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The company Bonded Logic is credited with is a high-performance insulation that’s made from scraps and clippings from the manufacture of denim clothing.
The manufacturing of recycled denim insulation is a zero-waste process. Scraps of denim fabric are processed to achieve a loose-fiber form that resembles cotton candy. The material is then treated for resistance to fire, mold, mildew and pests, blended with bonding fibers and heated. Finally, it’s cut into batts. Any scraps from the manufacturing process can be shredded and returned to the raw material supply.
The end product of that process is Ultra Touch Insulation, which contains 80 per cent of post-consumer recycled natural fibres.
This insulation is suitable for residential and commercial use in the same places as fiberglass or mineral wool batts would be used—between open roof rafters, ceiling joists and wall studs.
Recycled denim insulation offers multiple advantages such as sustainability, eco-friendliness, thermal insulation, better outdoor acoustics, better indoor air quality.
Arvind Ltd, maker of Arrow and US Polo Association apparel in India, plan to invest Rs 1,500 crore in three years to increase its garment making capacity by six-fold to meet the rising demand for branded apparel and fashion garments.
The expansion is a part of a mega global trend of selling garments directly to a brand as a full packaged solution rather than selling to an intermediary who converts and then sells to a brand.
The company will open large factories in Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh which can employ 10,000 workers.
The exercise is a part of a target of doubling India’s largest denim maker’s textile turnover by 2022 from Rs 6,000 crore at present. Denim constitutes around Rs 2,500 crore to the total turnover.
The company will use cash flows to fund Arvind Fashions for many years to expand the fabric-to-garment conversion capacity.
Nearly 100 garment factories in Bangladesh are involved in manufacturing fan jerseys for the World Cup that kicks off on June 14 in Russia.
So far, nearly a billion dollars worth of jerseys have been exported from Bangladesh.
In the first eleven months of the fiscal year, exports of knitwear grew more than those of woven garments because of higher shipments of jerseys. In the July-May period, knitwear exports rose 11.48 per cent and woven garment exports rose 8.15 per cent.
Fakir Apparels sent 50,000 pieces of jersey to a German buyer earlier this year. The fan jerseys were for Germany, Argentina and Brazil.
Apart from the World Cup, Fakir Apparels exports jerseys all the year round for different football clubs in Europe like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The jerseys cannot be sold in the local markets as the fabrics are imported under a bonded warehouse facility.
A Chittagong-based factory also sent 30,000 pieces of jackets for players and supporters of Argentina, Mexico, Spain and Germany.
The players and coaching staff of the four countries will use the jackets during practice.
Bangladesh exported fan jerseys worth a billion dollars for all 32 nations participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in what can be viewed as an exciting opening for the country's garment exporters.
US outerwear brand Woolrich posted a strong performance in Europe in 2017, with revenue up 12 per cent, and kept up the momentum in the first quarter of 2018.
Boosted by these results, the brand has ambitious plans for the rest of the year, and is set to strengthen in both brick-and-mortar and online retail, with double-digit growth forecast in both channels.
Further retail expansion is on the cards for Woolrich in leading Alpine mountain resorts: in August, the label will open a store in Austria, adding to those already operational in the Italian ski resorts of Cortina and Courmayeur.
In October, Woolrich will then open an experiential flagship store in Rome. Woolrich opened the first experiential store in Milan to resounding success: sales in April were nearly 30 per cent above target.
In the US, Woolrich is planning to relocate and enlarge its store in Soho, New York, and is working on a series of special projects for the New York Fashion Week next September.
Woolrich has put a lot of effort into focusing on the brand’s heritage, implementing a new strategy based on Woolrich’s American Soul. The brand stands for nearly 200 years of US history. The strategy is underpinned by Woolrich’s values, and touches on all of the brand’s elements, from product development to communication to the retail experience.
Is it right for a brand to charge more for plus-sized clothing?
This issue has divided opinion over whether or not using more material should lead to higher prices. While some have said it seems perfectly reasonable to charge more for a larger garment, others have labeled it as a fat tax.
Plus-size models feel higher prices are discriminatory and that people don’t choose to be the size they are. If there were to pay extra money for clothes, the subliminal message is that they’d better lose weight.
Brands say it can take twice as much fabric to make the same garment in a larger size. What complicates the issue is that brands don’t charge extra for taller women or lower the price for petite women.
For decades, plus size fashion has been a neglected segment. Oversized, wide and broad are features that are often neglected in fashion, with clothes mostly advertised and sold through slim models. With the rise of e-commerce and dedicated fashion portals, this segment is gradually evolving.
Plus size fashion is no longer confined to boring colors and loose silhouettes. Many brands are helping this evolution by bringing global trends to the segment like cold shoulders, off-shoulders, ripped denims and bright prints, among others.
Bernina will put up a giant sewing machine statue in Chicago on June 13. This is meant as a tribute to the influence the sewing machine has had on society since its invention in 1790.
Bernina, based in the US, is a manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines that have a Jumbo Bobbin with 70 per cent more thread capacity to sew longer with fewer interruptions. The Bernina Hook sews high-precision stitches up to 9 mm in width with sewing speeds up to 1,000 stitches per minute. Embroidery features such as PinPoint Placement and Enhanced Editing Functions provide the capability to create embroidered masterpieces on these innovative machines.
Made from polystyrene, hand-carved foam, the statue is a replica of the soon to be released Bernina 880 Plus Anniversary Edition sewing machine. Representatives from Bernina will be onsite to pass out tote bags and invite people to get up close to the machine. Visitors and Instagram users can also take pictures of themselves in front of the statue or in front of their own sewing machine and share on social media.
The invention of the sewing machine made a significant impact not only on clothing and textile production but also in households across the globe.
In 2017, of all new circular knitting machines , Asia received the highest share of shipments of 84 per cent, whereas global sales of electronic flat knitting machines soared by 44 per cent.
Global shipments of large circular knitting machines rose slightly by 0.12 percent. With 39 per cent of worldwide deliveries, China was the single largest investor. India and Vietnam rank second and third.
In 2017, worldwide shipments of shuttle-less looms increased by 12 per cent. The main destination of shipments of shuttle-less looms was Asia with 91 per cent of worldwide deliveries, of which 48 per cent were water-jet looms, 31 per cent rapier/projectile looms, and 28 per cent air-jet looms.
In the segment of fabrics continuous, shipments of mercerising-lines, singeing-lines, and stenters increased by 54 per cent, 11 per cent and two per cent. Deliveries in the other sub-segments decreased. In the segment fabrics discontinuous, shipments of air-jet dyeing and overflow dyeing machines increased by 35 per cent and 72 per cent respectively whereas those of jigger dyeing/ beam dyeing machines fell by seven per cent.
Global shipments of single heater draw-texturing spindles decreased by 87 per cent. Shipments of double heater draw-texturing spindles increased by 27 per cent.
Pakistan has lost its textile export share from 2.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent in the world market over the last decade.
Cotton production has declined in the past few years due to the ongoing water shortage, outdated technology, low quality seeds and fertilizers.
Despite being the fourth largest producer and the third largest consumer of cotton, the country is facing a deficit in cotton production since 2013 and relies heavily on imports of cotton to meet local demand.
Only 50 per cent to 55 per cent of the sowing target has been achieved so far.
The cotton oriented textile industry is the mainstay of the economy of Pakistan. It contributes to 60 per cent of the country’s exports, 8.5 per cent to total GDP and provides employment to 40 per cent of the work force.
The major challenges faced by the industry are unstable world prices, macroeconomic instability and high cost of doing business. In addition to economic issues, Pakistan’s textile industry is also facing strong competition from regional competitors (Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and China) as well as from global competitors like American and European textile industries.
Because of the severe water shortage production of cotton may decline by a further 35 to 40 per cent compared to last year.
Global economic growth will remain robust at 3.1 per cent in 2018 before slowing gradually over the next two years.
Activity in advanced economies is expected to grow 2.2 per cent in 2018 before easing to a two per cent rate of expansion next year.
Growth in emerging markets and developing economies overall is projected to strengthen to 4.5 per cent in 2018, before reaching 4.7 per cent in 2019.
If it can be sustained, the robust economic growth this year could help lift millions out of poverty, particularly in the fast-growing economies of South Asia. But growth alone won’t be enough to address pockets of extreme poverty in other parts of the world.
Policymakers need to focus on ways to support growth over the longer run—by boosting productivity and labor force participation—in order to accelerate progress toward ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
However the projected outlook is subject to considerable downside risks. The possibility of disorderly financial market volatility has increased, and the vulnerability of some emerging market and developing economies to such disruption has risen. Trade protectionist sentiment has also mounted, while policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks remain elevated.
Over the long run, the anticipated slowdown in global commodity demand could put a cap on commodity price prospects and thus on future growth in commodity-exporting countries.
Cambodia wants the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to include more Cambodian products like garments, shoes, bicycles and sugar in its tariff scheme.
The EAEU is an economic bloc composed of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
Cambodia and the EAEU have agreed to further cooperation in the industrial, agriculture and telecommunications sectors as well as enhance trade and investment, streamline customs procedures, and cooperate on setting industry standards, accreditation mechanisms and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.
The EAEU has also accepted the Cambodian proposal to study the possibility of establishing a framework for the negotiation of a tree trade agreement in future.
Both parties have also agreed to jointly work on intellectual property issues, and explore the possibility of establishing a working group on digitalisation.
Cambodia seeks to gain preferential access to as many markets as possible, as well as sign free trade agreements with other nations and economic blocs.
Currently, the European Union takes 45 per cent of Cambodia’s exports, the United States 25 per cent, and the resulting 30 per cent goes to the rest of the world.
Most exports to northern Eurasia are subject to import taxes. Right now, Cambodia has no trade preferences with the EAEU, which makes its products there less competitive.
