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In its bid to prioritize profits over everything else, global fashion industry has been veering away from its original purpose for the last few years. The outbreak of COVID-19 has further exposed the industry’s deep-seated disregard for the environments. The only way forward is to infuse a social purpose into the industry without de-emphasizing the importance of profit.
Reimagining fashion as a sustainable business
According to Rebecca Hendersen, a distinguished professor of the Harvard Business School and author of the new book, ‘Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire’, for many years, fashion industry only concentrated on satisfying the needs of its customers and delivering returns on investment.
Now, however, it will have to shift its focus to building a positive environment without pushing supply chains to the brink. Embracing a new purpose
without exalting profits, the industry will have to re-imagine itself as a sustainable business.
Now, companies will no longer be able to maximize their prosperity by simply boosting shareholder values. They will have to alter their values of capitalism and invest energies in new choices. They will have to be more careful about the profits they make and stay away from investments that don’t align with this purpose. They will have to convince their staff and consumers about the seriousness of purpose by using a persuasive body of academic research which will help in boosting bottomlines.
Building a more resilient society
If the purpose of these companies is authentic, their productivity and capacity to innovate will increase and they will be excited to make a difference in the world. The pandemic has forced brands and retailers to face the vulnerability of their supply chains and make flexible investments against environmental and social calamities. Henceforth, brands and retailers will have to focus on building a more resilient society where all businesses are driven towards increasing the health and well-being of the society.
American athletic apparel manufacturer, Under Armour plans will soon end its deal with UCLA as it has not received the marketing benefits that it has been paying for. The $280 million deal, signed four years ago, is the largest apparel agreement in the history of US collegiate sports. The deal allows Under Armour to end it in such a scenario and the company seems to be only exercising its rights. Meanwhile, UCLA has made it clear that it will contest Under Armour’s move.
The deal is equally significant for both Under Armour and UCLA and therefore cancellation can bring more losses. While UCLA athletic department, which took a loan from the University to cover its $18.9 million shortfall for 2019, is already facing huge budget deficit, it’s not much different for Under Armour as well.
Transforming the current crisis into an opportunity, the European textile and clothing industry (EURATEX) has announced the EU Next Generation Package to make the industry more digital, sustainable and agile.
The package indicates, the transformation of the industry will be driven by five flagship initiatives in critical areas including organizing guaranteed supplies and building resilient value chains in Europe for critical PPE and other textile products; upskilling existing workforce to meet a rapidly transforming industry and attracting well-qualified young workers and professionals; investing in innovative and sustainable textiles through dedicated Public Private Partnership (PPP) at EU level; establishing five recycling hubs in Europe near textile and apparel districts and making raw materials by collecting, sorting, processing and recycling post-production and post-consumption textile wastes and ensuring free and fair trade for its companies.
Nike Inc plans to lay off some of its employees as it now aims to sell directly to customers through its online and retail channels. The planned layoffs will help the company to overcome the $790 million quarterly net loss, its first in more than two years, as its wholesale business bore the brunt of footwear retailers and department stores shutting down due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The brand is shifting resources and creating capacity to reinvest in its highest potential areas. The company would now aim for digital to account for 50 per cent of its overall business, up from the 30 per cent recorded in the reported quarter.
Nike, Inc is an American multinational corporation engaged in design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area.
UK retail giants Next and Marks & Spencer have shown interest in being the franchise partners of international lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. Next is also currently expanding its wider business by linking up with a large number of brands in multiple categories and is also growing by opening standalones in expanding categories, such as beauty.
M&S meanwhile is forging stronger links with external brands as well, after most of its history was dominated by its own label. It is looking closely at complementary guest brands to broaden appeal and increase online growth.
As it seeks growth opportunities, it would make sense to take on a major name in the intimates sector in which M&S already has a dominant position in the UK. It currently has a 27 per cent share of the overall lingerie market and 36 per cent of the market for bras, although this means any deal it might strike could attract the interest of the competition authorities. Regardless of which brand eventually wins control of the chain, it's likely that they'll want to seek better deals from landlords in terms of rent and service charges.
The Indian textiles ministry has decided to develop Kanihama village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district as a handloom village. The village is the traditional seat of Pashmina and Kani shawl weaving in Kashmir.
The village has around 250 handloom weaver households besides having more than 500 weavers and artisans. Facilities like looms, handlooms and handicraft showrooms and training for latest and innovative designs will be made available to the artisans in the village, according to media reports from the state.
The work that will be carried out under the project includes repair and construction of internal village roads, installation of ATM, drinking water and toilet facilities construction of 30 work sheds, 20 looms, parks, display of publicity hoardings, signage, installation of solar and street lights, beautification of surroundings and creation of tourist attraction points, craft demo in the village and plying of eco-friendly buses.
Advance Denim has opened a new fully integrated denim mill in Vietnam with Advance Sico. Located in Nah Trang, Vietnam, Advance Sico is designed to efficiently manufacture and ship more products to fulfill growing demand throughout Vietnam and Cambodia. With Vietnam emerging as a popular manufacturing alternative to China in recent years, Advance Sico believes the country will continue to grow as a global apparel powerhouse with its support.
Advance Sico aims to use 90 per cent sustainable fibers by 2023. Additionally, 100 per cent of all indigo used at Advance Sico will be Archroma aniline-free liquid indigo. This ensures that minimal sodium hydrosulfite will be used and no carcinogenic aniline will be present in the company’s indigo dyeing process, ultimately eliminating hazards within the production process. During typical denim production, some aniline stays locked into the indigo pigment and can be difficult to wash off the fabric. The remainder of the aniline impurity is discharged during dyeing. This poses concern as aniline is toxic to aquatic life, and elevated exposure levels can put factory workers at risk.
While Advance Sico aims to commit to pure indigo, the mill also operates its own state-of-the-art reverse osmosis water purification system on site to remove any harmful impurities from its effluent water supply. As Advance Sico grows and diversifies its manufacturing capabilities, the company isn’t losing sight of its goal to produce the highest-quality denim with minimal environmental impact.
The manufacturer believes that crafting true indigo comes from rope dyeing, and it is already operating two indigo rope ranges designed to dye the highest-quality vintage shades. To replicate these shades, Advance Sico has a team of expert Japanese dyeing technicians that have been crafting rope shades for more than 30 years.
The Indian textile market is slowly and gradually recovering, even though the impact of COVID-19 is massive, says Prabhu Damodharan, Convenor, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF). Low-end, essential and value for money goods segments are moving well though fashionable apparels that depend on showrooms in malls are yet to make a recovery, he added.
The federation advised and cautioned members to scale-up production only after carefully analyzing demand. There is a good opportunity for Indian textile products to enter Japan market in the near future and 51 members of the federation have already expressed interest to make products for this promising market. Stating that the MSME financial package from the Centre had been helpful in increasing liquidity, Prabhu said people with eligibility criteria had easy access to get this package benefits, he added.
The brick-and-mortar side of the retail scene is set to worsen, with Hennes & Mauritz AB planning to add to the wave of store closures. The Swedish fast-fashion retailer, which owns Cos, Monki, Weekday and & Other stories, as well as its namesake chain, plans to close around 170 stores while emphasizing larger flagships — outfitted with state-of-the-art garment tracking technology. It aims to accelerate the integration of online channels, and is using RFID tracking technology in 20 markets.
The brand has increased its online customer base with many of its in-store customers now becoming multichannel customer. The group aims to adopt the omnichannel strategy in future to meet the customer wherever they choose to go. H&M reported a first-half loss after tax of 3.06 billion Swedish kroner, or $328 million. Executives flagged a faster recovery rate in recently reopened stores. The brand’s sales in June declined by 25 per cent in local currencies compared to the same period last year. Most of the label’s stores have reopened, but 350 units, or 7 percent, remain closed.
Earlier this month, the Swedish firm reported sales of 83.61 billion Swedish kronor, or $8.96 billion, for the first half, down 24 percent in local currencies, with the strongest impact from the COVID-19 crisis felt in the second quarter.
The group’s inventory decreased 3 percent year-on-year in local currencies at the end of May, compared to a rise of 2.5 percent at the end of April, which was a positive surprise, noted analyst Chamberlain who had expected an increase due to delayed shipments from China and Bangladesh.
Fashion brands Gucci and Saint Laurent have agreed to the recent call made by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the British Fashion Council to embrace a slower pace and focus on only two main collections a year Gucci has announced its intentions to reduce the number of shows it presents each year from five to two. Similarly, French fashion label Saint Laurent has opted out of Paris fashion week this fall saying it will reshape its fashion calendar in a departure from the norm.
These so-called waves of radical change refer to a sudden understanding of the precariousness of the fashion industry in the face of economic shutdowns; a budding awareness and alarm over the pollution generated by the fashion industry, from textile production to manufacturing to showing internationally to disposal; and the increasing poor quality of items on the marketplace.
The pandemic-induced lockdown has also opened people's eyes to the superfluity of many clothes and, more specifically, how they're able to make do with less. A recent UK study found that 28 percent of people are "recycling or reusing more clothes than normal" and 35 percent of women say they plan to buy fewer clothes once the lockdown ends. This is a significant shift from the insatiable shopping habits of pre-coronavirus times, and while it may not stick forever, fashion labels cannot ignore such changes, even if they are only temporary.
