Bangladesh has 152 LEED-certified Green factories.

Of these, 44 are platinum-rated, 94 gold-rated and 10 are silver-rated.

A total of 15 readymade garment factories have been privileged with the Green Factory Award in respect of their determination and contribution to saving the environment and creating occupation.

Bangladesh, the second largest readymade garment exporter in the world, has taken a leading position in sustainable green industrialisation with the world’s several top ranked green factories.Indonesia is the second largest, with 40 green factories, followed by India with 30 and Sri Lanka with ten.After independence in 1971, Bangladesh was held up as an example of a failed state. People were used to thinking of the Bangladesh readymade garment industry as a place of forced labor, child labor and small factories.In recent years a silent revolution has taken place in the garment industry of Bangladesh. In South Asia, Bangladesh has taken the lead in green initiatives. The world’s highest rated LEED platinum denim factory, knit factory, washing plant and textile mill all are situated in Bangladesh.

It’s hoped that about ten per cent of the total readymade garment sector in the next decade will use green technology.Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector is a 28 billion dollar industry.

The US has banned imports of products made with Xinjiang cotton.

The justification is that China oppresses minorities in this province and imposes forced labor and other forms of torture. Products made with Xinjiang cotton have been illegal in the US since January 2021. But nearly a year on, goods with tainted cotton are still reaching American consumers.

Dozens of intermediary manufacturers from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, China and Mexico purchase unfinished cotton goods from Chinese manufacturers who source Xinjiang cotton. Well-known international brands are supplied by those intermediaries and are thus at high risk of being seen as having Xinjiang cotton in their supply chains. But despite the US ban, exports of textiles and garments from Xinjiang increased by 53 per cent in the first nine months of the year 2021.

More than half of China’s exports of cotton semi-finished products are destined for countries within Asia such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. About 85 percent of cotton grown in China is produced in Xinjiang, which amounts to 22 percent of global cotton production.

China has denied the existence of Xinjiang detainment camps or forced labor transfers, describing them instead as vocational centers and poverty alleviation programs.

Fashion for Good has launched the Full Circle Textiles Project – Polyester. The aim is to validate and scale promising technologies in polyester chemical recycling and to encourage financing and offtake commitments in the fashion industry. The project brings together a consortium of stakeholders including brands, innovators, supply chain partners and catalytic funders - a structure that has proven successful in driving and scaling disruptive innovation in the industry. To attain a clear idea of the innovations best positioned to address the challenges of recycling polyester textiles, Fashion for Good has enlisted promising innovators in polyester chemical recycling from around the world to participate in the project.

Polyester claims 52 per cent of the global fiber market. As the most common fiber in the world, it also represents a significant portion of the textiles that are landfilled or incinerated annually. A synthetic fiber derived from petroleum, polyester does not naturally break down in the environment. Chemical recycling is a key solution that promises to address the polyester textile waste challenge.

Fashion for Good, based in Amsterdam, has global accelerator programs that give promising start-up innovators the expertise and access to funding they need to grow. The platform also supports innovators through its scaling program and foundational projects, driving pilots and supply chain implementation with partner organisations.

DyeChem World and KnitProcess will be held in Tirupur, January 21 to 23, 2022. These trade exhibitions are aimed at Indian textile dyes and chemicals. DyeChem will cover the entire range of textile dyes, chemicals, finishes, technologies. Being the first of its kind show in southern India, DyeChem World will create a platform for interaction and knowledge sharing between the dye and chemical and textile industries. KnitProcess will help the industry to explore and adopt the latest innovations in knitting and post processing, covering the entire value chain of knitwear processing technologies till garmenting.

The highlight of the event is the CEO Summit. Its primary aim is to have interactive and networking for business, but there would also be deliberations on core issues of sustainable practices.

Tirupur, the knitwear capital of India, accounts for 60 per cent of India’s knitting, processing and apparel capacity. By next year, Tirupur’s knitwear industry is set to cross the Rs 50,000 crore mark and in three years Tirupur is expected to double its capacity and exports from its current size. Tirupur’s knitwear sector is investing in the latest high-end knitting, wet processing and garment technologies that comply with sustainable norms. Tirupur is among the first Indian apparel clusters to have invested in environmental technologies for clean energy, chemical management and clean production practices.

Liberty Fairs has put its trade shows on hold. It has chosen to hit the pause button and restructure its business model to better suit the forward-thinking and heritage brands it serves. The pause is aimed at protecting the best interests of the brands and designers and Liberty Fairs will take the time to re-evaluate how it operates and implements new initiatives that will allow them to scale and add value to their offerings in an even greater way.

Like the rest of the apparel trade show industry, Liberty Fairs was forced to cancel its regular calendar of men’s wear events in 2020 and part of 2021. It partnered wholesale platform Joor on a digital trade show format to help fill in the gap before returning to physical events in brand-new locations. The pandemic allowed the company to take a step back and rethink the format and calendar it had traditionally followed. New York and Las Vegas have been the show’s go-to host cities, but new pockets of opportunity appear to be opening.

Liberty Fairs was founded in 2013 with a focus on the men’s market. Later, it expanded to cater to all genders, as well as categories like grooming and wellness. It also hosted community-driven panels and discussions on topics like inclusivity and styling.

For the first half of the financial year KPR Mill’s net profit grew 137 per cent. Revenue during the period grew 44.5 per cent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (ebitda) margin also improved 730 basis point to 29 per cent from 21.7 per cent in the first half of the previous year.

KRP Mill’s garment manufacturing capacity has increased to 157 million garments a year. Strategic plans have always been driving the growth of KPR, which is one of the largest captive power generators in the textile industry and 60 per cent of its textile power requirement is met through wind power. The company has invested in a co-gen power project. With co-gen power, KPR has attained self-sufficiency in meeting its substantial power requirement throughout the year.

Since the domestic yarn segment is witnessing a strong demand, the company expects to maintain margins in the range of 22 per cent in the yarn segment. Second quarter margins were significantly higher owing to the low cost cotton inventory available with the company. KPR would start buying new cotton soon and is evaluating the market scenario and would stock up cotton in the new cotton season. Normally the company keeps a cotton stock of around four to six months and buys cotton at the start of the season.

International Apparel Exhibition was held in Iran from December 5 to 8, 2021. The event aimed at facilitating both domestic and international business opportunities for companies active or interested in the Iranian fashion market. The trade show saw 167 domestic exhibitors present their products, ranging from clothing and accessory retailers and manufacturers to machinery companies and yarn and textile producers. Software companies providing design and retail management solutions were also in attendance.

Over the last decade, Iran’s fashion industry has faced an increasingly unstable and unpredictable economic environment. Sanctions and the broader instability in the Iranian market led to the precipitous rise of contraband fashion imports. Western sanctions led Iranian fashion brands to source more textiles and raw materials from producers in China and Turkey. They also compelled some local fabric suppliers to produce better quality fabrics as the market increasingly demanded it. Over the course of the pandemic, Iranian consumers, like their counterparts elsewhere, flocked to buy fashion from e-commerce players and direct-to-consumer brands, accelerating the adoption of online shopping.

The Iranian fashion market is made up mainly of domestic product. The remaining 20 per cent or 30 per cent of the market is made up of either smuggled imports or goods from foreign companies produced in Iran.

Lenzing has won a triple A rating for environmental leadership in climate change, water security and forests. This is from global environmental non-profit organization CDP.

Lenzing leading provider of wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers is also a leader in corporate sustainability. Through significant demonstrable action on climate, water security risks and deforestation, Lenzing is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide and advancing circularity. Sustainable wood and pulp sourcing as well as responsible water stewardship are defined as two prominent focus areas in Lenzing’s sustainability strategy. Lenzing assumes responsibility by striving for sustainable procurement based on environmental certificates and responsible and efficient use of these valuable resources.

Lenzing’s biorefinery process ensures that 100 per cent of wood constituents are used to produce dissolving wood pulp for fiber production, biorefinery products, and bioenergy. In addition, with its recycling technologies, Lenzing offers solutions for transforming the textile and nonwovens industries from a linear towards a circular economy and believes the textile and nonwoven industry has to change and that it is not possible to be indifferent to the inherent climate advantage of wood-based cellulosic fibers. Lenzing plans to install a photovoltaic system at its site in Upper Austria as well as a new, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility at its UK plant.

Archroma has relocated its headquarters to Pratteln, outside Basel, and a customised R&D role for its existing Reinach site. Archroma’s new Haus der Wirtschaft (HWD) headquarters is located in a business hub that hosts the Economic Chamber Baselland with other companies as well as a fully serviced conference and event center. The new offices have been designed to support a smooth and efficient collaborative work and visitor experience.

The move comes after a decade of growth at Archroma’s TechCenter building in Reinach, also near Basel, which evolved from being a dedicated technical center to hosting a growing number of corporate services and teams. With the opening of the new HWD headquarters, the Reinach TechCenter, designed to accommodate laboratories and technical expert teams, will return to its roots with a focus on the global R&D and application development. Archroma will refocus its Reinach site as a true tech hub to provide innovative, sustainable solutions and services to its customers to help them increase the value of their products.

Archroma based in Switzerland is a global leader in specialty chemicals. Its science and technology expertise, coupled with in depth market, customer and regulatory understanding, provides the platforms for the creation of safer, more sustainable chemicals and practices in the industries it serves.

Increasing raw material costs have pushed the jeans industry of Anantapur into a crisis. The jeans business turnover of this town in Andhra Pradesh which crossed Rs 1200-odd crores annually has fallen by more than 50 per cent. From a production of 10,000 jeans pants a day, production has fallen to 2000 jeans pants. The economic slowdown has paralysed production.

As per Rayadurg Readymade Garments Association costs of raw materials like colors, threads and zips have doubled. Transport costs have risen. Disruptions in transport due to the pandemic, particularly in states like Kerala, Karnataka, AP, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, lessened the volume of business and thereby production. The industry was hit hard by two waves of the Covid pandemic. The town dubbed as a jeans town used to export jeans including tops and bottoms on a massive scale. But today several units in the industry have downed shutters and downsized their workforce consisting mainly of women. The earnings of the 35,000-odd workforce have dipped. This home-based business was the best bet for housewives, who could sit in their houses and safely earn at least Rs 10,000 a month. But now with financial constraints regular buyers insist on instalment payments to continue purchases while company suppliers want payment upfront and do not accept partial payments as before.