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US imports of synthetic fibers is on the rise. Through September, man-made fiber apparel imports were almost 43 per cent of total apparel imports, a 9 per cent increase over the first nine months of 2013.
Of the man-made fiber apparel imports into the US, 42 per cent was from China, a 7.8 per cent increase over the same period last year. Vietnam was the second largest source, up 21.4 per cent from last year. Indonesia, Mexico and Honduras are the next largest sources of man-made apparel.
Men’s knit shirts of chiefly man-made fiber have grown by almost 15 per cent so far this year, representing the fastest growing of the key import categories. Women’s knit tops have increased by 7.6 per cent and dresses are up by 7.2 per cent. Cotton apparel categories that have seen big decline in dollar volume this year include: women’s and girls’ pants (11 per cent), women’s and girls’ knit tops, (4.6 per cent), cotton skirts (17 per cent), and bras and other foundations, down (26 per cent).
Initiatives put in place more than a year ago by retailers and brands to replace cotton with synthetics when cotton prices were high have been the driving force behind the shift. It remains to be seen, now that cotton prices have dropped significantly, whether the tide will turn. Polyester prices have been declining due to plummeting oil prices, which impacts synthetic fiber raw material costs.
The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (CCMI) has called for greater protection of the cashmere name through education and enforcement directed towards reducing instances of mislabeling.
CCMI is undertaking legal efforts to protect the integrity of fine fibers. It is working with Italian, Japanese and Korean research institutions and laboratories to develop enhanced fiber identification tools. It has called for efforts to target fraudsters who repeatedly mislabel cashmere and other fine fiber products and to develop affordable technologies to test and guarantee their integrity.
Cashmere and other fine fibers are in dire need of rejuvenation. Playing with fresh colors, avant-garde motives, different volumes and special effects, blending it with different fibers and materials can give cashmere a more casual image and make it more attractive to younger generations.
Thanks to new spinning technologies and processes, it is now possible to spin finer yarn and make lighter garments that can be worn throughout the year and by the whole family. Technical treatments such as self-cleaning capabilities, quick drying and higher resistance to pilling are making cashmere easier to care for than ever before, also making it suitable for casual and even sportswear.
www.cashmere.org/
Threadsmiths, an Australian company has developed a T-shirt that completely repels dirt and liquid, leaving the surface of the fabric crisp, dry, and without stains. The 100 per cent cotton T-shirt by Threadsmiths incorporates a lotus leaf inspired nanotechnology. It’s meant for men and women.
While other white T-shirts are stained and ruined by liquids such as coffee and wine, the tee’s hydrophobic properties cause liquids to bead-up and fall off the fabric, cleaning the fabric in the process. While hydrophobic technology has previously been synthesised into a spray-on application, these aerosols completely destroy fabrics and have been known to contain carcinogenic chemicals.
This is a patented technology, unlike other liquid-repelling applications and aerosols which can contain chemicals. The tees emulate the natural hydrophobic properties of the lotus leaf. They contain no aerosol applications and no dangerous chemicals. Creating a natural self-cleaning effect, any residue left on the material can be removed by just wiping or rinsing off it off with water.
The company hopes to use the fabric to make garments other than T-shirts. The fabric could be revolutionary for restaurants and cafes, where spills on tablecloths and aprons are a daily occurrence, and also in the medical sector and hospitals, apart from sectors like hospitality and sports.
Threadsmiths is a clothing technology company based in Melbourne, Australia, pioneering a new era of nanotechnology integrated apparel.
www.threadsmiths.com.au/
Two years after the factory fire at Tazreen Fashions in Bangladesh killed more than 100 people and injured more than 300, an agreement has been reached on how victims will be compensated. The payment package will compensate for income lost and medical assessments and treatment. The outline agreement between the Clean Clothes Campaign and retailer C&A provides the principles for a compensation process to give much-needed financial assistance and allow survivors to get essential medical care.
Walmart, Sears and Spanish department store El Corte Ingles were producing goods at Tazreen but only Hong Kong- based sourcing agent Li & Fung and C&A have paid so far into a compensation fund through the Bangladesh government. El Corte Ingles has reportedly made informal promises to compensate victims. Details of the program are expected to be settled over the next several days.
The fire broke out on November 24, 2012, killing at least 112 workers. The massive building didn't have a staircase mounted to the outside for emergency exit, and each floor had windows securely bolted with iron frames, effectively turning the factory into a cage for workers.
Disastrous factory fires occur regularly in Bangladesh. Between 1990 and 2012, there were at least 33 major fires at garment facilities, claiming 500 lives.
Centro Seta has introduced a collection of sustainable silk fabrics for autumn/winter 2015-2016. The collection, called Bacx, was developed through extensive technological research to ensure high quality silk fabrics were also sustainable and responsible, and the new range offers complete transparency across all production processes.
Bacx is a complete collection of new generation silks characterized by innovative styles and compositions born of innovative sustainable research, processes and solutions. Centro Seta is an Italian textile company. The transparent traceability of Bacx begins at the source – the raw materials – and crosses the production process all the way to the finished product.
Centro Seta’s new eco-friendly silks are offered in two ranges: GreenFiber and Newlife. GreenFiber range fabrics are created using a new silk yarn derived from recycled production wastes. The Newlife range of high-tech, eco-silk fabrics combines traditional silk with Newlife threads, which are made from recycled bottles. The bottles are transformed into a polymer and then worked into a thread through a mechanical process.
The result is a range of refined, unique and fully sustainable silk fabrics, 100 per cent made in Italy, produced using special, exclusive dyestuffs that ensure good wash fastness properties. The Bacx collection is certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard and is available in a wide variety of colors. For 30 years Centro Seta has been known for style, creativity and production excellence.
The Denim by Premiere Vision held in Spain on November 19 and 20 saw almost 4,000 visitors. Europe alone represented 70 per cent of the visitors. The event showcased products like fashion accessories and fabrics. It showed a glimpse of 2016 Spring/Summer trends.
The show saw 98 exhibitors from 20 countries. After Spain, Turkey had the second largest contingent, followed by Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal and Belgium. About 72 per cent of visitors were international and came from 60 different countries. There were visitors from Japan, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Brazil. Northern Europe and Scandinavia are specialist markets for premium denim. Among the top Northern European visitors were the Netherlands, followed by Sweden and Denmark.
The Middle East and North Africa, with Tunisia and Morocco leading, had a significant presence of manufacturers, launderers and finishers, who came to meet their weaver clients. The Northern American countries also registered a significant increase since visitors from this area grew by 38 per cent when compared with the November 2013 attendance figures.
Visitors included buyers, decision-makers and creatives from premium and established brands including 7 For All Mankind, Abercrombie & Fitch, Benetton, Burberry, Calvin Klein and Chanel.
www.denimbypremierevision.com/
The European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (Textile ETP) will be in the spotlight at ITMA 2015, the textile and garment technology exhibition to be held from November 12 to 19, 2015. Its key projects will be showcased at the exhibition's Research and Education Pavilion (R&E Pavilion).
The Textile ETP, initially launched in 2004, was established as an international non-profit organisation last year by three founding members: EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation; TEXTRANET, the European Network of Textile Research and Technology Organisations; and AUTEX, the Association of Universities for Textiles.
Among the actions which will be highlighted in the Textile ETP are Energy Made-to-Measure campaign and 2BFUNTEX project. 2BFUNTEX, spearheaded by AUTEX, 2BFUNTEX aims to boost collaboration between research centres and the industry, and to facilitate rapid adoption of innovative functional textile structures and textile-related materials. Within the project, eight multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) have been set up called antimicrobial textiles, biotechnologies, electro-spinning, flame retardancy, nanotechnologies, plasma, smart textiles and sustainable textiles.
Energy Made-to-Measure is the campaign coordinated by EURATEX and supported by the European Union to pursue greater energy efficiency in the textile and clothing industry. Several organisations from 11 countries are involved in the campaign which brings resources and information to companies, supporting them to take action.
Among the institutions which will be participating in ITMA 2015 is the NC State University College of Textiles, USA. The R&E Pavilion will feature a Speakers Platform for participating institutes to present their latest projects. At the same time, to recognise outstanding achievements in textile and garment related post-graduate research, CEMATEX has launched the Research & Education Excellence Award. Participating institutions in the R&E Pavilion may nominate their post-graduate students for the Masters and Doctorate categories of the award.
A free trade agreement between China and South Korea could mean a severe blow to Taiwan’s textile exports. It’s estimated Taiwan’s exports to China will fall by 30 per cent. Chinese buyers will shift their orders from Taiwan to South Korea in order to get cheaper textiles.
Fabrics, yarn and fibers are among the major textile products Taiwan sells to China. The free trade agreement grants tariff-free status to 85 per cent of the textile items exported to the China market by South Korea in future. Taiwanese industries, including petrochemicals, flat panels, machine tools, textiles and steel, will be affected by the China-South Korea agreement. And these industries serve as the major driver to Taiwan’s export growth.
Taiwanese exporters are concerned over South Korea’s rising competitive edge against Taiwan in the huge China market. South Korea is likely to take a bigger share of the Chinese market. South Korea’s major exports to China are fibers, garments and accessories.
What Taiwan can probably do now is to speed up the pace of signing a trade-in-goods agreement with China in a bid to stem the adverse impact of the Beijing-Seoul free trade agreement. Taiwan and China have held nine rounds of negotiations on the trade-in-goods pact, which is a follow-up deal to the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed by the two countries in 2010.
Woolmark has added a new section to its website exclusively featuring merino wool clothing. The aim is to make merino wool crafted products, designed by various brands from across the globe, more easily accessible and discoverable for consumers worldwide.
The platform not only allows consumers to browse the world’s finest wool clothing and accessories but also link the farm-to-fashion journey of the wool fibers used in the products. The web portal aims to increase consumer engagement and provide a central marketing channel for the fiber, its products and its brand image.
The digital marketplace currently features an array of pullovers, tailored shorts, pants, jackets, beanies, skirts, capes, cardigans, sheath dresses and bombers from international labels like Rag & bone, Burberry, Giorgio Armani, DSQUARED2 and Emilio Pucci.
Woolmark is the Australian-based international wool textile organization. Over the past two years its digital presence has significantly grown. Currently it’s about 60 per cent digital and 40 per cent traditional. Within the next three years that may go up to 90 per cent digital and 10 per cent traditional. The company is the global authority on merino fibers. It engages in the research and development of better textiles. The company’s iconic Woolmark symbol stands for the versatility and luxury of merino wool.
www.woolmark.com/
Heimtextil exhibitions will be held in Germany from January 14 to 17, 2015. This is the world’s largest trade fair for home and contract textiles. With growing awareness o of sustainable and socially responsible production techniques, the theme this time is sustainability. The fair will offer a forum for companies committed to sustainability and put the focus on products that conserve resources.
There will, for the first time, be a platform dedicated to bodies which award seals of approval and quality marks, to certification organisations and interest groups relating to sustainability issues. Visitors will get free of charge a green directory containing an overview of all exhibitors at the show who espouse the cause of sustainable working practices. Also eco symbols on the stands of certificated exhibitors will provide practical help for visitors in finding those products that have been manufactured to ecological and social standards.
Awards will be given for upcycling. In contrast to recycling, upcycling has, as its goal, the creation of higher value products from waste materials. At least 30 per cent of the materials used must be textile-based. The Theme Park will offer space for a comprehensive display of themes and issues that are relevant to the future. It will focus attention on design-oriented, contemporary aspects.
www.heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com/
