From the Sector

• Debut BCI Pavilion joined by Sateri and Birla Planet Pavilions to showcase eco-friendly products
• Six special display zones cater to latest industry trends

Green products continue to be sought after more and more by consumers nowadays, and textiles are no exception. In order to promote sustainable development throughout the industry, a number of yarn and fibre manufacturers have endeavoured to introduce green products into the early stages of textile production, and Yarn Expo, as the leading yarn and fibre business platform in Asia, serves as an ideal stage for these suppliers to gain exposure to buyers looking for such products.

Debut BCI Pavilion joined by Sateri and Birla Planet Pavilions to showcase eco-friendly products

Amongst a record number of exhibitors at this October’s Yarn Expo Autumn, the debut BCI Pavilion as well as the Sateri Pavilion and Birla Planet Pavilion that include eco-friendly products are certainly amongst the highlights this year. Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a global organisation with more than 1,000 members including spinners, weavers and garment manufacturers throughout the entire cotton sector. It aims to promote sustainable cotton production, benefiting workers, customers and the environment as a whole. They will form the BCI Pavilion in Yarn Expo for the first time, with five spinners showcasing their cotton yarn manufactured with eco-friendly cotton.

Sateri is a well-known brand in China which specialises in viscose rayon. This natural and high-quality fibre is made from trees grown on renewable plantations. They are the largest producer of viscose fibre in China with three mills and an annual capacity of 550,000 tons, and also have Oeko-Tex certification. This October, nine other domestic exhibitors will form the Sateri Pavilion to demonstrate their comfortable textiles and skin-friendly hygiene products made from viscose fibre.

With over 50 years of experience in manufacturing cellulosic fibres, Birla Group strives to provide greener, purer and safer products to its customers. The Group has operated in China for three years now, and values Yarn Expo’s effectiveness in helping them to promote their brand and attract a wide range of buyers. “We managed to get connected with a number of downstream buyers at the fair. We have introduced our company and products to them that there is great chance for future cooperation.” said Mr Peter Dong, Senior Manager of Aditya Birla Group.   Coming back this year, the Birla Planet Pavilion will feature three of their highlighted fibres – Birla Viscose, Birla Modal and Birla Spunshades at the fair.

Six special display zones cater to latest industry trends

The textile industry in China is undergoing a structural change with keen competition, so domestic suppliers have to develop innovative and quality products to satisfy the ever-changing markets. To match the specific needs of various buyers, Yarn Expo has established six distinct display zones gathering the leading domestic companies, namely Colourful Chemical Zone, Natural Cotton Yarn Zone, Fancy Yarn Zone, Quality Wool Zone, Green Linen Zone and e-Commerce Zone.

Not only are a number of chemical fibre products with innovative, eco-friendly and health & comfort properties on offer from exhibitors, but visitors can also gain insights into product trends in these areas from the 2017/18 China Fibre Trend Area and Innovative Textile Material Forum, both of which feature in the Colourful Chemical Zone. The Natural Cotton Yarn Zone is another highlight of the three-day show, where exhibitors will showcase their natural cotton yarn and a range of functional products. Around 50 suppliers will also showcase their latest collections in the expanded Fancy Yarn Zone.
In response to the strong demand for fibre and yarn products in China and the Asian region, the coming autumn edition of Yarn Expo will double its exhibition space, and will accommodate around 500 global yarn suppliers from 13 countries and regions. Together with Yarn Expo Autumn 2017, three other textile trade fairs are held concurrently from 11 – 13 October in the same venue: Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition, PH Value and the China International Fashion Fair (CHIC).

Yarn Expo Autumn is organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; The Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; China Cotton Textile Association; China Wool Textile Association; China Chemical Fiber Association; China Bast & Leaf Fibres Textiles Association; and China Textile Information Centre.

On the occasion of the State Visit to Italy by Their Majesties The King and Queen of The Netherlands and a Dutch trade delegation led by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Mrs Lilianne Ploumen, the Italian and Dutch fashion and textile industry will join hands.
MODINT, the Dutch association for the Fashion and Textile industries and lead of the fashion mission and Sistema Moda Italia (SMI), the Italian association for the Fashion and Textile supply chain in Italy, have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which emphasizes the growing interaction between the Dutch and Italian fashion and textile industries.
During the Best of Both Event on Friday June 23rd in Milan, the Minister and a delegation of Dutch and Italian VIP’s and innovators active in the Fashion and Textile industry will witness the signing of a promising Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU defines actions by MODINT and SMI to help the Dutch and Italian fashion and textile industries work together on recycling, labour standards, sustainable raw materials and domestic production.
Modint and SMI are both members of the International Apparel Federation (IAF), an international organisation that supports industry development by helping to build intelligent connections among its members. In the MoU, Italian and Dutch businesses will explain how they cooperate, how they can support sustainable value chains, how they envision their business growing together in the coming years, and what their respective governments can do to support that growth.

C&A, one of Europe’s leading Fashion retailers has recently launched in its stores in 18 European markets the world’s first Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Gold products. These recyclable t-shirts are made of 100% organic cotton, with safe materials and chemicals and produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way. They have been certified at gold level by the Cradle-to Cradle Product Innovation Institute (C2CPII). The dyes used in the coloration of the shirts, which are available in two styles and 17 colors, were selected from the range of DyStar Levafix® and Remazol® reactive dyes which received C2C Gold Level certification for Material Health from C2CPII in 2016.
With a selection of apparel dyes for the fashion industry awarded a Gold-level Material Health Certificate, the DyStar Group strives to be part of a more sustainable future and growing a circular economy as well as reaffirms its commitment to environmental and human health. The styles were developed in close partnership with Fashion for Good. Created with funds granted by founding partner C&A Foundation, Fashion for Good is a global partnership that unites apparel producers, retailers, non-profit organizations, innovators and funders in the shared ambition to transform the apparel industry into a circular one.

As the product development process in the apparel industry continues to speed up, producers are looking for new fabric and accessory options outside of the traditional sourcing seasons. As such, with its added advantage of being located in the core area of China’s fashion industry and nearby Hong Kong, the popularity and importance of July’s Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen has been growing within the apparel market in recent years. A number of renowned international and domestic brands, such as DKNY, Embry, FILA, Initial, Nine West Group, Peacebird, s.Oliver and many more, have already signed-up to attend this year’s fair, where they will source from around nearly 700 exhibitors.

“Once again this edition we are putting significant effort into inviting VIP buyers and matching them with our exhibitors, so we know that many key brand buyers will source at the fair again,” said Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “Last year the feedback from these buyers, such as Diesel, DKNY, KINJI and Marc O’Polo, was that they are consistently seeking new materials to develop new products throughout the entire year, therefore, they find Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen increasingly beneficial to them, particularly because of its timing and high quality of products.”
One buyer already confirmed to attend, DKNY, sent its Fabric Manager Mr Patrick Chan to visit the fair last year, who praised the experience after his trip. “I’m satisfied with the quality of the suppliers and their products. I’ve found some potential suppliers in the Fine Japan Zone and received some samples. They provide high-quality fabrics with good design,” he said.

As part of Messe Frankfurt’s renowned Intertextile brand, Intertextile Pavilion at the Shenzhen International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics and Accessories (“Intertextile Pavilion Shenzhen”) has a distinctive focus on the South China market, benefiting from this region’s promising market conditions and providing huge opportunities for exhibitors at this year’s fair.

Given its solid industrial bases and favourable geographic locations, the South China region is at the heart of China’s garment industry, and its one of its two major cities, Shenzhen, has a reputation as the nation’s garment and fashion capital. Currently, the city houses over 2,000 garment companies, 30,000 fashion designers and more than 1,000 fashion brands. In 2016, total sales of the Shenzhen garment industry exceed 200 billion RMB (around 29 billion USD), accounting for over 60% of the market share of shopping malls in China’s first-tier cities . What’s more, with reference to Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s “China Garment Industry” research, due to the growing spending power of both male and female consumers, these two markets are projected to continue their strong growth. While the consumer market for men’s garments is undergoing a growth period with retail sales expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.8% between 2015 and 2020, some domestic womenswear brands have started forging into the mid-range to high-end women’s garment market segments. The research also stated that most of the enterprises which own women’s garment brands such as Ellassay, Marisfrolg, Yinger and Koradior, are located in South China.

Any uncertainty about the state of the global apparel fabrics and accessories industry in the coming year was widely dispelled at last month’s Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition, with many exhibitors reporting strong increases in the number of contacts and enquiries they received compared to last year. While the visitor number was up slightly on last year – 71,450 from 103 countries and regions attended (2016: 71,163 from 100 countries and regions) – what was clearly evident in the feedback from exhibitors was that the quality of buyers sourcing at the fair continues to increase. Many exhibitors also commented that they received a healthy spread of buyers to their booths, both from China as well as from key markets in Asia and Europe, and that a satisfying proportion of these buyers were new potential customers.

Reflecting the fact that Intertextile Shanghai’s reputation as the industry’s leading event to conduct business each March & October has been steadily increasing over recent years, the exhibitor number grew by 5.9% this edition to 3,341 from 26 countries and regions (2016: 3,155 from 27 countries and regions). New exhibitor countries included Denmark, Malaysia and Poland. The top 10 visitor countries and regions, excluding Mainland China, were Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, the US, Taiwan, India, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia and the UK.