Brazil's textile and apparel recovery shifts into gear 11 May 2017

Ivan Castano Freeman

Brazil's textile and apparel sector expects to generate 10,000 jobs this year and lift revenues by 1% to BRL123bn ($39bn) as Latin America's largest economy begins to emerge from its worst recession in history. 

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Bangladesh Accord – New phase should protect unions 11 May 2017

Guest author

Apparel companies involved in a widely hailed effort to protect garment workers in Bangladesh factories from harm need to take another step to make sure the gains are sustainable. Making that happen depends in large part on workers' ability to organise and to call out dangerous conditions without fear of being beaten or fired, says Aruna Kashyap, senior counsel for the women's rights division of Human Rights Watch. 

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Retail’s newest trend – Buying things that don’t exist (yet) 10 May 2017

Guest author

It seems like every week we read another story about the death of the high street, with various retailers switching to a more digitally integrated and online-first strategy. Just recently, the luxury retailer, Gucci unveiled a partnership with Farfetch’s F90 to deliver luxury accessories in 90 minutes. These tactics are very much to capture consumers who’ve switched behaviours from high street shopping to online browsing, represented by a growth of 16% in online purchases between 2015 and 2016 in the UK.

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Bangladesh remediation "a moving target", despite progress 9 May 2017

Ed Zwirn

Just a little over four years after the Bangladesh Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 workers, key participants in the global garment supply chain met in New York City to assess progress in protecting garment worker safety, and brainstorm steps to ensuring future progress.

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EU fashion brands support relaxed origin rules for Jordan 9 May 2017

Liz Newmark

Implementing the European Union (EU)-Jordan agreement struck last July to simplify EU rules of origin (RoO) can only be good for European clothing brands and retailers, experts agreed at an event in Brussels last week to launch 'New Trade and Business Opportunities in Jordan'.

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TPP demise helps propel fabric mills to Ethiopia 8 May 2017

Leonie Barrie

Textile investment is pouring into Ethiopia, helped by the shared vision of brands, manufacturers and fabric mills, government support, preferential trade deals, investments in infrastructure, low costs – and an unexpected windfall from the end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

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Vietnam leads US apparel imports in March 8 May 2017

Michelle Russell

Apparel imports into the US saw double-digit growth from four of the top ten countries in March, with Vietnam leading the way, as retailers replenished stocks in preparation for the spring season.

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How Ethiopia's flagship textile and apparel park is taking shape 5 May 2017

Leonie Barrie

The Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP) – the flagship facility in the government's vision to grow Ethiopia into a world-leading production hub and a blueprint for similar parks across the country – is taking shape, as just-style's managing editor Leonie Barrie found on a recent visit.

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An Epic milestone for apparel made in Ethiopia 4 May 2017

Leonie Barrie

The scale of Ethiopia's ambition to become a world-leading apparel and textile hub is epitomised by the flagship Hawassa Industrial Park, where 60,000 jobs and US$1bn in exports are targeted by the end of next year. In the latest milestone taking it closer to this goal, Hong Kong based Epic Group has completed its first commercial garment shipment to US retailer The Children's Place.

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Mills and consumers driving denim innovation and design 28 Apr 2017

Mindy Ran

Last week’s Kingpins denim showcase in Amsterdam heard that mills and consumers are driving technological innovation and design. Recognition of the impact of social media on consumption, as well as new blends and solutions devised to appeal to untapped consumer demands, were all highlighted.

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Rana Plaza four years on – Timeline of change 24 Apr 2017

Michelle Russell and Beth Wright

On the fourth anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, just-style looks at the changes that have been made to improve worker and building safety within the country's ready-made garment industry. While progress has undoubtedly been made, questions remain about the speed of remediation if all parties involved are to leave their legacy of safer factories in 2018.

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Brands and industry groups reaffirm commitment to Bangladesh reform 24 Apr 2017

Michelle Russell

Industry groups, brands and unions have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the completion and long-term reform of Bangladesh's apparel industry on the fourth anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster.

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Trade Tracker: The Trump Revolution and Brexit get a dose of pragmatism 21 Apr 2017

Mike Flanagan

After months of loud – and often unrealistic – sloganeering, both the Trump Revolution and Britain’s Brexit plans got a transforming injection of hard-nosed practicality in the first few weeks of April.

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Using worker surveys to drive change in supply chains 20 Apr 2017

Beth Wright

Getting brands and retailers to think differently about the way they connect with workers in their supplier factories is key to producing more reliable audits in the future, says Heather Franzese, executive director and co-founder of Good World Solutions. She explains how direct worker feedback from its mobile survey platform, Laborlink, is being used to help bring about change, drive sourcing decisions and give deeper visibility into the supply chain.

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No US rush to Myanmar despite end to sanctions 18 Apr 2017

Jeremy Mullins

America may have scrapped its major sanctions against emerging outsourcing centre Myanmar, and brought back the southeast Asian country's GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) access to US markets, but the impact on the clothing trade has so far been underwhelming.

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Where does VF's supply chain sit in new growth strategy? 13 Apr 2017

Leonie Barrie

VF Corp’s latest five-year growth plan sets out the company’s goals to 2021, including a ramped-up focus on its top-performing Vans, Timberland and The North Face brands. Underpinning its plans, the company notes, is a rapidly changing marketplace – and the pivotal role played by its supply chain.

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Foreign investment continues in Ethiopia clothing sector 13 Apr 2017

Matthew Newsome

Ethiopia attracted foreign investments of US$1.2bn in the first six months of the 2016/17 fiscal year, with these financial injections dominated by major Chinese companies – half of which are licensed in textile and garment manufacturing.

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Is China losing its edge as a US apparel supplier? 12 Apr 2017

Dr Sheng Lu

The outlook for China as a supplier of textiles and apparel (T&A) to the US market remains a topic of heated debate among industry professionals and academics. But an analysis of 2016 trade data by Dr Sheng Lu, assistant professor at the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, shows that while the country looks set to maintain its lead into the future, increasing competition is coming from suppliers in the Western Hemisphere who offer faster speed to market.

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What M&S has learned from its sustainability journey so far 12 Apr 2017

Beth Wright

In the ten years since Marks & Spencer launched its Plan A sustainability commitment the UK-based retailer has "at best" completed 20% of its journey, according to Mike Barry, director of sustainable business (Plan A). "There’s an awful lot that still needs to change" across the industry as a whole, he told executives at a conference in the UK last week.

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Lectra takes innovation to next level with Industry 4.0 11 Apr 2017

Michelle Russell

Smarter and better connected equipment and software, tools that are tailored to individual industries and end-users, and the use of big data to drive efficiency and responsiveness are all part of the new offering planned by technology specialist Lectra as it sets its sights on the Industry 4.0 era.