From the Sector

adidas unveils the first of two drops with South African luxury designer, Thebe Magugu. The debut collection for women features the celebratory and joyful artwork of a woman dancing, designed in collaboration with artist Phathu Nembilwi, and influenced by Thebe’s mother, aunt and grandmother, and the theme of femininity, interwoven with leading adidas material technology . Each garment features an abstract selection of bright and punchy colors including, impact orange and yellow, accents of shock pink, backgrounded by pulse lilac. The collection spans across sports including running , swimming , training , tennis , football , and cycling alongside a set of casual lifestyle garments.  

United by a shared passion for inclusivity and kinship, the collection includes a three-piece modesty swimwear set made in part with recycled materials and chlorine resistant fabric that is lightweight and chlorine-resistant; swimwear in inclusive sizing (XS-4XL); and gender-neutral pieces with UNITEFIT – a fit system that is created with a spectrum of sizes, genders, and forms in mind.

The high-performance tennis pieces will be premiered during one of the most prominent hardcourt tournaments by adidas’ inspirational athletes Dana Mathewson, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger Aliassime and Daria Kasatkina who are passionate about showing support for what matters and encouraging diversity and inclusivity on and off the court. The tennis collection features the Purple NY UNITEFIT Tennis Dress, delivering style and functionality, made in part with recycled materials.

Alongside the performance pieces, the statement Originals looks include the Originals Crop T-shirt, in white and semi pulse lilac, delivering classic streetwear style, and the Originals 7/8 Leggings, a go-to choice for every occasion. The collaboration also includes remixes of iconic adidas footwear silhouettes including the Stan Smith, Nizza Platform, Astir and Forum footwear, which feature design accents from Thebe Magugu's signature prints. Reflecting adidas's commitment to consciously crafting performance materials, hero styles and pieces have also been made in part with recycled materials, just one of the innovations that represent adidas' commitment to help end plastic waste. 

The partnership will aim at eliminating hazardous Potassium Permanganate Spray and most manual processes in denim finishing, while reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions, water and chemical use in the process

Hong Kong based Epic Group, a leading garment manufacturer for global brands today announced its strategic partnership with CleanKore, a denim innovation and patent licensing company. This partnership aims at scaling the CleanKore patented yarn dyeing technology that provides numerous sustainability benefits for both the denim mill and garment manufacturer.

CleanKore patented technology changes the chemistry and the process used to dyeing yarns at the denim mills by keeping intact the white core of the yarn and only dyeing the surface. This technology significantly reduces water, chemicals and process time in the denim garment finishing stage.

Denim garment finishing often involves onerous manual processes such as handsanding and hand whiskering, spraying of harmful Potassium Permanganate (PP) (done by heavily protective equipment donned personnel), and multiple washing cycles. CleanKore technology coupled with lasers enable elimination of the PP spray process, significantly improving health and wellbeing of apparel workers, as well as emissions of harmful chemicals. Manual processes are eliminated in most styles and significantly reduced in others.

CleanKore technology also enables the reduction of wash cycles – reducing water, chemical use and process time, adding to the sustainability credentials of the end products. The products currently tested by Epic Group and CleanKore demonstrate up to 44% of water savings in garment finishing and up to 60% of energy savings in the fabric dyeing stage, along with the elimination of PP spray.

Through their partnership, Epic Group and CleanKore are planning to rapidly scale up the adoption of this technology in partnership with Epic Group’s customer base. In the first year, the partnership plans to reach over 4 million pairs of denim and working towards a scale of 15 - 20 million pairs of denim per annum in the next 3 years, converting a large portion of Epic Group’s denim production to CleanKore technology.

The 50th INNATEX fair opens its gates to a Green Fashion trade audience from 29 to 31 July 2022 in Hofheim-Wallau, near Frankfurt. At this anniversary fair, over 200 labels will be exhibiting, a wide range of experts and organisations will be gathering, and elaborate features and facilities are planned for the Rhein-Main exhibition centre.

According to INNATEX project manager Alexander Hitzel, one highlight is the Community Area, which brings together a range of experts. In short lounge talks, they reveal insights into what they are currently working on and a dialogue format encourages personal discussion. Mirjam Smend, whom we know well from Greenstyle Munich, introduces her recently launched sustainability magazine, Pureviu, and facilitates the morning talks.

Alongside standard bodies such as IVN and GOTS, which have taken part in INNATEX for many years, younger projects such as Fairmodel and the digital platform Retraced will be part of this special area. Fairtrade Germany, Femnet and the VDMD are to be found there too. Almost all of them are joining in with the Ask Me Anything dialouge format. Interested attendees can pre-book a slot of up to ten minutes for a personal discussion with the expert of their choice.

The supportive activities that had to be suspended during the pandemic are enjoying a comeback at this year’s summer fair: five newcomers to INNATEX designated DesignDiscoveries will be presenting their projects in another special area. Vegtus, from Barcelona, produces sneakers and other products from cactus leather. Natural textiles such as organic cotton are used by Lounge Cherie, a yoga fashion label.

Products for kids through to seniors, classics and streetwear, footwear and accessories
Nordlicht similarly relies on recyclable, renewable natural fibres for its outerwear, bags and accessories. The field of circular fashion is also served by the remaining two Design Discoveries. Both Nature is Future, with its handmade sneakers, and Freibeutler, with its functional rucksacks, make extensive use of recycled materials, while also paying due attention to broader sustainability aspects.

Regular INNATEX exhibitors include Lana, Chapati and Didymos, all of whom are also celebrating anniversaries. Labels such as Anokho with their colourful accessories in jacquard fabrics and Danish label Angel Circle with its plus-size fashion are exhibiting for the first time.

• Commitment for a sustainable fashion industry

RadiciGroup participated in the third edition of PHYGITAL SUSTAINABILITY EXPO, which took place on 11 and 12 July in Rome. The event was focused on the ecological transition of fashion and design brands through technological innovation.

During the “narrated fashion show”, at the archaeological site of the Museo Dei Fori Imperiali, two sustainable garments by RadiciGroup were shown: the first completely recyclable ski suit made with recycled nylon and the Yamamay swimsuit made with polyester yarn obtained from recycling of plastic bottles.

Yamamay chose the sustainable polyester yarn Repetable® by RadiciGroup, for its new green beachwear proposal, with the aim of combining beauty and sustainability. Repetable is an innovative polyester yarn obtained through a process of recycling plastic bottles. Compared to virgin polyester, Repetable allows lower CO₂ emissions (-45%), lower water consumption (-90%) and lower energy consumption (-60%), while guaranteeing high performance. The new line “Edit” by Yamamay, which includes the swimsuit made with Repetable, has already been on the market since the end of last May.

The participation of RadiciGroup in the PHYGITAL SUSTAINABILITY EXPO represents further confirmation of the Group commitment to creating a fashion industry that is increasingly respectful of the environment, thanks to the involvement of all the players in the supply chain, which are most sensitive to sustainability.

ROICA™, Asahi Kasei's premium stretch fiber manufacturer, strengthens its presence in the high fashion segment thanks to its established network of partners, who will present their latest innovations - activated by ROICA™ - at the upcoming edition of Milano Unica, taking place at Rho Fiera Milano from 12th to 14th July 2022.

Going more in depth in the offers of ROICA™ partners for this season of Milano Unica, they are:

• Cifra, which presents its innovative garments for men and women, combining fashion and function. Base layers, tops, leggings and jumpsuits are made with natural yarns, or recycled pre- and post-consumer yarns in combination with ROICA™ EF, the sustainable recycled stretch yarn able to complete proposals that offer design, performance and responsibility. The design of the garments, created in Cifra's design office, offers a perfect shape with body mapping technology that creates dedicated ventilation zones, for a feeling of comfort and freshness as well as an innovative aesthetic impact.
• Iluna Group, whose journey into the new dimension of responsibility continues with developments in GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certified recycled yarns aimed at unprecedented effects in looks, performance and hands. Brand new for this edition of Première Vision is the inclusion of GOTS-certified organic cotton in GRS-certified galloons and allover lace containing ROICA™ EF, so as to meet market demands for natural comfort in the underwear sphere.
• Maglificio Ripa, which presents the Splash collection for summer 2024, developed in two major themes, united by the same focus on sustainability that results in the use of recycled pre- and post-consumer polyamide and polyester yarns including ROICA™ EF for the sustainable recycled stretch fiber. The first theme encompasses printed, 3D jacquard fabrics, ennobled by innovative processes that move the bottoms for an organic and sometimes irreverent final look. The second theme embodies a cocoon spirit, enveloping like a caress, soft as a hug.
• Penn Textile Solutions/Penn Italia, whose highlights of the new collection are on one side fabrics developed with the use of Neride eco yarns by Nurel with ROICA™ V550, characterized by restraining lace effect, soft touch and breathable, in combination with tulle as a sustainable basic, and on the other side charmeuses with soft hand, raw cut in combination with a band fabric from the dreamshape family with reinforced gripping edge, made again in Neride eco yarns by Nurel with ROICA™ V550
• Piave Maitex, whose orientation is, as always, to present new products with the right  balance between technological innovation and aesthetic look, between fashion and comfort, proposals that include sustainable fabrics made in recycled polyester,  polyamide and the sustainable recycled stretch fiber ROICA™ EF, three-dimensional and optical, perforated, plush effects, made by prioritizing technical functionalities such as waterproofness, breathability, transfer and moisture management, opacity and anti-UV as well as anti-abrasion.
• Sitip, which is one of the premium partners, together with ROICA™, for the creation of the first Scott Racing Team’s responsible biking uniform. This year, the evolution of research and development has also led to the creation of new responsible shorts, made with NATIVE-THUNDERBIKE POWER fabric by Sitip in recycled polyamide and ROICA™ EF yarn by Asahi Kasei. A fabric designed for high-performance sports, particularly suitable for making cycling pants for its maximum coverage and UV protection - thanks to ECLIPSE Sun Protection technology - breathability, comfort and fit. Also the shirt has been produced with Sitip recycled fabrics - NATIVE-BICIMANIA and NATIVE-PIRATA - made with Asahi Kasei's ROICA™ EF sustainable, stretch and certified recycled yarns.

Europe has a 7-7.5-million-ton waste problem, of which only 30-35% is collected today. The ReHubs initiative launched in 2020 has now completed a Techno Economic Master Study (TES) and it sheds light on key figures and options to collaborate to solve the European waste problem.

In two and a half year all EU member states are obliged to separately collect textile waste. Currently there are no large-scaled plans to use that waste.  The largest portion of the waste (around 85%) comes from households.

The ReHubs initiative brings together key European and world players to solve the textile waste problem by transforming “waste” into a resource and to boost textile circular business models at large scale. The completed TES has accessed critical information on solving the European waste problem. It is estimated that to reach a collection rate from 18 to 26 percent by 2030, 7 billion euro will be needed. Once matured and scaled, the textile recycling industry could become a profitable industry with a total market size of 6-8 billion € and around 15,000 direct new jobs by 2030. As a first step the ReHubs Initiative announces different actions forwards, including projects on this pathway, which one is to transform textile waste into feedstock.

TEXAID has been supporting ReHubs since the start and contributed significantly involved to the Business Council and the Steering Committee of the initiative. As strongly committed industry leader TEXAID is taking the lead on the project to transform textile waste into feedstock for recycling processes. In order to handle the increasing quantities of post-consumer textile waste a massive scale up of sorting and preparation for recycling of used textiles is needed. TEXAID is committed to lead the work on developing new technologies and building up additional capacities for the handling and preparing of textile waste for textile recycling in Europe. In a first phase this involves the built up of a new sorting and pre-processing facility with the capacity of 50’00 tons p.a. by 2024.

• Finnish fashion and textile technology company Infinited Fiber Company plans to build its first commercial-scale Infinna™ fiber factory at Stora Enso’s Veitsiluoto industrial site in the city of Kemi in Finland’s northernmost region of Lapland. Infinited Fiber Company plans to convert a building currently housing a discontinued paper production line.
• The size of Infinited Fiber Company’s planned investment is around EUR 400 million.
• The planned factory is expected to create around 270 jobs at the Veitsiluoto industrial site.
• The factory is expected to operate at full capacity in 2025.

Fashion and textile technology company Infinited Fiber Company plans to build a commercial-scale factory to produce regenerated textile fiber for the world’s leading apparel companies at the site of renewable materials company Stora Enso’s closed Veitsiluoto paper mill in Kemi, a Finnish city on the northern shore of the Baltic Sea. The size of the investment is estimated at EUR 400 million, and it is expected to create around 270 jobs in the area. The annual fiber production capacity of the planned factory is expected to be 30,000 metric tons, which is equivalent to the fiber needed for about 100 million T-shirts.  

Infinited Fiber Company’s technology enables cotton-rich textile waste to be transformed into a versatile, high-quality regenerated textile fiber called Infinna™, which looks and feels like cotton. Major international fashion and apparel companies – including Zara’s parent company Inditex, PVH Europe, which is known for the Tommy Hilfiger brand, Patagonia, PANGAIA, H&M Group and BESTSELLER – have already committed to Infinna™ purchases through multi-year agreements as they look for materials that enable the industry to shift towards circularity. Infinited Fiber Company expects to export most of the output of its planned factory. This makes Kemi an ideal location as the city’s port serves as an efficient link to the rest of the world.

Infinited Fiber Company will convert a building housing a discontinued paper production line into an Infinna™ fiber factory. Both the factory engineering and project implementation as well as the related financing negotiations were commenced at the beginning of the year and are progressing well. Infinited Fiber Company has also agreed on the provision of energy and water related services with utility infrastructure company Nevel.

Once up and running, the factory is expected to provide direct employment for around 220 people, and for a further 50 through on-site support functions such as services, maintenance, and logistics. The additional indirect employment impact is estimated to be around 800 jobs. The construction and installation phase is expected to create jobs equaling around 120 person-years. The factory is anticipated to operate at full capacity in 2025.

TEXAID as a professional collector and sorter with roots in Switzerland contributes to this ecosystem to enable the textile-to-textile recycling.  The creation of Swiss Textile Recycling Ecosystem marks a key milestone in the upscaling of Worn Again Technologies’ recycling process technology with technology scale-up partner Sulzer Chemtech in Winterthur. It also supports its ambition to create a circular economy where non-reusable, hard-to-recycle textiles can be reintroduced into supply chains to become new fibers.

To cause a paradigm shift in the fashion industry and realize true circularity requires all members of the value chain to be on the same page and working towards the same goals. The Swiss Textile Recycling Ecosystem is a network comprising fabric and textile manufacturers, waste collectors and sorters, as well as retailers, brand owners and technology providers – all coordinated by Swiss Textiles. All these parties will cooperate to make their shared vision of a more sustainable fashion industry a reality, where used textiles can be recycled into new textiles.

TEXAID as a stakeholder in the Swiss Textile Recycling Ecosystem and as leading textile recycling company with over 40 years of experience will support the initiative through collecting, sorting, pre-processing and providing pre- and post-consumer feedstock to the Demonstration Plant. At its headquarters in Schattdorf (CH), TEXAID will investigate possibilities to automate the sorting and pre-processing of textile feedstock for recycling. Currently, TEXAID processes more than 80,000 tons of end-of-use textiles and footwear every year all over Europe and the US.

Premium Group and JOOR have renewed their partnership to power the SS23 PREMIUM and SEEK trade shows through JOOR’s digital platform, underpinning their belief in the power of a hybrid approach to wholesale.

From 7 - 9 July, buyers visiting the shows in Berlin will be able to learn more about and shop from exhibitors in a new hybrid way. Buyers can discover the full PREMIUM and SEEK portfolio of brands both in-person and online 24/7 by visiting JOOR Passport, JOOR's digital trade show destination.

Premium Group unites its various show locations to one cosmos for SS23 at Messe Berlin. The PREMIUM and SEEK shows will be joined by two further components— The Ground is a D2C creative platform for brands and consumers to meet, connect, and collaborate through one-of-a-kind experiences, engaging content, and innovative products, while FASHIONTECH, features masterclasses and panel discussions from the fashion industry’s most brilliant minds. A calendar of content includes deep dives into strong, successful, and sustainable strategies. As part of the content offer, JOOR will facilitate a masterclass on ‘Digital Wholesale’ and a future-looking roundtable discussion with four leading fashion brands on the FASHIONTECH stage.

Throughout the duration of the show, in-person buyers and visitors will have the ability to shop via the Premium Group mobile app. By simply scanning a brand’s corresponding QR code, visitors will link to the brand’s custom profile on JOOR Passport and be able to shop collections directly on the platform. JOOR Passport will also extend the duration of the shows by up to three months, allowing brands to continue wholesale selling digitally outside the window of the physical show.

JOOR and Premium Group’s flexible hybrid format allows visitors and brands a seamless digital and physical introduction to each other and their collections, the opportunity to connect in an efficient, effective, and longer term way, and the convenience to shop the show 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world.

Brands participating include Drykorn, Closed, Bertoni of Denmark, Veja, Ecoalf, Wrangler and Absolut Cashmere.

adidas launches its SS22 Tennis Collection, a high-performance tennis apparel line featuring graphics inspired by Paris’ botanical gardens and green spaces, garments in the collection were made either in part with Parley Ocean Plastic or in part with recycled content.

Launching ahead of the most prominent clay court tournament of the summer, the SS22 Tennis Collection is being premiered on court by adidas next-gen athletes, Elena Rybakina and Felix Auger-Aliassime, alongside Maria Sakkari, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas who all share a passion for championing sustainability and working together towards a better future for our planet.

From Insight to Action
The SS22 Tennis Collection is another step adidas is taking on its journey to help end plastic waste, and its athletes are sharing this commitment. For adidas athletes, what they wear on the court is not only performance attire but an expression of their personal style and beliefs.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, elite tennis player, commented: "I'm part of a generation of players who care about having an impact on and off the court. When I think about the future, it's not just about my future as a tennis player, but also about the future of the planet. . That's why I wear the new adidas SS22 collection made in part with Parley Ocean Plastic or in part with recycled materials – to send a message that we can all do our part by helping to end plastic waste.“

Fashion-foward Performance
The SS22 Tennis Collection is designed to be bold yet fully functional on court. Each garment features HEAT.RDY technology which is designed to keep players feeling cool, dry and confident as they take on their next challenge.

The Collection features two dresses, tank tops, long sleeve tees and a match skirt for female players. For male players, the collection consists of two tees, a sleeveless tee, a polo tee, a TECHFIT long sleeve top and two different types of shorts.

It is available in a number of different bold graphic prints, all inspired by the Serres d'Auteuil botanical garden. The prominent colors of the collection are black and white.