From the Sector

The fashion industry, which has strategic importance for the Turkish economy with its value-added production, employment, and exports, came together with representatives of global brands and Laison offices at the 'Green transformation' summit. At the meeting hosted by the Istanbul Apparel Exporters' Association (IHKIB), the studies carried out in the process of adaptation to the Green Deal were put under the spotlight, and the expectations of the Turkish fashion industry from the stakeholders were also expressed.

The opening of the meeting, attended by representatives of relevant ministries and foreign representations, national and international fund providers, as well as brands and buying groups were brought together, was made by Türkiye Exporters Assembly (TIM) and IHKIB President Mustafa Gültepe. In his speech, Gültepe underlined Türkiye's importance in the global apparel industry, by realizing approximately 3.5 percent of world apparel exports. Gültepe continued as follows:

"As IHKIB, we aim to increase our current annual exports, which are around $20 billion, to $40 billion. The road to the goal goes through Europe and America because the European Union is our largest market in apparel. We export 60 percent of our total apparel exports to EU countries. When we add other European countries and the USA, the ratio approaches 75 percent. While working on alternatives for the $40 billion in exports, we need to focus more on the European and U.S. markets because, as the data shows, the path to $40 billion in apparel exports goes through Europe and the U.S. We already have long-standing collaborations with brands centered in Europe and America. With our knowledge, speed, production quality, design power, and geographical proximity to Europe, we distinguish ourselves from competitors. We took a very important step in the transformation process exactly one year ago. We shared our action plan, which is a road map for our fashion industry's compliance with the Green Deal, with the public on January 30, 2023."

After Mustafa Gültepe's opening speech, Euratex Director General Dirk Vantyghem, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Trade Bahar Güçlü, and Deputy Secretary General of ITKIB Özlem Güneş made presentations regarding the ongoing efforts in the Green Deal process.

Dirk Vantyghem discussed the sustainability strategy of the textile and apparel industry and the expectations from the EU administration, while Bahar Güçlü provided information about the reflections of legal regulations related to the Green Deal on Türkiye.

Deputy Secretary General of ITKIB Özlem Güneş emphasized the significant opportunity that the Green Deal represents for the Turkish apparel industry, providing comprehensive insights into the efforts conducted by IHKIB regarding the Green Deal adaptation process.

2024 is a turning point for the European textiles and clothing industry: From 6 to 9 June 2024, European citizens will vote for a new European Parliament and, based on the results, a new European Commission will be formed. In view of this important election, EURATEX publishes a Manifesto, presenting 15 requests which will help to ensure a competitive European textiles and clothing industry.

The textile and apparel industry is making a substantial contribution to European wealth, jobs and growth. Europe counts 192,000 companies employing 1.3 million workers with a turnover of €167 billion and over €67 billion of exports. Entrepreneurship should be recognised as the foundation for a competitive textile industry, offering high quality and sustainable products, based on innovation, creativity and design. European policy makers should recognise such role to textiles and apparel companies and have an open dialogue to create better framework conditions to operate in the internal and global markets.

To realise that vision, the industry and policy makers need to work together on a mix of policy measures and initiatives, which are coherent and offer a transparent and predictable framework for our companies, and make them more resilient and competitive.

These policies should focus around four points:

Develop and implement a “smart” EU industrial policy
Europe should create policies which enhance competitiveness, instead of creating administrative burdens. To EURATEX, each new piece of legislation should undergo a “competitiveness test” to critically look at the impact of the new rules. Europe should also create a favourable environment to promote education and jobs in the industry. The EU textile industry currently employees 1,3 million people, 30% of which is above 50 years old. A critical bottleneck for the textile industry is to attract (young) people and make sure these people have the right set of skills, to operate in a changing textile ecosystem. EURATEX also asks the EU to invest in innovation and digitalisation as they are key to the European competitive advantage. Not only, as the last years have proved, Europe should provide companies with access to sustainable energy at lower prices.

No sustainability without competitiveness
The EU Strategy for Sustainable Textiles is pushing our sector towards new business models with a lower environmental footprint. To realise that ambition, no less than 16 regulatory proposals are on the table, each of them with a different timetable, managed by different departments of the European Commission. EURATEX is committed to sustainability, but asks for economic realism. This set of new regulations needs to be coherent, enforceable, feasible and applicable for SMEs, and not push textile companies out of the market. Moreover, some member states are moving forward faster and some legislations will be decided at national level, creating fragmentation of the market. Such scenarios will hamper Europe and its possibilities to grow.

Ensure free and fair trade
With $224 billion in sold merchandise, Europe is the second major world exporters of textiles and clothes after China ($321 billion). It is therefore important that the global market should be open, free and fair for our industry to continue to thrive. Besides the support to FTAs in general, EURATEX wants to emphasise that all trade agreements should offer effective market access for EU companies and a level playing field in these markets. A free and open market should go hand in hand also with protection against free riders. The EU must always consider enforcement and enforceability when making new laws; it should also take action together with the member states for a better coordination with harmonised criteria for action among Customs Authorities.

Incentivise the Demand for sustainable textiles
Sustainable textile products typically come at a premium price, making it difficult for many consumers and buyers to purchase such products. Many surveys across Europe confirm that around 50% of interviewees do not purchase sustainable fashion products and the main reason is price. EURATEX believes that, to create a demand and help consumers to buy a (genuine) sustainable textile product, there should be standard requirements and fiscal incentives. Public authorities should also implement green public procurements, by increasing the importance of sustainability criteria in their evaluation grids.

Renewcell was announced winner of the Sustainable Textile Innovation category of the annual Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards in London. Drapers, the influential British fashion industry magazine, highlighted that CIRCULOSE® is already in use by global fashion brands, and will continue to a solution for the textile to textile recycling within the fashion industry.

“It is an honor to receive the Sustainable Textile Innovation award from such a prestigious fashion industry publication. Drapers clearly supports the development of solutions the fashion industry so desperately needs, as well as connecting the textile and apparel industry. CIRCULOSE® makes fashion circular by producing a dissolving pulp using 100% textile waste providing the same level of handfeel and quality as virgin materials with no compromise to make fashion circular,” says Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell.

In November 2022, Renewcell opened the first industrial scale recycling facility in Sundsvall, Sweden with production of CIRCULOSE®. In partnership with leading global brands like H&M, Inditex, PVH, Levi’s, and others, Renewcell plans to grow its capacity to 360,000 metric tonnes of annual production by 2030.

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an independent and impact-creating organization that brings together around half of the apparel industry to enable positive social and environmental impact at scale, announces its strategic partnership with the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) for its fourth edition of the Sustainable Apparel Forum. The event aims to bring together stakeholders to discuss and exchange ideas on how to advance sustainability within the textile and apparel industry.

Taking place on March 15 and 16, 2023, this year’s Sustainable Apparel Forum will focus on five key subject areas of the apparel and textile supply chain: circular economy, climate impact & action, renewable energy & green funding, skill development and green job prospects & challenges. Delegates in attendance will include, garment manufacturers, brands and retailers, development partners, foreign missions and embassies in Bangladesh, impact creating organizations, apparel and textile associations, industry leaders, government officials, secretariats and ministers.

The first day of the forum will be geared towards roundtable discussions and workshop sessions on circularity, while day two, the main conference day of the event, will feature panel discussions, presentations & keynote speeches along with strategic guidelines from government officials and industry leaders.

Vidhura Rapanawe, Board Director, Andrew Martin, VP, Membership and Stakeholder Engagement, and Joyce Tsoi, Director of Collective Action Programs, along with other team members, will represent the SAC, including participation in a discussion on decarbonization and what it will take for the industry to achieve the necessary reduction of carbon emissions. The SAC will also actively participate and organize a special workshop for manufacturers as part of their continued stakeholder engagement efforts.

SHIMA SEIKI announces a sales promotion package for the apparel industry together with KDDI, Linking 3D fashion design with cross-reality― realizing digital catalogs, VR showrooms and new customer experience allowing 360-degree viewing without actual samples

Leading fashion technologist SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan together with telecommunications company KDDI Corporation of Tokyo, Japan launched "XR Mannequin for APEXFiz," a sales promotion package that links SHIMA SEIKI's APEXFiz design software for the apparel industry with KDDI's XR (cross-reality) technology.

XR Mannequin for APEXFiz will be offered to the apparel industry. Using an XR Mannequin that enables viewers to check product images from any angle in 360 degrees on various devices, XR Mannequin for APEXFiz enables digital catalogues with 3D virtual sample image data of garments designed on APEXFiz design software, 360-degree VR showrooms, as well as digitally extended stores. It also realizes virtual proposals at exhibitions, showroom-style stores with no inventory, and user-friendly purchase experience on e-commerce sites, and more. It also allows users to reduce excess stock at stores and create new sales opportunities.

Eventually, by adding movement to models wearing Virtual Samples and rendering them on a cloud server, customers will be able to view high-resolution virtual fashion shows on their smartphones and other devices.

 Until now, the apparel industry has been making actual product samples in each of the planning and design stages of production. This process not only takes an enormous amount of time and cost, but generates waste of raw materials including fabric that require disposal. At the retail stage, stores also needed to have various sizes and colors in stock to address a wide range of customer preferences, resulting in excess inventory.

With SHIMA SEIKI's APEXFiz, designs can be evaluated without making actual samples, minimizing resources spent on sample production as well as lead time, enabling environmentally-friendly manufacturing.

In May 2022, KDDI developed a high-resolution XR mannequin for apparel sales, with support from Google Cloud. It enables various devices such as store signages and smartphones to check products from any angle in 360 degrees, enabling stores to sell products without maintaining inventory.

SHIMA SEIKI and KDDI combines APEXFiz and XR Mannequin to start providing XR Mannequin for APEXFiz. This brings DX solutions to all stages in the supply chain for the apparel industry, from planning and design to sample making, production, distribution, and retail sales. SHIMA SEIKI and KDDI will continue to create services together that link each other's products, to bring about a sustainable society by reducing excess stock, and providing a customer experience that gives peace of mind when purchasing products.

The worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres, Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), seeks public input as it begins the revision process for GOTS standard version 7.0.

As a solution for sustainability-related challenges in textile processing, GOTS sets strict and binding requirements regarding ecological and social parameters. These are updated every three years in an open and transparent revision process which fosters constant progress towards the development of better textile processing methods. In this process of continuous improvement, GOTS collaborates with all relevant international stakeholders, including the textile and apparel industry, chemical suppliers, organic farming and environmental organisations, workers' rights groups and labour unions, to ensure ongoing relevance and account for changes in the industry.

The initial period of public input runs from 14 April through 12 June. During this phase, all interested parties, including industry representatives, NGO’s and consumers, are encouraged to participate by submitting comments, feedback, and ideas through GOTS’s online portal.

“We are looking forward to receiving input from stakeholders around the world for GOTS version 7.0. This open call for feedback is part of what keeps our certification requirements up-to-date with the most cutting-edge developments in the industry,” says GOTS Managing Director Rahul Bhajekar.

Beginning in 2022, the revision process will follow the newly developed Standard Setting Procedure, which provides for the constitution of a Standard Revision Committee (SRC) for each revision. This group will serve as the pivotal force behind decisions about the revisions. The SRC consists of experts from different stakeholder groups, including associations, organisations, companies and individuals. All input received by June 12 will be carefully considered by the SRC as well as compiled and made public for an additional 30-day consultation period later this year. All drafts of the standard will also be made public. GOTS standard version 7.0 will be finalised in early 2023, and will be available on the GOTS website.

The timeline for the revision to GOTS version 7.0 is as follows:

1. Constitution of GOTS SRC- April 2022
2. Release of first revision draft for public consultation - 14 April 2022
3. First public consultation period - 60 days (April 14 to June 12)
4. Deliberations by the SRC on input received - May to August 2022
5. Release of second revision draft for public consultation - September 2022
6. Second public consultation period - 30 days from release
7. Deliberations by the SRC on input received - October to November 2022
8. Finalisation of GOTS version 7.0 - February 2023
9. Release of GOTS version 7.0 - March 2023

Dow and Ralph Lauren Corporation released a detailed manual on how to dye cotton more sustainably and more effectively than ever before using ECOFAST™ Pure Sustainable Textile Treatment. With this manual, Ralph Lauren and Dow are open-sourcing this improved dyeing process to encourage adoption in the textile industry and help standardize a more sustainable and efficient cotton dyeing system for positive environmental impact.  

The co-developed, step-by-step manual details how to use ECOFAST™ Pure, a cationic cotton treatment developed by Dow, with existing dyeing equipment. Ralph Lauren, the first brand to use ECOFAST™ Pure, partnered with Dow to optimize and implement the technology in its cotton dyeing operations as part of its new Color on Demand platform.

Conventional fabric dyeing processes require trillions of liters of water each year, generating roughly 20% of the world’s wastewater.^{1, 2} Pretreating fabric with ECOFAST™ Pure helps significantly reduce the amount of water, chemicals and energy needed to color cotton, by enabling up to 90% less process chemicals, 50% less water, 50% less dyes and 40% less energy without sacrificing color or quality.³

Ralph Lauren began integrating Color on Demand into its supply chain earlier this year and first launched product utilizing ECOFAST™ Pure as part of the Company’s Team USA collection for the Olympic & Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Designed to help address water scarcity and pollution caused by cotton dyeing, Color on Demand is a multi-phased system with a clear ambition to deliver over time the world’s first scalable zero wastewater cotton dyeing system. By 2025, the brand aims to use the Color on Demand platform to dye more than 80% of its solid cotton products.

¹ Drew, Deborah and Genevieve Yehounme. “The Apparel Industry’s Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics.” World Resources Institute, July 5, 2017. https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics
² Rep. A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular Fibres Initiative, 2017. https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
³ A full third-party reviewed and validated life cycle assessment is available by request at www.dow.com/ecofast.

EURATEX published their vision on the EU Strategy on Sustainable Textiles, reflecting the views of the European textiles and apparel industry. The goal is to promote a competitive and sustainable industry. to do so, wanting to be a global leader on sustainable textiles, the efficiency of the industry must be increase as well as the global market share.

The enclosed document presents 15 action points on how to achieve these targets.

• Strong operating result: EBITDA at EUR 217.8 mn, cash flow from operating activities at EUR 199.8 mn
• Major strategic projects continue fully on track – production start of the lyocell plant in Thailand in the fourth quarter of 2021
• Start of strategic cooperation agreement for textile recycling with Södra
• New milestones in the implementation of group-wide carbon neutrality: EUR 200 mn investment in existing locations in Asia
• Guidance 2021: Lenzing expects EBITDA of at least EUR 360 mn

The Lenzing Group reported a significant improvement in revenue and earnings in the first half of the year. Growing optimism in the textile and apparel industry and the ongoing recovery in retail caused a substantial increase in demand and prices on the global fiber market, in particular at the beginning of the current financial year.

Revenue rose by 27.5 percent to EUR 1.03 bn in the first half of 2021. This increase is primarily attributable to higher viscose prices, which stood at more than RMB 15,000 in May thanks to significantly higher demand for fibers, especially in Asia. The focus on wood-based specialty fibers such as TENCEL™, LENZING™ ECOVERO™ and VEOCEL™ branded fibers also had a positive impact on the revenue development; the share of specialty fibers in fiber revenue rose to 72.8 percent in the reporting period. The negative impact of more unfavorable currency effects was consequently more than offset.

The earnings development essentially reflects the positive market development and was additionally reinforced by measures to improve efficiency. Energy and logistics costs increased significantly throughout the entire reporting period. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) more than doubled and amounted to EUR 217.8 mn in the first half of 2021 (compared to EUR 95.6 mn in the first half of 2020). The EBITDA margin rose from 11.8 percent to 21.1 percent. Net profit for the period amounted to EUR 96.1 mn (compared to a net loss of EUR minus 14.4 mn in the first half of 2020) and earnings per share to EUR 3.06 (compared to EUR 0.06 in the first half of 2020).

“Lenzing had a very strong first half-year. The demand for our sustainably produced specialty fibers once again developed excellently,” says Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

• Mostafiz Uddin, Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited and Founder of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) has won Sustainable Fashion Champion at the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards 2021, which took place virtually on 10 March.

On receiving the award, Mostafiz said he wants to be a game-changer in the apparel industry, leading by example to inspire others to behave responsibly and ethically.

He also dedicated the award to H&M which, he explained, supported his business, Denim Expert, through the pandemic by continuing to place orders He said the loyal support of the Swedish fashion giant almost certainly helped save the livelihoods of 2000 workers at his factory and their 10000 family members. “That’s true sustainability leadership,” he said.

The Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards recognise steps being made in reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact and creating fairer working conditions across the supply chain.
Judged by an independent panel of sustainability and fashion retail experts, the awards shine a spotlight on best practice within the global fashion industry.

Covid-19 has presented unforeseen challenges for fashion retailers and brands, but it has also given us all an opportunity to build back better. Forward-thinking fashion businesses know change is not optional, and are embracing their responsibilities and ability to make a difference.

Mostafiz Uddin has been recognised as the Sustainable Fashion Champion 2021 for setting examples in promoting sustainability during the Covid-19 pandemic which broke out worldwide in March last year.
Jill Geoghegan, Acting Editor of Drapers, said: “Despite the challenges thrown up by the Coronavirus pandemic, fashion brands and retailers increasingly recognise that sustainability is a business imperative.”  
“Many businesses continued to invest in cleaning up their supply chains and introducing new models of working, despite the unprecedented trading conditions.

“The Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards highlight and celebrate these advancements, paving the way for a more responsible future for the industry.” Managing Director of Denim Expert Limited Mostafiz Uddin said: “In the pandemic, my factory Denim Expert Limited kept true to its commitment towards sustainability, despite an extremely difficult trading landscape.

“During the pandemic, I was vocal about the issue of buyer-supplier relationships and, in speaking out, I wanted to champion the cause of suppliers all over the world. Too often suppliers in garment supply chains do not have a voice because they fear that by speaking out, they will be treated unfavourably by brands.

“This was, of course, a risk on my own part but I like to think I stood up for what I think is right and ultimately, I believe progressive brands understood I was coming from a good place. Like them, all I want to see is a fair, ethical and sustainable industry where brands and retailers work in an environment of collaboration, not conflict.”

Mostafiz also had some special praise for H&M. He said: “It would have not been possible for me to support my workers during the pandemic, had my factory not received help from H&M during the unprecedented time. While Denim Expert suffered from huge orders cancellation and orders hold, H&M supported us by placing orders in the pandemic that saved thousands of lives and livelihoods. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this Award to H&M and its CEO Helena Helmersson.”

The judges of Drapers Sustainable Fashion Champion Award 2021 have been Kerry Bannigan, Founder, Conscious Fashion Campaign; Sarah Ditty, Global Policy Director, Fashion Revolution; Miriam Lahage, Founder, Aequip; Samata Pattinson, CEO, Red Carpet Green Dress; Caroline Rush, Chief Executive Officer, British Fashion Council; Lucy Shea, Group CEO, Futerra; Jane Shepherdson, Chairman, My Wardrobe HQ; and Dilys Williams, Director, Centre for Sustainable Fashion.