According to one of the world’s leading ethical trade membership organizations, Sedex, garment, footwear and construction sectors have suffered the biggest economic hit during the COVID-19 pandemic with supply chain disruption.Figure 1: According to the report, India (88%) and Bangladesh (77%) have been particularly impacted.According to Sedex survey, 68 percent of the garments’ factory revenue has decreased critically. They surveyed 469 suppliers from the garment sector across 51 countries, mos

British luxury fashion company Mulberry recently launched a consultation process on proposals to reduce employee numbers by nearly a quarter across its global business. Most of its stores across the globe have remained closed since March 24. However, it has now reopened its stores in China, South Korea, and parts of Europe and Canada, the company said.It continues to conduct business in all markets through its digital channels. Though the digital sales performance has been good, but it cannot fu

Factors such as new generation’s inclination towards novelty, awareness of fashion footprint, and affordability are leading to an increase in rental market. Uncertainty stemming from COVID-19 pandemic and consumers’ desire to save resources have further added to this shift from ownership to renting designer apparel, says a UNSW consumer behaviour expert.Pic: UNSW SydneyThe rental market has disrupted the retail industry and will flourish in the long run despite COVID-19 setbacks. With Australia

The global trade of woven pile fabrics has reported a slight fall in the year 2019. The total trade marginally increased 0.14 per cent from $2,650.08 million in 2017 to $2,661.34 million in 2019, according to the data from TexPro. The total trade of woven pile fabrics has declined by 2.59 per cent in 2019 compared to the previous year.Further the trade is anticipated to surge to $2,678.71 million in 2022 with a rate of 0.65 per cent from 2019, according to.The global export of woven pile fabrics

Thehas triggered the most severe recession in nearly a century and is causing enormous damage to people’s health, jobs and well-being, according to theThe OECD report says government support to help people and business in the hard-hit sectors will need to evolve but to remain substantial.Pic: OECDWith little prospect of a vaccine becoming widely available this year, and faced with unprecedented uncertainty, the OECD has taken the unusual step of presenting two equally likely scenarios – one in w

ARTEIXO - Zara owner Inditex has unveiled its plans for the next two years in which it says that each of its stores, along with its websites, will become 'sustainability hubs'.The group, the world's biggest fashion company, says each store, whether online or physical, will use less and renewable energy, eliminate single-use plastic, recycle more materials and foster the reuse of garments.All stores will be equipped with the Inergy environmental control platform, apply a ticketless e-

Therecently said it has sought special costing proposals from e-commerce firm Amazon for selling masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits through its portal. It has also urged the government toat the earliest. The ban was imposed in January on account of the COVID-19 outbreak.Pic: ShutterstockAEPC chairman A Sakthivel expects the company to work out special rates forfor AEPC members, he said during a webinar on ‘How to start exporting through B2C e-commerce'’ jointly organised by t

Apparel exports from India showed a steep decline of 35 per cent and stood at $1.120 billion in March 2020 compared to March 2019, according to the May 2020 monthly newsletter of The Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI). The decline was 24 per cent when compared to February 2020. This decline was due to the COVID-19 lockdown in major markets.Pic: CMAI; Data Source: DGCI&SApparel exports to the US increased by 2 per cent in FY 2020 as compared to that in FY 2019 and that to

HeiQ, a leader in textile innovation, has revealed that its HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 textile technology has proven to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory.Image Courtesy: www.wfmz.comFabrics, when treated with innovation, show reduction of 99.99 per cent of virus.HeiQ Viroblock NPJ03 is a textile treatment which gives the fabric antiviral and antibacterial properties. The treatment combines the properties of silver antimicrobial technology and vesicle technology, which continuously remo

HELSTON - Organic children's wear brand Frugi says it is emerging from lockdown in better than expected shape after seeing a 300 per cent spike in demand for its reusable nappies.The Cornish company, which earlier this year was one of only four to win two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, was hit by an almost total reduction in its wholesale business overnight when lockdown was announced.However, online sales prospered with the most successful product being its TotsBots disposable nappies with