FW
Levi Strauss & Co has settled an investigation through the US International Trade Commission (ITC) over patent infringement regarding certain laser abraded denim garments. Levi’s agreed to the terms with Revolaze and TechnoLines, who filed the complaint, alleging that laser abrasion process technology violates one or more of their patents.
A spokesperson for Levi Strauss confirmed the case had now been settled but declined to offer further information due to the confidential terms of the case. The complainants requested the ITC issue a general exclusion order, or a limited exclusion order, and cease and desist orders. There are 20 respondents in the investigation, including Gap, H&M, and Abercrombie Fitch.
Initially, several companies accused claimed laser technology patents were invalid or enforceable. Levi Strauss is one of the world’s leading branded apparel companies, marketing in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company designs and markets jeans and jeans-related pants, casual and dress pants, shirts, jackets, and related accessories for men, women and children.
Almost 90 per cent of Levi's sales come from menswear. Levi Strauss India gets strong support from the parent company. The iconic American company made its first pair of jeans in 1873. Despite its legendary status, Levi’s is having trouble selling its utilitarian jeans in a market that has embraced denim as a fashion statement.
www.levistrauss.com/
The apparel market has seen good growth of late. Four of the top 10 supplier countries saw strong double digit growth, including Bangladesh, with China and Vietnam remaining top of the table. The volume of apparel imports from all sources increased five per cent in December. China is the largest supplier followed by Vietnam. Bangladesh, which is at number three in the top 10 league table, saw apparel shipments into the US increase 20 per cent. However, Bangladesh started to see shipments to the US decline in February as buyers relocated orders elsewhere due to factory safety issues and the ongoing political turmoil in the country.
Indonesia is number four. It saw shipments grow 7.4 percent, rebounding from an 8 percent decline in November. Honduras registered a 2.5 percent year-on-year gain. Increases were also booked by India (up 10.5 per cent), Mexico (up 6.8 per cent) and Pakistan (up 15.6 per cent ). Only Cambodia and El Salvador reported a decline during December.
China remains a compelling source for apparel buyers as rising prices are largely being offset by productivity gains. No country can match China in terms of the size of its supply base. Vietnam continues to benefit as both producers and buyers diversify their supply chains.
Uganda has signed up for the 'Cotton made in Africa’'(CmiA) initiative with an aim to establish country’s competitiveness in domestic cotton. Around 5,400 farmers from Uganda are benefiting from the ‘Aid by Trade Foundation’ (AbTF) after the Western Uganda Cotton Company (WUCC) and registered cotton farmers were verified by the industry body.
CmiA offers cotton farmers training in modern, efficient and sustainable cotton cultivation methods that allow them to increase the quality of their cotton as well as their crop yields and thereby generate higher incomes, and subsequently improve their living conditions. Uganda joins CMiA aftet Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'IIvoire, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique partnered with it.
Around 80 per cent of Uganda's population works in agriculture and related industries and cotton cultivation is one of the main sources of income for the peole belonging to the country’s rural regions. In association with Uganda’s first fully integrated textile company, Fine Spinners, CMiA cotton aims to create a fully integrated textile production chain - from the cotton field to the final product.
www.cotton-made-in-africa.com
Milano Unica XX, the Italian textile trade show showcased Spring/Summer 2016 fabric collections at Fieramilano city from February 3 to 5, 2015. Nearly 353 exhibitors including 64 from other Europe, in addition to 34 firms in the Japan Observatory, displayed latest offerings in fabrics. The importance of Europe and the United States, in addition to other consolidated markets was confirmed by an increase in international buyers.
The most significant figures in both percentage and absolute value came from France with over 12 percent rise in visitors and Great Britain with over 9 percent in Europe. Among non-EU countries worth noting were, US with over 10 percent visitors, China with over 13 percent, Japan, over 29 percent and Turkey over 4 percent. However, marked decreases in buyers were seen from Russia with 29 percent, Germany, 12 percent and Spain, below 6 percent. Despite the optimism of the first day, the presence of Italian buyers was in decline too.
Commenting on the show, President, Silvio Albini, said, “We have finally been able to announce positive results in turnover, export and trade balance for the Italian textile sector, even though the international economic scenario is still uncertain. Also the declaration of Carlo Calenda, Vice-Secretary of Economic Development, who announced important financial support for trade fairs promoting 'Made in Italy' and their globalization; in particular, means support for our Italian Textile TradeShow”.
“Beginning with a complementary and careful selection of production by Japanese exhibitors, we have satisfied new demands from the world of clothing manufacture, greatly appreciated by our traditional exhibitors. Now, our attention shifts to the 7th edition of Milano Unica China, which will be held in Shanghai, March 18-20, 2015. The next edition in Milan, presenting Fall/Winter 2016-17 collections, will take place September 8 to 10, 2015, at the Portello - Fieramilanocity”.
www.milanounica.it
If Pakistan government slaps additional duty on import of cotton yarn from India, the country’s export of value-added textile will dive down from existing $11.49 billion, points out Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum. He feels the government by supporting spinning textile sector was creating more financial miseries for value-added textile manufacturers and exporters. There is already a 5 per cent import duty on import of cotton yarn which the industry wants the government should withdraw to facilitate apparel textile export to the world.
The proposal of imposing additional duty will greatly hamper the cost of doing business of the vital value-added textile sector whose exports earnings are $11.49 billion more than spinners, he stressed. Bilwani further said that the value-added textile sector will be unable to import cotton yarn from India owing to the 5 percent import duty and the proposal of additional import duty, will greatly increase cost of doing business and make it tough for them to face global competition.
The European Branded Clothing Alliance (EBCA) has asked negotiators of the planned European Union-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership to strike an ambitious agreement. EBCA wants a deal to fully remove tariffs and that either harmonises, or at least leads to, the mutual recognition of standards on clothing and textiles. It wants the EU and the US to work on removing unnecessary testing and move to an international standard for test methods.
Textile and clothing products are still some of the most tariff-protected goods in both Europe and the US. That is why EBCA and its US counterparts, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the US Fashion Industry Association, would want the full, immediate and reciprocal dismantling of tariffs.
EBCA wants to harmonise textile labeling regulations between the EU and the US, reduce the number of compulsory labeling requirements and keep product labels as simple as possible. It wants flexible rules of origin to encourage the trade and investment of companies using global supply chains.
EBCA is a coalition of European retail clothing brands operating significant global supply chains. It was founded in 2007. Members are committed to upholding rigorous and internationally recognised standards of corporate responsibility across the full range of their operations.
www.ebca-europe.org/
Johnson Controls has extended its global partnership agreement with Lectra for another three years. To preserve and strengthen its position as a market leader, Johnson Controls will acquire all its high ply fabric cutting equipment and related services exclusively from Lectra. Johnson Controls is the world’s largest complete automotive seating supplier. The company supplies over 50 million cars every year from 220 production plants worldwide.
The continuing collaboration will focus on optimizing the agility of Johnson Controls’ production processes. During the first 10 years of the agreement, Lectra supported Johnson in transforming its automotive trim cutting rooms worldwide. Johnson abandoned traditional die presses in favor of more flexible automated cutting. The adoption of the Vector solution—ideal for high-volume cutting of a wide variety of automotive seat materials—and the resulting increase in production flexibility, throughput and material efficiency provided the seating supplier with a significant advantage in the highly competitive automotive industry. The company will use Lectra’s expertise and technology to reduce the cost per cut piece and deliver on time.
Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials—fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials. It develops the most advanced specialized software and cutting systems.
www.johnsoncontrols.in/
The next edition of Munich Fabric Start will be held in Germany, September 1 to 3, 2015. The event will be attended by international trade visitors including buyers, fabric specialists, designers and product managers representing famous brands. There will be seminars and workshops on latest trends and sustainability developments.
This is a specialized fabric fair held twice a year, in February and September. The portfolio ranges from women’s, men’s and children’s wear. The fair is a compressed exhibition by leading exhibitors from around the world. Colors, patterns, prints, materials and accessories for the coming season will be exhibited. From ultra-light materials to high-tech coatings and ready-to-wear fabrics and collections, an extensive product range of fashionable textiles as well as the complete range of suppliers for ribbons, buttons and labels is presented. The fair is accompanied by an extensive program of lectures, panel discussions as well as fashion shows and presentations.
There will be a new section dedicated to innovative and high-research-inspired fabric collections. This area will host special pop-up projects. It is expected to host about 20 to 25 exhibitors. The new area is expected not only to host denim fabrics, but also jersey, leather and other innovative sportswear materials.
www.munichfabricstart.com/
Apparel giant VF Corporation is in the process of eliminating harmful chemicals before they enter the manufacturing stream. It has devised a chemical management program that screens for more than 400 harmful chemicals such as chlorinated solvents and formaldehyde.
The company requests suppliers to fill small vials with samples of each and every chemical used in their factories, which it sends to a designated lab for screening. If red rated chemicals are found, VF asks the supplier to switch it with a green rated chemical on its preferred list.
The program was tested in Mexico, Turkey and Los Angeles, and then rolled out across its entire supply chain in China, which includes dye houses and laundry and printing facilities, textile suppliers and cut-and-sew factories. In 2015, it will be launched with suppliers in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
In countries where VF has tested it, suppliers actually welcomed the clarity it brought to the somewhat murky chemical management process. When the results of the screening are shared, suppliers have often been surprised to discover the presence of certain chemicals, either because they were not chemical experts or because it was present in such minute quantities that it did not make the minimum parts per million when it would have been reported.
VF sources from nearly 2,000 suppliers in 60 countries. It’s the parent company of brands such as North Face, Timberland, Nautica, Lee and Wrangler.
www.vfc.com/
The HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter and the concurrent HKTDC World Boutique, Hong Kong, kicked off with some 1,800 exhibitors from around the world taking part in it. The four-day extravaganza from January 19 to 22 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is based on the theme of “Light Me Up”. The two fairs expect 118 buying missions from 43 countries and regions, consisting of over 6,000 buyers from over 4,200 companies.
The 46th edition welcomed around 1,500 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions. They include first-time participants from Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and the Netherlands. A variety of novel and functional fabrics are on display with the Taiwan Sweater Industry Association presenting its sweaters that use nanotechnology to generate and retain warmth increasing body temperature by two degrees centigrade or more. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Nano Mintex is showcasing its products that use nanotechnology in clothing tailored to outdoor activities.
The 13th edition of World Boutique featuring a record number of over 660 local and international brands including 2%, Moiselle, Shanghai Tang and Zalora as well as Aquascutum from the United Kingdom and Germany’s Marccain, has 300-plus exhibitors as new participants coming from Finland, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. New to the event this year is the Fashionally Pavilion which is dedicated to presenting designs from various local designers. The Finland-Hong Kong Trade Association and the Thailand Textile Institute have organised new group pavilions to debut in the exhibition. Taiwan Textile Federation will also showcase various functional textile products. The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades & Industries will also lead seven watch brands such as Memorigin, Edwin and Temporis to showcase at the fair.
Over 30 fashion shows, including the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza 2015 presented by Audi Hong Kong, will be showcased in World Boutique, Hong Kong. The shows include celebrated designers from Europe, the US and Asia, namely, Hong Kong design duo Eri Chu and Philip Chu, Loris Diran from New York, Swedish designer Lars Wallin and renowned designer Wang Yutao from Beijing.
The Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest 2015 tomorrow will see the 16 finalists display their design
creations on stage at the HKCEC, competing for honours in the following four categories: Contemporary Day-wear Group, Party & Evening-wear Group, Best Accessories Design Award and Overall Winner. H&M Creative Advisor Margareta van den Bosch of Sweden will be the VIP Judge. Ten recent winners of the contest, who have started their own labels, are participating in the fairs.
www.hktdc.com
