FW
While the garment industry has been the focus of global campaigns with the creation of numerous initiatives aimed at increasing standards, the footwear sector still lags in adoption of better and more rigorous practices. Though apparel has made great strides towards advancing supply chain sustainability, footwear has been a step behind. Generally, shoe brands lag behind other industries in terms of the transparency of the supply chain—even within ethical shoe brands.
Structural problems and inherently poor practices have plagued the shoe sector. The industry needs to take urgent action to improve working conditions and sustainability in footwear supply chains. More than 23 billion pairs of shoes were produced globally in 2016, and 87 per cent of those shoes were made in Asia—two-thirds of which came from China. Looking at leather shoes in particular, 40 per cent are produced in China, followed by Italy and Mexico each making six per cent, and Brazil and India at four per cent each.
Purchasing strategies have also posed problems in footwear supply chains. The pressure to reduce costs, has, as in the apparel industry, led to lower wages and wage or working hours violations. Some footwear firms are using PETA approved vegan materials, organic cotton and natural rubber for soles that comes from certified rubber tree plantations.
A fashionology summit will take place in Bangladesh on February 12, 2018. The aim is to attract a wide spectrum of the fashion, technology, and innovation stakeholders across the entire ecosystem. The idea is to bridge the gap between the present and the future of the textile and fashion industry through technology, innovation and knowledge sharing.
Apparel stakeholders, including brands, garment makers, technology and innovation companies, fabric producers, and software service providers across the world will participate in the summit to discuss the latest products, technologies and innovations that will take shape in future and dominate the fashion industry. The summit aims at uniting the most inspiring and innovative thinkers/companies from around the globe to initiate the much-needed conversations about technology, digitization, and innovation in the apparel and fashion industry.
Keynotes, exhibits and knowledge sharing sessions from some of the brightest minds and most inspired thinkers from across the globe will converge at Bangladesh Fashionology Summit. They will cover a wide range of compelling topics that are relevant to shaping the future of our industry. The ideas and discussions will be brought closer to reality by an exhibition in parallel hosting a diverse range of forward thinking exhibitors ranging from promising start-ups to established industry leaders.
The Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) is well under way to meet the target to reach five million farmers by 2020. The fund has been set up by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative.
In 2016 Better Cotton GIF was also able to invest in more sustainable cotton farming in seven major cotton producing countries: India, Pakistan, China, Mozambique, Turkey, Tajikistan and Senegal. These investments enabled over 6,00,000 farmers to participate in BCI programs over the 2016/17 cotton season.
Better Cotton Growth and Innovation Fund is a global project portfolio designed to be a catalyst for transforming cotton production by achieving scale and impact. The aim is to transition from hundreds of thousands of farmers — more than a third of the total farmers reached by BCI with its partners — to millions.
Better Cotton GIF provides a mechanism for retailers and brands so they can make investment decisions and have an impact on scale they would never be able to reach on their own. It also enables public-private cooperation on an unprecedented scale which adds to its successful implementation. In 2016, BCI saw its retailer and brand membership base grow by 43 per cent.
Cotton cannot be imported from India as permits issued by the Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Food Security are valid only from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018. Following significant decreased in local production of the natural fibre, the federal government permitted the import of cotton from India in the last week of November.
Ihsanul Haq, Chairman, Pakistan Cotton Ginners Forum (PCGF) noted, due to procedural delays and issuance of permits that are valid from January 1, cotton import is yet to take off. The chances of a significant amount of cotton import from India were diminishing, he said, and added the cotton output in India was also less than expected which is why prices were already rising.
Haq wasn’t surprised, as there are reports of cancelling of cotton contracts between traders on both sides. However, it was a surprise for importers that the Federal Government’s permits were not valid with the date of issuance. An upward trend in cotton prices was being witnessed following depreciation of rupee value against the dollar and this scenario was not favourable for importers and the textile industry as they could face shortage of the commodity in the coming days.
The children’s wear market is estimated at $1.4 billion globally. For the past five years, growth in the sector has outpaced men’s and women’s wear. In China alone, the category outperformed overall apparel in 2016 with a seven per cent increase in current value terms. From British luxury retailers such as Selfridges and Liberty London to e-commerce giants such as Farfetch and Net-a-Porter, no one is oblivious to the charms of the burgeoning industry.
Items such as a miniature Burberry tuxedo suit often retail in excess of £700. Brands sell to the top one per cent of the population. Even for high fashion, the steep prices are astonishing, especially since the garments are scaled-down versions of catwalk pieces. The growing interest in dressing children in more elevated labels is a financial prospect for a luxury brand as well as a way to gain customer loyalty. When the customer trusts the brand, they are more willing to buy into other categories from the same label such as children’s wear.
For style-conscious millennial parents, who represent 45 per cent of overall luxury consumption, a child is an extension of them. By tapping into children’s wear, brands can establish more lasting relationships with the entire family. When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West launched their children’s wear range, Kids Supply, this year, they did so on Snapchat and Instagram.
India’s textile has grown at 2.6 per cent since 2012-13. Around 13 countries have been earmarked as target markets for boosting exports. These are: Italy, France, US, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, UAE and Chile.
In accordance with the sales and marketing potential afforded by each target country, product segments have been earmarked. Cotton textiles and handicraft items have been targeted at European countries like Germany, France and Italy. Cotton and carpets have China as their main target segment. For Indian apparels, the US has been chosen as the favored target destination. Products will be aligned with the target market.
The marketing strategy seamlessly blends different marketing initiatives and is specific depending on whether the market is traditional, emerging or of some other type. Targeting calls for carrying out focused trade promotion activities. These include exhibitions, road shows and B2B meetings. Separate Indian pavilions will be set up in different trade fairs globally for implementing the plan. Currently India’s share of the global textile trade is five per cent and it stands in a distant second spot behind China in the apparel export segment.
"Buoyed by growing eco-concerns, researchers, companies as well as associations have been coming up with the innovative offerings. Some of them include biodegradable glitter, kelp fibres and ethical product apps. Fashion for Good Plug and Play Accelerator, a 12-week startup accelerator based in Amsterdam focuses on environmental and social impact within the fashion industry, has announced its third batch of startups. These startups will participate in a curriculum that involves mentorship from the Accelerator’s partners, which include Adidas, C&A, Galeries Lafayette, Kering, Target and Zalando."
Buoyed by growing eco-concerns, researchers, companies as well as associations have been coming up with the innovative offerings. Some of them include biodegradable glitter, kelp fibres and ethical product apps. Fashion for Good Plug and Play Accelerator, a 12-week startup accelerator based in Amsterdam focuses on environmental and social impact within the fashion industry, has announced its third batch of startups. These startups will participate in a curriculum that involves mentorship from the Accelerator’s partners, which include Adidas, C&A, Galeries Lafayette, Kering, Target and Zalando. The aim is to positively reshape the fashion industry’s materials, operations and products. Over the next three months, the Accelerator’s partners will prime the startups’ technologies and innovations for implementation at scale.
The Accelerator will also screen each startup for potential funding to support their business development initiatives. On June 14, the startups will graduate at the Fashion for Good hub in Amsterdam, where they will show their developments to industry leaders and potential investors. For this set of startups, innovators represent varied fashion supply chain areas spanning alternative raw materials to sustainably designed business models, including biodegradable glitter startup BioGlitz and industrial upcycling platform Reverse Resources.
Bio-based materials
Batch 3 has some startups that are changing the bio-based materials game by re-imagining the fashion supply chain with natural and biodegradable innovations. AlgiKnit is producing textile fibres expelled from kelp. The startup’s extrusion process yields a kelp-based thread that can be knitted or 3D printed to minimise post-production waste. Algiknit’s final knitwear is also biodegradable. Kapok fibre fabrics and yarns are the ongoing project of Flocus, which aims to offer the fashion industry a more sustainable alternative to high-water-consumption fibre crops. A benefit of the kapok tree is that it is able to grow without the use of pesticides in arid soil and other difficult farming areas.
While other purveyors experiment with leather alternatives, Frumat is using apples to create a leather-like material. Unlike other industrial waste products, apple pectin could be used to develop eco-friendly materials that are durable enough for accessories and compostable after use. Apple pectin leathers can be dyed and tanned without the use of harmful chemicals. Animal welfare remains a concern in the fashion industry and Provenance Biofabrics is re-imaging leather materials for a more sustainable outcome. According to Fashion for Good, Provenance bio-engineers a leather-like material by programming the self-assembly of collagen molecules.
Microfibre pollution has also been an issue for the sector, and Mango Materials is offering biodegradable bio-polyester as a solution. Compared to conventional polyester used in most garments, Mango Materials’ bio-polyester, made from waste biogas (methane), can biodegrade in landfills, wastewater treatment plants and oceans, minimising fashion’s carbon footprint in the process.
Orange Fiber is turning citrus by-products into natural fabrics. The startup is making fibre by extracting the cellulose from fibres discarded processed oranges. Nanotechnology techniques enrich Orange Fibers with citrus fruit essential oils that provide an alternative to conventional fibres made with chemical processes.
BioGlitz is producing biodegradable glitter as an alternative to other manufactured garment materials. The eco-glitter, which is compostable, is based on a biodegradable formula made from eucalyptus tree extract. Paptic is changing the game for retail shipping with its bio-based alternative packaging materials. Paptic’s materials, made from sustainably sourced wood fibers, have a much higher tear resistance than paper, can be recycled alongside cardboard and minimise the use of plastic packaging waste in the industry.
Circular technology feat
Circular.fashion has developed a software that connects circular design, circular retail models and closed loop recycling techniques so fashion brands can design sustainable garments. Circular apparel products feature a circularfashion.ID that provides information to customers and textile recycling companies about the garment’s material origins. Adding to the circularity efforts, Nano Textile is leveraging technology to create an alternative to binder chemicals used in fabric finishing. Its technology uses a process called cavitation that embeds finishes directly into the fabric. The technology is applicable to many types of products, including antibacterial finishes.
Laundering garments could become more sustainable with PlanetCare’s microfiber filter for washing machines. Through membrane nanotechnology, PlanetCare’s filter captures microfibers before they are released into wastewater. As a fashion rental marketplace, Style Lend leverages AI and machine learning to match users based on style and fit. The service enables consumers to rent out garments and in return, reduce clothing discarded in landfills. For consumers concerned about the origins of their products, Good on You is a mobile app that provides fashion brands’ ethical ratings. Good on You’s rating system ranks fashion brands based on a 5-point score that leverages their certifications, publicaly available data and environmental impact.
Asia Apparel Expo will be held in Germany from February 22 to 24, 2018. This is the largest trade show in Europe where sourcing professionals can select from a wide variety of clothing suppliers from Asia brought together under one roof. From manufacturers, fabric and textile suppliers, as well as accessories and trimmings, this sourcing trade show is a well-edited snapshot of clothing production available in Asia, and conveniently located in a central European location. It enables Asian clothing manufacturers and fabric suppliers to connect with European brands, helping clothing professionals to easily expand their Asian factory network and production opportunities.
More than 450 carefully selected factories are expected to take part in the 2018 expo, primarily from Hong Kong and China, as well as other key sourcing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. For 2018, the Asia Fashion Accessories area is expanding with new offerings of gloves and belts, handbags, hats and caps, scarves and shawls, stockings, socks and etc. Nearly 1,800 trade professionals attended the sixth edition in February 2017.
A group of Alok Industries employees are attempting to bid for the assets of the textile company, which is up for sale after being referred to the bankruptcy court, an officials from the banking industry informed. Employees, who made the move, will likely be competing with Reliance Industries (RIL), which has shown an interest in acquiring the textile company — either partly, or completely. The State Bank of India, the lead bank in the group of lenders to Alok Industries, had referred it to the National Company Law Tribunal in July, following directions from the Reserve Bank of India. Some employees have jointly submitted a resolution plan for the company, last week. The company has received claims of Rs 29,519 crore from financial creditors and Rs 624 crore from operational creditors.
Resolution professional for Alok Industries has implemented conditions such as a net worth of Rs 500 crore and assets of Rs 3,000 crore for companies that want to participate in the resolution plan. In addition, the bid party should have an ability to invest at least Rs 500 crore as equity capital in the company.
Alok Industries has four core divisions: Cotton yarn, apparel fabric, home textile and polyester yarn. RIL, which has a petrochemicals business, is keenly interested only in the polyester yarn unit. Alok Industries' lenders had attempted to revive the business through a strategic debt restructuring scheme which permits lenders to convert part of their debt into equity and sell it to a new promoter. But the plan derailed following an order by the Bombay HC that stayed the sale of assets and any change in the company's equity structure. The court issued the order following a petition filed by HSBC on behalf of a few unsecured lenders to settle $55 million (Rs 353 crore) in arrears.
As a part of trend, some jeans brands have jumped on the environmental bandwagon and collaborating with fibre producers and manufacturers in the value chain that are sensitive to environmentally friendly issues. G-Star is one of them, the brand recently launched a new jeans capsule collection that was available from November 2017 through selected stores and online.
This line is made with denim dyed with Archroma’s Earth Colors. These dyes replace petroleum-derived materials that are conventionally used to synthetise dyes. The collection is available in three shades: Dark Plum, Asfalt and Mazarine Blue. Their colours are obtained from nonedible parts of beetroot and saw palmetto leftover from the agriculture industry or herbal extraction.
While continuing to support sustainable causes, G-Star will also launch its new G-Star Elwood RFTPi, developed employing highly sustainable materials. This new product, whose name RFTPi stands for RAW For The Planet indigo, will be available for S/S 2018 starting February 15, 2018. It uses denim manufactured by Artistic Milliners and dyed with Dystar chemical substances which employ 70 per cent less chemicals and no salts nor similar water-harming substances. The garments are washed by Saitex, a specialised laundry that is also committed to recycling 98 per cent water. As part of its environmentally friendly strategy G-Star also will gradually employ only 100 per cent bio cotton and will employ only recyclable labels, accessories and carton packaging. For this specific project G-Star will also employ Cradle-to-Cradle “Gold” certified denims as per the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
US jeans brand DL1961 will also launch a new selection of sustainable jeans to be launched pre-fall 2018. This brand will be among the first partners of Lenzing to use Refibra fibers in its denim collection. The Japanese denim manufacturer Japan Blue has just developed Shin Denim, a new indigo denim that looks and feels like any traditional indigo fabric, though it does not fade and guarantees 2.5 higher friction-resistant properties than regular denims.
