Contradicting recent news that Nike has discontinued its association with 19 garment companies, the sports products companies ensured them of its continued cooperation. News spread recently that about 19 Indonesian garment companies had being cut off by Nike. However, the Ministry of Industry immediately annulled or denied the news.

Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) Ade Sudrajat, as chairman who accommodated the industry said that Nike considered its cooperation with garment companies in Indonesia to be still profitable, hence the question of discontinuing does not arise.

The European Union's withdrawal of 'Everything But Arms (EBA)' trade arrangement to Cambodia will boost Bangladesh's export to the 28-nations economic block. The EU grants EBA to the 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh and Cambodia, under which they're enjoying duty free and quota free market access to the EU for exports of all products, except arms and ammunition.

The EU notified Cambodia on October 5 that the Kingdom would lose its duty-free access to the EU market unless it makes clear and demonstrable improvements to human rights and democracy in the country. The suspension of trade privilege means Cambodian exports to EU will face a higher tariff up to 12 per cent whereas Bangladesh's export will remain duty-free, further promoting the latter's export to EU.

Exports to EU by far Bangladesh's largest market where it shipped goods worth $21.33 billion in the fiscal year 2017-18, accounting for 58 per cent share of its total shipments, according to the Export Promotion Bureau. However, EU's annual import from Cambodia is about $6.0 billion. The high import duty will make EU businesses uncompetitive in Cambodia which can immensely influence its import from the country. A major portion of this import may be shifted to Bangladesh due to competitiveness of local merchandises.

The Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation conference will be held in New York City, November 7, 2018. This is one of the industry’s most important transportation and logistics events, which will bring together executives working in compliance, logistics, sourcing, supply chain management, government relations, and corporate social responsibility to discuss the impact of the elections on trade and business, as well as other hot topics.

Dozens of global fashion brands, retailers, importers, and industry service providers will be present. An array of expert speakers from across the supply chain will speak on varied topics. The focus will be on US-China trade tensions and how companies can mitigate the impact of the tariff increases.

In addition to trade policy, the conference will include discussions on retail, sustainability, and innovation, including experts from Levi Strauss and Co., Macy’s Merchandising Group, BSI, Canopy, Lenzing, and PwC. The conference will feature speakers from The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, The Port of Long Beach, GEODIS USA, Bamboo Rose, and more.

The event is hosted by the US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and the American Import Shippers Association. USFIA works to eliminate the tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede the industry’s ability to trade freely and create economic opportunities in the United States and abroad.

Higher labor costs in China and political pressures were supposed to drive US manufacturers to bring production home. That is yet to happen. Reshoring trend has yet to materialize in any major way. US imports of manufactured goods from the 14 countries that would be typically associated with offshoring actually grew by eight per cent in 2017. By comparison, US domestic manufacturing output grew only 5.6 per cent.

The US is growing, manufacturing jobs are up, but imports are growing faster. The reshoring wave that was supposed to start back in 2011 really never took off. In fact more and more products are coming into the US from those offshoring countries. Some of these countries are China, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

One reason is that US consumers are still looking for a bargain. That means they are buying products that are cheaper because they’ve been made offshore. Even US companies that have reshored over the past few years have been reluctant to invest too much. In fact some have actually scaled down their reshoring. They have discovered that any product with labor-intensive manufacturing processes is still more economical to produce in low-cost countries.

"A recent survey by McKinsey & Company reveals around 60 per cent of all clothes produced end up in incinerators or landfills within the first 12 months. People are buying new clothes in large quantities. Clothes production doubled between 2000 and 2014, with the number of garments purchased each year by average consumer increasing 60 per cent."

A recent survey by McKinsey & Company reveals around 60 per cent of all clothes produced end up in incinerators or landfills within the first 12 months. People are buying new clothes in large quantities. Clothes production doubled between 2000 and 2014, with the number of garments purchased each year by average consumer increasing 60 per cent.

Complete overhaul of system

Though many brands adopt sustainability measures in their operations, their focus is often misleading as they emphasise on a single sustainable component like the recycled ocean plastic. However, Levi’s has opted for a complete redesign of systems. Aware that fabrics recycled from reclaimed bottle can’t be recycled alongwith its snaps or zippers, the brand aimed to create something better than that is available.

It launched a new range of garments designed with 100 percent cotton Thermadapt fabric. These garments are made from a polyester thread wrapped in cotton. This thread is then woven into denim and further dissolved and recaptured for future use. The resulting fabric looks like a heavyweight jean but is 30 percent lighter than traditional denim; it also wicks moisture from the body and provides enough insulation for year-round wear.

The machines that produce these garments aren’t located in San Francisco. However, Eureka Innovation Lab houses an array of scientific instruments for testing fabric and a room full of hi-tech wash and dye machines.

Denim with cottonised hemp

Rather than creating a new manufacturing system, Levi’s wanted to process hemp that would make it feel and act like cotton. This led to the development of cottonised hemp, produced using little energy or chemical processing and could move through a supply chain similarly to cotton.

The brand recently introduced Wellthread cottonised hemp collection as its team learned how to process, spin and weave the thread. In upcoming seasons, the brand will incorporate this cottonised hemp into its indigo denim and finish it with a range of washes.

Making clothes that last

The belief that people should buy less is an odd position to hold as one of the most influential executives at the world’s largest denim brand. However, Levi’s Wellthread x Jacquard by Google jacket, endorses this view of the brand. The jacket, featuring a touch interface on the left wrist paired to the wearer’s phone, allows the consumer an on-the-go access to navigation, messaging, music, etc. This stops the consumers from throwing away the jackets after a few uses. The brand also upgrades the jacket’s digital functionality with new features by adding and monetising digital value rather than simply producing more stuff.

Though Levi’s experiments with new and emerging technologies — e.g., working with textile technology startup EvrNuto produce jeans from garment waste, or using bacterium to dye clothes the right shade of blue — the brand adopts a simple, humanistic approach to attack the thoughtless consumption cycle. The brand emphasizes on making clothes that last. It also aims to train people to value clothes that they already own. Repair and reuse them instead of throwing them away.

With consumers increasingly drawn towards instant gratification of fashion shopping, brands are optimising their marketing through the use of digital tools such as Augmented Reality (AR) apps, rewards promotions, and digital style guides that provide ideas on how to incorporate trends in everyday life.

Under Armour used mobile rewards promotions to drive sales during the competitive back-to-school season in Canada. Japanese apparel company Uniqlo created an innovative mobile-activated campaign that used fast-moving images on billboards containing unique product codes that could only be captured by taking a photo of the display.

Designer Rebecca Minkoff embeds QR codes into handbags, so customers can scan the codes with their mobiles to unlock content and rewards. Consumers scanning the QR code initially unlock a video from Rebecca Minkoff herself, helping drive a deeper connection to the brand.

Fashion brand Maggy London created an AR catalog for mobile users, using 3D scanning and Apple’s ARKit. Shoppers can put a mobile phone up to items in the catalog and view them as realistic, virtual 3D products.

Automation in textile industry is expected to register a six per cent CAGR by 2023. There are several investments and developments in the industrial sector, which will have a positive impact on the automation market. Availability of favorable policies will be one of the major factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. Favorable policies will attract investments in this sector and create a demand for automation products and services in the textile industry. These policies are beneficial for the growth of the industry and drive the automation of processes, in turn, increasing the demand for field, control, and communication devices.

Rapid developments in textile industry have led to improvements in product offerings by vendors and superior quality solutions to customers. Vendors are also offering licensing options that allow end-users to reduce the cost of initial investments.

Asia will be the major revenue contributor to the automation market in the textile industry throughout the forecast period. Additionally, the increase in investments in the textile industry will also fuel the market’s growth in the region. Countries like India are key revenue generators for the global textile industry. India already allows 100 per cent FDI in the textile industry under the automatic route.

Pakistan’s exports of textile and clothing increased 0.86 per cent during the first quarter of the fiscal year. Knitwear exports grew 9.8 per cent, exports of cotton cloth increased 0.09 per cent. Bed wear exports from the country increased by 2.89 per cent. Exports of tent canvas and tarpulin increased 3.54 per cent. Exports of made up articles, excluding towels and bed wear, increased 0.34 per cent.

Raw cotton exports dropped 76.21 per cent while exports of cotton yarn decreased 2.25 per cent. Exports of towels fell 0.55 per cent and exports of readymade garments decreased by 1.55 per cent.

On a yearly and monthly basis textile exports in September recorded a decrease of 4.91 per cent and 18.53 per cent when compared to exports during September 2017 and August 2018 respectively. Textile exports make up around 60 per cent of the country’s total exports. The textile sector has the largest share in Pakistan’s exports.

Pakistan’s competitors are upping the ante on textile exports to make inroads into more global markets. While China’s share in global textile exports is 36 per cent, Vietnam contributes 12.4 per cent, and Pakistan seven per cent. For Pakistan revival of idle capacity in the textile industry would be a top priority.

Gurgaon-based Richa Global, has been awarded Responsible Leadership 2018 Award by Ascena Group, one of the top apparel brands holders of USA, for its outstanding performance in corporate social responsibility programmes like Herhealth Project, Herfinance Project and Energy Management & Saving Programmes on global level. Richa Global has also been a consistent and sustainable performer in Supplier CSR Ownership, Social Compliance of Active & Pre-Sourcing Facilities and Environment Conservation.

Richa Global has played an active role in these programmes at its factories across India by training over 6,000 workers on health and financial literacy programmes. The company is also one of the members of Ascena CONNECTS – elite global vendor group of top 17 vendors of Ascena Group.

The Ascena Group has been working for women’s empowerment worldwide and plans to cover 100,000 women workers in its various women-oriented CSR programmes.

Primark, the UK fashion chain owned by Associated British Foods, plans to open 14 new stores in FY 2018/19. The retailer recently emphasised its commitment to environmental standards and safer working conditions as its low prices came under scrutiny in 2013 after 1,129 people died in the collapse of a factory in Bangladesh, where clothes were made for brands including Primark.

The company ramped up its efforts to police its suppliers, built a team of over 100 people to focus on ethical trade and environmental and sustainability issues. The company also posted “Primark Cares” posters in its stores in the country, with information about its factories and its source of raw materials. The company, which has 360 stores globally, will launch more products next spring made from cotton planted under its sustainable farming programme in Pakistan.

Primark has slightly slowed its pace of expansion in the last year as like-for-like sales have declined, but it still plans to open 14 new stores in the 2018/19 financial year, with most in Germany, France, Spain and Britain.