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American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) recently collaborated wtith 65 industry groups in a call to governments and international financial institutions to enact coordinated efforts to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing the textile, apparel, footwear, travel goods, and fashion industry, the groups represent companies, workers, and consumers in each and every part of the global supply chain.
As companies have closed retail locations in response to social distancing needs, revenue used to employ millions of workers around the globe has dried up. This lost revenue has had knock-on effects through the global supply chain. To respond to this economic crisis, the groups ask that governments and international financial institutions:
- Enact temporary stimulus measures to ensure liquidity; - Undertake temporary duty deferral and tariff relief to support liquidity and cash flow, and keep workers employed; and - Refrain from imposing new trade restrictions and not impede production or delivery of PPE, its intermediate products, or raw materials.
In the statement, the organizations recognise that many of these items were addressed in a G-20 statement released in March, but add that, “words mean a lot, but the actions will determine how fast and how well we can emerge from this crisis.”
“Companies are desperate for cash to pay their workers and suppliers, while at the same time access to revenue is down due to closed stores,” said Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. “This is why we need governments – both the U.S. and globally – to work together with international financial institutions to make sure financial resources are available to keep supply chains solvent and workers employed. If this is not done quickly and thoughtfully, we risk burning a hole in the global supply chain. It is essential that leaders act now to support these networks that employ millions around the world.”
Wrangler®, the global icon in jeanswear and casual apparel, plans to announce a new, more ambitious water conservation goal later this year. The brand recently saved over 7 billion liters of water in its production of denim products. The savings surpasses the denim brand’s 2020 global year-end goal to save 5.5 billion liters and as a result,
Wrangler manufacturing achieved the water savings by increasing both water efficiency and water recycling in the denim finishing process since 2008. The brand’s manufacturing facility in Torreon, Mexico regularly recycles up to 85 per cent of the water through sequential batch reactors, micro-filtration and reverse osmosis. At the brand’s other manufacturing campuses, efficiencies such as merging or removing finishing steps and enhanced enzyme technologies were able to reduce water use without compromising quality.
In addition to conserving water, the brand has high water quality standards to ensure the water returning to the local communities is cleaner than when it was taken for use. All owned and operated facilities and Wrangler suppliers are required to adhere to these strict standards.
Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing has launched robust program in place to ensure suppliers get the money they’re owed. The brand is committed to payment for completed orders and orders where production has commenced, with no change to payment schedules in place prior to Covid-19 disruptions”.
It will use fabrics or materials already purchased by partners to fulfill orders or will provide compensation should they later become unnecessary. It also plans to consult each of its production partners, in accordance with ‘Responsible Procurement Policy’, to understand the current financial health of the partner, and to offer support if needed.
The company has engaged with BetterWork, a joint program between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation (IFC). It has provided factories with guidelines to strengthen their sanitisation measures and to help them understand their obligations to employees in case of factory closure.
The Economic Times reports South India’s cotton knitted garments capital, Tirupur, is leveraging the $2 billion business opportunity to make PPE equipment. About 200 units in this in Tamil Nadu town are currently making (PPE, mostly to serve needs within India. Industry body Tirupur Exporters Association has been pushing local manufacturers to improvise on products to meet global standards.
An incubation centre for textiles and apparels in the city is also trying to develop a reusable, biodegradable, antibacterial facemask. This will be cotton, three-layered mask which will be developed with the outermost layer being water repellent and anti-viral, the middle layer filtering the virus and the innermost layer will be finished in a way that provides comfort to the mask wearer.
Meanwhile the magnitude of the coronavirus outbreak in the US and Europe and its impact on the economies have left these exporters worried, as those are their biggest markets.
The garment cluster manufactures textiles worth Rs 60,000 crore per year for exports and domestic markets. The knitwear industry here has provided jobs to about 8 lakh people (800,000), half of whom are migrants. Local executives said they were managing their units with just about three lakh people now, as the rest have gone home when the lockdown was clamped.
An index published recently by Fashion Revolution, Max Mara Pepe Jeans and Tom Ford are among the least transparent fashion brands when it comes to providing information about their supply chains, that found little progress in the industry. The annual index by Fashion Revolution advocacy group ranked 250 of the world's biggest brands according to how much information they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and outcomes.
H&M, C&A, Adidas, Reebok and Esprit topped the index while Max Mara, Pepe Jeans and Tom Ford –among at least 10 brands that scored zero points. On average, the brands measured in the index scored 23 per cent - up two percentage points from last year - judged on 220 indicators including working conditions, living wages, forced labour, supplier disclosure and buying practices.
ILO says a group of employers’ organizations, unions and major brands in the garment industry have collaborated with them to support manufacturers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under this agreement, brands and retailers commit to paying manufacturers for finished goods and goods in production. They will also commit to maintaining open lines of communication with supply chain partners about the status of business operations and future planning.
Brands and retailers who have signed up to the call to action include Adidas C&A, H&M, Inditex, M&S, Primark, Under Armour and PVH. The group called on governments and financial institutions to accelerate access to credit and income support.
ILO further revealed that an international working group will be set up within the next two weeks to elaborate the steps to deliver on the commitments.
Walter Loeb, former retail analyst and now consultant, expects most stores to reopen in May or June but in staggered waves. Fashion brand Mango has already started reopening its stores. The Spanish retailer plans to open 16 additional Dutch shops on top of 42 in Germany. Another 27 stores will reopen in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Georgia, Cyprus and Ukraine.
Most retailers are readying their back-to-school and fall assortments, or at least those orders that either have been reduced or not fully canceled. According to Loeb, retailers that plan to open stores locations later in the summer, either late August or early September, will need to stock merchandise better suited for fall and early winter.
N Murugesan, President, Southern India Spinners’ Association (SISPA) says his association has requested the state government to provide immediate remedial measures, including sanctioning six equal installments for payment of electricity bills for March 2020, irrespective of the consumers (LT, LTCT and HT) without levying belated payment surcharge (BPSC)/any other additional surcharges or otherwise it may be deducted from the additional current consumption deposit (ACCD).
The association also requested the state government to advice TANGEDCO to collect minimum electricity charges for the recorded (actual) demand and not for the sanctioned demand during the lockdown period. SISPA also requested the government to adopt the same procedure for at least six months to overcome the financial crisis after the lockdown period. Murugesan revealed the 40 days nationwide lockdown, closing of borders between districts and states has affected the highly labour, capital- intensive textile spinning sector and has affected the revenue of the entire textile value chain. Hence, the association is seeking support at this critical moment to safeguard the industries and the millions of the workers in the nation.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co is entering resale market with the help of ThredUp . The partnership, part of ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service, allows shoppers to send their used or no longer desirable clothing and accessories to the online consignment shop in exchange for Abercrombie or Hollister gift cards. Shoppers can send in women’s or children’s apparel, accessories and footwear from any brand and will receive merchandise gift certificates from Abercrombie in exchange.
Abercrombie’s interest in the program is part of the retailer’s sustainability initiatives and efforts to keep clothing out of landfills. The retailer is also struggling with the prolonged social distancing measures in North America and Europe. Its stores — more than 850 around the world, many of them located in malls — remain closed until further notice. Earlier this month, the retailer furloughed the majority of its in-store associates.
Consumers who wish to participate in this initiative must first request a “clean-out kit” from thredup.com. The kit includes a prepaid shipping label to mail clothes to ThredUp. After the value of the goods has been determined, ThredUp will distribute gift cards from the Abercrombie brand of choice. All Abercrombie & Fitch brands — Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co. and intimates brand Gilly Hicks, in addition to the nameplate brand — are included in the deal.
Perfectly timed for Interfiliére in January 2020, Karl Mayer has developed a collection of warp knitted jersey fabrics titled jersey evolution. The production equipment used is the high-performance warp knitting machine HKS 2-S.
The particular benefits of these new fabrics include a soft, sleek feel that’s fine and smooth to touch, with high elasticity but resistance to permanent loss of shape, as well as smooth, free-cut edges. These characteristics are backed by specially chosen machine configurations and lapping technology: the very good recovery capacity of the bi-elastic fabric is created by implementing a two-needleoverlap.
Thanks to a special meshing of the elastane threads, firm and straight edges are created which have a very low or zero tendency to curl. The chosen lapping, together with a high machine gauge, ensure a smooth, fine surface and a flowing fall – or a look and feel customary to circular knit fabrics. But in comparison to circular knit, the manufacturing process of the highly elastic, warp knitted power jersey is substantially more productive. A HKS 2-S boasts the same output as around 2.5 circular knitting machines. This high-performance warp knitting machine also offers advantages with regards to spare parts. The needle leads in warp knitting machines can last up to six times longer than those in circular knitting machines.
