The latest edition of Priemer Vision in Paris saw a mix of different fibers, weights and constructions, with knits and weaves complementing each other. The trends showed the versatility of knits as a medium which respond quickly to technical advances and design.

Although aimed at winter, many jerseys and lightweight knitted fabrics were semi-transparent, in small stitch graphic micro designs and very fine yarns. Woolen knitted fabrics tended to be more chunky, with substantial designs in large dramatic jacquards and large gauge loops and bouclés in warm ginger and dark red colors. Menswear jackets from knitted fabric were versatile, fit for both work and play, cool for work and casual enough with jeans.

A trend for jacquards with heraldic looking themes and geometric patterns gave a rich look, teamed with velvets and deep colored prints. Pale winter tones, like light turquoise, pink, white were interpreted in jerseys with flammé random effects, as well as soft plains. A slight shimmer came from metallised yarns and small sparkling elements in the yarn.

Three dimensional looks were achieved in various ways, by knoppy and textured yarns, and knits of various thicknesses in the same fabric. Digital printing brought optical effects to deceive the eye – woven looks, shimmering surfaces and broken up geometrics.

Intex will be held in Sri Lanka from November 14 to 16. This is a show for yarns, apparel fabrics, denim fabrics, clothing accessories and allied services. It connects the manufacturing and supply chain by bringing together the best manufacturers of apparel and accessories with buyers from South Asia and the rest of the world.

Intex is focused on transforming the South Asia region into a textile and garment powerhouse. With Sri Lanka regaining GSP Plus, countries can make use of regional cumulation to benefit from rules of origin when local sourcing for product input is not possible. Regional cumulation creates stronger regional co-operation between countries which are members of an EU recognised regional grouping like SAARC and countries which are GSP beneficiaries.

Understanding this, Intex strengthens intra-regional trade, helping manufacturers and buyers take advantage of opportunities developing in the South Asia region by combining their strengths and joining hands to create stronger business ties under one trading platform.

Intex’s seminars and interactive business forums deliver high quality market intelligence to support industry efforts to upgrade, move up the value chain, better understand intra-regional trade, leverage better FX practices and help manufacturers gain a competitive edge.

Intex is growing bigger year-on-year, bringing some of the world’s most renowned exhibitors and buyers to Sri Lanka.

India’s cotton production is likely to fall 4.7 per cent from previous season. Scanty rainfall and an attack of pink bollworms are expected to squeeze crop yields. Pink bollworms consume the fiber and seeds inside a cotton plant's boll, or fruit, and yields fall.

Gujarat, the country’s top cotton producing state, received 28 per cent lower rainfall than normal. The state’s fiber output is estimated to drop 14.3 per cent from a year earlier. In Maharashtra, the country’s second-biggest cotton producer, output is expected to ease to 8.1 million bales from 8.3 million bales due to an attack of the pink bollworm pest.

Gujarat and Maharashtra together account for more than half of the country’s total cotton production. The drop in output could limit exports from the world’s biggest producer of the fiber and in turn support global prices, which were hovering near their lowest level in more than nine months last week.

Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam are key buyers of Indian cotton. In 2017-18, India exported 6.9 million bales of cotton. Demand for Indian cotton happens to be robust this year from China as a trade war is prompting the world's top consumer to avoid imports from the United States.

Hyosung Group chairman Cho Hyun-jun is expanding the group’s presence in Chinese clothing market. At the recent Intertextile Shanghai 2018 fair in Shanghai from September 27-29, 2018, he met officials from Chinese lingerie maker Maniform, Chinese Sportswear Company Anta and Chinese clothing brand Yishion during the event to discuss measures to expand cooperation.

year, Cho has been strengthening on-site management of the group's global operations. In February, he met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to discuss ways to bolster business and cooperation. He revealed plans to construct a spandex factory in India during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In August, Cho sat down with Zhejiang Gov. Yuan Jiajin to examine ways to achieve mutual growth.

China’s clothing market was valued at 1.8 trillion yuan, ($261.09 billion), as of 2016. The market has been growing at over 5 per cent every year. Hyosung took part in the event with 21 global clients, including China's textile company Ya Tai and Vietnam’s Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing Co., and helped their sales activities and consultations.

Synthetic fibers from washed clothes are linked to ocean microplastics. About 35 per cent of microplastics released into the world’s oceans come from synthetic textiles. Three-fifths of all clothing is discarded within a year of being produced, either sent to landfill or incinerated.

The industry is rethinking the way clothes are manufactured, right down to the fibers that are used. The garment industry is one of many industries that have a threefold impact with emissions to air, water, and large amounts of waste produced for landfill and incineration. Water pollution and energy use from the fashion industry is significant. The industry’s emission of carbon dioxide is more than that of international flights and maritime shipping combined.

The industry is investing in new environmentally-friendly materials. Garments could be created so they don’t fall apart at the seams and so that they can be recycled after they have been worn for many years. Fabrics should be designed not to shed microfibers when washed and industry needs to look at how efficiencies can be made in the cutting process, which currently sees huge amounts of material discarded on factory floors each year.

To reduce a garment’s carbon footprint, people are encouraged to wash their clothes at a lower temperature, use mesh laundry bags to catch threads, use tumble dryers less often, and install filters on washing machine waste pipes.

Heimtextil will take place in Frankfurt from January 8 to 11, 2019. This is a trade fair for home and contract textiles. Over 400 manufacturers will display upholstery and decorative fabrics as well as artificial leather. Manufacturers of fibers and yarns will be exhibiting at Heimtextil, spread across various product segments. The range extends from traditional materials and eco-certified yarns to high-tech fibers for use in highly specialised areas. Among the 20 producers are pioneering companies such as Dralon from Germany, Lenzing from Austria, Reliance from India, and Torcitura Lei Tsu from Italy.

Trevira will also be presenting a trend area especially for the contract market, where visitors – in particular interior designers, designers and furnishers – can find out about innovative textiles and color trends. Healthy living and working remains one of the top themes in the interior textile sector. Furniture and decorative fabrics also make a contribution: they are able to optimise rooms climatically and acoustically and decisively improve the feel-good factor. In this respect, the on-trend fabrics are certified organic, waterproof and/or flame-retardant. At the same time, the textiles – despite all their high-tech – have a very natural appearance. This also applies to outdoor fabrics in linen, flannel or woven looks. When it comes to soft feel-good textiles for indoors, high quality wool is exploited to the full.

Marks & Spencer, Eileen Fisher and Arket – the lifestyle concept store from H&M, recently launched the first ever commercial garments labeled with the voluntary Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) from Textile Exchange. H&M has committed to only using RWS or recycled wool in all of its products by 2023.

RWS is a voluntary global standard that addresses the welfare of sheep and the deals with the environmental impact of the land that they graze on in a bid to ‘improve best practice’ among woolgrowers. Launched in 2016, the RWS has since been adopted by the Argentinian wool industry and also been backed by a number of other brands including Patagonia, which has also adopted the standard.

Eileen Fisher’s recently released RWS certified garments were made of wool from New Zealand and Argentina, while the M&S certified range can trace its roots back to Wools of New Zealand, including Palliser Ridge.

Yet although there are RWS certified wool farms in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Argentina and Uruguay, the standard has been met with some resistance among woolgrowers – particularly in Australia, which is by far the world’s largest producer of merino wool for clothing.

Apparel shipments from Bangladesh rose 15.9 per cent in July 2018 compared to July 2017. This was the fifth consecutive month of a double-digit increase in Bangladeshi apparel exports. The country has benefited from its low labor costs, by contrast with the jump of production costs experienced in other Asian countries. Duty-free access to the European Union is another decisive advantage for Bangladesh. Sales to the EU have therefore surged in the first half, especially in knit clothing categories where rules of origin are more easily met for benefiting from the duty-free access.

The development of a strong yarn industry in Bangladesh is favoring duty-free sales to European countries. Exports to Germany have for instance gained 14.3 per cent in the last fiscal year in knit clothing categories. Shipments to the UK or Spain are also experiencing a double-digit growth.

Exports to the United States have also rebounded in the second quarter this year, thanks to a return of US buyers to cotton apparel. The recent jump of polyester prices in China, along with the loss of competitiveness of Chinese exporters, is another advantage for Bangladesh. The sharp rise of minimum wages as of next December in Bangladesh could however result in higher export prices and a lower export growth.

Luxury shoppers in the US, and China, are in for a rough ride. The tariffs on Chinese goods will affect mink furs, crocodile handbags, leather accessories, silk, handmade lace, gold leaf, and fabrics used specifically for ballet, opera and theater sets.

Fur garments made in China and sold in the US are subject to both import and export tariffs. Retail prices for mink coats in the US could soar by as much as 45 per cent. Prices will also go up for Chinese shoppers. That’s bad news for American mink farmers since 80 per cent of their market is now Chinese consumers. Price hikes as a result of the tariffs probably will happen in the middle of 2019.

Steeper prices on fancy products will also affect shoppers of modest means who buy products that look like luxury but are not. These include leather flat goods — items like key holders and wallets. Those accessories help a consumer get the feeling of being in the big league. Leather coats are another example. A cowhide version of a coat costs 20 times as much as a pigskin version. A 25 per cent tariff on a pigskin will eliminate that product from the market and take that choice away from the middle-income customer.

The US trade deficit ballooned in August to its highest level in six months. Trade deficit so far this year has risen 8.6 per cent over the same period in 2017. Businesses rushed to import goods before tariffs hit on China in late August and September, including importing products needed in stores for the holiday shopping season, driving up the trade gap.

Exports of tariff-targeted goods fell while American consumers snapped up imported cars and mobile phones. Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China have continued to whipsaw American farmers. Ironically Republicans who are in power traditionally count on farmers for political support.

The unexpectedly poor trade numbers could slow economic growth in the third quarter. Even adjusting for price changes, it looks like the trade deficit widened significantly in the third quarter, greatly slowing growth. The gap in goods trade with China rose to $38.6 billion for August and with Mexico hit $8.7 billion both the highest monthly totals ever. At $31.1 billion, imports from Mexico also were the highest ever.