The Green Industry Conference is being held in Thailand, October 3 to 5. The focus is on the opportunities green growth could yield for businesses and emerging economies. The event is exploring how the green industry can create jobs and economic opportunities to diversify the economy, while decreasing resource dependency and pollution. The aim of the conference is to scale-up and mainstream green industry policies, methods, and techniques throughout developing and transition-economy industries.

Over 400 participants have gathered, including high-level officials, representatives of the private sector, industry associations, academia and civil society to discuss how the concept of green industry helps countries achieve multiple development objectives.

Speakers from around the world are participating in sessions on the themes of green industrial policy, resource management and the circular economy, greening businesses and supply chains, clean technologies and innovative business models, and building green industry infrastructures of the future.

Held first in 2009, the Green Industry Conference is the premier global conference on green industry trends and practices organized every two years by UNIDO and partner organizations. Previous conferences were held in Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines.

Thailand has attached the highest priority to sustainable development and several key green industry projects and programs are currently underway, including green mining, productive eco-designs and eco-standards.

The US has announced the third round of import tariffs on goods from China. The latest batch imposes a 10 per cent import duty on goods from China. The first two rounds earlier this year imposed 25 per cent tariffs on goods imported from China. China retaliated each time with its own punitive import duties on US products, such as cotton, soybeans, wine, fruit and beef. The latest round of US duties means that around 44 per cent of China’s exports to the US now have excess duties imposed.

A full-scale trade war is breaking out. Until now the products included in the first two rounds of import duties by the US did not include wool products. However, this week’s list includes a range of wool and wool-related products.

The list does not include any finished wool or wool blend clothing, such as suits, jumpers, trousers, coats, overcoats and so on. From Australia’s perspective, these are critical. These products make up the vast majority of US imports of apparel-related wool products from China.

China accounts for 53 per cent of all US imports of wool clothing. An extra duty would hurt the trade by pushing the price paid by US consumers higher.

A recently released study Future of Apparel by The NPD Group reveals, activewear, which currently represents 24 per cent of total apparel industry sales, will grow through 2019. Yoga pants, sweatpants, hoodies, and other activewear have become fashion staples in the U.S. for lots of activities.

In the 12 months ending June 2018, sales of total sweatshirts increased by double-digits and active bottoms by 5 percent. Total dollars in sweats/active bottoms categories are expected to grow through 2019 on strong performances across various activewear categories.

Athleisure’s growth is attributed to the fact it has mainstreamed across ages and demographics. As an example, social shoppers, a consumer segment identified in the Future of Apparel report that represents the largest portion of the population, are indicative of the athleisure consumer. They consider themselves to be social, fashion, and image conscious and activewear is a big part of their future purchase plans.

French trade show Tranoï which just celebrated its 30th year of its existence recently, looks to launch during Shanghai Fashion Week in April 2019, after a pre-launch event on 14 October 2018.

Tranoï will organise cocktails for all organisations, journalists, buyers and influencers on October 14, 2018. The event will be held at the Bailian Fashion Center YQL, where Tranoï will also stage runway shows for five selected labels, as a preview of the offer for next season.

The trade show will have a mix of Chinese and Asian labels in Paris. Tranoi will begin with a small format, counting on a snowball effect for those thereafter. There are already two trade shows devoted to this selective market held during Shanghai Fashion Week; Mode Shanghai and On Time. The latter attempted a partnership with Italy’s White in 2017, but the project was rapidly curtailed.

Delhi hosted the ‘International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards’ (ICSTS), the first of its kind multi-stakeholder convention. The event was convened by the Quality Council of India (QCI) in collaboration with the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS). GOTS was the supporting partner to the convention. The convention focused on the practical questions of leveraging trade, standards, and global value chains as engines of sustainable development. It encompassed sustainable trade concept which acquires a broader conception of environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Speaking at the session titled ‘Strengthening Multi-Stakeholder Sectoral Initiatives and Responsible Sourcing Decisions in Textiles Value Chains,” Sumit Gupta, GOTS Deputy Director Standards Development & Quality Assurance said, as the world’s leading standard for processing of organic fibers, GOTS is actively working with national and international brands towards bringing in more transparency and accountability in textile supply chains. The criteria include traceability, waste treatment, environment, working conditions and other aspects of social compliance. This includes prohibition of child labor, excessive overtime and insistence on fair remuneration and so on. Gupta also elucidated how third-party standards, such as GOTS, can help to improve the supply chain interactions; all certified operations are listed in a public database for sourcing and proof. He also referred to the recently released GOTS Factsheet on how certification to GOTS helps to ensure compliance to each of the 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals.

(SDGs). He said, “GOTS is a Consumer Facing label. GOTS certified businesses are able to make sustainability claims that are visible to the end consumer. Consumers can then make informed decisions and can also verify those claims on GOTS website.”

AIC-NIFT-TEA Incubation Centre for Textiles and Apparels has signed a MoU with the Avinashilingam University for employability skill training in knitwear sector. The centre, which had already inked a pact with VLB Janakiammal College of Arts and Science for the same programme, also plans to join hands with the Periyar University and colleges affiliated to the Anna University in this regard. The idea is to absorb students interested in the knitwear industry, enhance their employability and train them to come up with innovative ideas to support the industry. The centre will first conduct boot camps in respective institutions before preparing these incumbents to join us.

The centre will help to understand existing problems in different sectors of knitwear industry and find out their root causes and probable solutions, which may be technical, managerial discipline or labour-oriented. They would purchase special machines, including body mapping sportswear producing machine, jean knitting and flat knitting machines, which are new to the industry. These students will be exposed to machines and be trained to come up with innovative ideas. In future, engineering students will be asked to share innovative ideas on smart factory concepts. The centre would also support the incubates to market innovative products.

The luxury apparel sector is giving a tremendous response to Tencel Luxe eco-botanic lyocell filaments launched last year. Tencel Luxe was launched as the business spotted a gap in the market for a product with a similar profile to luxury fibres such as silk and cashmere, albeit without the associated sustainability challenges.

Tencel Luxe eco-botanic lyocell filaments are made from wood pulp of trees like eucalyptus, spruce, pine and birch trees. They use pulp sourced from sustainable wood and are manufactured via a closed-loop lyocell production process, which received the ‘European Award for the Environment’ from the European Union. The process ensures minimal environmental impact due to low process water and energy use, raw materials and chemicals consumption.

Demand for these fibers has been extremely strong with €30 million to be invested in a further pilot line at the company’s Lenzing headquarters in Austria.The market is pushing for further innovation which the brand will drive through new investments.These fibers have also established a price point which luxury brands are receptive to

Mimaki has released the TS55-1800, a 76.3-inch, dye-sublimation transfer inkjet printer. The new model offers high-end features, such as low running costs, industry-leading productivity and unattended continuous printing. With this customers can scale their operation with a cost-effective sublimation printer that meets the high quality and short turnaround demands of the textile and apparel industry.

Mimaki is an industry leader of wide-format inkjet printers and cutters. It makes exceptional digital textile printing features available to both the mid-level and high-end markets.

The TS55-1800 prints with the new Sb610 inks at a maximum output of 1,506 sq ft/h. These inks hold the coveted Eco Passport by Oeko-Tex certification, meeting specific requirements with regard to sustainability, safety and compliance. Additionally, it has two new optional units, a mini jumbo roll and a ten kg ink supply.

The mini jumbo roll is a feeding unit. This unit is an ideal way to ensure high-volume, unattended printing for longer production runs. It also decreases the running paper costs per square foot in comparison to normal plotter rolls. The ink supply unit holds a 10 kg ink tank of a single color. The larger quantity tank allows for a continuous operation. Compared to the conventional two liter ink pack, it significantly reduces the ink unit price per quantity.

Louise Trotter is the new creative director of Lacoste. Trotter will be the first woman in Lacoste’s 85-year-history to lead the brand, which is famous for its crocodile motif. The British designer was previously creative director of the English brand Joseph. Her visionary approach to lines and materials and her expertise in the creation of highly technical pieces are expected to be assets that will help Lacoste strengthen the positioning of its collections.

Trotter will take over from Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who had left the brand in spring. This season, Lacoste presented a collection designed by its creative studio. Lacoste is a unique, heritage French brand. For 85 years, the modernity of Lacoste’s style has been in its unique fusion of sport and fashion.

Trotter will show her first collection at fall 2019 Paris Fashion Week early next year. Lacoste opened in 1933, when René Lacoste revolutionized men’s fashion, replacing the classical woven fabric, long-sleeved and starched shirts on the courts with the Lacoste polo shirt. This is a lifestyle brand which allies elegance, performance and comfort.

The brand has apparel for women, men and children, footwear, fragrances, leather goods, eyewear, watches, belts, home textiles, mobile phones and fashion jewelry.

As per IFO-Index figures, the growth rate for German textiles in 2018 is not satisfactory, though slightly ahead of the values of last year. The apparel sector on the other hand, is on a decline. The proceeds of the two sectors in the current year are below 0.7 per cent of the ones registered in the same period last year.

The turnover in apparels segment till July 2018, declined over 2.8 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. The sector also suffered from the unusual warm and long summer. Texiles reported an increase of 0.6 per cent in July 2018, which is slightly above the same period last year. Domestic production declined in both segments, however more markedly in textiles, which reported 4.1 per cent decline in July compared to apparels which declined by 0.5 per cent.

In the past months intake of textile orders increased steadily, resulting in a positive order log at +7.1 per cent against 2017. The apparel sector however reported a lower order backlog and grew by over 1.0 per cent above 2017.