Hannah Abdulla, Author at Just Style

Bangladesh RMG sector urged to modernise, explore new markets

Hannah Abdulla — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:53:40 +0000

Readymade garment (RMG) makers in Bangladesh are being encouraged to explore new export markets, modernise production processes and upskill workers as the central bank of Bangladesh warns the sector could see challenges over the next year on the back of global economic turbulence.

The RMG sector in Bangladesh is a significant contributor to the country’s economy, contributing 10.35% to its GDP in FY23.

In its quarterly review of the readymade garment sector, Bangladesh Bank noted export targets had been missed by 1.49% for the July-September period of FY24.

Total export earnings during the period were US$11.6bn with the US, Germany, UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada and Belgium the top importing countries of Bangladesh readymade garments.

But the report pointed out the RMG sector has experienced the effects of a spate of challenges recently including domestic political unrest, geopolitical conflicts, energy price hikes, cotton price fluctuations, the Covid pandemic and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) all “which changed the overall trade dynamics of the sector”.

Bangladesh has hit global headlines in recent weeks with worker unrest linked to minimum wages in the garment sector. Four garment workers were killed amid violent protests over worker wages in the country.

Factories across the country received official direction to increase the minimum wage for garment workers to TK12,500 ($114) a month, the first wage hike in five years. H&M reportedly became the first brand to increase unit prices for garment manufacturers to support this increase in wages, and plans to absorb the rise in costs via product prices.

Bangladesh Bank reported that by sector knitwear export earnings for the quarter rose 2.45% to $6.76bn while woven garment exports fell 5.52% to $4.85bn.

Bangladesh Bank concluded: “As the global economy is facing major challenges including subdued economic activities owing to higher inflation and higher interest rates, heightened uncertainties regarding the future geoeconomic landscape, weak productivity growth and a complex financial environment, export receipts from the RMG sector may also face some challenges in the upcoming months of the current fiscal year.

“Despite these uncertainties and challenges, the RMG industry of Bangladesh started to rebound in receiving fair share of work orders from international retailers and major global brands which is indicating a sign of recovery from the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

“However, inter-apparel diversification, reducing lead time and increasing efficiency, ensuring effective research and development, exploring new global markets, skilled RMG workforce and modernisation of production process should be priority areas to escalate the RMG export earnings in the future.”

Week in review: Fashion and a year of growing-pains

Hannah Abdulla — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:06:05 +0000

The first Ed’s letter for the last month of the year is always a favourite on the Just Style team, giving us an opportunity reflect on the industry’s successes and failures over the past 12 months and an opportunity to consider what lessons we take into the next year.

And boy, has 2023 been yet another year full of ups and downs.

Up until 2020 it almost seemed plain sailing in the fashion sector. It’s evident, at this point, the Covid pandemic created some sort of domino effect that the industry continues to grapple with. And while it has created a heap of challenges, in some sense it truly was a blessing in disguise, revealing the weak points in the global apparel supply chain which for so long had simply been ignored.

It's safe to say the biggest issue that was thrust into the spotlight was the fashion sector’s overreliance on China. In the post-Covid era, we’ve seen an accelerated effort by brands and retailers to lower their reliance on China and diversify their apparel sourcing strategies.

At the turn of 2020 – and possibly due to the size of the issue – it appeared this was the industry’s biggest problem. But fast forward to today and it seems like one of those home renovation projects where when you peel back the wallpaper, the plaster underneath comes away with it too.

We’ve seen geopolitical events – like the Russia-Ukraine war – put pressure on energy prices, resulting in a cost of goods surge, fuel shortages, shipping delays and soaring inflation. Higher consumer pricepoints on everything from food to energy has seen many rethink their priorities when it comes to buying apparel.

On the back of this, efforts to shift towards slow fashion have almost been reversed. We’ve seen the proliferation of ultra-fast-fashion brands, such as Shein and Temu, where you can buy a t-shirt for less than a cup of coffee, and get it delivered to your door in under a week - hugely appealing to today’s budget-conscious consumer.

But it’s not just wars that have have been a thorn in the fashion industry’s side. On the subject of environmental sustainability and climate change, the past year has witnessed several natural disasters including devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Morocco, forest fires across Europe and extreme rainfall in Pakistan resulting in flooding that wiped out much of the nation’s cotton crop, creating yet another hiccup in the global apparel supply chain.

There’s also been an air of dissent at the worker level, alerting consumers to the issue of fashion brands’ purchasing practices. Bangladesh, the second largest garment exporter in the world, according to the WTO, has seen turmoil in the past month with violent worker protests over wages. H&M became one of the first brands to announce it would be increasing the unit prices for garment manufacturers to support an increase in wages announced by the government, adding it plans to absorb the rise in costs via product prices. Other brands are being urged to follow suit.

In the coming year, it is likely sourcing diversification will remain high on the agenda for fashion brands, not only as they look to continue lowering their reliance on China but as they look to increase efficiencies and create a more visible and robust supply chain. Many are seeking out suppliers closer to home turf.

Brands and retailers operating within the UK, EU and US markets are also looking to get ahead of upcoming changes in sustainability legislation. The looming introduction of laws around Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and the existing Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the US, mean fashion players are increasingly likely to be held to account over the goings-on in their supply chains and can no longer plead ignorance.

It also means measured steps around lowering their environmental impact will need to be taken as the fashion industry looks to clean up its reputation as one of the world’s most polluting industries. On the back of this, we’ve seen improvements to existing green measurement tools and new tools emerge to help the fashion industry accurately measure its sustainability efforts and prevent greenwashing.

And buzzwords like Generative AI, digitisation, robotics and digitalisation are likely to be further embraced with pledges to adopt these forms of technology turning to action as the fashion industry leverages their benefits in driving efficiencies and sustainability.

There is a lot of work to be done and it’s important to manage expectations: 2024 is unlikely to be plain sailing. From an editorial standpoint, we can safely assume we won’t be bored.

While we acknowledge it will be a year filled with challenges, it will undoubtedly be one full of lessons and achievements too. We’re excited to see what’s in store and can’t wait to sit down a year from now to review the developments, celebrate the successes and take forward the learnings.

Signal: Premium fashion brands ramping up supplier acquisitions in margin improvement drive

Hannah Abdulla — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:56:46 +0000

Canadian luxury outerwear maker Canada Goose has become the latest fashion brand to acquire one of its suppliers, as it looks to create new and expand existing categories and assume greater control over its supply chain.

Canada Goose announced the acquisition of the operating assets of its Romanian supply partner, Paola Confectii, which has supplied knitwear to Canada Goose since its launch in 2017.

Inside the deal

Paola Confectii has been producing a range of best-selling styles for Canada Goose including the HyBridge Knit Jacket.

Canada Goose says knitwear is one of the leading segments of its growing apparel category, exceeding $70m in annual sales in fiscal 2023.

“This closer partnership is expected to enhance product margins and supply control, while deepening in-house product expertise. Paola Confectii will continue to be led by Giannino Lessi, general manager, and Paola Zaffalon, Technical Director, as a standalone entity, maintaining regular operations.

“Our vertically integrated supply chain has always been one of our core competencies. This strategic investment advances our renowned manufacturing infrastructure and validates the performance luxury brand we are today,” explained Dani Reiss, chairman and CEO, Canada Goose. “It also demonstrates the confidence we have in our emerging categories and our plans to develop these categories into even more meaningful contributors to our business.”

While the core down-filled products will continue to be manufactured in Canada, apparel production will be concentrated within the company's European facilities.

“As we’ve evolved and introduced new categories, we’ve strategically welcomed new world-class partners from different parts of the globe who share our values and commitment to craftsmanship,” Canada Goose said.

Why the deal matters

Speaking to Just Style, Alice Price, apparel analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Canada Goose’s acquisition of a European manufacturing facility sets it on firm ground to achieve its growth plan, enabling it to scale up its product assortment beyond outerwear and standout as a lifestyle brand for all seasons.”

This is not the first time we have seen a major fashion player acquire one of its suppliers. In fact, it has become something of a trend, particularly in the luxury fashion sector, over the last few years.

Back in 2021, Prada Group and Ermenegildo Zegna Group announced the acquisition of Italian cashmere yarn producer Filati Biagioli Modesto in a move aimed at safeguarding the domestic supply chain.

The heads of both businesses said the acquisition represents a shared interest: “assuring continuity, preserving know-how, creating value for the ‘Made in Italy’ in the name of craftsmanship and innovation.”

Then, in 2022, footwear brand Golden Goose acquired its largest supplier, the Italian Fashion Team.

Advisor on the deal, Clearwater International, said that as IFT is Golden Goose’s top supplier, the acquisition is a strategic step in the name of responsible growth towards the vertical integration of the supply chain.

Earlier this year, British luxury brand, Burberry, acquired Italian outerwear manufacturer Pattern SpA in a EUR21m deal, having partnered with the supplier for over two decades.

The investment means Burberry can secure capacity, build technical outerwear capability and further embed sustainability into its value chain.

Jonathan Akeroyd, CEO, commented that the strategic investment is an important next step in bringing its outerwear category to full potential and it would enhance its capabilities, building on our strong foundations in the UK, and providing greater control over the quality, delivery and sustainability of its products.

Neil Saunders, analyst at GlobalData noted: “Buying one of its manufacturing facilities gives Canada Goose greater control over the supply chain both for existing products and in terms of new innovations they may want to work on in future."

As Canada Goose is focused on producing high-quality products, this integration makes sense, Saunders explained, noting that ultimately, owning manufacturing will also help improve margins over time.

Saunders added: “Given that Canada Goose already owns various facilities, they already understand the ins and outs of running manufacturing operations. As such, the latest acquisition should be relatively seamless in terms of integration. The only downside comes if Canada Goose wants to move out of knitwear or has pressures in that part of the business; then it has a factory that may not be operating at full capacity. However, as it has been a very fast growing category for the brand I don’t see this as likely.”

Key takeaways for the fashion industry

Acquisitive activity is unlikely to die down throughout 2024 in the apparel sector. According to the latest data from GlobalData, in the third quarter of 2023, apparel M&A deal value rose 550% on a year-on-year basis and 333% on a quarter on quarter basis.

Ecommerce was the top theme driving apparel M&A activity in the quarter, with 7 deals worth over $5bn.

When it comes to fashion brands acquiring suppliers, Saunders says this is something we are more likely to see at the more premium end of the fashion spectrum, and perhaps less when it comes to mainstream fashion.

Ultimately, it comes down to higher-end fashion players looking to control supply chains more effectively while improving margins.

Of course, there is an element of supply chain transparency at play here too.

With incoming legislations in the US and EU that require brands to take accountability of how their products were made, by who and whether the people within the supply chain have been treated and compensated fairly and that environmental damage of the production of their goods has been considered, brands are more concerned about the going ons in their supply chains.

Having a supplier that is closer to home turf, or one that is integrated within the organisation itself, makes that visibility a little bit easier.

Saunders notes: “Within mainstream fashion, we might see some acquisition activity but here retailers and brands tend to use third parties because they like the flexibility and simplicity. Some, like Inditex's Zara, have long been integrated but I expect this will remain the exception rather than the rule.”

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.

BLACK PEARL launches to assist brands with driving green ambitions

Hannah Abdulla — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:37:04 +0000

BLACK PEARL is described as a cultural sustainability organisation working to connect culture, planet and people.

Clients can leverage the knowledge of the organisation's founder and sustainability industry veteran Samata Pattinson to help communicate their sustainability ambitions to consumers more clearly.

BLACK PEARL aims to support industry executives with the education they require on sustainability via panel discussions, events and thought leadership. It will also create content and collaborate with creative industry players to "redefine the cultural sustainability landscape," said Pattinson.

The organisation will offer expertise, analysis, and customised solutions to serve partners' and communities' needs.

Pattinson, who has 13 years of industry experience and has been instrumental in helping draw up the programme for this year’s COP28 in Dubai, says BLACK PEARL’s mission is clear: to demonstrate that sustainability and culture are not separate entities but integral to each other. It seeks to usher in a new era where culture and sustainability are intertwined, driving positive change on a global scale.

“BLACK PEARL will unite culture and sustainability in order to weave an authentic representation of life, encompassed by important cultural factors such as age, race, class, identity, socioeconomics, disability, religion and educational attainment," Pattinson says.

"The multifaceted organisation will promote cultural sustainability through offerings such as cross-sector collaborations, brand activations, thought-leadership work and educational programmes, media production and story-telling content creation, along with apparel and textile merchandising for the entertainment industry.

“I am passionate about using intelligent design solutions and inclusive communication to drive sustainability progress through representative work. For us, culture is a fundamental lens through which to connect the dots between people, communities, and the planet.

“We are looking to work with like-minded individuals, industry leaders, and change-makers. Our commitment to brilliant and rare work is deep-seated.”

Fashion execs eye supply chain resilience to navigate 2024 uncertainty

Hannah Abdulla — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:04:45 +0000

According to the eighth annual fashion report by McKinsey & Co, The State of Fashion 2024, 70% of chief procurement officers responding to the survey, believe that improving demand transparency with suppliers through systems and processes is critical in navigating market turmoil.

Cultivating strategic partnerships with key suppliers could also be considered and could include longer-term contracts with not only direct suppliers, but also tier two, tier three and tier four partners that are vital to a business.

“The upheavals of recent years have made clear that fashion companies and their suppliers not only depend on each other to succeed, but also endure challenges together. 2024 will likely provide further evidence as to why,” the report reads.

McKinsey Fashion report outlines supplier-brand relationship in 2024

Changes in consumer demand have resulted in the “bullwhip effect,” where cuts to orders increase in magnitude at different parts of a supply chain, putting pressure on fashion’s suppliers. If supply is to keep pace with anticipated renewed demand, brands and retailers should consider focusing on transparency and bolstering strategic partnerships.

The bullwhip effect reached fashion in 2020 and 2021 as retailers contended with pandemic related disruptions when products arrived late and overcompensated for inventory shortages by ordering too much stock. When post-pandemic inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty arose in the second half of 2022, making consumers more cautious than anticipated, retailers were left with billions of dollars in unsold goods.

As a result, many orders for the upcoming 2023 season were reduced or cancelled. The pullback has disproportionately impacted upstream suppliers. Across seven of the world’s biggest textile-exporting countries, fabric exports dropped nearly 20% in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the year prior, followed by a 40% drop in yarn exports in the first quarter of 2023. Factories that were at full capacity in 2021 may have been operating at 30-40% below capacity in 2023, according to industry experts.

73% of chief procurement officers cited demand volatility as a dynamic that may impact supplier relationships in the next five years.

The issue is exacerbated by humanitarian crises within producer countries such as the Türkiye earthquakes and the flooding of cotton crops in Pakistan, resulting in lower exports and a production shift that led to over a million workers losing jobs. This is also true of employment levels in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Increased stress on factories is increasing the risk of labour abuses such as wage theft, union busting, and worker strikes over poor pay.

While at some point the effects are expected to balance out, the consequences of the bullwhip effect may continue to linger. Layoffs and delayed investments may mean the industry is insufficiently prepared to scale up capacity quickly. Worker displacement and skills loss may create major challenges for the industry.

Factories short on staff and dealing with hiring and training new employees could face longer production timelines. Brands and retailers not prepared for these shifts could incur higher expenses to compensate for the potential delays. For example, they may need to pay for expedited shipping, overtime work or additional warehouse space. Those that try to rush production face other costs, such as increased quality issues that can damage a company’s reputation with consumers.

Many companies are rethinking their supply chains to de-risk manufacturing.

54% of executives expect to increase reshoring or nearshoring in 2024.

Others are thinking about rebalancing their sourcing footprint by sourcing from multiple countries.

“However, these approaches are not without challenges. Finding and contracting new suppliers, or partnering more closely with existing strategic ones, can be costly. Companies can also run into manufacturing limitations compared to traditional sourcing hubs or face new regulatory and compliance factors," reads the McKinsey State of Fashion 2024 report.

"Another consequence of the slowdown is that suppliers have fallen behind in critical investments in new infrastructure for both speed and sustainability.”

The general mood around 2024

“Uncertainty” is the most prominent sentiment among fashion leaders according to the State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey with causes for concern including geopolitical events, weakened economies and the continuing impact of high interest rates.

Consumers net intent to spend on apparel is down 16% across the US, Europe and China in Q4 2023.

But there is still a sense of subtle optimism with sales expected to grow by 2-4% for the fashion industry over 2024.

26% of respondents to the survey conducted in early September expected conditions to improve year on year in 2024
37% expected conditions to remain the same
38% expected the situation to worsen.

Geopolitics ranks high in the table of factors keeping industry executives up at night with 62% of the respondents in the survey citing it as the top risk to growth. economic volatility is another concern, though inflation appears to be less of a concern – 55% of respondents expect it to be an issue compared to 78% last year.

In a bid to combat inflation, intent to raise prices is high among industry executives, with 69% of them saying the plan to do so compared to 58% a year earlier. A quarter of them plan increases of more than 5%.

“Companies that succeed in driving growth through price rises will likely take a precise, carefully tailored approach.”

There is also likely to be a concerted effort across the industry to cut costs, but the report warns that with the industry already seeing widespread cost cutting, the focus should be on stricter controls instead.

Executives do however expect to feel pressure around costs ease, with just 18% expecting cost of goods sold (CGS) to grow more then 5% next year and 19% expecting selling, general and administration costs (SG&A) to rise more than 5%.

This is in contrast to last year, when 55% expected COGS growth of more than 5%, and 40% expected SG&A growth of more than 5%. One of the primary reasons for the difference is concerns over inflation abating.

Sustainability, AI key focus areas for execs in 2024

If the climate crisis goes on unaddressed it could put at risk an estimated $65bn worth of apparel exports by 2030, with inaction “no longer an option” the McKinsey & Co State of Fashion 2024 report reads.

The annual report’s key message this year is that fashion brands and retailers can no longer ignore the climate crisis with extreme events already placing the lives and livelihoods of fashion workers in danger. With sustainability regulations coming into effect in the EU and elsewhere that mandate companies disclose environmental impacts in their supply chains, and the push from investors for companies to disclose data about scope three emissions, the risk may only increase for brands and retailers.

87% of fashion executives think sustainability regulations will impact their businesses in 2024
12% of respondents citing it as a principal opportunity for the year.

“The era of the fashion industry self-regulating sustainability is drawing to a close around the world. Across jurisdictions, new rules could have a widespread impact on both consumers and fashion players. Brands and manufacturers need to revamp business models to align with the changes ahead.

“Finding a balanced way to implement sustainability improvements and risk-reduction programmes with competitive advantages is likely to be a key challenge for fashion executives in 2024,” reads the McKinsey State of Fashion 2024 report.

Sustainability can have a large and positive impact for brands if tackled at the early production stages.

Upstream supply chain activities account for the majority of carbon emissions in apparel and so there may be a sharper focus on decarbonising material and garment production.

“In the production process, main decarbonisation levers include energy efficiency and energy transition initiatives. As brands shift to more sustainable materials, they may look for new suppliers or join strategic alliances. Kering, for example, has established supplier-focused sourcing standards and created the Material Innovation Lab dedicated to the sourcing of sustainable materials and fabrics, while Hermès has partnered with start-up MycoWorks’ to secure access to its engineered mycelium.”

Will fast fashion go away as the pressure to be more sustainable grows?

In a nutshell, no. In fact competition is expected to become fiercer with challengers, led by fast fashion brands Shein and Temu, changing tactics around price, customer experience and speed.

“Success for disruptors and incumbents will likely hinge on their ability to adapt to evolving consumer preferences, while navigating regulations that may impact the industry.”

Meanwhile, AI and generative AI are another priority focus area for industry executives in 2024.

73% of fashion executives think generative AI is a 2024 priority for their companies, but only 5% believe they have the capabilities to fully leverage it.

“Given its application across the fashion value chain and among functions, fashion companies are already starting to experiment cautiously. Those efforts are likely to continue in 2024, with a view to scaling use cases where there are demonstrable performance upsides.”

Leveraging the advantage of AI in 2024 will require fashion players to move beyond automation and explore its potential to augment the work of human creatives.

“In the face of an uncertain future marred by continued macroeconomic challenges, fashion executives may need to make bold decisions: leading players cannot allow an ambiguous outlook to cloud decision making when seeking to capture growth opportunities ahead, the report reads.

Ten key themes in fashion for 2024 according to McKinsey

The Mckinsey State of Fashion 2024 report says to prepare for challenges and be alert to opportunities, leading fashion companies will likely "prioritise contingency planning for the coming year".

"A key theme will be companies keeping a firm grip on costs and inventories while driving growth by precisely managing prices. Brands and suppliers can expect an increasingly competitive environment. But they will also have opportunities, with consumers discovering new styles, tastes, and priorities — all presenting routes to value creation.”

Fragmented future. In 2024, the global economic outlook will continue to be unsettled, as financial, geopolitical, and other challenges weigh on consumer confidence. Fashion markets in China, Europe, and the United States will likely face headwinds, some of which reflect individual regional dynamics. Suppliers, brands, and retailers may need to bolster contingency planning and manage for uncertainty.
Climate urgency. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather-related events in 2023 mean the climate crisis is an even more urgent priority than in previous years. With physical and transition risks rising across continents, the industry must not delay in tackling emissions and building resilience into supply chains.
Vacation mode. Consumers are gearing up for the biggest year of travel since before the pandemic. But a shift in values means expectations are evolving, even as shopping remains a priority. Brands and retailers should refresh distribution and category strategies to reflect the new reality.
The new face of influence. It’s time for brand marketers to update their influencer playbooks, as a new guard of creative personalities wins fans. Working with opinion leaders in 2024 will require a different type of partnership, an emphasis on video, and a willingness to loosen the reins on creative control.
Outdoors reinvented. Technical outdoor clothing and “gorpcore” are in demand as consumers embrace healthier lifestyles. In 2024, more outdoor brands are expected to launch lifestyle collections. At the same time, lifestyle brands will likely embed technical elements into collections, blurring the lines between functionality and style.
Generative AI’s creative crossroads. After generative AI’s (gen AI) breakout year in 2023, more use cases are emerging across the industry. Capturing value will require fashion players to look beyond automation and explore gen AI’s potential to enhance the work of human creatives.
Fast fashion’s power play. Fast-fashion competition is set to be fiercer than ever. Challengers, led by Shein and Temu, are bringing new tactics on price, customer experience, and speed. Success for disruptors and incumbents could hinge on adapting to new consumer preferences while navigating the regulatory agenda.
All eyes on brand. Brand marketing is expected to be back in the spotlight as the fashion industry manages a switch away from performance marketing. Brands may benefit from forging emotional connections with consumers as marketers rewrite playbooks to emphasise long-term brand building.
Sustainability rules. The era of fashion industry self-regulation is drawing to a close. Across jurisdictions, new rules will have significant effects on both consumers and fashion players. Brands and manufacturers may consider revamping business models to align with the changes ahead.
Bullwhip snaps back. Shifts in consumer demand have created a “bullwhip effect,” by which order volatility reverberates unpredictably through supply chains. Suppliers will likely face pressure as brands and retailers focus on transparency and strategic partnerships.

COP28: Fashion’s failure to engage suppliers on green plan hinders 1.5°C target

Hannah Abdulla — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:43:43 +0000

There is a stark disconnect between fashion suppliers and vendors when it comes to sustainability commitments, with at least 50% of brands and retailers not engaging suppliers in their green objectives, the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action reveals ahead of COP28 in Dubai which kicks off on 30 November.

Responsible for between 2 and 8% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, the fashion industry has a key role to contribute in the global ambition to limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

But while there are well-intentioned actions by the fashion sector to lower its carbon footprint and help to meet the temperature target, data suggests it will struggle to do so if it continues on its current trajectory.

UNFCCC key findings from CDP Data for 2023

89% of signatories complied with the Fashion Charter’s basic reporting requirement and disclosed climate-related information via CDP. In 2022, nearly twice as many signatories submitted their response publicly when compared to 2020.
45% of the active signatories in 2022 are compliant with setting public climate targets needed to keep global warming below 1.5°C. 17% more are committed to setting a 1.5°C target with the Science Based Target Initiative.
Disclosing signatories have demonstrated improved carbon accounting practices. 99% of disclosing signatories calculate and report their operational emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions). Only 50% of signatories report third-party verified Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions.
The number of signatories reporting their energy consumption has doubled over the past three years. 30% are not yet providing this information in the most recent disclosure cycle.
From 2020 to 2022, there has been a noticeable increase from 18% to 42% of signatories who reported they have set a measurable 100% renewable energy target for their operations by 2030. Data is missing for about 50% of signatories.
Driving Scope 3 emissions reductions is a key lever in all 1.5 degree Celsius targets set by signatories. The data provided by signatories shows a 20% increase in overall supplier engagement. In 2022, 80% of the signatories indicated they engage their supply chains on climate-related issues.
Signatories are increasingly disclosing that they engage with their value chain partners on climate issues by collecting primary information, incentivisation, and driving innovation and collaboration with suppliers. In the 2022 reporting cycle, 24 out of the 93 reporting companies indicated that they included climate-related requirements into their supplier contracts.

However, while 90% of signatories to the UNFCC are engaging suppliers with their green objectives, this reduces to just 50% when considering the entire fashion sector. Approved Science Based Targets (SBTs) falls to 10% on a sector-wide basis from 40% of signatories and reporting of total renewable energy consumed falls to 39% from 76% on a sector-wide vs signatories comparison. Verified scope 2 emissions disclosures fall to 16% on a sector-wide basis from 54% of signatories.

Andrew Martin, executive vice president of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition tells Just Style we are at "a tipping point", not just for the industry, but for the planet.

"Traditional business models exacerbate social and environmental problems and we are not doing enough or evolving fast enough to not only mitigate but to improve them."

Evidently, the data suggests it all falls down when it comes to collaboration and the supply of evidence-based claims.

The proof is in the pudding - but where is the pudding?

Speaking to Just Style, Liv Simpliciano, policy and research manager at Fashion Revolution asserts: “Fashion brands often use COP to announce glossy commitments. Our research in the Global Fashion Transparency Index shows that once again this year while brands are telling us more about their policies and commitments, they are telling us much less about what these policies and commitments have achieved. And in the absence of disclosed evidence, it is difficult to understand if the fashion industry is turning things around. We don’t need more commitments - we need more progress.”

In fact, according to Fashion Revolution, since the Paris Agreement came into being five years ago, global emissions have risen, so too have emissions of fashion brands.

And, according to UNFCCC, while 99 companies including brands, suppliers and retailers committed to the goals of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action – correct as of 22 February 2023 – in the last three years alone, 31 signatories have lost accreditation with the Charter due to failure to report or have made the decision to leave the Charter and engage more actively with other industry coalitions.

Citing the latest Emissions Gap report, Simpliciano says we are “on track to warm our planet by nearly 3 degrees Celsius without aggressive actions, with current levels barrelling to a point of no return.”

Transparency and accountability are lacking

She believes what is halting progress is the “huge lack of transparency and accountability”.

“Aggressive actions are impeded by the lack of transparency because it inhibits the true scale of the problem and obscures where the greatest responsibility for action lies.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Samata Pattinson, CEO and Founder of BLACK PEARL a new organisation advocating for sustainable action in the textile industry. Pattinson has been instrumental in drafting the COP28 programme.

“Accountability is a central challenge in climate dialogues, particularly concerning conflicting financial interests. This aspect could impact the fashion industry's sustainability efforts by highlighting the need for transparency in funding and decision-making processes, pushing for accountability and ethical practices across the supply chain. Despite the challenges securing funding, some sources must be turned down if they support reliance on fossil fuels.”

She says COP28 will address several critical themes that will significantly impact the fashion industry including debt for climate, highlighting the looming unpaid environmental debt held by the Global South and marginalised communities; biodiversity which is serving as a reminder to the fashion industry about the importance of sustainable sourcing practices that protect ecosystems and biodiversity; and the human impact of climate change with a particular focus on health-risk as a result of climate change.

One of the key focus areas will be on the representation of marginalised communities in decision making spaces concerning climate change.

“This inclusion seeks to address the disproportionate impact these regions face due to climate change and acknowledges their voices in shaping impactful policies. Fashion brands and organisations might proactively involve representatives from Global South communities in their sustainability councils or boards to ensure their voices are heard in crucial decisions. For instance, collaborating with indigenous artisans for sourcing raw materials can empower these communities and promote fair trade practices,” says Pattinson.

A spokesperson for the Better Cotton Initiative, agrees, telling Just Style that while there are many challenges facing the fashion industry today, it is important to highlight sustainable livelihoods.

“The industry needs to ensure people come first – farmers, workers and everyone along the supply chain. For us, sustainability is not only about environmental goals, but it also means increasing the net income and resilience of farmers and workers around the world.

“The industry needs to engage more with civil society and unions to ensure their efforts support farmers and workers through partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms.”

According to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action's 2023 findings, the biggest gap is in supplier engagement.

Signatories are encouraged to collaborate on supplier initiatives and to leverage their joint purchasing power to drive climate action. It is recommended to collect comparable data on supplier performance and build climate-change performance indicators into supplier contracts. But the current gap stands at 75%.

Over the last few weeks the garment manufacturing sector in Bangladesh has hit headlines with violent worker protests over minimum pay, resulting in several deaths, and sending shock waves through the sector.

Simpliciano explains: “There is no sustainable fashion without pay. Many of the issues in the fashion industry could be solved if brands were willing to pay higher prices to their suppliers. It is well known that brands’ purchasing practices are key enablers of good working conditions in their supplier facilities and yet, brands continue to drive inequalities through unfair purchasing practices, which form the backbone of the fashion industry."

She adds evidence continues to mount that major fashion brands engage in practices which are volatile and abusive toward their suppliers with just 12% of brands disclosing a responsible purchasing code of conduct.

Simpliciano points out the fashion industry had a chance to show up in solidarity with the people who make our clothes in Bangladesh in their fight for an increase in the minimum wage - not even a living wage. However, she notes major fashion brands acknowledged their responsibility but still have failed to pay higher prices to suppliers.

She says "there is little option left, other than the most powerful, profiting stakeholders in the supply chain — international fashion retailers — stepping up".

Martin agrees, adding further emphasis must be placed on collaborative efforts to achieve real change.

"Partnership is the new leadership – these are words that we live by. We co-founded the apparel alliance – with Aii, Textile Exchange, and ZDHC Foundation – to coordinate tools, programs, and resources that reduce redundancies and drive performance improvements and collective actions to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."

Together with Fair Wear and the Ethical Trading Initiative, the SAC has created The Industry We Want initiative to develop a set of metrics to measure action across three critical issues: the wage gap, purchasing practices, and GHG emissions. This was followed by the launch of the Industry Dashboard, synthesising feedback from suppliers in 54 countries and was accessed by over 500 stakeholders.

And in March, on consultation with its members, apparel alliance partners and other industry experts it launched a major update to the Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM) to better align with best in class frameworks on issues including responsible purchasing practices.

"We continue to work towards the development of a clear set of milestones to offer coordinated, industry-wide solutions."

Sustainability successes impeded by restricting voices of change

While there are 99 signatories in total to the Fashion Charter for Climate Action, 96 of them are brands and retailers while only 30 of them are manufacturers.

Pattinson says: “We aren’t even having the conversations we should be having because I would say 60% of the key voices are missing from the table, ranging from people whose first language is not English to the huge number of every day citizens who see fashion as a frivolous and non-intellectual pursuit, therefore failing to recognise its true climate impact.

“We have to explore lenses such as socio-economics and how sustainability is priced and what it costs, across to how elements like race and gender are gate-keeping crucial voices from sharing their solutions, experiences and challenges.”

How can the fashion industry move the needle for good?

Data from Higg, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Textile Exchange estimates apparel sector emissions at 1.025 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 e) in 2019, or roughly 2% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Unchecked, emissions will grow to 1.588 Gt by 2030, well off pace to deliver the 45% absolute reduction needed to limit warming to 1.5°C.

At least six interventions have been identified for the sector to reduce emissions:

Maximising material efficiency. Through design, material selection, and methods of manufacturing, reduce the amount of fibre and materials that go to waste in each stage of production.
Scaling sustainable materials and practices. Increase the use of more sustainable materials (such as recycled polyester) and practices (for instance, conservation tillage for cotton).
Accelerating the development of innovative materials. Ramp up investment in next generation materials, including textile recycling, bio-based materials, and plant-based leather.
Maximising energy efficiency. Expand energy efficiency efforts across manufacturing facilities.
Eliminating coal in manufacturing. Replace coal as a thermal energy source for materials and product manufacturing.
Shifting to 100% renewable electricity. Deploy renewable electricity across the supply chain.

Fashion industry developments since COP27

Gen Phoenix takes leather and textile waste and regenerates them into premium next-gen materials for the fashion, auto, aviation and transport industries to boost the transition to a circular economy.

CEO John Kennedy tells Just Style collaboration on solutions such as this is essential in realising that vision for a sustainable industry.

“Rather than fixating on a perfect 100% sustainable material, we advocate for prioritising innovations that immediately minimise waste. Collaborating with next-generation material innovators, we've found that consumers overwhelmingly support progress, understanding that perfection evolves over time. In our pursuit, we're actively exploring avenues like post-consumer waste recycling and plant-based alternatives, aiming to revolutionise industries like automotive, aviation, and fashion.

He acknowledges potential challenges but the company is investing in research and development, forging collaborations to pool knowledge and resources, engaging stakeholders transparently, adapting to evolving regulations, educating consumers about the merits of sustainability, diversifying the supply chains, and implementing robust monitoring and reporting systems.

He believes this comprehensive approach will lead towards environmental and social sustainability.

Swedish fashion retailer H&M has consistently been one brand at the forefront of sustainable change in the fashion industry.

To help it achieve net-zero, it introduced a goal to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 56% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline. Energy efficiency and the availability and usage of renewable energy are some of the key areas it focuses on. On an overall level, H&M Group achieved 7% absolute reduction in scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and 8% absolute reduction in scopes 1 and 2 emissions in 2022, compared with the 2019 baseline.

A spokesperson for H&M Group explained: “In line with the group’s ambition to achieve net-zero CO2e emissions by 2040, H&M Group has for the past few years set focus on making funding available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across and beyond its own supply chain.

“Our Green Fashion Initiative enables supplying factories to invest in the technologies and processes needed to reduce energy demand and replace fossil fuels across the fashion industry. H&M Group is a lead funder in Aii’s Fashion Climate Fund, which helps execute foundational supply chain improvements, including transitioning to renewable electricity, improving energy efficiency, eliminating coal in manufacturing, scaling sustainable materials and practices, and accelerating next-gen materials.”

Beyond this, it has tested and invested in textile recycling companies like HKRITA’s Green Machine, Renewcell and Infinited Fiber Company, which tackle current recycling challenges with different innovations.

One of the challenges it has run into is poor options to scale technologies and increase availability of recycled fibres across the sector.

Exploring collaborative financing, it says, is a means of creating rapid change at scale.

H&M Group is making funding available to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across and beyond its own supply chain. But the retailer believes decarbonising supply chains is a shared challenge that can only be tackled with strong shared commitments and collaborative financing.

The H&M spokesperson adds: "For us, sustainability investments are not only a responsible approach but a strategic necessity for future success."

Earlier this week it agreed a partnership with Southeast Asia’s bank DBS to kick off what it describes as a "first of its kind" green loan programme to accelerate the decarbonisation of fashion supply chains.

The H&M Group states it’s an undeniable truth that the way fashion is produced and consumed needs to change: "We believe sustainability is a pre-requisite for our future. To be able to operate within planetary boundaries, the sector must decouple its own resource use from growth.”

And it is a generally shared belief that the biggest and most impacting changes occur when they happen right at the start of the production process.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) launched five impact targets this year underpinning the ambitions set out in its 2030 strategy. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting pesticide application, improving soil health, empowering women and progressing farmer livelihoods.

“A milestone moment for us this year has been the launch of our traceability solution, which has been three years in the making and itself creates new opportunities that wouldn’t be possible without enhanced supply chain data,” a spokesperson for BCI tells Just Style.

BCI is working on an Impact Marketplace, which would enable retail and brand members to reward Better Cotton Farmers for field-level progress in line with several sustainability indicators.

The BCI spokesperson adds: “Such a mechanism would not only benefit livelihoods by directing finances to the farm-level, but it would also incentivise continuous improvements in the production of more sustainable cotton, which is good for business.”

How the sector plans to leverage COP28 learnings

Many within the industry are looking forward to gaining more insight around how they can drive ambition to action when it comes to meeting the commitments made to combat rising climate change.

Martin says: "While innovation will be much vaunted, as an industry we really need to ensure that we also remain focused on proven solutions such as coal elimination, implementation of renewable energy sources, and improvements in energy efficiency. These will only be delivered through inclusive collective action, and access to the necessary investments to deliver these changes."

BCI's spokesperson asserts: “From energy transition to sustainable agriculture, most topics negotiated at COP28 can have a direct impact on global fashion supply chains. Better Cotton welcomes COP28’s focus on putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action. As a farm-level standard, it is key for us to ensure progress related to climate also provides for dignified lives around the world.”

Kennedy reckons discussions will centre around reducing carbon footprints, increasing sustainable practices and environmental initiatives.

“We expect a heightened focus on sustainable materials, transparent supply chains, and ethical practices, influencing the landscape of fashion sourcing.

“These conversations are especially relevant for Gen Phoenix, we are keen to stay abreast of global environmental policies to ensure we’re aligning our fashion sourcing strategies with emerging regulations and agreements. Our dedication to creating recycled leather at scale and exploring sustainable alternatives positions us to contribute significantly to the industry's transformation.

“We will seek to understand any new standards or guidelines that may arise from COP28 to ensure we can work with our brand partners to create positive environmental change in fashion sourcing.”

From a brand-level perspective, H&M says it is looking forward to seeing more discussions around reforms in energy markets which it says are crucial for suppliers having access to renewable energy.

The retailer plans to engage with policymakers to advocate for mechanisms such as Power Purchase Agreements and Green Tariff to become the norm. It also supports the establishment of legal frameworks around attribution mechanisms for energy certificates.

H&M's spokesperson adds: "Given that the decarbonisation path will inevitably require us to adopt new technologies, we advocate for all stakeholders to come together to offer the right incentives to suppliers to make the necessary investments.”

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Hela Apparel Interlock Africa initiative raises bar for region’s sourcing growth

Hannah Abdulla — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:49:48 +0000

A recent report from UNESCO suggests the Africa fashion sector has the potential to become “the next big thing”, which makes my conversation with Hela Apparel’s director of supply chain and sourcing, Sachith Balage all the more timely.

Balage has over 16 years’ worth of industry experience so I’m keen to tap into his knowledge, particularly as Hela has had a presence across the African continent since 2016 with its first operation in Kenya, followed by Ethiopia in 2019 and then Egypt in 2022.

Across three countries in Africa, Sri-Lanka headquartered Hela, has a workforce of around 17,000 people in 10 manufacturing facilities. Its output is around 10m pieces a year, and it produces for global brands including Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret.

“The trick is offering a point of difference,” he begins, adding that it is this that keeps Hela’s customers coming back.

Hela Apparels, whose key categories are underwear, sleepwear and sportswear, designs and distributes clothing globally. It sits within the wider Hela Group Holding, a consortium joint venture operation that has existed for over 20 years.

The Hela Group – whose core offering is complete apparel supply chain solutions from design to delivery – has grown rapidly within a short period of time. A decade ago, it was turning over less than $30m in revenue, while today it is closer to $300m.

Balage says much of that success has come from its growth objectives in Africa. Its Kenya operation alone produces approximately 20% of the country’s total apparel exports.

Africa’s undiscovered potential for fashion

Recent figures from UNESCO suggest the African continent is exporting textiles to the tune of $15.5bn and 37 of its 54 countries produce cotton. Made-in-Africa is increasingly trending. It did, however, point out that a strengthening of the whole production chain is necessary from legal protections for designers to professionals and investment in SMEs and environmental standards.

One thing that did boost the continent’s popularity as an apparel-sourcing destination was, surprisingly, Covid.

“Everyone is interested in this emerging market. We only had a few customers showing interest at the start, now we have the likes of Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger. We are seeing interest from both the US and Europe markets. When you have the speed, agility and skill you tend to attract more tier 1 customers to the same destination because everyone is interested in emerging markets and Africa has so much to offer in terms of fabric sustainability and traceability.

“Tanzania is the sixth largest organic cotton producer in the entire world. It exports around 90% without adding value. We can harness that space, being vertical and faster than anyone else in that region.”

Verticality is an issue, however, he notes. It’s where Balage believes African countries fall short compared to Asia.

“Africa is a fresh destination when it comes to apparel. It’s not like Vietnam, Bangladesh and China which are mature markets in this respect and have their own verticality. When we moved to Africa seven years back we didn’t have a single fabric supplier there."

Today, Balage explains, Hela’s African operation is sourcing 35% (one out of three garments) of raw materials from Africa compared with 5% when it first started in the region.

But there’s not a complete omission of verticality, he says. Inter-Africa verticality is absolutely possible.

“You can get cotton without crossing the continental border to make the garment. So you develop supply chain resilience, in my view, as opposed to buying inputs from different regions.”

It’s one of the strengths Balage believes must be leveraged alongside sustainability, traceability and advantageous geographical positioning to key customer markets. This gives Hela a strategic advantage during times of macroeconomic pressures or global pandemics.

He points to Egypt as an example and how it was able to navigate the challenges other manufacturers were coming up against during the Covid pandemic because they couldn’t secure their raw material inputs that were stuck in China as a result of a total lockdown.

“Egypt is one of the fastest manufacturing countries. You have the raw material, production all there and you are close to retail markets. Compare this to China which is about 30 days transit. Sri Lanka and India also have longer lead times. Of course, there are environmental factors, and it still has its challenges, but the ingredients to enable resilience are there.”

The cruciality of point of difference

Hela’s Ethiopia operation is curious given Ethiopia has been a thorn in the side of many apparel manufacturers operating there and exporting to the US. Once a land that showed so much promise for apparel manufacturers, it has become problematic since the US stripped its African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) duty free trade benefit.

Hela Apparel has had a presence in Ethiopia for nearly five years and, like many, found the AGOA programme beneficial.

In 2021 the Biden Administration suspended Ethiopia from AGOA, a White House Statement said it was concerned over “gross violations of internationally recognised human rights” during its armed struggle with Tigray militants.

Ethiopia, the 22^nd largest supplier of apparel to the US market, has been an AGOA beneficiary country since its enactment in 2001 with 70% of the $750m earned by the east African country’s two dozen industrial parks since 2014, ending up in the US market under AGOA.

One clothing supplier at the time of the announcement warned that stripping Ethiopia of the benefit could return it to a famine state.

But Balage says the impact has been far less dramatic for Hela Apparel than initially anticipated, and much of that comes down to its unique added-value offering.

“Being in Africa you have to add value, upscale and build a complex product. There are certain categories we produce in Ethiopia that are difficult to replicate in other regions, like bras. Through our ‘stickiness’ with customers, I believe challenges like the AGOA loss can be overcome. We rely on this formula to ensure our relevance to our customer base. So we still ship to the US because of the value proposition and what we can offer our customers.”

Hela Africa has focused on investing in ensuring its systems and processes are on par with global standards and expectations, investing in things like ERP and automating its cutting systems.

But does he believe this is enough for Africa to replace Asia as the top apparel producing and exporting continent?

It’s not as clear cut as this, he explains: “The region has to offer the same sense of unique value to customers, so it needs to be a gradual journey. “If you take Africa, for example, and look at the total value produced from the countries we are in, it’s less than $5bn. But then you look at Bangladesh and Vietnam alone, it’s more like $90bn plus. It’s a much more mature market. And then you have to consider the efforts around becoming sustainable in accordance to European standards. We’ve got the digital product passport requirements coming in soon. That’s something Bangladesh can really get involved in because they have cotton spinning within the region, for example.

“I don’t think it’s about competing with existing regions. I think it’s important for Africa to stick to its own value propositions: sustainability, traceability and speed, rather than trying to emulate Asia or Turkey. When you are in the right space and do the right thing, you will see success in getting orders, expanding footprint but you have to stick to your core values.”

Cue Hela Apparel's Interlock Africa

Hela Apparel is now on a wider mission which involves taking its learnings from its time in Africa and sharing them with the apparel manufacturers looking to invest or expand in the region.

Interlock Africa plans to focus on the progress of sustainability-driven supply chain developments and Balage’s team will lead this initiative.

“We believe we need to build a solid supply chain for the region, not just for Hela but for everyone,” he asserts.

Interlock Africa is a project we started with that in mind; to build African verticality so any other player like Hela would come into that destination and execute flawlessly. If we are to keep everything to ourselves, we are limiting that option for that particular country or destination. We’d like to open up and be the catalyst in that and make Africa the sort of platform where new investors could come and upscale that. That’s the core objective.”

Balage says that the DNA make-up of Hela Apparel clothing made in Africa has gradually increased the percentage of African-sourced raw materials within it. For example it was 5% five years ago and is 35% today.

“By 2025, it will cross 50%. What that means is that any garment produced in Africa, at least half of it will be made up from African raw materials. That will help local communities, the local ecosystem to be competitive and as advanced as Asia or any other mature destination.”

Earlier this year, Hela Apparel announced a $14m investment into its East African operations, supported by Norfund, the Norwegian government’s investment fund.

The proceeds from Norfund’s investment would be utilised to strengthen Hela’s strategic supply chain partnerships in East Africa. This would enable Hela to leverage regional sourcing from Kenya and Tanzania to a larger extent, providing significant cost and lead time advantages for manufacturing in the region. Proposed Capex investments within the Kenyan manufacturing facility on process automation were aimed at enhancing productivity and placing the facility in a more competitive position within the region.

Expanding the Africa-to-Africa operation is a key element of building supply chains and is core to the idea behind Interlock, Balage explains.

“You can’t expand without having your supply chain in it. You have to be relevant in speed and your promise to your customers and be transparent in your supply chain.

“Through Interlock we are building suppliers in different regions by sharing our know-how and different financial assistance for them to invest right now and prepare for the future when they can reap the rewards of having established supply chains set up in a region that is up and coming and central to the future of a sustainable global fashion industry.”

On 1 November US President Biden committed to renewing AGOA beyond 2025, however DTRT Apparel's co-founder and co-CEO Mark Hansult told Just Style the US should renew it for another decade at least to reap the benefits of synthetic verticality in the region.

Four obstacles in the way of Africa fashion-sourcing hotspot realisation

Hannah Abdulla — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:36:24 +0000

A UNESCO analysis titled "The Fashion Sector in Africa: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Growth", reveals as well as the African continent exporting textiles to the value of $15.5bn annually, it is a major producer of raw materials, with 37 out of 54 countries producing cotton.

The UNESCO report reveals Made-in-Africa is trending, particularly among the continent’s youth and Africa is experiencing rapid growth in the digital sector, facilitating intra-African trade and the emergence of young talent.

A 42% increase in demand for African haute couture is expected over the next 10 years.

"Across the continent, people are increasingly looking for products 'Made in Africa' which they see as a symbol of pride and a way to affirm their identity. But in order to meet this growing demand, the entire production chain needs to be strengthened. This UNESCO report is useful because it maps out the path to achieve this, and it will increase the awareness of public decision-makers," says Omoyemi Akerele, director of Lagos Fashion Week

In its report, UNESCO highlights four challenges which governments and decision-makers must tackle if they want to realise the potential of Africa’s fashion sector:

Legal protections for designers and professionals need to be strengthened, in terms of intellectual property rights, remuneration levels, working conditions and the ability to organise into professional unions and social rights.
Investment must be made in small and medium-sized enterprises, which today account for 90% of businesses in the fashion sector in Africa. Covering the entire continent, they are the gatekeepers of the diversity of cultural practices and expression. Generators of local employment, they are also a powerful lever for giving young people who want to enter the sector a chance.
Environmental standards need to be set. While the fashion industry remains one of the most polluting industries, Africa can make greater use of local materials, innovate around sustainable textiles, and raise awareness of sustainable consumption patterns. Production of organic cotton fibre in Africa has already risen by 90% between 2019 and 2020, and now accounts for 7.3% of global production. The second-hand clothing market is one of the most dynamic in the world – representing a third of global imports - but still suffers from a lack of recycling channels, with 40% of these garments ending up in landfill sites, or even in oceans and rivers.
Both the transmission of savoir-faire, and formal training need to be improved. Africa is rich in traditional skills and unique textile techniques, some of which are already protected by UNESCO. The report encourages countries to set up mentoring schemes to ensure that these practices are passed on from generation to generation and can continue to inspire young designers. At the same time, UNESCO is calling for an increase in the number of qualifications available in key related professions - quality control, commercial law, marketing - and in training in new technologies, such as 3D printing and e-commerce.

Jeanologia eDesigner upgrade aims to lower fashion’s carbon footprint

Hannah Abdulla — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:58:46 +0000

The newest version of eDesigner ensures “perfect reproducibility” of production designs, Jeanologia says.

It also improves usability and enhances hyperrealism thanks to a more intuitive interface.

Jeanologia eDesigner has been available to the fashion industry since 2020.

As part of the new upgrades, users have access to the "Trace" tool, which uses artificial intelligence to generate hyper-realistic designs from a single image.

eDesigner also provides designers with a valuable source of inspiration and expertise through its Lightbrary, which gives users access to an extensive gallery of laser designs, vintage designs, wash effects, textures, tear and fray gallery, as well as a "Discover" section with trends and inspirational designs.

Jeanologia will share its know-how with designers, who will be able to create things from scratch or build on previous designs as a starting point for new creations.

The new eDesigner takes digitisation to the next level, enabling the digital creation of patterns and garments and in doing so, reduces physical samples by 80%. This not only means significant savings in terms of resources, but also a substantial reduction in the carbon footprint generated by the transportation of samples.

The user can create digital cufflinks, combining digital patterns (eFit) with digital fabrics (eFabric), and partake in a truly authentic experience, as he or she will be able to analyse the results of wash applications on the fabrics.

All these innovations make it possible to shorten product development times by months, eliminating significant sample quantities and the now-unnecessary costs of shipping them around the world.

Jeanologia's marketing director, Carmen Silla, explains: "Thanks to this tool we’ll enable infinite iterations at zero cost and impact, while standardising formats and communication. We’ll improve production processes by making them more efficient and accelerate time-to-market, since we go from design, to sample and approval in a very short time.”

US apparel imports slump in September on stagnant demand

Hannah Abdulla — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:14:05 +0000

Over the nine-month period, the apparel supplier to see the biggest decline was Cambodia, with shipment volumes falling 32.9% to 759m SME.

Interestingly, with the US push to diversify apparel sourcing away from China, one might be inclined to believe the wider Asia and Central American regions might benefit.

But Pakistan saw the next biggest fall in shipment volumes over a nine-month period at 30.1% to 511m SME.

Bangladesh closely followed with a shipment volume decline of 29.4% to 1.76bn SME in the nine-month period while Indonesia saw a shipment volume of 29.3% to 787m SME.

Honduras shipment volumes declined 26.6% over the nine months to 524m SME and Vietnam’s fell 26.5% to 2.94bn SME.

China, the largest apparel supplier to the US, saw shipment volumes reduce by 23.9% over the period to 6.77bn SME.

India’s shipment volume growth was a negative 22.6% to 959m SME.

Nicaragua and Mexico both saw more modest declines over the nine months at 12.3% to 446m SME and 11.9% to 536m SME, respectively.

A breakdown of US apparel import performance in September

Shipments from all sources to the US came in at 2.37bn SME with China making up the largest amount in shipment volume terms at 967m SME.

This was followed by:

Vietnam at 375m SME
Bangladesh at 181m SME
Cambodia at 107m SME
India at 103m SME
Indonesia at 100m SME
Pakistan at 61m SME
Honduras at 58m SME
Nicaragua at 51m SME
Mexico at 48m SME

Commenting on the latest set of data, Dr Sheng Lu, associate professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, explains the fall in September came down to uncertainties in the US and world economy and consumers’ stagnant demand.

“Specifically, US apparel imports in September 2023 were 11.6% lower in quantity and 23.1% lower in value from a year ago. After removing the seasonal factor, apparel imports in September were still 1.4% lower in value and flat in quantity compared to August 2023. Notably, nearly all major international institutions, from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the World Bank, have recently revised their projections, expecting global trade to grow even more slowly in 2023 than initially anticipated.”

With Bangladesh suffering the biggest drop in apparel imports, down almost 30% in quantity and value, Lu suggests this comes down to US fashion companies typically sourcing large-volume items from Bangladesh, making the country particularly sensitive to weakened import demand and; the treatment of Bangladesh as a low cost sourcing destination that serves the needs of the value market.

“Working-class US consumers were under more severe economic stress and had to cut their clothing expenses more substantially. Thus, when measured by the number of stock-keeping units (SKUs), more clothing items were launched in the luxury and premium market segments of the US retail market in 2023 compared to the previous year, while fewer were introduced in the value market segment.”

The Bangladesh garment sector has dominated headlines in recent weeks with workers embroiled in protests over wages.

It’s interesting at this point of the year to observe how market share has shifted for the top 10 suppliers of apparel to the US.

The most notable development is the growth being captured in the Central America region. Mexico has seen a staggering 2% rise in market share during September and on a year-to-date basis, market share grew 0.4%. Market share for Nicaragua rose 0.3% during the same period.

The only other regions to capture market share growth were China, interestingly, at 0.6% and India at 0.2%.

Lu says: “China slightly recovered its market share in September 2023. Specifically, China contributed more than 40% of US apparel imports in quantity and 24% in value in September 2023, the best performance for the country so far in 2023.

“Notably, US companies still import far more different styles of clothing from China than any other Asian country. For example, in the first nine months of 2023, about 56,000 SKUs of “Made in China” were newly launched to the US market, five times more than Vietnam (about 10,000 SKUs) and over ten more times than Bangladesh.

“Firm-level studies also show that fashion companies’ contracted garment factories in China overall were much smaller than those in Bangladesh and Vietnam. This suggests China is increasingly treated as an apparel sourcing base for flexibility and agility, particularly those orders that may include a greater variety of products in relatively smaller quantities.”