Bangladesh is battling to keep its position as the world's second-largest exporter of clothing. It is facing tough competition from Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and now African countries like Ethiopia.

Competitive pressure has sparked consolidation. The number of factories has fallen by 22 per cent in the last five years. Those who have survived are expanding overseas and aiming to go public. In the year ending June, Bangladesh’s garment exports were up 8.8 per cent and account for 83.5 per cent of the country's total exports. The country has also increased its share of global clothing exports to 6.3 per cent in 2016 from four per cent in 2010.

But labor costs are rising across Asia and Bangladesh is no exception. Factories in Bangladesh have grown in a haphazard fashion, some even operating on the upper floors of office or residential buildings. Western apparel makers feel more secure buying from countries like China and Vietnam, where manufacturing is better planned and organized.

Price pressure is intense. Western customers are demanding that prices be kept under control. Since the Rana Plaza disaster, western brands will not buy from Bangladesh’s suppliers unless they are certified to be in compliance with stringent fire and building safety regulations.

Ruyi Holding Group, the Chinese apparel firm that’s taking over Bally International AG, will henceforth ease its M&A pace in the short to medium term. The company will focus on integrating existing brands instead. It will buy only those labels that are profitable and have high growth potential. The group will inject new, trendy elements into underperforming brands and boost their e-commerce offerings. It will invest more to revitalise labels owned by Hong Kong-listed unit Trinity, which controls British bespoke tailor Gieves & Hawkes. The company acquired Trinity in April 2018, surpassing billionaire brothers Victor and William Fung as the company’s biggest shareholder.

Ruyi also aims to complete its acquisition of Invista’s Apparel & Advanced Textiles unit, which owns the rights to materials including Lycra and Coolmax fibers, by year-end. It’s paying more than $2 billion to buy the business from Invista, which is an arm of Koch Industries Inc.

"As per key findings of the annual ‘Market for Textiles and Clothing (MTC)’: National Household Survey 2017, the overall market size of textiles and clothing including exports increased to $146.63 billion in 2016 and further to $164 billion in 2018. Aggregate demand for textiles & clothing was 41.06 billion meter in 2016 which further reached to 45.32 billion meter in 2018, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.34 per cent from 2011 to 2018. In value terms, he demand touched Rs 6, 204.02 billion in 2018, with CAGR of 9.54 per cent between 2011- 2018."

As per key findings of the annual ‘Market for Textiles and Clothing (MTC)’: National Household Survey 2017, the overall market size of textiles and clothing including exports increased to $146.63 billion in 2016 and further to $164 billion in 2018. Aggregate demand for textiles & clothing was 41.06 billion meter in 2016 which further reached to 45.32 billion meter in 2018, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.34 per cent from 2011 to 2018. In value terms, he demand touched Rs 6, 204.02 billion in 2018, with CAGR of 9.54 per cent between 2011- 2018.

The per capita demand for textiles in 2016 was Rs 4,081.60 as compared to Rs 3836.13 in 2015. It touched Rs 4,762.90 in 2018. On the other hand, per capita demand for textile in quantity terms increased to 31.85 meter in 2016 and further to 34.58 m in 2018.

Demand for cotton fibers sees highest increase

The aggregate demand for cotton fiber based product, was 17.22 billion meter in 2016 and increased to 19.29 billion meter in 2018. The demand for manmade fiber based product, on the other hand was 23.34 billion meters in 2016 and increased to 25.46 billion meters by 2018. Similarly, the aggregate demand for pure silk and woolen fiber based product was 0.34 billion and 0.16 billion meter respectively in 2016. It is expected to have touched 0.37 and 0.20 billion meter respectively in 2018.

Power loom contributes highest to textile demand

The mill/power loom sector contributed 33.97 billion meters (82.72 per cent) to the overall demand of textiles in 2016 compared to 31.85 billion meters in 2015. Similarly, the knitted sector contributed 4.94 billion meters to the total basket in 2016 as against 4.77 billion meters (12.39 per cent) in 2015.

At the same time, the handloom sector contributed 5.24 per cent to the total demand for textiles in the household sector. Aggregate demand for handloom textiles is 2.15 billion meters in 2016 as compared to 1.91 billion meters in 2015. The aggregate demand for textiles by sector of manufacturing for 2018 for mill made/power loom, knitted/hosiery and handloom sector was 37.24 billion meter, 5.56 billion meter and 2.53 billion meter respectively.

Household sector growth highest

The demand for household sector is the major contributor to overall growth of the sector with 53.39 percentage of share in the total market size. While the export of textile and clothing decreased 4.66 per cent, demand in household and non-household sector grew 2.82 and 1.51 percentage respectively during 2016.

The growth in household demand of textiles has created an additional demand for 2,525 million meter of fabrics, which is an indication of the required capacity expansion in fabrics manufacturing in the country. Similarly, the growing demand for newly emerged products like legging etc, provides an indication of the change in preference pattern of consumers in the country during the period.

VF Corp, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, today has selected Greensboro’s Revolution Mill as the future home for select functions of its jeans manufacturing business. The company signed a five-year lease with Revolution Mill that has been transformed into a mixed-use campus that includes commercial, residential, restaurant and studio space.

The functions of NewCo, including aspects of merchandising, design, and product development and innovation, will occupy the 43,000 sq. ft. space on the campus owned by Self-Help, a nonprofit community development organisation. Approximately 125 US NewCo employees will move into the open, collaborative space beginning in March 2019.

In addition to features such as original maple floors, large windows, exposed brick and high ceilings, the Revolution Mill location provides access to modern amenities, including a fully-equipped gym and yoga room, event and conference facilities, and multiple dining options.

NewCo will employ approximately 25,000 employees globally. The company works with real estate and workplace design strategists to evaluate its future office and facility footprint across its global business to ensure it creates a best-in-class workplace environment for its long-term operations.

The way business is done in the apparel and textile industries is being altered at lightning speed. With that in mind, trade shows that serve those industries also are taking major steps to keep up with that changing world. Attendees want more than an overwhelming number of brands to view. They seek assistance to discover new brands and knowledge on what is happening in the industry.

Curve Expo has trend areas where attendees can discover the latest innovations, a philanthropic aim and specialized speed dating, which matches attendees to new brands. Texworld USA and Apparel Sourcing USA’s mission is to provide a platform that offers visitors a curated group of factories and mills that focus on high-quality and cost-conscious textiles, a robust educational series, as well as an inspiring trend showcase and resources needed for the industry today.

To help retailers of all levels make the most of their time, the Off¬price show has ramped up efforts to promote appointment scheduling through the exhibition’s online platform. Retailers who browse the selection of more than 3000 products can message exhibitors directly through the marketplace and book appointments with vendors on the wholesale floor for the next show.

WWIN will be merchandising the floor to create price-point neighborhoods with areas matching neighboring price-point ranges and merchandise types.

Jeanologia’s revolutionary eMark 5 software increases productivity, optimizing production and minimizing production errors. This advanced and unique software reduces time-to-laser mark by 15 per cent while contributing to the simplification of processes making them more sustainable and efficient. The software is completely developed for laser textile design, multilingual, easy to use and contains an extensive gallery of laser designs that is constantly being updated, exclusive and fashionable, offering infinite creative and sustainable possibilities.

The software makes designers’ creativity a reality in a sustainable way. Jeanologia, based in Spain, is a pioneer in the development of sustainable technologies. Its technological solutions simplify garment finishing processes and allow for products with high added value and big savings in water.

Thanks to the combination of the company’s technologies – laser, ozone and e-flow – it is possible to make a complete collection from only one fabric, getting extraordinary results equally in black and in blue denim.

Jeanologia currently has clients in five continents. The export of its machines and services represents 90 per cent of its total billing, reaching 60 countries. The biggest market brands place their confidence in Jeanologia, using technology developed by the company. The company has an international and local multi-disciplinary team that provides comprehensive technical service, support and training.

With around six months still to go before their launch, the dual trade fairs Techtextil, the leading International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles and Nonwovens, and Texprocess, is almost fully booked up. The number of registrations received for the two fairs, to be held from May 14-17, 2019 is already significantly over that of the previous editions.

Around 1,000 companies from 54 countries have registered for Techtextil 2019. The exhibitors at Techtextil present the complete spectrum of technical textiles and nonwovens. Also very well represented are suppliers of woven fabrics, coated textiles and functional apparel textiles. The exhibitors show fibre-based products for all areas of applications, in particular, an expanded range for the industry, for architecture and civil engineering, apparel, mobility, medicine, sport and hazard protection.

With over 250 registrations already received from 31 countries, the concurrent Texprocess presents the complete spectrum of textile processing technologies from design, via cutting, making, trimming, textile digital printing, dressing and finishing, to textile logistics and textile recycling. With the Techtextil Forum, Techtextil 2019 will have a new platform for the exchange of ideas and information between exhibitors and trade visitors, as well as researchers, developers and users of technical textiles. Techtextil and Texprocess will be held in Frankfurt am Main from May 14 to 17, 2019.

Jute mills in Bangladesh are left with unsold stock, hampering wage payments. They produce four types of products – sack, hessian, carper backing cloth and yarn. The country had a target of keeping 3,650 handlooms operative in the jute mills in the current fiscal year. But only 2,099 handlooms are operating, which is only 57 per cent of the target. As a result, 47 per cent of mill workers are unemployed.

The target of buying raw jute for the year 2018-2019 was fixed at 7.48 lakh quintals. But only 81610 quintals have been bought in the last four months, which is just 11 per cent of the target.

Jute mill authorities are not being able to buy jute at lower prices. Later, they have to purchase it at higher prices, which will boost the production cost. The authorities concerned have been urged to allocate funds for purchasing raw jute this season and take the initiative for selling the produced products.

Mill production has declined due to lack of funds. The production target is 16.34 metric tons, while only seven metric tons to ten metric tons have been produced. Among the nine state-owned jute mills, seven are located in Khulna and the rest two in Jessore area.

Swedish researchers say clothing treated with silver poses a toxic threat to sediment-dwelling creatures and organisms in lakes and seas. They analysed sportswear garments treated with silver and found that up to 90 per cent of the silver contained was washed away from the clothing after just ten machine washes. The research says the spread of silver in the environment may be contributing to the rise in antimicrobial resistance.

While known for its antibacterial qualities, silver is also classified as a biocide by the European Union.

Antibacterial silver leaching from treated textiles is now the largest known source of silver in effluent treatment plants. Silver in ionic form is hazardous to bacteria and aquatic organisms and can cause particular harm to organisms living on the bottoms of lakes and oceans such as crustaceans. Of the most common biocides found in nature, silver tops the list.

After ten washes the amount of silver leached from silver-treated clothing ranges from 31 per cent to 90 per cent, with the median amount being 71 per cent. Several clothing brands are unable to state which active biocides are used to treat their anti-odor sportswear. Nine out of 15 garments labeled in some way as anti-odor contain silver.

Candiani launched its new eco-smart denim range in partnership with ROICA™ from Asahi Kasei at Kingpins. This responsible denim range known as ReLAST scores in every aspect of smartness: from new ways in coloration, to better, more sustainable raw materials, new finishing and fade-tech that minimises water waste, and now with a key responsible stretch ingredient in a specially produced GRS certified ROICA™ yarn that perfectly completes this range making better, more sustainable, sharp fashions for customers looking to live and wear better with better values.

New Coloration values in the K-Seal range come from indigo applied with a water saving Indigo Juice® system. Or in the KN-Cotton range from cotton scraps recycled and dyed with Archroma earth colours. Both are sized with the Kitotex® Vegetal size derived from plants and natural renewables. The evidence for excellence is underpinned by a qualified list of certifications that include GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and GRS(Global Recycled Standard), Recycled Cotton Certification as well as registered affiliated processing methods for saving water (Kitotex® and Indigo Juice).