FW
Candiani and Denham have launched the world’s first biodegradable stretch denim. Candiani is an Italian denim mill. Denham is a Dutch company. Candiani created this denim from organic cotton wrapped around a natural rubber core. By replacing the common synthetic and petrol-based elastomers with a new, custom-engineered component, Candiani has created an innovative biodegradable stretch denim fabric without compromising on elasticity and recovery properties. The result means brands can offer stretch jeans made from renewable resources and free from plastics and micro-plastics.
The first range of bio-stretch selvedge is exclusive to Denham, and available immediately at Denham stores and on its website. The collection includes limited and individually numbered jeans in its signature York and Razor styles for men.
Biodegradable components have been an area of investment for Candiani. In 2018, the mill debuted its 80th anniversary fabric, ReGen, a rigid selvedge fabric composed of 50 per cent Refibra fibers and 50 per cent recycled fibers. In spring 2019, Candiani released a stretch version, ReLast, made with a recycled elastomer developed exclusively for the mill by Asahi Kasei. At Kingpins Amsterdam in October, Candiani rolled out the last of its Re family of fabrics, ReSolve, a fabric made with organic cotton and a degradable stretch yarn.
Major international brands are setting up shop in Vietnam to tap a rapidly growing fashion market. Japanese casual wear retailer Uniqlo is planning its first store in the country. The 3,000 sq mt store would be one of its biggest in southeast Asia.
There are some 200 foreign brands in Vietnam, accounting for 60 per cent of the market. Zara, H&M and Mango are the three most recognised brands, followed by Gap, Forever 21 and Giordano. British brand Topshop has four stores in Vietnam and American brand Gap has five stores. Foreign investors have also been trying to enter with a series of acquisitions in the last few years. Japanese fashion company Stripe acquired Global Fashion, which owns women’s footwear brand Vascara.
Vietnam, with its young demograpy, growing incomes and 95 million population, is considered a huge and promising market. Foreign brands are attracted by its 15 to 20 per cent annual growth. In terms of spending clothes score third after food and saving. Vietnam is ranked third globally in the number of people fond of branded goods after China and India. The change in the level of wealth of the Vietnamese enables them to buy international standard products and services. More and more Vietnamese are choosing to buy luxury goods or exclusive products.
Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers are urging buyers to pay more. These manufacturers often have to sell garments at prices lower than the production cost. The cost of production apparel production has increased 30 per cent between 2014 and 2018. Meanwhile, the minimum wage of the garment workers in Bangladesh has increased 51 per cent since December last year.
Between 2015-16 and 2018-19, the industry’s value addition has gone down 1.61 per cent though apparel exports have increased. Even though there has been growth in physical terms, the value addition per piece of garment has declined over years. Unplanned expansion is one reason the industry has to accept low prices from retailers. Overcapacity is perhaps the weakest point behind this poor bargaining ability. Over concentration on a few products and markets is another problem for the sector. Almost 85 per cent of garment products from Bangladesh are headed to EU and North America. Product diversification too is not happening at the desired pace.
But brands have opposed the idea of fixing a base price for garments. So Bangladesh is planning to launch awareness programs among end consumers so as to make them realize the low prices make poverty permanent in many countries.
A recent Vogue Business poll reveals consumer opinion of leather has plummeted in recent years. Conducted by Morning Consult, a survey of 2,000 British and American residents showed that 37 percent of people in the UK and 23 percent in the U.S. consider leather as a somewhat or very inappropriate material to use in clothing.
Labels like Stella McCartney and Veja have already found success using animal-free alternatives. Since the inception of her brand, McCartney has been staunchly anti-fur and leather, while sneaker brand Veja responded to customer requests and launched a biodegradable version of its popular V10 sneaker in October.
Though popular leather alternatives including polyurethane and PVC are often described as “vegan,” yet are essentially plastic and petroleum based. PVC in particular releases toxic fumes, such as cancer-causing BPAs and phthalates. It’s also unclear whether the lifespan of genuine leather exceeds that of leather alternatives, potentially reducing waste.
Therefore, companies are now experimenting with biodegradable, plant-based alternatives to polyurethane and PVC but their higher price and cardboard-like texture often turn customers off.
The Home Textile Exporters’ Welfare Association (HEWA) has sought Prime Minister Modi’s intervention for release of pending dues under the RoSCTL, a taxes and levies rebate scheme. In March, the government had announced the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies on Export of Garments and Made-ups (RoSCTL) scheme which provides rebate on all embedded taxes on exports, but HEWA claims exporters are yet to receive the refunds from this scheme which are pending since last eight months.
A delegation from HEWA met Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani in September and had detailed discussion on pending RoSCTL dues. Under the scheme, maximum rate of rebate for apparel is 6.05 per cent while for made-ups, this goes up to 8.2 per cent. The made-ups segment comprises of home textiles products such as bed linen, pillows and carpets.
Indonesia has imposed duties on imports of textiles and textile products. These duties, to the tune of 67 per cent, are a safeguard measure to protect the domestic upstream industry from a surge in imports and encourage the use of domestic products.
Indonesia has seen a jump in imports of textiles and textile products. Imports of textile fabrics rose by 74 per cent between 2016 and 2018. Imports of textile products, such as some types of synthetic yarns, doubled in the three years to 2018. Indonesia imports products from China, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, among others. The restriction is aimed at protecting domestic producers of products such as certain types of yarns, fabrics and other goods. The reasoning is that products that can be produced domestically should no longer be imported. Textile importers have to gain approval before they can ship in textile goods. With economic growth, and a shift in demand from basic clothing to functional clothing, such as sportswear, the national textile industry is building production capabilities and increasing economies of scale in order to meet the demand in domestic and export markets. Companies that have been so far oriented to local markets are being encouraged to become more export oriented.
Pakistan’s apparel exports have increased 17 per cent. The second phase of the free trade agreement with China will be operational from December 2019. This will relax tariffs for Pakistan’s garment sector, allowing it to enhance its export volumes. The textile sector will focus on value addition.
Pakistan is framing a long term and comprehensive textile policy. The aim is to increase Pakistan’s share in world garment exports. Its small and medium sector will be promoted and developed. A task force will focus on facilities and incentives to attract investors to this sector. The task force will also work on the development of genetically-modified cotton seeds and ensure consistency in business policies. The industry wants levies on cotton imports removed so that textile exports can go up. The country’s textile exports constitute more than 60 per cent of total exports. Knitwear exports comprise 14.4 per cent of total exports. Readymade garment exports have a share of 12.5 per cent in exports. Bedwear has a 10.7 per cent share in exports. A special energy package was extended early this year to the erstwhile zero-rated industry to provide it a competitive energy tariff to expand and increase exports. Pakistan’s textile industry has become viable after a gap of ten years, especially through the provision of regionally competitive energy tariffs.
Fespa will be held in Turkey, December 5 to 8, 2019. This is an event for screen, textile and digital wide format printing. It includes printed interior décor applications. Printers and sign makers attend the event. It brings together a buoyant specialty printing community. Visitors can have access to a comprehensive line-up of suppliers of technology, materials for printing and sign-making, consumables and accessories. The exhibition will be packed with innovations from more than 250 exhibiting brands. Fespa’s profile as the leading European exhibition for textile printing continues to increase. Vendors offered new textile printing solutions.
The aim is to move the Fespa global print expo to an annual cycle and make every event a comprehensive showcase of all processes and products. The 2019 edition is 30 per cent larger than the last event in December 2018 and will accommodate 20 more exhibitors, providing the region’s specialty print community with a substantial showcase of technologies and consumables for screen, digital and textile print. Visitors will be given access to an expanded choice of suppliers and even more solutions to explore. The expo is a forum for meeting customers face-to-face, making concrete sales and developing business pipelines. Printers from all parts of the world attend but particularly from Europe and the Middle East.
The 19th Shanghai International Exhibition on Textile Industry, organised by Shanghai International Exhibition, Shanghai Textile Technology Service & Exhibition Co and Adsale Exhibition Service, will focus on textile technology and innovative life applications including knitting, hosiery, spinning, weaving, digital printing, dyeing, etc. The show will be held at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (Pudong) from November 25-28, 2019. Over 1,200 exhibitors at home and abroad participate in the show under the theme of ‘Smarter Textile • Better Life.’ In addition to the exhibition, the expo will also hold a series of industry prospective thematic forums and activities around the four themes of ‘Textech Galaxy,’ ‘Digital,’ ‘Materials and Cross-border Innovation’ and ‘Green,’ providing an exchange platform for visitors to closely follow the ‘Digital Textile Fashion Trend.’
The three series of activities of ‘Textech Galaxy’ will be the highlights of the 2019 exhibition. Various exhibitions, lectures, conferences and competitions will cover the latest technologies for the textile industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and supply chain optimization of textile and fashion industry, so as to prepare for the future market demand. In W5 Pavilion, the exhibition will launch ‘Textech Start-up Star Zone,’ ‘Textech Innovation Lecture’ and ‘The second Shanghai International Textile Intelligent Manufacturing Summit Forum,’ which will provide a platform for science and technology innovative enterprises to display brand-new fashion technology, including heating fabrics, 3D customised jeans, artificial intelligence production management scheme, light self-cleaning yarn and clothing insect prevention technology.
Sri Lanka is recycling 30 per cent of its waste into fabric and brushes. Trischel Fabric, a subsidiary of MAS Holdings, has produced 4500 meters of fabric with yarn made of waste plastic bottles, including those collected from Sri Lanka’s beaches. MAS Holdings, a maker of intimate, sports and swimwear, has launched an initiative to collect beach plastic. Most of the brands MAS works with are expected to stop using virgin polyester raw materials by 2025.
Sri Lanka cricket team’s World Cup jersey in May 2019 was made with recycled yarn. It takes about ten PET bottles to produce enough yarn to make a jersey.
Companies around the world are implementing recycling solutions that are sustainable and business friendly. American start-up AlgiKnit makes fibers from kelp that can be spun into yarn. AlgiKnit offers a solution that can transform the highly polluting textile industry into a circular economy by using biomaterials. After having been used, this seaweed textile can serve as compost or animal feed. It also reduces the carbon footprint of the clothing industry, because no harmful fiber particles are lost during washing, such as is the case with polyester. The company is working on a prototype of a T-shirt and sneakers will be next.
