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GINETEX, the International Association for Textile Care Labeling, shares the result of the second European Barometer for 2019 the textile care label and the Europeans", conducted with IPSOS. The survey was conducted in seven European countries: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Spain.
Europeans appreciate their clothes and wish to keep them for as long as possible. This is one of the major trends identified by the barometer. In the seven surveyed countries, for instance, almost all respondents (97%) had purchased at least one item of clothing in the past six months. The proportions vary between 94% in Sweden and 98% in Italy and Spain. Europeans are concerned about the durability of their clothing and pay great attention to their care instructions: 70% respect their textile label’s guidelines - a relatively stable result (+1 point) compared to the last edition of our barometer. On this specific subject, however, answers differ quite significantly between the countries: 78% of Swedes follow the care instructions, 71% do so in France while only 64% do so in the United Kingdom.
When they were asked why they followed these guidelines, two out of three respondents mentioned that they wanted to keep their clothing for as long as possible that durability of clothing is a widely shared issue in Europe. Europeans are therefore sensitive to textile a label, referring to that whether they actually understand the care symbols is another question. The symbol for ironing is perfectly-identified: 98% of Europeans recognize it. The same goes for the washing symbol, which is well recognized by almost nine out of ten people (89%). For the other symbols, however, the proportions are much lower. Only 28% of respondents know the symbol for bleaching (although 45% in Spain and 40% in Italy do understand it), 24% know the symbol for drying and only 15% can identify the professional cleaning symbol.
"ATSM 2020 will have a focus on sustainability, near sourcing, and speed-to-market. Amongst many other topics that will be addressed, including Low MOQ Sourcing and the rise of micro-brand disruptors as the fastest-growing segment of the show's database and how retailers and consumers have adapted to the shift"
ATSM 2020 predicts multiple conferences expansion with trends forecasting on lounge enhancements, three track fashion shows and more expected participation. The event is going to be vast in attendance and on track for the same growth in 2020. Furthermore, the event has quadrupled the number of exhibitions from Latin America and the USA.
The event plans to offer matchmaking, B2B sourcing, SME and enterprise-level seminar series, trend forecasts from PANTONE as a show partner, a runway show for designers from the local area and exhibitors to showcase the latest design and manufacturing techniques. ATSM will have a niche educational focus held in the fashion innovation lounge including highlights in global trade policy, color and design direction, and business strategy. ATSM 2020 will have a focus on sustainability, near sourcing, and speed-to-market. Amongst many other topics that will be addressed, including Low MOQ Sourcing and the rise of micro-brand disruptors as the fastest-growing segment of the show's database and how retailers and consumers have adapted to the shift. 
With a turbocharged geopolitical landscape, it is expected that trade policy, domestic production and sourcing alternatives will once again be a very hot topic. Conference and Educational Sessions continue to be a focus, featuring industry experts who will cover fashion trends, new technology applications such as AI and 3D printing, sourcing tips, sustainability, eCommerce strategy, international trade policy, marketing techniques and much more. The annual runway presentation is going to showcase a curated group of local up-and-coming fashion talent, established South Florida designers and what’s hot from the exhibition floor. Domestic Sourcing Pavilion with US-based manufacturers and service providers. Matchmaking services provides help through various sources to connect interested buyers with suppliers in a unique service that is present at the show and now available digitally year-round on ATS platforms. New Sourcing Markets Pavilion displaying more than 100 unique products from emerging markets including Inner Mongolia, Africa, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan and more. 2020 will see a larger Fabric & Trim Section for buyers looking for immediate shipment on open stock yardage and hardware items for apparel (low minimums also welcome in this pavilion). Being a Miami show, ATS has recognized the need for a Swim & Resort Section, showing the latest activewear, at leisure, and tech fabrics integrated into resort and swimwear. Categories will include finished apparel for men, women, and children that range from leisure, formal, denim, active, swim, intimates to performance. Also featured will be home wear and linens, hardware and textiles that include cotton, knits, yarn, leather, synthetic and blends.
"Politics is not the only factor that is leading to this shift. Factors like rising labor costs and an increasing reluctance in China to produce low-cost goods are equally responsible for brand exodus from China. Companies are diverting their supply chains despite the risk involved "
The global apparel manufacturing map is changing with many fashion brands shifting their focus away from China to new attractive destinations. On October 1, President Trump increased the existing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 25 per cent to 30 per cent. He also taxed an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports at 15 per cent rate. This led to fashion brands such as Uniqlo, Levi’s, Crocs, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger moving their entire manufacturing base out of China.
However, politics is not the only factor that is leading to this shift. Factors like rising labor costs and an increasing reluctance in China to produce low-cost goods are equally responsible for brand exodus from China. Companies are diverting their supply chains despite the risk involved
Bangladesh emerges a popular choice
A lot of brands are migrating to Bangladesh. They are training their workforce and importing new expensive machinery into the country which has the capacity to manufacture everything from denim to shoes. They have even developed the laser technology needed to create high-quality jeans in the country. 
However, Bangladesh is yet to fully smoothen out the difficulties that previously beset its manufacturing industry. Brands and customers still cannot forget the Rana Plaza tragedy in Dhaka, killing 1,134 people – even though safety standards have improved significantly since then.
Vietnam gains popularity for footwear manufacturing
Another emerging popular choice is Vietnam, especially for footwear manufacturers. The country offers free trade with end-market countries including the 28 nations of the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore. Workers are skilled, labor is cheaper than China, the country’s infrastructure is also well developed. The country produces a much higher amount of footwear than anywhere else in Southeast Asia. It also makes very high-quality footwear, which is why Uniqlo makes all its footwear in Vietnam even though they rely largely on Bangladesh for everything else.
Favorable government policies attract brands to Cambodia
The third popular destination for brands is Cambodia, where apparel manufacturing accounts for 80 per cent of national export earnings and employs more people than any other industry. The country allows 100 per cent foreign equity ownership and an exemption from import duty on machinery and equipment. It’s ports helps it to import raw materials from China.
Cambodia also benefits from the EU’s ‘Everything but Arms’ scheme, which allows developing countries duty-free access to the EU market for export goods.
Indonesia to digitise clothing and textile industry
Alongwith these countries, Indonesia are also emerging as a preferred manufacturing destination for brands. The country’s capital Jakarta is rolling out an ambitious plan to digitalise its clothing and textile industry by 2030. This will be achieved by investing in top-quality machinery, training the workforce and working with local and international investors to build new, artificial-intelligence-ready factories.
The Indonesian government also wants to introduce the 3D scanning technology where customers can send in a 3D scan of their measurements and receive clothes fitted to their bodies – and AI-related 5G technology.
Though all these countries have a lot of potential, it won’t be easy for them to replace the role of China as a global apparel manufacturer. They will have to engage in plenty of cross-border sourcing in order to meet their requirements.
Apparel exports from Bangladesh to India have gone up by 17 per cent from April to August 2019. This has impacted small players 80 per cent of the industry is still in the micro, small and medium sector. India’s apparel imports from Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have declined by two per cent over the same period.
To add to India’s problems, China has entered the picture. Free trade agreements with Bangladesh are encouraging duty-free imports of Chinese fabrics, with Bangladesh importing duty-free fabrics from China, adding value, and exporting duty-free to India. With Sri Lanka, India has a duty free agreement, but only up to eight million pieces.
The Indian apparel industry is worried about duty-free imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh. Bangladesh can export more than 60 products including garments to India, without any duty, under the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement. These exports have grown 480 per cent in the last five fiscal years. Textile goods produced and sold in India are subject to GST. However, the same products from Bangladesh reach India without any duty and so there is a 10 to 15 per cent cost difference between the products.
Kenya plans to revive the cotton industry. Among the steps chalked out is eliminating imports of cotton raw materials within the next five years. The country used to produce over 30,000 tons of cotton in the 1980s but production has declined to 7,500 tons currently. Rising cost of production has made the cash crop unprofitable. The hope is to increase cotton production to 10,000 tons by the end of 2020, through increasing the area under cultivation. Kenya is keen to use locally produced cotton to supply textile factories that export most of their products to foreign markets.
The cooperative model will be leveraged to revive the cotton industry and create additional jobs. A pilot project has been launched, where farmers have formed a cooperative. This will be replicated to 22 counties across the country. Farmers will be provided with certified seeds to ensure they achieve optimum yields. As of now Kenya is losing value addition opportunities due to over-reliance on imports of intermediate cotton products that are converted into finished textile products.
Kenya will be taking steps to expand exports and raise the country’s share of new investments. The country will particularly be focusing on trade windows such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the European Economic Partnership Agreement which have not been fully exploited.
Bangladesh’s apparel sector wants funds to become socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. To make a factory safe for working, make it socially and environmentally compliant, huge investments are needed. But entrepreneurs need financing to do so at a competitive cost.
As of now, the country leads the list of green industries around the world with 101 LEED certified factories and more than 500 in the pipeline. But continuity of this success will depend on the commitment of stakeholders in finding ways to make the industry more sustainable. Despite Bangladesh’s progress in many aspects, buyers and customers want to see more improvement in the readymade garment sector especially in the areas of factory inspection, workers’ safety and fairness of labor practices.
The contemporary textile and readymade garment sector has been going through major changes with the emergence of technologies linked to the fourth industrial revolution, changing many conventional models of business in the sector. Meaningful exchange of knowledge can make sustainability easier to attain for manufacturing processes across the garment industry. Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter in the world. Though climate change is one impediment in the growth of the country’s apparel industry and its future sustainability, Bangladesh has one of the lowest per capita carbon emissions in the world.
Gap and Arvind have partnered on a new water treatment facility. This will do away with the use of freshwater at Arvind’s denim manufacturing unit in Ahmedabad. The facility will save eight million liters of fresh water every day in the textile production process. This amounts to 2.5 billion liters a year.
Gap is a retailer and Arvind is a textile manufacturer. This is a milestone for both companies in their endeavor to reduce the amount of water used in production and, hence, preserving freshwater sources. The mill in Ahmedabad will work entirely with reclaimed water using Membrane Bio Reactor technology that treats wastewater from surrounding areas without infusing any chemicals in the process. The project is an example of innovative, sustainable solutions unlocked through partnership across the apparel industry.
Water will come directly from the local municipality through a new pipeline to help go a step forward in water preservation and prevention of water scarcity. Through this collaboration with Gap, Arvind hopes to not only achieve its water goals but eliminate the use of water in its textile production process. In the last two decades Arvind has made significant efforts towards water reduction and recycling. About 90 per cent of its water comes from recycled sources.
Ralph Lauren has introduced digital product identities to its range for supply chain transparency. The move will also help the brand with better insights about manufacturing, orders and inventory of their products thereby helping the brand improve its efficiency. The initiative, starting with Polo, will allow customers to scan the product label through their smart phones and confirm its authenticity. Each product label is equipped with its unique digital product ID that contains the product detail. The customers will also be able to get other product-related details in addition to receiving styling tips and recommendations. Furthermore, the brand will gain from improved real-time supply chain visibility allowing it to track details starting from the source – eventually leading to better inventory management.
US-based apparel giant Ralph Lauren uses technology to deliver more for its consumers and ensure the integrity of its products throughout the lifecycle. The application of this technology means every Polo product will be born-digital, which represents a new milestone in data intelligence innovation in this sector.
The brand targets working professional men in their early-to-mid 30s, new-to-the workforce women in their mid-to-late 20s, and the creative class. The last few years have been about cutting costs including closing 50 stores, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs and removing three lines of management.
Reebok will unify its logo and wordmark. The two graphic elements will be integrated into all sports and fashion products, including clothing and footwear. The logo was first introduced in 1992 and has been used in different ways since its launch. The new logo is the evolution of the original in order to connect the brand’s heritage with its future.
German sportswear company Reebok is owned by Adidas. Their products stayed entirely separate from one another — until now. As the sneaker industry shifts, evolves, and changes, these two major brands are joining forces for the first time ever. Reebok and Adidas have jointly launched a sneaker called Instapump Fury Boost, the shoe merges Adidas’ technology Boost with Reebok’s silhouette Instapump Fury. Boost is a cushioning technology from Adidas. It uses a material called thermoplastic polyurethane that compresses under pressure for better shock absorption and instantly bounces back to its original shape. Adidas originally introduced Boost in 2013. Reebok first launched the Instapump Fury sneaker in 1994. At the time, the sleek sandal-like design stretched over a thin GraphLite shard that bridged a gaping split sole unit. The Instapump Fury pushed the limits of what was possible in the world of athletic footwear and became a cult classic lifestyle favorite. There was no other athletic shoe like it. Now it is being rereleased with the Boost technology from Adidas and other minor changes and upgrades.
Researchers at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Texaid in Switzerland have developed new methods to spin the old clothing into a coarse yarn which is suitable for making carpets. These design and material researchers also created prototypes from the short fibers and even from the dust which arises when fabrics are torn. These prototypes could be used for noise insulation and finding new methods to spin fine yarn from used textiles -- so fine that it can be used to manufacture new clothes again. The purpose of the new research is to make these textiles be recycled for high-quality uses
With its headquarters in the Canton of Uri and one of the leading service providers of textile recycling in Europe, Texaid collects around 37,000 tonne of old clothes in Switzerland each year. Around 30 percent of these textiles collected are in too poor condition to be worn again as second-hand clothing.
