Under Armour has secured a stamp of approval from Fair Labor Association (FLA). The US-based sports apparel maker’s social compliance program includes strong policies for monitoring and fixing problems affecting workers in the supply chain. This includes a commitment at the board and executive level to protect workers and improve conditions, regular training on workplace standards, clear channels through which workers can report grievances and a comprehensive monitoring program that involves meeting with unions.

FLA is a labor group which monitors labor practices covering factory workers around the globe. As a part of accreditation process, Under Armour published a list of apparel and footwear factories in nearly 30 countries where about 90 per cent of its products are made, including places such as China, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, Vietnam and the United States. Other factories are located in Brazil, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti and Malaysia. Under Armour has been working on improving operations, including supply chain initiatives that are expected to help boost 2019’s gross margins. The company’s accelerated innovation agenda, disciplined go-to-market process and powerful consumer-centric approach gives it increasingly greater confidence in its ability to deliver for Under Armour athletes, customers and shareholders. The company has guided gross margin to an improvement of 60 to 80 basis points from 2018’s adjusted gross margin.

Australian brands pay pitiful prices for the garments they source from Bangladesh. They have resisted paying a better price and so raising the wages of the multitudes who paradoxically, make world-class wear for those who can afford to pay more. Readymade garment workers making clothes that are sold across Australia are trapped in a cycle of poverty, no matter how hard they work. Women in Bangladesh and Vietnam making clothes for the Australian fashion industry go hungry because the wages are as low as 51 cents an hour. Paying better prices for readymade garment products can enable workers to have a better life.

Practices by Australian companies are contributing to driving wages down. They undertake fierce price negotiation, often jump between contracts instead of working with factories over the long term, squeeze lead times for orders and operate with a separation between their ethical and standards staff and their buying teams, who negotiate directly with factories.

On an average, just four per cent of the price of a piece of clothing sold in Australia goes towards workers wages. If brands absorb the cost of paying living wages, it would amount to less than one per cent of the garment price.

Materials Show will be held in the UK from May 1 to 2, 2019. This is the first European event of Materials Show. Brands will get an opportunity to meet hardware, textiles and components manufacturers at the event. The popular NE and NW trade shows, which took place in Portland and Boston earlier this year, are frequently used to provide inspiration for future product lines, with global companies like Nike and Under Armour sending product development teams to tour the exhibits. This event aims at sharing similar innovations and insights with a new audience of international footwear, outdoor and performance and apparel brands. The February and March shows in the US saw consistent trend for sustainable technologies and multipurpose textiles, which are expected to be seen in this edition as well.

Leather industry, popular in England, in particular is to watch out for. Footwear companies from across Europe will gather under one roof, offering unprecedented brand access to European attendees. Materials Show also coincides with the 100-year anniversary of Satra, a footwear research and testing non-profit and one of the event’s sponsors.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Department of Textile and Apparel will host the annual "PolyU lingerie fashion show" in Hong Kong in June 2019. The event will feature 12 students who will create three sets of underwear and casual sportswear each to showcase their creativity and day copies.

In addition, four senior industry stalwarts will be on the judging panel of the event.

Interloop, Pakistan’s largest hosiery producer, has launched an IPO which is the biggest equity issue ever by a Pakistani private sector company. The company has set out to raise fresh capital, representing a 12.5 per cent stake in the company. There has been an overwhelming response to the book building process on social media. Interloop’s book building has been oversubscribed by 30 per cent. The company plans to utilise the raised amount to finance a new facility to expand hosiery production capacity and set up a denim production facility.

The company, founded in 1992, extended beyond Pakistan and has established a production facility in Bangladesh. It ranks as Pakistan’s seventh largest exporter and generates approximately 90 per cent of its revenue through exports, supplying yarns, hosiery and apparel items to some of the world’s leading brands including Nike, Puma, Reebok, H&M’s and Levi’s. The company’s plans for future growth include increasing its global footprint by increasing hosiery production by around 22.6 per cent and expanding its product mix by adding knitted apparel and denim jeans.

Following the completion of its issue, the company would be among the top 50 companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange by market capitalisation.

The global sports merchandise retail market is likely to reach £36 billion by 2024. Growth is being driven worldwide by continuous innovation and development by major producers. These producers design and manufacture some of the most gorgeous sporting accessories, sports apparel and general memorabilia. Now-thriving economies like India and China are contributing enormously to the growth of the industry, as millions of new customers spend vast combined sums of cash on sporting merchandise.

The advent and expansion of ecommerce has also played a role in driving industry growth. Online retail reduces overheads that quality sports merchandise can be picked up at far lower prices than would be the case with any traditional retailer. Enormous global marketing campaigns have been credited with contributing to the growth of the industry. Additonally, US powerhouses like Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) achieve spectacular merchandise sales each year.

Designers and manufacturers continue to ink lucrative deals with major franchises, sporting celebrities and individual clubs. Just a few examples of which include Adidas – Reebok, Nike Inc., VF Corporation, G-III Apparel, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Jarden Corporation, Knight Apparels, New Era Cap, Under Armour and Great American Products.

Mukta Group of Industries plans to start a garment factory of 500 machines. The factory will initially manufacture formal and casual shirts for the domestic market.

In the initial stage, 150 machines will be installed and later the facility will be expanded completely. Production is expected to start within April.

Producing 2.5 lakh meters per month, Mukta Group of Industries is known for woven fabric production. The company is very enthusiastic about its new initiative and is expecting good growth in the coming years.

The 6th Color Analysis report by Color Solutions’ for Autumn/Winter 2020 features 54 ColorWall colors along with additional color validation, color evolution, and direction by hue. Color Solutions is a member of the DyStar Group. Color Solutions is passionate about the impact color has on mindset, lifestyle, art and culture and is continually rediscovering how colors intermix together and how each hue flows from deep intensity to softer tints. From a time gone by to this moment of now, themes take shape as they transform historic elements into modern day life, intertwining together to create a new existence full of creative energy and vitality. Color Solutions looks from the past to present day reality to shape the themes of trends reflected in the spirit of present time.

New for this season, Color Solutions has delved deeper by giving more detail for each color using its proprietary Relative Color Popularity process. RCP is a marriage of color validation with trend color forecasting. The RCP report has been organized into four categories to help validate color selection.

Color forecast is essential for product designers, color managers and buyers working in textiles, apparel, accessories, decor, interiors, and cosmetics. Color Analysis includes seasonal color palettes selected from a wide range of approximately 3,700 colors.

This season onwards, Cotton Corporation of India has introduced stricter quality norms for ginning and processing units in cotton-producing states. Until now, there was a loophole in trash and moisture content that was exploited by some ginners. Indian cotton is of a lower grade as it contains higher trash content and moisture but India is the only exporter which gives trash and moisture guarantees in the global trade. India introduced mandatory traceability in cotton a couple of months ago but its implementation is likely to take some time. Because of stricter norms, the inventory with CCI is of good quality and most buyers have expressed satisfaction with it.

CCI has procured 11.6 lakh bales so far, nearly four times the amount collected during the same period the previous year. Procurement is likely to touch 15 lakh bales by the end of this season. Prices have firmed up and therefore the purchase under procurement is down. The 348 centers are active and will remain open throughout the season to ensure that the market remains stable.

Of the total procured stocks, around 80 per cent have been purchased from Telangana, followed by Maharashtra. Cotton was also procured from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

Apparel brand Adidas is focusing on corporate social responsibility. Sustainability at Adidas goes far beyond recycled plastic. Adidas also continues to improve its environmental performance during the manufacturing of products. This includes the use of sustainable materials, the reduction of CO2 emissions, and waste prevention. In 2018 alone, the company saved more than 40 tons of plastic waste in its offices, retail stores, warehouses, and distribution centers worldwide and replaced them with more sustainable solutions.

In 2018, Adidas produced more than five million pairs of shoes containing recycled plastic waste. The company plans to more than double that figure this year. To reach this goal, the company has partnered with global collaboration network Parley for the Oceans, which intercepts plastic waste on beaches before it can reach the oceans. The waste is then made into a yarn, which becomes a key component in Adidas footwear. The company also produces other apparel from the recycled material.

The company plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. In addition, it is committed to using only recycled polyester in every product and on every application where a solution exists by 2024. The company sources only sustainably produced cotton. In addition, the company hasn’t used plastic bags in its stores since 2016.