EDINBURGH - The Lost Stock initiative to support garment workers in supply chain countries by selling boxes of unused clothing stock has raised 96,000 weeks’ worth of food aid for Bangladeshi families in just one month.Lost Stock was set up by Cally Russell, the founder of fashion shopping app Mallzee, to help garment workers after brands and retailers cancelled more than US$3 billion worth of orders because of the COVID-19 pandemic.It left manufacturers unable to pay their workers and with moun

COPENHAGAN - Danish startup Beyond Leather Materials - which produces a sustainable leather alternative from the apple pulp left over from cider production - has successfully closed a €1.1 million (US$1.24m) seed investment round.Dutch startup accelerator Rockstart and Danish state’s investment fund Vaekstfonden have agreed to provide the backing for the company to further advance its production facilities.Beyond Leather Materials aims to start providing its fully biodegradable, animal-freefabri

Weeks after a private equity firm bought UK shirtmaker TM Lewin with plans to restructure it, the brand recently announced it will close all 66 of its shops in the country, rendering 600 workers jobless. It will take all its sales online to reduce costs. All its stores closed when the lockdown started, but none reopened when restrictions were eased in June.Pic: TM LewinFounded in Panton Street, London, in 1898, TM Lewin sells shirts and suits.Torque Brands, a subsidiary of Stonebridge Private Eq

Leading flat knitting machine builder Stoll officially joined the Karl Mayer Group today. Details of the merger were revealed by Karl Mayer in a statement this morning. The news follows the announcement at the end of February that the warp knitting machinery leader would buy Reutlingen based Stoll in an unprecedented deal. (see:).© Karl Mayer/ Stoll.“With the so-called closing, the merger of the two world market leaders, Karl Mayer and Stoll, was officially completed on 1 July 2020. The relevant

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-China trade war is a key challenge to the US apparel and footwear sector as despite a Phase One deal, 92 per cent of apparel, 51 per cent of footwear, 68 per cent of home textiles and all travel goods imported to the United States from China still attract an additional punitive tariff of 7.5-25 per cent on top of the already high duties, according toof the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA).Pic: ShutterstockIn 2019, the industry paid nearly $20

STOCKHOLM - Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the official ecolabel of the Nordic countries, is appealing for input into proposed new criteria for the ecolabelling of textiles.The organisation behind the symbol - known to nine out of ten Nordic consumers and looked for by half of them when shopping - has gone out to public consultation on its proposals.All common fibre types such as wool, cotton, viscose, nylon and polyester, as well as silk, are covered by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel criteria which sets requi

US-based Eastman Machine Company has announced lately to appoint Nottinghamshire-based TeCS to represent its automated cutting lines in the UK and Ireland.TeCS is a team of technicians, experienced engineers and CAD/CAM specialists which has vast experience in cutting application analysis, cutting room implementation as well as services to various machine manufacturers.According to Shaun Doohan, Owner, TeCS, “Eastman is part of our DNA and that DNA has flowed through nearly every cutting room we

When International Apparel Federation, better known as IAF, was started back in 1972 in USA, the entire objective was to encourage best practices and help apparel manufacturers across the globe.Image Courtesy: bizjournals.comAnd that they have been doing so successfully is the reason why IAF has become a force to reckon with in last 5 decades.Therefore, it didn’t come as surprise when IAF pledged its commitment to digitisation as it stepped into the ‘new normal’ world. After all isn’t digitisati

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has set a $37.44-billion export target for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, 13 percent higher than the expected export receipts to reach $33 billion by the end of current fiscal year, 2019-20. The initial target for the outgoing fiscal was $45.50 billion.As per the target, the ready-made garment (RMG) sector will contribute more than 82 percent. Additionally service export will contribute $7.6 billion. However, EPB has prepared this proposal and sent to the commerce mi

GENEVA - The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has launched its 2019 annual report in which it reveals that 22 per cent of global cotton is now producedunder its principles.The 2019 report reveals that licensed BCI Farmers in 23 different countries produced 5.6 million metric tonnes of Better Cotton - enough to make a pair of jeans for everyone in the world.BCI provided training on more sustainable agricultural practices to 2.3 million cotton farmers – and 2.1 million of them gained a licence to se