-cleaning in the textile, fabrics and yarns industry. It features manufacturers of machines, tools and devices for laundry, ironing, dry cleaning and dyeing, owners of laundry chain store and franchises, manufacturers of machines used in cleaning of carpets, floor coverings, upholstery and buildings and plant construction companies as exhibitors.
The 2015 show attracted 153 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions and set a new record with 10,267 visitors from 54 countries and regions, a 20 per cent increase from the 2013 event.
Buyers will be able to explore an array of integrated solutions and the foremost technologies for smarter textile management and energy control presented by leading suppliers in the field.
The textile care market has benefited significantly from the extensive economic growth in Asia and is still reflecting a high consumer demand, especially in the past two years.
With the growing awareness of the significance of energy conservation and environmental protection, intelligent and resource-saving concepts are gaining more attention within the industry across Asia.
Belgian carpet makers have warned the EU should not introduce trade barriers with Britain because it will destroy their businesses. Leaders of the textile industry joined German car makers in raising concerns about how the EU would suffer if it stopped Britain having tariff-free access to the single market. Interestingly, carpets, curtains and other fabrics are sold across the Channel from Belgium every year for a total receipt of over 600 million euros (£535million).
Fa Quix, head of Belgium's Textile and Carpet Federation, said that the United Kingdom was its biggest market. One metre in every three of the carpets and textiles produced in Flanders are exported there. He also rued that Brexit was bad news because of the fall in the value of the pound. This has made the British competitors 15 per cent cheaper within a few months.
Tom Debusschere, chief executive of carpet giant Balta, observed that the important thing was that there was no new trade barriers. The Belgian fishing industry has also warned that they will be under threat if they are barred from entering British waters. The 70–strong fleet catches about 60 per cent of its fish amounting about 12,000 tons off Britain’s coast. The warnings to the EU deliver another boost for Britain's hopes of securing favourable trade terms with the bloc after Brexit.
Teijin has developed Solotex RC, a polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) fiber with a bulky three-dimensional structure for lightweight and cushiony high-function knitted fabrics. The new fiber offers a number of advantages, including soft, smooth texture and colorability, as well as cushioning thanks to its shape-retaining property. In addition, the fiber offers warm and gentle elasticity thanks to a molecular structure and omni-directional bulkiness due to a three-dimensional structure. The fiber is easy to care as a synthetic and it also provides for highly comfortable wear due to stretchability.
Applications for Solotex RC include sports apparel, bedding and industrial materials. Teijin previously developed Solotex, a soft, shape-retaining, stretchable PTT fiber that aims to offer bright coloring, eco-friendliness and compatibility with a wide range of other materials. The newly developed Solotex RC, however, is designed to provide superior vertical cushioning thanks to the use of crimped PTT fiber arranged in a continuous radial around a main axis. The three-dimensional fiber also offers significant freedom in designing.
Teijin is a technology-driven group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers and composites, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT.
Beachwear brands use Roica in their latest collections. Roica is a premium stretch fiber produced by Asahi Kasei. These brands will present their latest collections featuring Roica at MarediModa, an exhibition dedicated to fabrics and accessories for beachwear, which will take place at Cannes, November 7 to 9, 2017.
Eusebio’s two collections both feature Roica Colour Perfect family and Roica Resistance family fibers. The Confidence line is a beachwear department of Eusebio Spa. The Active Clothing Eusebio line ranges from super-stretch cotton jersey to microfiber nylon with more technical contents to bounded textiles (fibers and different finishes, double-face effects), technical sweatshirts and double weaving in various blends.
Iluna is presenting the lace Green Label collections obtained with Roica Eco Smart. In the beachwear collection, Iluna offers sarongs with fringes and coordinated all-overs with a modern, innovative and especially sustainable design.
Maglificio Ripa is displaying prints in a dominant orange tone, at times contrasted by the neutrals and by the verdant greens from the most remote rainforests. The precious base for the prints is the Light 2.0 Deep, a fabric that is realised with Roica Colour Perfect dyeable stretch family. New for the season are the fabrics realised with the Roica Feel Good family designed especially for sportswear and underwear.
Karur Export has invested Rs 2.5 crores in its new unit. With the expansion, the company has doubled its capacity. The unit is 50,000 sq. meters. Apart from the existing products, the new unit will also produce a bedding line, which includes bed sheets and quilts. It will add to its team also, including designers and other middle-level management positions.
The company is a leading manufacturer and exporter of a wide variety of table covers, table napkins, table mats and placemats, table runners, cushion covers, curtains, cafe curtains, floor mattresses, chair pads.
Tamil Nadu based Karur, which opened in 2007, expects a 100 per cent growth in the current fiscal. It exports a wide range of home furnishing items, mainly to Japan, but is looking to add new buyers.
Karur is one of the ancient cities of Tamil Nadu. According to Hindu mythology, Brahma began the work of creation here, which is referred to as the place of the sacred cow. Karur may have been a center for jewelry - making and gem setting as seen from various excavations.
For most Indian exporters of apparel and home furnishing products, the market has been really tough from the last few months.
Compared to the first half of last year, Vietnam’s garment and textile exports has reached US$4 billion this year down by 4.7 per cent according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, (VITAS).
Nguyen Son, deputy general secretary of VITAS said that his country had expected to rope in US$700 million from the garment and textile exports in June after reaching US$3.3 billion in the first five months. However, companies could not register much profit because the price of export garments is 15 per cent less than compared to last year and the purchasing power of markets in the U.S. and Europe has also been reduced. According to Vitas, many garment exporters are trying to tap the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe to avoid depending too much on the U.S. and west Europe. This year, Vietnam has targeted to earn US$9.5 billion by way of garment and textile export revenue, 5 per cent more than last year.
Peru, the world's top alpaca fiber producer, supplies to international markets, mainly to Asia, the United States and Europe. Peru currently holds 80 per cent of the world’s alpaca production. Alpaca-breeding associations, shearers, processing, industrial and artisanal dressmaking companies as well as spinners and fashion designers comprise this sector, which has reached its highest peaks over the past two years.
The Arequipa region in Peru, where 95 per cent of fiber is industrially transformed, holds all production chain elements within its territory from fleece harvesting, through processing and dyeing, to garment-manufacturing with added value. Peruvian alpaca garments and textiles have already been introduced to 30 countries.
Nevertheless, less than 25 per cent of such fiber is exported as finished apparel. So Peru has undertaken a branding strategy. The logo Alpaca del Peru (Peruvian Alpaca) guarantees a quality standard, ensuring the final product has not been altered during procedures.
Today there are about 3.5 million alpacas in the Andean highlands, most of which can be found in Peru. Alpacas are popular internationally for their luxury fiber. Alpacas are a domesticated member of the camel family. They are shorn for their valuable fleeces. Alpaca is one of the finest luxury fibers in the world. It’s incredibly soft, with a silky smooth texture.
Diwali this year is expected to spell big business for exhibitors who participated at Heimtextil India and Ambiente India earlier this year. Heimtextil is the largest platform for portraying new ideas, thoughts and products in the home textile industry.
Raymond Home launched its 2016 autumn/winter collection at the Indian edition and received a tremendous response and started receiving orders from day one of the show itself. During this event it could connect with a lot of potential business associates eventually opening new avenues before Diwali. Having launched its new collection at the show, Raymonds presented an eccentric design display and seasonal hues of the story of lavish living that buyers can now see in stores.
For Rumours, launching its latest collection during Heimtextil helped it establish a customer base for the biggest festive season of India. Heimtextil provided opportunities to branch out to business-to-business trading and create a customer database. Over 10 new collections out in stores this Diwali.
Diwali celebrations are expected to improve business because of the increase in consumption and spend unlike other Indian festivals. Home and lifestyle industry players have been bullish on prospects with both big and small players coming up with Diwali focused collections, in keeping with the spirit of the festival.
Representatives from public private partnerships (PPP) of the apparel and footwear industry have signed a co-operation agreement for sustainable development in Vietnam. The agreement was signed under the ‘Race to the Top’ (RttT) programme with support from all members. The programme aims to provide support to apparel and footwear products and the application of global sustainable production in Vietnam.
The agreement, the first of its kind in the country marks a new step in promoting sustainable development of apparel and footwear sectors in terms of economy, society and environment. The agreement would see the co-operation of all members to enhance environmentally-friendly production, improve productivity, reduce negative effects on the environment and promote dialogue among labourers.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Flavio Corsin, IDH Vietnam country director said that the programme is expected to improve the economic and social benefits and reputation for the Government, the industries, workers and communities.
