Apparel has witnessed weaker consumer spending sentiment in India due to the financial uncertainty amid COVID-19 and is one of the ‘shrinking’ categories as consumers facing or expecting a crunch in their income increasingly prioritise essential goods and services, according to a consumer sentiment survey report by Facebook and Boston Consulting Group (BCG).Pic: BCG & FacebookReleased recently, the report, titled ‘Turn the Tide’, noted that as consumers are not stepping out of their homes as

European retail RFID software specialist Detego and American IT installation expert Spencer Technologies have announced a new partnership to deliver Detego's retail RFID platform to the US market. Spencer Technologies will provide its expertise and services in both implementation and support for US retailers looking to utilise RFID-bases Saas platform.Pic: DetegoDetego's retail RFID platform is already live in approximately 800 stores and 5 distribution centres across the US.‘‘We are rea

AbTF is publishing the ninth edition of its annual aggregated verification report. This report represents AbTF’s continued commitment to transparency in 2019 and informs the interested public about cotton companies’ compliance with the CmiA Standard, says a press release.During the course of 2019, the number of CmiA-verified partners rose to 24 cotton companies, and CmiA-verified cotton is now being cultivated in eleven countries in SubSaharan Africa. Trained in the CmiA Standard, the independen

Los Angeles-based Boyish Jeans, a sustainable denim brand, has integrated Retraced company’s block chain-based transparency to its e-commerce website.Image Courtesy: medias.fashionnetwork.comWith this step, the brand wants to provide complete transparency to its supply chain showing its responsible efforts and achievements.The brand joined the platform in March 2020 and since then has worked to add its three partners Bossa, Stroma Denim and Lenzing to the system, collecting the information on th

It’s not just in the US and Europe, it’s everywhere!Image Courtesy: proactiveinvestors.co.ukCoronavirus has caught hold of, and devoured, almost every big and small apparel firm across the globe over the past 4 months.While we have been talking about many big retailers and apparel firms going insolvent lately, there are many who have got lost in the crowd amidst all the uncertainties and chaos. One such group is the Israel-based innovative tailoring provider Bagir Group Ltd., which has now gone

The medical textile laboratory of the Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC) in Kanpur recently claimed to have developed a fabric with fragrance and can survive after multiple washes. FFDC assistant director Shakti Vijay Shukla said trials are under way to see how many washes the fragrances like rose, khus, chameli and sandalwood can survive.The aromatic clothes will be more comfortable than those designed using normal fabric, the scientists told a news agency.The aromatic fabric is be

Los Angeles-based Tukatech recently claimed to have introduced the ‘feel factor value’ to fabrics based on a mathematical calculation using bend and surface friction values in all warp, weft and shear directions. The feature helps in 3D product design as customers can quickly relate fabric feel without having to wait for a physical sample that can delay the development process.A ‘fabric feel factor’ is a number that someone may be able to learn and associate in their mind when imagining what the

LONDON - A new coalition of more than 190 organisations from 36 countries is urging brands and retailers to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in forced labour involving Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China within 12 months.The End Uyghur Forced Labour initiative was launched by 72 Uyghur rights groups, along with civil society organisations and labour unions from around the world, in a bid to end fashion's complicity in the Chinese government’s human rights abuses.It says &quo

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) research committee has released the updated standards and test methods.Image Courtesy: clothingindustry.blogspot.comThe data is released twice a year: in the AATCC Technical Manual in January and in the Mid-Year Supplement in June.The latest supplement includes a total of 11 approved standards of 9 revised test methods, 1 editorially revised test method and 1 revised monograph.The documents are available as only downloadable PDFs for

The Flipkart Group, India’s homegrown e-commerce group, has launched Flipkart Wholesale, a new digital marketplace that will help transform the kirana retail ecosystem in India by leveraging cutting-edge and locally developed technology. As part of the launch, the Group also announced the acquisition of 100 per cent interest in Wal-Mart India Pvt Ltd.Pic: ShutterstockWalmart India operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business, and its acquisition will help Flipkart to strengthen capabilities a