From the Sector

JD.com, Inc., China’s leading technology-driven e-commerce company, and Google, announced today that Google will invest $550 million in cash in JD.com as part of a strategic partnership.

Google and JD plan to collaborate on a range of strategic initiatives, including joint development of retail solutions in a range of regions around the world, including Southeast Asia, the U.S. and Europe. By applying JD’s supply chain and logistics expertise and Google’s technology strengths, the two companies aim to explore the creation of next generation retail infrastructure solutions, with the goal of offering helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences. JD also plans to make a selection of high-quality products available for sale through Google Shopping in multiple regions.

“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world,” said JD.com’s Chief Strategy Officer Jianwen Liao. “This marks an important step in the process of modernizing global retail. As we celebrate our June 18 anniversary sale, this partnership opens a new chapter in our history.”

"We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want,” said Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler.

Under the agreements, Google will receive 27,106,948 newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares at an issue price of $20.29 per share, equivalent to $40.58 per ADS, based on the volume-weighted average trading price over the prior 10 trading days.

OutDoor2018: Schoeller’s coldblack® technology has been specifically optimized for use on knitted and woven fabrics so brands can now expand their product application uses. Under the blazing sun, textiles with coldblack® heat up less and stay cool to the touch. Südwolle Group, a leading manufacturer of high quality yarns, has also recognized the ideal combination of merino and coldblack®. With this, the wear comfort of wool apparel can be tangibly improved.

Wool is well known for its various property benefits, including insulation, natural antibacterial protection, odor control, light weight and nearly wrinkle free composition. Not only in the winter time, but also in summer particularly merino wool, a special high-quality type of wool, regulates moisture balance and thus the body temperature. The fibers can absorb a great deal of moisture or sweat and transport it away from the body. Warm ambient air quickly dries the material and causes a cooling evaporation, which makes it very comfortable to wear merino apparel in the summer time.

coldblack® technology from Schoeller supports the natural properties of wool because it reliably reduces heat build-up when exposed to the sun. Together with the help of Südwolle Group, the finish has been optimized specifically for the use in merino apparel. The yarn manufacturer chooses coldblack® for a variety of uses, especially for knitting and weaving yarns for sports and outdoor apparel and develops such products individually according to its customers’ requirements.

Stéphane Thouvay, Managing Director Product Management & Innovation at Südwolle Group, summarizes the use of the technology as follows: “coldblack® is part of our product range for the summer time, which we will be presenting at OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen. The technology reduces not only heat build-up, but also enhances the natural UV protection of wool without affecting the look and feel of the fabric. Therefore coldblack® perfectly fits into our yarn selection for sports and outdoor apparel, for example in our collection ʻYarn in Motion’. For end consumers garments made of coldblack® yarns can optionally be labeled with hangtags.”

When used in high-quality woolen fabrics, coldblack® has already proven its performance and is being used by renowned brands in various collections of men’s suits. Since 2008, the technology has been licensed by more than 200 brands, in sports particularly in the field of cycling, triathlon and golf. All components of the finish are bluesign® approved.

Exhibiting at this week’s Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Annual Conference, Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified laundries provided nearly 200 copies of a training video guiding caregivers in improving soiled linen handling performance.

Provided on a flash drive: the 13-minute video (The Six Cs: Handling Soiled Linen in a Healthcare Environment), a quiz to immediately assess viewers’ grasp of the video’s lessons and posters to reinforce these year-round. Distributed since 2016, the video has been hailed for its value in aiding compliance with OSHA universal precautions regarding items saturated with blood, bodily fluids, harmful residue from treatments and other potentially infectious material.

The flash drive offer intrigued infection preventionists (IPs) from a single facility or those responsible for this function throughout health systems, whether acute or outpatient care environments or both. The drive also attracted the attention of other professionals who visited the Hygienically Clean exhibit, such as federal and state health officials and suppliers of products and services to the IP profession.

Distributing the flash drive is a hallmark of the Hygienically Clean program’s philosophy of addressing healthcare providers’ operational needs outside the scope of outsourced laundries’ traditional functions. Certified operators’ certification fees provide funding for creating and distributing the video and other education tools for healthcare facilities.

Visitors to the Minneapolis display who previously received the video vouched for its effectiveness. Certified laundries have individually distributed the flash drive to customers and prospects in addition to  their collective effort to provide them at previous APIC and Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) expos.

The video’s easy-to-follow steps improve infection control and patient care and reduce costs by addressing OSHA-required universal precautions. Employees who handle soiled linen (usually nurses and environmental services staff) must assume all human blood and potentially infectious materials they touch are infected, because they can’t be sure which patients are infected or what infections are present.

Adhering to the six Cs (cover, collect, contain, consolidate, clean, cooperate) each day prevents injury and reduces the risk of spreading of infection to co-workers, patients and residents. These positive outcomes are only achieved when workers first protect themselves.

The flash drive is available to all healthcare providers at no cost. It also contains the Hygienically Clean standard and other guidance documents for infection preventionists related to linen and uniforms. Among these documents: Handling Clean Linen in a Healthcare Environment, an 8-page guide to safeguarding through effective transportation, storage and distribution.

Linen, uniform and facility services operators certified Hygienically Clean Healthcare presented evidence today to members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) that medical care facilities should more carefully control public wearing of employee uniforms.

Engaging visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit at APIC’s 2018 expo, certification staff had a receptive audience for the data. Most attendees interviewed indicated they support preventing employees from wearing scrubs and other healthcare apparel outside medical facilities. Many said they have policies to this effect but find these difficult to enforce.

The 3-day APIC exhibit is building awareness of Hygienically Clean certified providers among infection preventionists: individuals who recommend what linen and uniform service their facilities should use. Discussing issues with them such as uniform hygiene positions certified operators as the foremost laundry science experts with an unprecedented commitment to educating healthcare professionals regarding linen and laundry.

Visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit received Curbing the Infection Risks of Healthcare Garments, a brief compendium of studies and journal articles that point to the risk-reduction value of professionally laundering employees’ garments, worth the additional cost to a healthcare facility that currently makes employees responsible for washing them.

Hygienically Clean staff noted that TRSA, the global association for the linen and uniform industry that administers the certification program, has begun planning to raise the issue’s profile with healthcare industry stakeholders. TRSA’s Healthcare Committee has formed a task force on the matter. Staff has contacted TRSA associate members (suppliers to the industry) who manufacture scrubs, lab coats and other healthcare employee garments to explore promoting a new voluntary standard that would urge medical providers to prevent wearing these in public.

An Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) standard currently performs this role regarding garments worn in surgical suites. TRSA will weigh the possibility of supporting creation of a much broader measure, covering all clinical functions with discernible risk of pathogen transmission from healthcare garments to patients and the public.

As TRSA investigates courses of action, hoping to involve such stakeholder groups, Hygienically Clean certified providers will continue to point to the mounting evidence of the risks of garments carrying pathogens out of healthcare facilities and inadequate domestic laundering bringing them in.

In contrast, contracting with a Hygienically Clean provider, whose processes (laundry practices) are verified and outcomes (product cleanliness) are quantified by third parties, provides maximum confidence that all garments used in a healthcare setting have diminished presence of harmful bacteria. It’s a cost-effective way to essentially eliminate this single risk of infection transmission, unlike so many others that require preventionists to constantly guard against.

• Archroma joins hands with Lahore University of Engineering & Technology to foster innovative research in textiles

Reinach, Switzerland - Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Lahore, Pakistan. The MoU will pave way for cooperation initially for a five-year period.

The partnership will explore innovations in textile research with futuristic visualization for Pakistan to help the Pakistan textile industry to keep in line with the fast pace of global apparel requirements and evolutions. Both partners will jointly hold sessions to prepare students for the challenges of the textile industry through in-house training sessions, developmental projects, research in textile applications and process innovative methodologies by pioneering value additions. The students of UET will also be able to join internship placement programs at Archroma Center of Excellence at Karachi.

The MoU was officially signed at a ceremony recently held in Faisalabad by Prof. Dr. Fazal Ahmed Khalid, Vice Chancellor of UET and Mujtaba Rahim of CEO Archroma Pakistan Limited.

Speaking at the occasion, Mujtaba Rahim said: “We, at Archroma, believe in continuous improvement and challenging the status quo leading to enhance sustainable growth especially in our product lines creating value for our stakeholders. Through this initiative of mutual cooperation, we will be able to share latest knowledge and technical developments and to work together with the faculty and research team of UET. We also wish to share the innovative textile solutions of Archroma with the students enabling them to enhance their academic performance. Our MoU will go a long way in adding value in the fast growing textile segment, from education to R&D development.”

“This partnership is going to have far-reaching impact in textile research which will bear highly positive results for UET and Archroma. Our academic team has already collaborated with Archroma on projects that will have a far reaching impact on the textile industry. We are very enthusiastic about formalizing our mutual relationship and look forward to interesting research outcomes. Industrial liaison of students will create confidence and the training, internships and working sessions will benefit them in their career development,” Prof. Dr. Fazal Ahmed Khalid commented.

• Fibres for automotive composites, technical textiles, hygiene and medical nonwovens
• UltraLink fibres offer sustainable system cost reduction solutions to the automotive industry
• Meralux offers improved liquid management for a dry feeling
• Stand 2034, ANEX 2018, 6-8 June, Tokyo Big Sight, Japan

Beaulieu Fibres International, the leading European polyolefin fibre supplier, marks its Asia Nonwovens Exhibition and Conference (ANEX) debut with unique products and capabilities to support innovation at a local level within the automotive and hygiene segments.

At Stand 2034, Beaulieu Fibres International demonstrates its commitment to the global market growth for automotive composites and technical textiles, as interest increases in adopting lightweight materials to reduce vehicle weight and fuel efficiency.

The company will present UltraLink bonding fibres that improve the mechanical, thermal and functional properties of the final part, allowing customers to meet OEM specific standards in a more sustainable way. They are available in both MONO and BICO technology – a first for the composites industry.

Jefrem Jennard, Global Sales Director – Industrial Fibres, comments: “Beaulieu Fibres International developed UltraLink fibres over the past two years to provide an answer to the automotive industry’s continuous strive for lower weight, lower emission, lower cost and better properties. They are being introduced in new global automotive programmes with SOP 2019-2021. We are delighted to introduce them to the Asian market at ANEX.”

At ANEX 2018, Beaulieu Fibres International also presents its platform of unique Meralux fibres offering significant improvements to the dryness of nonwoven for hygiene and medical applications. The BICO fibre has a special cross section, which enables it to provide bulk, opacity and enhanced fluid management compared to standard round fibres to nonwoven constructions. As a result, a dry feeling is achieved for the final nonwoven.

Petra Bohle-Stricker, Global Sales Director – Hygiene Fibres, comments: “As Asia Pacific heads towards becoming the largest regional tissue and hygiene market by the end of 2025  , nonwovens producers can already take advantage of the benefits of Meralux to launch new and innovative products that will grab the attention of global and local manufacturers. Visitors to our ANEX booth can experience Meralux fibres first-hand in nonwoven samples.”

Since Meralux was first launched in April 2017, the portfolio has expanded to include Meralux T and Meralux Soft. Beaulieu Fibres International is currently expanding its production programme with polyester-core (PET) BICO. In addition a pilot line for new developments is under construction. Both are expected to come on stream in 2018.

Am 14. Juni 2018 startet die Fußball-WM in Russland. Durch die zum Teil frühen Anstoßzeiten werden sich etliche Modehäuser für eine Übertragung der Spiele im Geschäft für Kunden und Mitarbeiter entscheiden. Zudem haben bei den letzten Turnieren speziell Geschäfte mit männlicher Kundschaft Spiele mit deutscher Beteiligung mitunter für Kunden-Events genutzt.

Wichtig in diesem Zusammenhang ist die rechtliche Absicherung der Übertragung im Geschäft. Gemeinsam mit der Bundesvereinigung der Musikveranstalter konnte der HDE mit der GEMA einen Sondertarif für die Wiedergabe von Fernsehsendungen anlässlich der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018 vereinbaren. Dieser Sondertarif in Höhe von 85,25 Euro brutto (bis 200 qm) bzw. 170,49 Euro (201 bis 400 qm) kann angewandt werden, wenn in Betrieben bzw. Räumen mit entsprechender Größe Großbildfernseher/Leinwände über 106 cm bzw. über 42 Zoll Bilddiagonale aufgestellt werden.

In einigen Fällen kann allerdings der reguläre Fernsehtarif (für zwei Monate) günstiger sein als der GEMA-Sondertarif. Dies gilt insbesondere, wenn kleinere TV-Geräte bis 106 cm Bilddiagonale (= 42 Zoll) aufgestellt werden. Weitere Details enthält das HDE-Merkblatt „Fakten und Konditionen zur TV-Übertragung der Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018“, das über die regionalen Einzelhandelsverbände angefordert oder unter www.einzelhandel.de (Log-in erforderlich) heruntergeladen werden kann.

Attendees of the May 19-22 National Restaurant Show in Chicago learned that linen, uniform and facility services providers serving restaurants and other foodservice operations can be distinguished by earning third-party verification of their sustainability and cleanliness, as TRSA exhibited its Clean Green and Hygienically Clean Food Service certifications at the show.
More than 150 individuals viewed the exhibit, which screened a new animated video explaining the Clean Green designation. It’s now showing on TRSA’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-24iVCNRT0).

Depicting operations within a laundry, the video shows how contracting with a Clean Green certified provider delivers services restaurants need and gives them peace of mind from doing business with a sustainable provider. Clean Green operations comply with water and energy standards and demonstrate best management practices in supplying, laundering and maintaining textiles.

Visitors to the exhibit learned which providers serving these attendees’ home geographic areas are Clean Green certified and were encouraged to work with such a certified provider if not already doing so. Speaking with attendees also gave TRSA staff the opportunity to ask them about their experience with providers and, if currently under contract with one, its identity.

• 76 percent of those questioned indicate they currently use such a provider. Most could identify it by name
• 18 percent said they use an on-premises or home laundry for linen and uniform needs. Many of these respondents indicated they work for hotels, healthcare facilities, colleges or military bases with their own laundry equipment
• 6 percent said they use disposable products (napkins, wipers) instead of their reusable textile equivalents; most of these respondents are in quick-service restaurant operations

The TRSA display distributed copies of Sustainability: Finding the “New” Green in Your Restaurant Supply Chain, a 7-page guide to using a systematic approach to choose suppliers whose products/services are proven to be more sustainable than those of their competitors and whose own practices are more sustainable.

TRSA’s exhibit also kicked off a survey of restaurant management to determine their perceptions of table linen service as a plus for facility hygiene and service to diners. Results will help TRSA communicate to the restaurant industry the value of using Hygienically Clean Food Service certified providers in the hope that doing so becomes an industry standard.

Such certified laundries commit to cleanliness through third-party, quantified biological testing and inspection. This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify linens and uniforms cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and best management practices for servicing full- and limited-service restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and other locations where food is handled and served.

ABOUT CLEAN GREEN
Clean Green certification recognizes linen, uniform and facility services companies that demonstrate responsible leadership in sustainability and conservation by acknowledging commitment to improving water and energy efficiency and adoption of best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources. Certified operations meet quality standards for effectiveness in conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact. Customers that use Clean Green certified companies to supply, launder and maintain linens, uniforms, mats and other reusable textiles can be assured that their provider maximizes sustainable practices.

ABOUT HYGIENICALLY CLEAN
Hygienically Clean certification demonstrates linen, uniform and facility services companies’ commitment to cleanliness through independent, third-party laundry plant inspection and quantified microbial testing. Inspection and re-inspection verify that items are maintained, washed, dried, ironed, packed, transported and delivered using best management practices to meet key disinfection criteria. Between scheduled and supplemental inspections, ongoing microbial testing quantifies cleanliness and indicates laundry process adjustments.

Business networking event on the future of leather interiors

Lectra, the technological partner for companies using fabrics and leather, welcomed guests from all areas of the automotive leather supply chain at its International Advanced Technology Center (IATC) in Bordeaux-Cestas, France, for two action-packed days of demonstrations, workshops and talks by industry experts during the fourth annual “Go Digital” automotive leather event.
Building on the previous editions’ themes of digitalization of manufacturing processes and the adoption of Industry 4.0 principles, this year’s presentations focused on the value creation enabled by leveraging manufacturing data. A showcase for the innovative applications Lectra is developing based on Industry 4.0 principles, the company’s trade gathering demonstrated how disruptive new technologies are enhancing the onboard experience while reorganizing the automotive interiors supply chain.

Several guest speakers provided insight into the ways industry megatrends are impacting the automotive cockpit of the future. As motorized vehicles become increasingly autonomous, connected and electrified, cementing their place in the shared mobility landscape, suppliers must now devise new strategies to achieve profitable growth. Traditional business models are losing ground to cross-functional collaboration partnerships, making it even more challenging to compete in the fast-moving connected, shared economy.
“It is disruptive for the entire automotive supply chain,” remarks Nathalie Saint Martin, Vice President, Group Purchasing, Faurecia. “We are all learning to evolve together and enhance the added value to our end-customers. The level of collaboration we are now seeing among suppliers is unprecedented.”

Other keynote speeches included market research consultancy Frost & Sullivan’s analysis of automotive trends in the data-driven economy, Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) specialist Bureau Veritas’ vision of data protection for automotive and a presentation of industry insights firm WardsAuto’s selection of top 10 best vehicle interiors of 2018.
The event enables a diverse array of supply chain players in automotive interiors to gather with their peers. "Events like this one are a great opportunity to talk face-to-face with other suppliers about industry-wide challenges,” notes Claus Lattner, Director Engineering, Process Management, CoC Cut Sew Wrap Global, Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. “It is not often we find ourselves in the same room to talk about consumer perception and the sustainability of leather, for instance."

“The event provided a great opportunity to interact with suppliers who have a direct impact on innovation in interior design and manufacturing,” said John Sousanis, Managing Director of Wards Intelligence.
For Javier Garcia, Senior Vice-President, Automotive Sales, Lectra, bringing together the automotive leather community is especially important as it rises to new business challenges stemming from continually changing consumer habits and the digitalization of manufacturing processes. “Connectivity and occupant comfort are increasing the amount of high-tech content in automotive interiors, but the up-market appeal of leather makes it a constant,” states Javier Garcia. “By fostering exchange, Lectra is doing its part to help the automotive leather ecosystem evolve to meet new consumer expectations.”

Mostafiz Uddin, Managing director, Denim Expert Ltd., founder and CEO, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange spoke at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2018 during a panel on Tuesday the 15th of May 2018 about the Transparency in the supply chain.

This makes him the first Bangladeshi garment manufacturer to participate as a panel speaker at a CFS ever. His speech revolved around the apparel industry in his home country of Bangladesh and how his vision influences the way his company manufactures.
The panel was visited by over 1300 top profile participants, including her Highness the Crown Princes of Denmark. It was opened by CEO Leslie Johnson of the C&A Foundation.

Mostafiz Uddin said after the panel: “I am thankful to the CFS organisers for giving me such a great opportunity and honour, to my country to share the true story of Bangladesh and our apparel industry.”
About Mostafiz Uddin: Mostafiz Uddin is managing director of Denim Expert Ltd., an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible compliant garment manufacturing plant in Chittagong, Bangladesh. A visionary entrepreneur in the development of sustainable apparel systems, Uddin is personally driven by social and environmental ethics and is recognised as a game changer through his introduction of sustainable practices, innovation and fashion disruption, which he sees as key to the future of the Bangladesh apparel industry.
Uddin founded the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) to promote sustainable practices within the Bangladesh apparel industry and to improve the country’s image via various initiatives under the banner of BAE, including the Sustainable Apparel Forum, the Bangladesh Fashionology Summit and Bangladesh Denim Expo. Through these endeavours he strives to promote the advancement of sustainable practices, including environmentally sound production methods, full transparency, innovation, circularity and technology.

About the Copenhagen Fashion Summit: The sixth edition of the Summit also boasted 75 high-level speakers, including sustainability thought leader David Roberts of Singularity University; EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager; COO Eric Sprunk of NIKE; CEO Spencer Fung of Li & Fung; Vogue US fashion director Tonne Goodman; sustainability pioneer Dame Ellen MacArthur; models and entrepreneurs Lily Cole and Edie Campbell, the founders of Highsnobiety, Vestiaire Collective, Fashion Revolution, and many more. The hosts were Amber Valletta, actress, model and entrepreneur, and Tim Blanks, editor-at-large of The Business of Fashion.

Wrapping up two days of intense leadership roundtables, conversations and business meetings was a panel discussion featuring the Strategic Partners of Global Fashion Agenda: Kering, H&M, Target, Li & Fung and Sustainable Apparel Coalition, who took the stage to address why sustainability should be a leadership priority and to discuss some of the recommendations from the Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2018 report, released the week prior to the Summit.