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Centro Algodonero Nacional (CAN) has become the 11th laboratory to be certified under ICA Bremen’s ‘International Laboratory Certification Scheme’. CAN’s Managing Director, Javier de Blas says by following ICA Bremen’s recommendations they have been able to further increase the quality of their laboratory. Based in Barcelona, CAN is an independent laboratory which provides an extensive raw cotton testing service to the entire cotton chain, from farmer to spinner. They join 10 other laboratories to become certified under the scheme, which aim at establishing an approved list of laboratories worldwide that meet a standard level of quality assurance.
ICA Bremen has developed the scheme based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International and Commercial Standardisation of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) as well as building on the good practices of USDA and its own laboratory experience. Open to any international cotton testing laboratory, participating laboratories must meet a level of quality assurance based on specific criteria in eight modules, including conditioning, maintenance, calibration and testing procedures. Around 14 other laboratories are currently in the process of assessment. Once certified, they will become a ‘laboratory of choice’ to resolve quality disputes in line with the ICA Bylaws and Rules as well as providing a service to the cotton industry.
ICA Bremen is an 'international centre of excellence' for cotton testing, research and quality training. Operating from existing, state of the art laboratory facilities in Bremen, Germany the centre was officially launched in October 2011. ICA Bremen’s services include: Laboratory certification, laboratory testing, WCC classing authority, quality arbitration, round trials, cotton grade standards, R&D, training and quality expert certification.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute’s Fashion Positive initiative has launched ‘Innovators Hub’, a resource centre for the growing circular fashion movement. Lewis Perkins, President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute says at a time when resource scarcity and growing global population make positive change the need of the hour, the rapid innovation of safer, healthier materials offers one of the fastest routes to achieving a circular economy. The Fashion Positive Innovation Hub aims to accelerate this process for the fashion industry.
Created with funding from the non-profit H&M Foundation, the Innovators Hub provides one-stop access to critical resources for material innovators striving to drive circular materials development through the innovation of safer, healthier materials developed as per principles of the Cradle to Cradle Certified product standard.
Annie Gullingsrud, Director-Textiles and Apparel sector for the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute says until now, creating safe, healthy circular materials that also meet designers’ requirements for performance, quality and aesthetics has been a notoriously challenging process. The Fashion Positive Innovators Hub has been designed to simplify the material innovation process by addressing the three biggest challenges currently faced by material innovators in fashion: Education and know-how; technical assistance; and funding opportunities.
The Fashion Positive Innovators Hub offers: Circular economy know-how, including a library of videos and interactive tools demonstrating how to apply the principles of the Cradle to Cradle Certified product standard to fashion. Chemical and material screening using the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute Material Wise tool which permits users to screen for known hazards with free access to the Cradle to Cradle Certified v3 banned list and v4 restricted substances list, including the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) manufacturing restricted substances list v1.1.; Access to investors, accelerators, brands and manufacturers via the Fashion Positive network, created to connect material innovators with the resources and support necessary to bring high-potential material innovation projects to scale.
The owner of Italy's top-end lingerie La Perla, is in talks with China's Fosun for the sale of majority stake in their luxury lingerie group. Italian entrepreneur Silvio Scaglia, the founder of telecom group Fastweb, bought the ailing group for €69 million euros at a court-led auction in 2013 through family holding Pacific Global Management. The Italian entrepreneur has invested over €300 million in the company founded in the post-war years in the Northern town of Bologna, as he had hoped to sell the brand’s products abroad, mainly in Asia. The group, which has 30 boutiques, posted sales of €140 million this year and is expected to breakeven by the end of 2018, Scaglia was reported to have said. The conclusion of the deal is subject to Fosun's approval.
Shanghai investment group Fosun, which owns holiday resort company Club Med, will "continue investing in the brand to develop its full potential as a global luxury fashion house...," the statement added.
German sportswear and equipment MNC Adidas has announced it will close down its hardware division, and therefore, stall production of wearable fitness devices. The announcement is one that has been doing rounds in the past as well, as Adidas had already been shifting focus from hardware development for a while now.
Stacey Burr, Vice President, wearable sports electronics at Adidas stated the company is not going to see a new running watch from Adidas for a while. The company plans to move over to the software segment, specifically, the Adidas App and Runtastic, Adidas' mobile fitness company that combines traditional fitness with mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification, which made its comeback in 2015. Adidas had, in the past, released multiple wearable fitness trackers under the name miCoach, culminating in the miCoach Smart Run smartwatch.
However, the exit is not permanent, as Adidas has reportedly announced plans to partner with Fitbit for a curated edition of the iconic smart watch, scheduled somewhere in 2018.
Bestseller is a strategic partner in the Global Fashion Agenda, a group working to set a common direction for industry efforts on sustainability. Bestseller has announced three strategic action points on post-consumer textile waste in response to the ‘Call to Action’ put out by the Global Fashion Agenda in early 2017. The action points are considered accelerators in the transition to a circular fashion system, and Bestseller has committed to report on the progress annually till 2020.
By 2020, all Bestseller designers and buyers will have completed a training module on circular fashion design. Bestseller’s sustainability manager Dorte Rye says knowledge is the foundation to address the overall topic and the first action point of ‘implementing a design strategy for cyclability’. The second action point supports the focus on ‘increasing volume of used garments collected’. By 2020, Bestseller will offer and promote a used garment collection channel to consumers in selected markets together with relevant partners, it must be a setup that makes sense for all parties involved.
Bestseller will conduct a pilot with two jeans styles containing recycled post-consumer cotton. The jeans are to be included in the ‘never out of stock range’ within Jack & Jones. In 2018, the pilot will be completed and results evaluated.
Dorte says it is important to note that the Call To Action is focused on post-consumer textile waste, meaning that other recycled materials already used in the Bestseller supply chain, such as recycled polyester from PET bottles, are not included in this context. The specific products in the pilot will contain the highest possible amount of recycled post-consumer cotton to reach a high level of quality. The remaining cotton will be sourced as either Better Cotton or organic cotton.
"While fast fashion brands such as Michael Kors Holdings, Ralph Lauren and others are vying for bigger share of the holiday market, their main intent isn’t increasing sales but winding up with less of unwanted merchandise. Hence, inventory stock-up is one of the major concerns for these companies. And to circumvent this, brands are using increasingly sophisticated tools to track apparel and accessories through the supply chain, which aims to avoid the typical post-Christmas fire sales."
While fast fashion brands such as Michael Kors Holdings, Ralph Lauren and others are vying for bigger share of the holiday market, their main intent isn’t increasing sales but winding up with less of unwanted merchandise. Hence, inventory stock-up is one of the major concerns for these companies. And to circumvent this, brands are using increasingly sophisticated tools to track apparel and accessories through the supply chain, which aims to avoid the typical post-Christmas fire sales.
The reducing number of departmental stores and their non-stop discounting proposition is posing another set of threat tocompanies. Even with discounts, brick-and-mortar stores are unable to attract customers are they are increasingly preferring online shopping, with smartphones becoming the preferred means of commerce. On top of that, omnichannel retail is posing another set of concerns as customers, for instance, may buy an item online and then return it to a store.
David Bassuk, Co-Head of retail practice at AlixPartners LLP, points out every Monday morning, retailers typically hold a manager meeting to look at the sell-through rates, or the percentage of the total inventory sold, for the past week. During the holiday period, they meet daily – and decide if they should use promotions or increase their markdowns to stay on track with their inventory.
Managing inventory well
There’s a lot of speculation about whether retailers are really able to manage inventory properly in the world of omnichannel. John Idol, CEO, Michael Kors, has pledged to cut the number of days with big promotions by as much as 65 per cent this quarter. Research predicts smarter promotions will set up retailers and fashion brands for a better 2018. The industry also has closed thousands of stores this year, helping supply better match demand.
Tapestry Inc, owner of the Coach and Kate Spade brands, uses historical seasonal sales data to build its stock allocation plan for each store. And it has the capability to restock its retail stores as many as three times a week during the holiday season, said spokeswoman Andrea Resnick. High-end department stores and specialty retailers have started tagging their products with radio-frequency identification sensors, which casinos have been using for their gambling chips, to track inventory in real time. As another safeguarding perspective, Simeon Siegel, an analyst at Instinet LLC, said that it’s probably safer to stock too little than too much. But that means companies will have lower sales growth when they begin to rebound.
Welspun the Mumbai-based terry towel producer has partnered forensic science company Oritain Global to develop a fiber-tracking technology. The technology enables Welspun to verify the origin of cotton at each stage of the manufacturing process to ensure an authentic final product. It was after a large customer terminated a contract with Welspun following mislabeling of provenance of fiber in certain consignments.
Called Wel-Trak, the solution uses RFID and customised software. It involved an investment of around Rs 38.5 crores and more than six months of rigorous efforts. It helps track the cotton to its source.
Apart from deploying this solution in several cotton growing areas across the globe, Welspun India is now looking at helping cotton farmers grow better quality cotton and also encourage them try organic cotton. Welspun is guiding and mentoring farmers on right practices, right seed and right pesticides. Cotton farmers are being mentored on the kind of crops to grow after cotton harvest so as to help them improve the overall soil nutrients like nitrogen. The company is looking to cover at least a fifth of farmers supplying cotton to it by 2021.
Welspun India has a set a target of doubling revenue by 2022.
Roica’s unique premium stretch innovations for active wardrobe will be launced at ISPO, Munich to be held from January 28 to 31, 2018. The brand will showcase its latest innovation the new hi-tech performance stretch solutions with partner’s unique stretch ideas, designed to meet contemporary business and astute consumer desires. Roica will present modern wardrobe concepts in three distinct dimensions:
Roica’s Active Wardrobe: A commercial fashion range ready for summer 2018 that include the Roica Eco Smart family and the Roica Feel Good family of unique premium stretch yarn solutions. Roica Innovation: On display will be their latest textile performance innovations from their partner mills that display the brand’s creativity. The Roica Fabric Gallery is a rich and varied fabric that focuses on the revolutionary Roica Eco Smart family of sustainably designed stretch yarns. These yarns are either GRS certified, or have the Cradle-to-Cradle Innovation Institute’s Gold Level certificate for material health, including the Hohenstein Environment Certificate — where at its end-of-life, it smartly breaks down releasing less harmful materials. These are unique commercialised solutions suites for intimates, athleisure, sportswear, and more.
The unique Roica Feel Good family promises a new level of performance with ‘feel-good comfort’ and freshness. Their branded CF yarn delivers an odour-neutralising durable function, in wash and wear because its active ingredient is locked inside the yarn and only requires a small amount to perform in most fabric structures. A new Roica Stretch Energy™ is a truly verified heat-generating system that combines a customised branded polymer with special fabric structures where a stretch and recovery action produces real warmth yet maintains support during exercise.
The brands third product Closet: Here one can explore the brands new garment designs from their experimental laboratory that uses innovative Japanese fabric creativity. Also at their booth, one can explore their sister brand Cuproinnovations that is designed responsibly for a new, luxe view of athleisure sportswear. Their premium stretch brand focuses on performance for the active sportswear, swimwear and athliesure wear categories, making it the ‘smart-fit’ for the ISPO BrandNew Village presentation.
Timberland is making strides with its corporate social responsibility initiatives—including using more responsibly sourced cotton in its apparel and footwear products. Timberland increased responsibly sourced cotton in its product supply chain, with 79 per cent of cotton used in its apparel items being either BCI certified (42 per cent) or organic (30 per cent) or US-origin (seven per cent)—up 10 per cent since third quarter 2016.
For Q3, most of the cotton sourced is for its internal global apparel manufacturing. Its production partners have increased their use of responsible cotton, including organic, over the past few years. Timberland’s remaining cotton is sourced by its licensees (seven per cent) and Central America apparel operations (seven per cent). Moving forward, Timberland wants to source responsible cotton from the following categories: organic cotton, US-origin cotton or Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)-certified cotton. By 2020, the company has set a goal that 100 per cent of the cotton used in its clothing will be from environmental sources.
Timberland is an outdoor retailer. It is currently working on minimising carbon footprint of its leather apparel, accessories and footwear products. Also, Timberland is aiming to improve its leather products by facilitating environmental audits at tanneries.
The current global market conditions are more challenging, volatile and uncertain than it has ever been before. It is not just textiles but all businesses face uncertainties following changes in government policies, natural/ environmental calamities and other factors that are contributing to the volatility. Explaining his predicament Abhay Sidham, CEO, Batliboi Textile Machinery Group says 25 years back one could assume certain circumstances and make decisions and even keep back-ups for any possible leak or loop and sail through the storm smoothly. Today it has become extremely difficult to judge what would happen next and predict the exact market trend, changing preferences and fashions especially in terms of textile products. These fast-moving conditions are very difficult to tackle.
Unlike the well-organised spinning sector in India, the knits value chain is mostly decentralised and unorganised. One of the main disadvantages of the players in the Indian knits textile segment is their lack of competitiveness in production cost and quantity. India still does not have volume players (such as China) who can cater to a wide range of customers. Investment in the latest technology is another drawback if one is to fall in line with international standards. Besides, the demand for textiles is increasing exponentially.
Sidham further explains that to meet growing demand, the industry has to be more competitive in terms of volume and quicker deliveries to cope with the ever-changing fashion scenario. Before GST, the bottom of the value chain was not tax bound and paying an immediate tax of 18 per cent has created a major liquid cash crisis. However, from a long term point of view, as the impact of GST wanes it will be beneficial both for the business and customers.
GST’s impact is also evident on imported goods. When capital goods are imported, their input tax credit is much higher than the tax liability, posing a big challenge to the trade. Paying the tax amount proves difficult in most case and affects the financial condition of a company. This is a big issue for small entrepreneurs and growing businesses. Batliboi recently started representing a company called Danitech from Italy offering Softfow dyeing machines with very innovative concepts resulting in optimised water consumption and higher productivity.
