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Fashion's favourite fabric is moving toward sustainability.

Conventional cotton has been significantly affected by the pandemic with the supply chain becoming backed-up and overstocked. However, consumer data shows demand for more sustainable products and materials has been accelerated by Covid-19, according to Tom Berry, director of sustainable business at Farfetch.

A recent survey by the US Cotton Trust Protocol and Sourcing Journal also found that 54 per cent of apparel and textile companies have seen customer demand for environmentally sustainable practices and products increase since the start of the pandemic.

Transparency and ethics are critical in this new normal, and sustainable cotton is key to greater visibility and relevance. Farfetch has teamed up with Good On You to put together its Positively Conscious Edit, which includes Better Cotton Initiative members Gucci and Stella McCartney. This feature allows a luxury brand's membership of a cotton standard to gain a greater brand presence on the Farfetch site.

"This is our opportunity to push the reset button," says La Rhea Pepper, managing director of not-for-profit organisation Textile Exchange.

Future-proofing cotton

Cotton is the most widely used raw material within the apparel industry, making up 33 per cent of total materials according to Fashion Revolution. Making the material more sustainable may win favour with younger generations, who are more sustainably minded: the younger the cohort, the more supportive they are of sustainable fashion, according to The State of Consumer Spending Survey from First Insight Inc, which shows Gen Z the most likely to want to buy from sustainable brands and most willing to pay more for sustainable products (62 and 73 per cent respectively).

Gen Z and younger millennials are less willing to wait for four- or five-year updates on brands' sustainability efforts. To meet these more urgent demands, a new US standard for more sustainable cotton, US Cotton Trust Protocol, is offering brands and retailers annual data from its farms that can be used to show measurable progress towards corporate sustainability pledges and commitments.

Textile Exchange has approved the US Cotton Trust Protocol standard as a preferred cotton supplier, meaning brands and companies including Burberry, M&S, Kering, Levi's, H&M and Adidas - who are also all taking part in the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge - can use the standard to help meet their goals of 100 per cent sustainable cotton. It will also be relevant for brands working towards Climate+, a 2030 goal announced last year by Textile Exchange that aims to have brands help lower greenhouse gasses by 35 to 45 per cent.

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Now is about "determining what comes after we reach our goal and creating influence for good", says Liza Schillo, senior manager, global sustainability integration at Levi's. Schillo is a board member at the US Cotton Trust Protocol alongside Dr Melissa Ho, senior vice president of freshwater and food at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Levi's is working towards a brand target of using 100 per cent more sustainable cotton throughout its operations.

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Can fashion's favourite fabric become more sustainable?

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Transparency, verification and an alignment with the accelerated values of consumers are critical for environmentally sustainable cotton.

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Many of the world's biggest fashion brands and retailers are complicit in the forced labour and human rights violations being perpetrated on millions of Uighur people in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China, says a coalition of more than 180 human rights groups.

There is mounting global outrage over the atrocities being committed against the Uighur population in the region, including torture, forced separation and the compulsory sterilisation of Uighur women.

Despite these abuses, the coalition of human rights groups says many of the world's leading clothing brands continue to source cotton and yarn produced through a vast state-sponsored system of detention and forced labour involving up to 1.8m Uighur and other Turkic and Muslim people in prison camps, factories, farms and internment camps in Xinjiang. It says that the forced labour system across the region is the largest internment of an ethnic and religious minority since the second world war.
China's UK ambassador denies abuse of Uighurs despite fresh drone footage
Global fashion brands source so extensively from Xinjiang that the coalition estimates it is "virtually certain" that as many as one in five cotton products sold across the world are tainted with forced labour and human rights violations occurring there.

China is the largest cotton producer in the world, with 84% of its cotton coming from the Xinjiang region. Cotton and yarn produced in Xinjiang are used extensively in other key garment-producing countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam. Xinjiang cotton and yarn are also used in textiles and home furnishings. This week the New York Times reported that factories in the region were also supplying face masks and other PPE to countries around the world.

The coalition has published an extensive list of brands it claims continue to source from the region, or from factories connected to the forced labour of Uighur people, including Gap, C&A, Adidas, Muji, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

"Virtually the entire [global] apparels industry is tainted by forced Uighur and Turkic Muslim labour," the coalition said in a statement issued today.

The coalition says many more leading clothing brands also continue to maintain lucrative strategic partnerships with Chinese companies, accepting subsidies from their government to expand textile production in the region or benefiting from the forced labour of Uighur people transferred from Xinjiang to factories across China.

"There is a high likelihood that every high street and luxury brand runs the risk of being linked to what is happening to the Uighur people," says Chloe Cranston, business and human rights manager at Anti-Slavery International.

In a call to action, the coalition, which includes more than 70 Uighur rights groups, anti-slavery organisations and labour rights campaigners, says the global apparel industry must eradicate all products and materials linked to forced labour in Xinjiang within a year.

"Global brands need to ask themselves how comfortable they are contributing to a genocidal policy against the Uighur people. These companies have somehow managed to avoid scrutiny for complicity in that very policy - this stops today," said Omer Kanat, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

Why more than 1 million Uighurs are being held in camps in China - video explainer

According to the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), one of the signatories of the call to action, brands have no credible way of proving that their supply chains from the Xinjiang are free of forced labour.

"Forced labourers in the Uighur region face vicious retaliation if they tell the truth about their circumstances. This makes due diligence through labour inspections impossible and virtually guarantees that any brand sourcing from the Uighur region is using forced labour," said Scott Nova, executive director of the WRC.

"An apparel brand that claims to know, with confidence, that all the farms and factories it uses in the region are free of forced labour is either deeply cynical or misinformed."

In April, the Global Legal Action Network (Glan), a group of human rights lawyers, also provided evidence to HMRC that brands including Muji, Uniqlo, H&M and Ikea were selling products in the UK containing cotton and yarn from the Xinjiang region. Glan argued that the UK government should halt sales of products linked to forced labour across the region as it breached several UK laws including the 1897 Foreign Made Goods Act.

In response, H&M and Ikea said they would stop buying cotton from the region. In an updated statement to The Guardian, H&M said that it had an indirect relationship with one yarn producer operating in the region but said it was reviewing the relationship.

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The coalition says workers face 'vicious retaliation' if they tell the truth about their employment conditions. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

Muji confirmed that it continues to use cotton yarn from Xinjiang but denies that its cotton and yarn are connected to forced labour. "Our business partner [assures] us that the people who make our products have good working conditions and are treated with respect, the independent auditors have conducted on-site audit on these cotton spinning mills and have confirmed that there is no evidence of forced labour and discrimination of ethnoreligious minorities at their facilities.

A Uniqlo spokesperson said that no Uniqlo product is manufactured in the region and insists that all production partners in its supply chain uphold their codes of conduct on human and workers rights.

In a statement, PVH Corporation, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, said it did not source finished garments from the region and would cease all business relationships with any factories and mills that produce garments or fabric, or use cotton grown, in Xinjiang within the next 12 months.

Adidas said it does not source goods from Xinjiang and have instructed its suppliers not to source yarn from the region.

A C&A spokesperson said it did not source from any manufacturers or work with any fabric or yarn mills in the region.

Yet members of the coalition said that it was not sufficient for brands and retailers to just sever direct relationships to suppliers but that a complete overhaul of the sector's links to the region had to be undertaken.

"This isn't just about direct supply chain links, it's about how the global apparels sector is helping prop up and facilitate the system of human rights abuses and forced labour," says Cranston. "There needs to be a deep and thorough interrogation of how brands and retailers are linked to what is happening at scale to the Uighur people."

Gap has been contacted for a response.

China's human rights record in Xinjiang has provoked growing international condemnation. Earlier this month, the US imposed sanctions on Chinese officials in protest at the treatment of the Uighur and other minority groups, including Kazakhs.

Last week the Chinese ambassador to the UK denied his government was committing human rights violations after videos resurfaced online appearing to show shackled and blindfolded Uighur prisoners being loaded on to trains in Xinjiang.
Topics

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'Virtually entire' fashion industry complicit in Uighur forced labour, say rights groups

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Many of the world's biggest fashion brands and retailers are complicit in the forced labour and human rights violations being perpetrated on millions of Uighur people in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China, says a coalition of more than 180 human rights groups.

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Is Forced Uighur Labour in Your Supply Chain? | BoF Professional, China Decoded | BoF

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‘Put Earth first’: can a greener, fairer fashion industry emerge from crisis

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Fashion

The shutting down of society as we know it is giving a lot of time for reflection, not least in fashion circles. In an interview in the design magazine Dezeen, the influential trend forecaster Li Edelkoort has called it a "quarantine on consumption" that is having a devastating impact on our economy and culture, but ultimately offers "a blank page to a new beginning".

While sections of the fashion industry already knew they could not continue on their current trajectory, it was inconceivable that brands could be forced to slow down, let alone stop production altogether. But that is what has happened as famous names from Prada to Zara have turn ed their production lines to making medical gowns and masks, and luxury houses have changed from making perfume to sanitisers. It's an unprecedented interruption of an industry that has relied on speeding from one season's sales to the next. And it is bringing with it a new sense of connectedness, responsibility and empathy.

After Covid19, the best we can hope for the fashion industry is a rebirth that puts people and planet ahead of profits. Earth Hour this Saturday is a further reminder that every moment counts

Until factories started to feel the effects of Covid-19, the global fashion business was producing 150b n items of clothing each year, far in excess of the needs of a global population of 7.9 billion. Clothing consumption globally was in 2017 projected to rise still more, by 63% by 2030, according to the Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group. Who knows if those projections will be dented now that bricks-and-mortar shops are closed, orders have halted and supply chains have been stopped in their tracks?

As factory orders dry up, the lowly paid, overworked garment workers without sick pay or any financial cushion are the ones who are paying the biggest price. The question is how, when the self-isolation and fear abates, we can use this temporary moratorium on production to correct the course of a carbon-guzzling and exploitative industry. We cannot continue down this path of unchecked overproduction, waste and human misery.

Fri 27 Mar 2020 02.00 EDT

On Saturday, people around the world will be reflecting on the temporary decrease in CO2 as they turn off their lights at 8.30pm (local time wherever they are), to take part in Earth Hour. This annual environmental campaign by WWF will remind us that, according to the UN, we have only 10 years to keep global warming to 1.5C. This is something the academics Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham are acutely aware of. In their new report, Earth Logic Fashion Action Research Plan, they write: "The time frame of 10 years is the same as a child's time at school. One eighth of most people's lifetime, or 10 annual reports for a business. Consider what you, your family, community, workplace will do in the coming 10 years. Every moment will count."
Conscious, ethical and cruelty-free: a guide to the language of sustainable fashion
Their argument pivots around the idea that the only way to ensure we cut carbon emissions and end the cycles of overproduction and waste is to imagine a whole new system that places the Earth's needs before those of industrial growth. In a post-Covid-19 world, that's beginning to look slightly more feasible. "We propose planet before industry as a radical idea in which the health and survival of our planet Earth is given precedence over business interests," they write.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought into stark focus the fact that business as usual can be stopped in its tracks. Anything, it seems, is now possible. According to the environmental journalist and broadcaster Lucy Siegle, who wrote the foreword to the Earth Logic report, this break is a "lifeline" to the industry and a "chance to reboot our efforts and change our course based on evidence and fact".

We are seeing 'a new sense of connectedness, responsibility and empathy'. Photograph: Danai Tsouloufa

"Once we realise that the current system is always going to be self-limiting as there are finite resources, putting Earth first is the only option," says Fletcher, of the London College of Fashion's Centre for Sustainable Fashion. This is not about tinkering around the edges of the existing way of working, creating "sustainable" collections or clothing recycling schemes: Earth Logic attacks the very root of the problem: the existing economic model itself. This means a shift from production to the maintenance, use and care of existing clothes. It means reducing the volume of clothes we produce, and in turn, the amount of resources we are using. It means moving from globalised, tangled and unsafe supply chains to small production centres based around the needs and desires of local communities. "We need to find a role for industry scattered across communities," says Fletcher, with multiple local hubs for people to be educated, to make and repair their clothes.

Patriarchy and growth logic are inextricably intertwined, says Tham. The same sorts of people are making the same sorts of decisions. According to Earth Logic, there would be respect for "fashion in non-western geographies. We can train the focus of fashion on supporting race and gender equality. Each perspective offers new models and practices for relating with fashion as well as broadening and diversifying the base of fashion expertise."

'Imagine a whole new system that places the Earth's needs before those of industrial growth.' Photograph: Danai Tsouloufa/Earth Logic

These are all points the next generation coming into the industry is demanding, too. "The questions students are asking are very different now," says Tham, who teaches fashion and economics students at the Linnaeus University, Sweden. How we design clothes must connect with the needs of society and the environment and work with them, not against them. We are seeing this happening with designers looking for ways to help make protective equipment and gowns for medical teams. These new positive role models must be allowed to lead the way forward.

'We are seeing that in times of real emergency, people's behaviour has to change.'

Academics Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham, who wrote the new report, Earth Logic, a Fashion Action Research Plan Photograph: Publicity image

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'Put Earth first': can a greener, fairer fashion industry emerge from crisis?

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Fashion The shutting down of society as we know it is giving a lot of time for reflection, not least in fashion circles. In an interview in the design magazine Dezeen, the influential trend forecaster Li Edelkoort has called it a "quarantine on consumption" that is having a devastating impact on our economy and culture, but ultimately offers "a blank page to a new beginning".

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CEO AGENDA

REDESIGNING FASHION'S BUSINESS MODEL

The current model has served as a powerful engine for global growth and development for the past 100 years, but we believe there is a compelling business case for those who invest in long-term social and environmental sustainability, beyond short-term financial incentives. While we acknowledge that changing established practices is not an easy feat, we also remain convinced that the fashion industry can act as inspirational forerunner.

Already today, the fashion industry finds itself in a transformational state where company owners and shareholders seek to protect the long-term viability of their investments and acknowledge clear business opportunities by devoting themselves to sustainable development. A great opportunity for long-lasting and purpose-driven value creation is apparent, calling for creative leadership to champion change management and forward-looking approaches to progress by redefining measures of success and decoupling growth from resource constraints.

We urge you as industry leaders to investigate new business models outside current market mechanisms to drive change, implement innovation and tap into collaborative business opportunities. This is not only essential to future-proof your business, but it is also crucial for humanity to operate within planetary boundaries and to meet the needs of future generations.

The current model has served as a powerful engine for global growth and development for the past 100 years, but we believe there is a compelling business case for those who invest in long-term social and environmental sustainability, beyond short-term financial incentives. While we acknowledge that changing established practices is not an easy feat, we also remain convinced that the fashion industry can act as inspirational forerunner.

Already today, the fashion industry finds itself in a transformational state where company owners and shareholders seek to protect the long-term viability of their investments and acknowledge clear business opportunities by devoting themselves to sustainable development. A great opportunity for long-lasting and purpose-driven value creation is apparent, calling for creative leadership to champion change management and forward-looking approaches to progress by redefining measures of success and decoupling growth from resource constraints.

We urge you as industry leaders to investigate new business models outside current market mechanisms to drive change, implement innovation and tap into collaborative business opportunities. This is not only essential to future-proof your business, but it is also crucial for humanity to operate within planetary boundaries and to meet the needs of future generations.

2020 SPOTLIGHT

BIODIVERSITY

The CEO Agenda 2020 shines a light on biodiversity among the existing priorities and provides further guidance for fashion brands to take action. Biodiversity is integrated within the core priorities Supply Chain Traceability, Reversing Climate Change, Efficient Use of Water, Energy and Chemicals, and within the transformational priority Sustainable Material Mix. To ease navigation, the bee icon indicates where you can find more information on biodiversity.

Biodiversity is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural systems it forms and includes the variability among living organisms as well as the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. It represents the life support system of the Earth, with human livelihoods also directly dependent on genetic, species and ecosystem diversity and function. ¹

Not only does all economic activity depend on services provided by nature ² but the fashion industry's increasing demand and utilisation of energy, land, water and natural resources results in grave loss of ecosystems and species as well as microfibre pollution to name a few. Biodiversity, along with the conservation and restoration of nature should therefore urgently be taken into account for the industry moving forward.

Core priority for immediate implementation

Supply chain traceability

Trace tier one and two manufacturers ³

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We love fashion, but we don’t want our clothes to come at the cost of people or our planet.

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The retail industry is the second largest
polluter in the world (Oil is the first).
Let's change the way we get dressed,
one rental at a time. Mother Earth will thank us.

The retail industry is the second largest
polluter in the world (Oil is the first).
Let's change the way we get dressed,
one rental at a time. Mother Earth will thank us.

Every time you rent, you are
participating in the shared clothing
economy. We hope this reduces
the amount of clothing that
ends up at the back of our
members' closets and in landfills.

The average woman throws away
about 82 pounds of clothing per year.
Renting things you'd only wear a
few times is a more sustainable answer.
And more people sharing clothing
means less clothing waste.

Once our garments are no longer suitable
for rent, we do our best to extend the lifecycle
of our garments further. For example,
we offer them for sale through Sample Sales
or donate them to carefully-selected organizations
like Dress for Success and Operation Prom.

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The Real Sustainable Fashion Movement #RentReduceReuse | Rent the Runway

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The retail industry is the second largest polluter in the world (Oil is the first). Let's change the way we get dressed, one rental at a time. Mother Earth will thank us. The retail industry is the second largest polluter in the world (Oil is the first).

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Our Standards

Our standards are based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions and industry best practice. In 2019, we launched a new set of policies and guidelines to our suppliers outlining our requirements and expectations relating to social responsibility. These include our Supplier Code of Conduct, Responsible Sourcing Guide, Modern Slavery Policy and Subcontracting Policy.

These policies outline the standards we expect our suppliers to uphold to ensure everyone in our supply chain is treated fairly and with respect. We understand that sometimes our suppliers might need support to comply with our standards. We are committed to providing guidance and, where needed, training so that they can make improvements and ensure workers' rights and wellbeing are protected.

· Responsible Sourcing Guide

· Subcontracting Policy

The policies have been translated in all the languages relevant for our suppliers and are available to them on our internal Suppliers Hub.

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Social Sustainability | Stella McCartney US

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The Dark Secret Behind Your Favorite Makeup Products | Shady | Refinery29

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Stella McCartney and BOLT Threads | Creating vegan silk

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Rainbow Collective - Documentary Production

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'UDITA' (Arise) [Documentary about female garment workers, Bangladesh]

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"If our workers don't die from coronavirus, they'd die of starvation."

This is the stark assessment of how the pandemic is impacting the clothing industry from garment factory owner, Vijay Mahtaney, the chairman of Ambattur Fashion India.

In normal times, Vijay Mahtaney and his partners Amit Mahtaney and Shawn Islam employ a total of 18,000 workers in three countries - Bangladesh, India and Jordan. But the outbreak has forced them to shut down the majority of the business, with just one factory, in Dhaka, partially operational.

Coronavirus lockdowns aren't the only thing affecting their ability to pay their workers. They say their main problem is unreasonable demands from big clients - mainly in the US and the UK.

"Some brands are showing a true sense of partnership and high level of ethics in trying to ensure at least enough cash flow to pay workers," Amit Mahtaney, the chief executive of Tusker Apparel Jordan, told the BBC.

"But we've also experienced demands for cancellations for goods that are ready or are work in progress, or discounts for outstanding payments and for goods in transit. They are also asking for a 30 to 120 day extensions on previously agreed payment terms."

In an email obtained by the BBC, one US retailer has asked for a 30% discount "for all payables - current or order", including those already delivered.

The reason they cite is to "get through this extraordinary period".

"Their attitude is one of protecting only shareholder value without any regard to the garment worker, behaving in a hypocritical manner, showing complete disregard to their ethos of responsible sourcing," Vijay Mahtaney said.

"Brand focus on share price, now means some of them don't have money for this rainy day, and are coming to the weakest link in the supply chain, asking us to help them out when they could be applying for a bailout from the US government stimulus package," Vijay added.

It comes as garment manufacturers have been hit hard by two major issues related to coronavirus lockdowns.

The problems started in February when factories couldn't get the raw materials they needed from China, the world biggest exporter of textiles, which accounted for some $118bn (£67bn) in 2018.

Then as China's textile factories reopened in recent weeks - giving garment manufacturers hopes of getting operations back on track - demand collapsed as retailers were forced to shut their doors after governments around the world imposed lockdowns.

Crucial industry

China may be known as the factory of the world, but when it comes to clothes, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar play a growing role.

"Garment manufacturing has been diversifying away from China for around ten years due to China's high costs," according to Stanley Szeto of apparel maker Lever Style which supplies premium brands including Hugo Boss, Theory, Vince, and Coach, as well as online names like Bonobos, Stitch Fix and Everlane.

It means that garment manufacturing is a crucial industry for many of Asia's developing economies, with World Trade Organization data showing that Bangladesh and Vietnam are amongst the world's four largest exporters of clothing. Bangladesh now accounts for 6.7% of market share, followed by Vietnam with 5.7%.

Bangladesh has more than four million garment workers, and textile and apparel products made up more than 90% of the country's exports last year.

Cambodia and Sri Lanka also rely on the industry for more than 60% of their exports, according to Sheng Lu at the University of Delaware's department of fashion and apparel studies.

The industry accounts for more than half of all manufacturing jobs in Bangladesh, and 60% in Cambodia, with production being a particularly important employer of women.

Associate Professor Lu thinks the coronavirus pandemic could see countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and India cutting between 4% to 9% of garment sector jobs.

That is partly why the Bangladeshi government is trying to help the industry.

"It has offered a generous stimulus package to subsidise wages, convert loans to long-term debt and offer very reasonable interest rates," said Shawn Islam, managing director of Sparrow Apparel Bangladesh. "While it's not enough to weather the storm, it will help."

The Cambodian government has also announced tax holidays for textile factories and proposed a wage subsidy scheme for workers.

That is because this outbreak could result in a longer term impact like labour shortages, price increases of raw materials and a lack of production capacity, said Associate Professor Lu.

After growing criticism and pressure, some brands including H&M and Zara-owner Inditex have committed to paying in full for existing orders from clothing manufacturers.

"Brands have profited for many years from producing in low wage countries without social security systems and have in many cases built up huge empires through this business model," said Dominique Muller of Labour Behind the Label. "Decades of exploitation must now be paid back to care for their workers."

Factory owner Amit Mahtaney agrees.

"Retailers have to help out. Richer governments' bailouts of the industry are also critical," he said.

Without it, he claims, the industry could be wiped out completely.

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Clothing makers give stark virus warning

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"If our workers don't die from coronavirus, they'd die of starvation." This is the stark assessment of how the pandemic is impacting the clothing industry from garment factory owner, Vijay Mahtaney, the chairman of Ambattur Fashion India.

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Coronavirus: Primark cancels all new orders | News | Drapers

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Sourcing countries

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Luxury brands and businesses, initially worried about China's drop in consumption, are now focusing on the fate of their Italian supply chains as the country continues to battle Covid-19.

Some manufacturers are operating at reduced capacity, while others have decided to halt operations temporarily. All see the impact on the sector lasting until mid-2021.

The Italian government approved a €25 billion economic package, but more stimulus, financing and strategic planning will be needed in the rebound phase.

"It's an era-defining moment," says Stefano Albini, president of luxury textile manufacturer Albini Group.

In Italy, which is facing the worst outbreak of the Covid-19 virus outside of China, entrepreneurs, luxury business owners and manufacturers are bracing themselves. On 9 March, the country entered a lockdown that includes schools, non-essential travel and all commercial activities, with the exception of those providing food and medicines.

For the time being, the government order doesn't include industrial production and manufacturing. However, companies have had to quickly adhere to new rules, including allowing office employees to work from home, regularly sanitising manufacturing plants and maintaining a safe distance of at least one metre between workers.

"We had to change strategy in relation to how we communicate, how we sell, and how we operate," says Cesare Casadei, creative director of family-run luxury shoe brand Casadei. The label, which is manufactured in-house, is based in San Mauro Pascoli, in Emilia-Romagna, the country's second most-hit region by the pandemic after Lombardy. The company's manufacturing operations are running, but Casadei has implemented alternate production cycles to respect the government mandate of distance between workers.

The initial economic impact of Covid-19 on luxury brands was mainly calculated in terms of the drop in consumption when the outbreak was concentrated in mainland China, affecting the spending and travelling habits of luxury's most important customers. Now the focus is shifting to the whole luxury supply chain. Italian households spend half of what Chinese households spend on luxury goods per year, but the country remains the heartland of global luxury manufacturing.

Roughly 88 per cent of Kering's centrally managed suppliers are in Italy, as are the majority of Prada's owned manufacturers. LVMH has 30 production sites in the country and Only The Brave, which owns Margiela, Viktor & Rolf and Marni, produces more than 90 per cent in Italy. According to Confartigianato Moda, there are a total of 55,491 micro and small enterprises operating in the textile, clothing and leather sectors with a total of 311,697 employees. In 2018, exports from these three sectors reached €52.7 million, around 83.3 per cent of all fashion exports.

As the epicentre of the pandemic has moved from Asia to Europe, management consulting company BCG has revised its initial forecast, which anticipated a 10 to 15 per cent drop in luxury sales for 2020. It has now increased the drop to 20 to 25 per cent, or a decrease in sales between €70 and €87 billion from the current value of €349 billion.

However, Guia Ricci, principal of BCG Milan, still believes that retail sales will suffer a greater blow than production, as luxury's traditionally long lead times could shelter its supply chain. The garments in stores now were produced six or more months ago, and what supply chains are producing now will likely be on shop floors at the end of the year, Ricci says. "Maybe the pace has slowed down, but we believe that for the Autumn/Winter 2020 collections there is still time to catch up."

Manufacturers and entrepreneurs think otherwise, anticipating the slowdown's impact to be felt at until the first half of 2021. "It's a long wave," says Arianna Casadei, marketing manager at the family-owned company. "It's not only about China's rebound, Italy's rebound; it's an issue that affects the world."

Delays, cancellations and closures

With most of its production based in Italy and only 5 per cent of revenue coming from China, OTB was minimally impacted by the outbreak of Covid-19 until it reached the country at the end of February. Soon after, according to CEO Ubaldo Minelli, clients inquired about cancelling orders that were already in production or to defer payments of pre-collection shipments, which usually hit stores in April. The group hasn't adjusted its 2020 revenue target for now. An impact is inevitable, says Minelli, although too difficult to quantify yet. "The coronavirus has resulted and will inevitably lead to delays in the deliveries of the productions and in turn, we will have delays with our customers," he says.

Manteco, a luxury supplier of wool based in Prato, Tuscany, has already seen a reduction in order quantities and some order postponements. At Sapaf, a family-run leather company based in Scandicci, which produces handmade leather accessories for international luxury brands, SS20 orders haven't been delayed or cancelled, but CEO Andrea Calistri is expecting lower order quantities for AW20. The cancellation of trade fairs and the uncertainty around the fate of the ones to come, and consequently the opportunity to meet with clients, has also weighed in.

"We have at least a couple of complex seasons ahead of us," he says, adding that it will take time for the system to regain confidence, while some companies, unfortunately, won't be able to withstand a year of difficulties. The situation will improve in the early months of 2021 "if we are lucky", he says.

Ratti, a leading manufacturer of fabrics for international luxury brands based in Guanzate, near Como, currently has 150 employees operating through "smart working", which allows them to work remotely and with flexible hours while remaining under the same legal and compensation terms. Another 100 employees are still working in its plant, roughly a third of its usual capacity. "It's completely on a voluntary basis," says CEO Sergio Tamborini, adding that the company is ready to close if the emergency situation was to worsen even further. He says the decision to remain partially operative is less cost-effective than shutting down completely, but it's a choice made to preserve relationships with clients and guarantee employees' wages.

"Fashion doesn't serve any purpose - we could all stop working for a year and a half, and nothing would change, except for the people who work in it," he says. "Stopping the flow for them would be disruptive, with [consequences] difficult to assess."

Other companies in areas more harshly hit by the pandemic have decided to temporarily halt production altogether, even when not required by the government. Albini Group, the leading European manufacturer of shirting fabrics that has worked with brands like Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne and Dior, has closed its three production plants in Albino, Gandino and Mottola this week. Albino and Gandino are in the province of Bergamo, where the local daily newspaper obituary pages have more than tripled to 10.

"We have a fairly diversified supply chain and can balance orders by producing in other factories like in Egypt or the Czech Republic," says Albini. "The fear is in the financial and economic slowdown that will directly impact consumer sentiment around the world."

All five manufacturers used by Venice-based shoe brand Nodaleto have been closed for a week and won't reopen until at least 20 March. The brand managed to receive 95 per cent of its Spring/Summer collection before the lockdown, but the production of its AW21 collection remains on hold. Nodaleto is now struggling with managing the stock that was supposed to be sold through its Italian wholesalers, which are currently closed, redirecting to its e-commerce site. Buyers have also ordered smaller quantities for AW21 and shops have asked to postpone deliveries.

Protecting the supply chain

According to BCG's Ricci, in the long-term companies will need to think about diversifying their supply chain to better mitigate risks in emergencies, but among Italian entrepreneurs, there is a strong sense of shared responsibility towards the finely interconnected Italian supply chain and its safeguard.

OTB's Minelli has created a crisis unit to act quickly to implement solutions aimed at minimising disruptions in production and the impact on the group's finances and says the group's worries are not primarily about missing its targets for the year. The company, he says, makes more than €1.5 billion in revenue, has €900 million in equity and is debt-free. "Our concern is upstream, on the made-in-Italy production chain, made of many medium-sized, small family-run structures that are fragile from an equity and financial point of view." Minelli says the group is not planning to reduce its order quantities or make other strategic decisions that could favour its own interests while penalising its suppliers.

What most expect is a domino effect. A decrease in retail sales will hurt brands and affect payments to suppliers, overwhelming the chain as a whole. Entrepreneurs and associations have asked the Italian government to emanate moratoriums on mortgages, bank loans and taxes to guarantee liquidity in the system. "The suspension [will allow] companies to pay their current expenses, and therefore their workforce, which is a treasure. If we lose it, we won't be able to get it back," says Sapaf's Calistri.

On Monday the Italian government approved a €25 billion economic package, which includes the deferment of contributions, tax and tax withholdings due on 16 March to 31 May for entities that declare a turnover of less than €2 million and for those supply chains most harshly hit by the emergency. The decree also suspends mortgages and loan repayments and freezes collective dismissals.

Albini sees the role of the government as essential also in the rebound phase when the industry will need strategic planning, substantial stimulus and financing. But the main concern remains curbing the health emergency. "It's not easy because [the country] has limited resources," says Albini. "But we must take all precautions to overcome this situation because if it keeps dragging on, it will be much worse."

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More from this author: Amid Covid-19, marketing changes shape The fur industry is fighting back In London, young designers pave the path to sustainability

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Covid-19's long wave hits Italian luxury manufacturing

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Luxury brands and businesses, initially worried about China's drop in consumption, are now focusing on the fate of their Italian supply chains as the country continues to battle Covid-19. Some manufacturers are operating at reduced capacity, while others have decided to halt operations temporarily. All see the impact on the sector lasting until mid-2021.

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MUMBAI, India - At the top of a staircase covered in dirt and sequins, several dozen Indian artisans hunched over yards of fabric, using needles to embroider garments for the world's most powerful fashion brands.

They sewed without health benefits in a multiroom factory with caged windows and no emergency exit, where they earned a few dollars a day completing subcontracted orders for international designers. When night fell, some slept on the floor.

They were not working for a factory employed by fast fashion brands: companies whose business model is premised on producing trendy clothing as cheaply as possible and whose supply chain issues came under scrutiny in 2013. That was when the deadliest garment industry disaster in history, the Rana Plaza factory collapse, killed more than 1,100 Bangladeshi workers.

Their products were destined for Dior and Saint Laurent, among other luxury names.

Unknown to most consumers, the expensive, glittering brands of runways in Paris and Milan also indirectly employ thousands of workers in the developing world.In Mumbai, scores of ateliers and export houses act as middlemen between the brands and highly skilled artisans, while also providing services like design, sampling and garment production.

As with fast fashion retailers, many luxury brands do not own all of their own production facilities, and instead contract with independent factories to make their garments or embroider them. And like fast fashion, they too have woken up to potential dangers with that system.

In 2016, a group of luxury houses introduced the Utthan pact, an ambitious and secretive compliance project aimed at ensuring factory safety in Mumbai and elevating Indian embroiderers. Among the signatories were Kering (owner of labels including Gucci and Saint Laurent); LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (owner of Fendi and Christian Dior); and two British fashion houses, Burberry and Mulberry.The pact had an initial three-year timeline but was not legally binding.

Yet during visits to several Mumbai factories, and in more than three dozen interviews with artisans, factory managers and designers, The New York Times found that embroiderers still completed orders at unregulated facilities that did not meet Indian factory safety laws. Many workers still do not have any employment benefits or protections, while seasonal demands for thousands of hours of overtime would coincide with the latest fashion weeks in Europe.

Several factory owners said that membership in the pact meant investing in the costly compliance standards outlined by the Utthan pact, while brands simultaneously drove down what they would pay for orders.

"Given the product prices, there is a sense that the luxury brands must be doing it right, and that makes them immune to public scrutiny," said Michael Posner, a professor of ethics and finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. "But despite the price tags for luxury brand goods, the conditions in factories across their supply chains can be just as bad as those found in factories producing for fast fashion retailers."

When contacted for comment, luxury brands that were Utthan signatories largely highlighted the broader improvements made by the implementation of the pact, rather than focusing on continuing issues and accusations.

"We recognize that the situation of some workers at the subcontracting level is still very far from satisfying today, and we are genuinely determined to strengthen the program with our fellow stakeholders, to speed up progress and to further improve the situation," a Kering spokesman said in a statement.

A spokesman for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods company, said in an emailed statement: "We take the allegations raised through your questions very seriously but are unable to comment without further details and a thorough investigation."

Since the 1980s, luxury brands have quietly outsourced much of their embroidery work to India. The country is one of the world's largest garment exporters, with a textiles market worth $150 to $250 billion, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a trust established by the Indian government's commerce ministry.

India's embroiderers, known by the Urdu word "karigar," which means "artisan," are among the best in the world. Formalized during Mughal rule, which spanned two centuries from the mid-1500s, karigars have passed their art form across generations.

Today they are largely Muslim men who migrated from rural India to Mumbai, where they are paid meager sums to work up to 17 hours a day, many in overcrowded slums. Few have access to education or public services, yet their work has value with fashion companies abroad.

Western designers have brought some of their most important embroidery work to India in recent years, including Alessandro Michele's exuberant collections for Gucci, emblazoned with tigers and butterflies; Dior's embellished saddle bags; and red carpet looks for Lady Gaga, Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lopez, whose 2019 jungle print Versace dress was embroidered in Mumbai.

By 2019, India's embroidery exports exceeded $230 million, a nearly 500 percent increase from two decades ago, according to the government's commerce ministry.

But as scrutiny of supply chains grew after the Rana Plaza disaster, luxury brands became nervous about their ties to India, a country known for weak worker protections, where building collapses and factory fires regularly kill and maim garment workers, and Utthan, which takes its name from a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to "upliftment," was established. At least seven Indian export houses - middlemen between local embroidery factories and international brands - also joined.

The project proposed sweeping changes to Mumbai's factories by standardizing wages and improving workplace safety.

However, unlike with many luxury initiatives, including sustainability and ethical business practices, the brands did not publicize their involvement in Utthan. They did not mention it in their annual reports or corporate and social responsibility platforms, and some discouraged auditors from speaking about it. At least two signatories said they were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.

Managed by Impactt, a consultancy in London, the agreement delineated targets for Indian export houses, which typically have their own factories. But when deadlines are tight and the work orders exceed what their factories can produce, the export houses subcontract. They take embroidery work to small businesses like those visited by The Times, where wages are frequently paid in cash and facilities fail to meet safety codes.

According to a 2016 publication from Impactt that laid out Utthan's requirements, within three years, every Indian subcontractor employed by signatories would be required to show progress in providing health and pension benefits to artisans. All factories would need fire extinguishers, a separate room for workers to sleep in and for bigger facilities at least two signposted exits.

To meet India's labor laws, the Utthan pact also called for a maximum six-day week for artisans, a workday of no more than 11 hours - in line with the legal limit - and reduced overtime.

The state of Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, has not stipulated a minimum wage for hand embroiderers. Instead, exporters typically use the government's category for "highly skilled" workers (about $175 per month, excluding benefits). Utthan sets a salary of about $225, including benefits.

In the same publication that detailed these initiatives, Impactt said it would assess factories at least once a year.

To incentivize factories, the luxury signatories committed to working only with Utthan-compliant companies by the end of the second year.

"The endemic challenges in the sector clearly required substantial, long-term engagement," Rosey Hurst, the founder of Impactt, said in an email, adding that Utthan was intended as a collaboration between brands and exporters.

But not every brand signed - Valentino and Versace place orders with the same export houses but do not work with Utthan - and not every export house thought it was a good deal, seeing it as a public relations exercise intended to shield luxury brands from liability.

Valentino declined to comment. In an emailed statement, Versace said it was "dedicated to conducting its operations on principles of ethical business practice and recognition of the dignity of workers." The company added that if suppliers were found to be violating its code of conduct but "committed" to improving the situation, then it would generally continue to work with those suppliers as long as they were "honest and transparent."

Maximiliano Modesti, the founder of Les Ateliers 2M, a Mumbai embroidery firm that works with Chanel, Hermès and Isabel Marant, said he was approached about joining Utthan in 2014, when the project was being developed.

Mr. Modesti passed. He thought the salaries were too low, and said that he paid his embroiderers up to 50 percent more than Utthan's wages. And he thought it was strange that the pact called for adhering to India's work hour limits, while it also acknowledged that those rules could be flexible when luxury brands needed pieces embroidered at the last minute.

Brands' demands spike ahead of seasonal fashion weeks. While many workers actively seek extra work to earn more money, artisans said overtime beyond the Indian government's limits is common, as is the use of subcontractors.

"The exporters are crushed by the luxury brands," Mr. Modesti said. "The brands say, 'You need to be cheaper. You need to be more competitive. You might lose orders next season.'"

But some export house managers that did join Utthan said they felt compelled to sign on because the project stipulated that many luxury brands would work only with compliant companies.

Further down the supply chain, where working conditions are worse, managers at several subcontracting factories said many of the project's goals were still to be met.

The Times recently visited six subcontractors that collectively employ as many as a few hundred karigars, depending on orders. Managers at these facilities spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared that clients could retaliate by pulling their business.

Three years after Utthan was introduced, the managers said few of their artisans received health benefits or a pension, and working hours regularly exceeded India's legal limits. Every factory The Times visited lacked at least a few safety features mandated by Utthan and India's Factories Act, which lays out the government's requirements.

One manager said he was encouraged to lie to Utthan auditors. He said an exporter instructed him to temporarily move his artisans to a compliant factory when Impactt representatives visited.

The compliant factory was well ventilated and prohibitively expensive for the manager to rent, costing nearly $2,000 a month. The factory he managed was an attic-like space on the top floor of a residential building in a neighborhood packed with crumbling apartments.

"I was told not to tell anybody," the manager said, as he showed The Times recent invoices for Gucci and Christian Dior, including one embroidery order for 15 black tulle dresses, which he said took 6,000 hours of labor to complete.

Another subcontractor manager said he spent about $30,000 moving to a factory that met Utthan's terms, with an understanding that he would receive more business to offset costs. But maintenance fees at the new factory were expensive, the manager said, so he raised his fees. Then orders dried up.

"I was not getting business," he said, as artisans around him worked on samples for Christian Dior. "They started giving orders to people who did the work for cheaper sums."

Last year, the manager moved back to his previous factory, where, he said, some artisans sleep on-site and the six-room facility lacks an emergency exit. His superiors were initially upset, he said, but business picked up after he lowered his prices.

Utthan vowed to empower India's karigars, but in interviews with more than a dozen artisans, many said it did not yet protect them. The artisans said managers took advantage of their lack of formal education and lack of union representation to withhold information about the worth of their embroidery.

"We are being exploited everywhere," said Abdullah Khan, an artisan with more than 20 years of experience.

Last summer, Mr. Khan and about a dozen other artisans pushed for raises at the export house where they worked, an Utthan signatory that completes orders for Saint Laurent. Though Mr. Khan did not know it at the time, the factory's artisans were being paid about 13 percent less than what Utthan required, according to a salary slip reviewed by The Times.

Managers tried to fire the group of artisans after they approached Sachin Gole, a union leader in Mumbai with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a political party. Mr. Khan said their salaries were docked for every minute spent communicating with the union and that they were moved into another room at the factory. This was done, he said, so they could not interact with karigars who chose not to protest.

"The situation is very bad," Mr. Gole said. "If artisans fight for their rights, they are terminated."

In a phone interview, the factory's manager denied that he had mistreated artisans and referred specific questions to Impactt, which said a labor dispute was under investigation.

Mr. Khan said a Utthan auditor was sympathetic when artisans told the auditor about the wage issues, but told him he could only speak to the factory's manager. Eventually, the local government's labor commission helped negotiate a severance package for karigars who wanted to leave, including Mr. Khan. The factory's wages were ultimately increased, though they remained about 5 percent below Utthan's benchmark, according to a fall salary slip.

For weeks, Mr. Khan said, factories would not hire him because he had sought out a union. He later found a job at a subcontractor that executes orders for one of the Indian exporters that helped create Utthan. But the past few months have exhausted Mr. Khan, who choked up as he sat for an interview on the floor of his small apartment.

"We are just trying to survive," he said, as his 4-year-old son ran over and hugged him.

Ms. Hurst of Impactt said that about half of the 2,810 artisans working for Utthan signatories were covered by employment benefits, and that Impactt was working on increasing that number. She said Impactt was investigating one case in which auditors were deceived.

"While we have seen some considerable improvements in health and safety and are making progress in pay and hours, we fully acknowledge there is still more work to do," she said.

Burberry said that it worked with only two Indian exporters, with guarantees that they used in-house artisans as opposed to subcontractors for the orders it placed, and that they would continue supporting the pact. Mulberry said it had left the pact in March 2018 because of reprioritization of its business activities to leather goods.

The truth is, said Mr. Posner of New York University, "voluntary pacts between brands alone do not guarantee very much."

Kering, which reported revenues of 15.9 billion euros in 2019, said 1,500 artisans had benefited from Utthan, and that 70 percent of embroidery products for Kering brands were now made by artisans on permanent contracts with benefits and a salary significantly above the minimum wage.

However, two weeks after The Times approached Kering with its reporting in Mumbai, the company said it planned to establish its own workshop in India to internalize "a significant part of the hand embroidery work" for its brands. A spokesman said the company would also continue to support the Utthan pact and work with external suppliers, and that compliance with the Utthan program would become a requirement for all suppliers in 2020.

Pankaj Attarde, a veteran embroidery consultant in Mumbai, said it was time the world knew the plight of India's artisans and their extraordinary contribution to fashion.

"We need to bring transparency and fairness into the system if this industry is going to survive," he said. "If compliance is about improving the lives of workers, why is Utthan secretive?"

Kai Schultz and Phyllida Jay reported from Mumbai, and Elizabeth Paton from London. Kritika Sony contributed reporting and research from Mumbai.

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MUMBAI, India - At the top of a staircase covered in dirt and sequins, several dozen Indian artisans hunched over yards of fabric, using needles to embroider garments for the world's most powerful fashion brands. They sewed without health benefits in a multiroom factory with caged windows and no emergency exit, where they earned a few dollars a day completing subcontracted orders for international designers.

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Benefits and Challenges of Manufacturing from Inida

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Benefits and Challenges of Manufacturing from Inida

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The Benefits and Challenges of Manufacturing in India

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As India aims to become a top manufacturing hub, India is on the threshold of major reform. India is poised to rank among the top three manufacturing locations by 2020. If you are considering locating or moving your manufacturing operations to India, there are many good reasons to do so.

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Kohan Textile Journal _ Middle East Largest Textile Portal

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Textile industry in Tunisia

European countries import 96 per cent of Tunisia's total textile and apparel exports; France, Germany and Italy alone receive 75 per cent. ... Expertise is spread over spinning and thread making, fabric weaving, finishing, hosiery, knitting, the manufacture of woven and knitted clothing as well as other textile products.

Tunisia is among the top 15 garment suppliers in the world and has the advantage of being close to the European market. It is the fifth largest supplier to the European Union, as well as the leading trouser supplier to the EU. Other important products are work wear and lingerie. The main foreign investors in the apparel sector in Tunisia are France, Germany, Belgium and Italy.

This web site is a part of a project initiated by the chamber of commerce and industry of the center and funded by the FAMEX ( foreign markets access fund ) in order to offer to Scandinavian companies the opportunity to meet selected Tunisian companies and to explore further partnership and production opportunities.

The Scandinavian apparel and fashion industry is characterized by the emergence of many new brands and designers; Tunisian apparel industry offers many opportunities to Scandinavian countries. Thanks to its assets in terms of flexibility, reactivity, adaptable production volumes, just-in-time delivery, communication skills and fundamental respect for social and environmental standards.

Tunisia enjoys several comparative advantages, such as low labour cost and proximity to the EU market. According to the 2007 textile labour cost comparison by Werner International, the average cost per operator hour in the Tunisian industry is significantly lower than in Morocco and Turkey.

Due to the reactivity of the Tunisian apparel sector delivery times ( 2 to 3 weeks ) are lower than Turkey and Poland ( 3 to 4 weeks ) and definitely lower than India and China (12 à 20 weeks).

Thanks to its proximity to Europe, Tunisian Workers are familiar with the european mentality and work culture. Italy is only 1 hour away from Tunis by aeroplane, France and Germany 2 hours away, Copenhagen and Stockholm are 2h 30 and 3h away respectively. Most of the tunisian factories employ multi-linguistic skilled workers: French, English, Italian and German are widely used.

FUNDAMENTAL RESPECT FOR SOCIAL
AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND NORMS
Tunisia is a signatory to the Geneva Convention on the conditions of the employment of child labour. All companies must comply with social rules and regulations; systematic control procedures ensure that these social standards are respected.

MAIN CLIENTS AND REFERENCES
More than 200 brands are currently working in Tunisia. here is a non-exhaustive list of known brands : Armand Thierry, Benetton, Cacharel, Diesel, Balmain, 4 You, G.Laroche, Hugo Boss, Kookai, Lacoste, Adidas, Catimini, Lee.
Certification for products, systems and environment have become widespread among sector enterprises as has the development of labelling such as OEKO-TEX, ECOLABEL...(see the website menu and read more under the headline social and environmental standards and norms).

MAJOR REASONS FOR CHOOSING TUNISIA
* Competitive production costs
* Flexible and adaptable production system
* Qualified and available human resource.
* Respect of delivery time frames.
* Reliable and high-performance sourcing.
* Respect of social and environmental standards.
* Full line of services available from sub-contracting to co-contracting and finished products.

Sector Overview
The Textiles and clothing industries (TCI) sector is comprised of some 2,094 industrial enterprises employing 10 or more persons, of which 1,656 produce exclusively for the export market.

PARTNERSHIP
The Sector counts 971 enterprises with foreign participation, of which 635 are wholly (100%) foreign owned.
The leading foreign investors in the textile/clothing sector are: Italy, Belgium, Holland, France, Algeria and USA.

EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES
* Textile/clothing industries provide the largest number of jobs in the manufacturing sector, employing 205,911 people, 46% of all manufacturing jobs.
* Accessible quality education for all citizens has endowed Tunisia with a young human resource pool (supervisors, technicians, designers, engineers).
* The country has over thirty centres for specialised education covering the textiles industries: 8 sectorial centres for training supervisors and technicians; a higher institute of textiles for senior technicians; a textile engineer university; a higher institute for fashion professionals; a textile design department within the fine arts university.

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Textile industry in Tunisia - Kohan Textile Journal _ Middle East Largest Textile Portal

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European countries import 96 per cent of Tunisia's total textile and apparel exports; France, Germany and Italy alone receive 75 per cent. ... Expertise is spread over spinning and thread making, fabric weaving, finishing, hosiery, knitting, the manufacture of woven and knitted clothing as well as other textile products.

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T he global sourcing map is constantly being redrawn as retailers criss-cross the globe in search of the perfect destination to meet their manufacturing needs. Creating strong supply chains is a complex jigsaw of speed, quality, volume and, crucially, price.

Global manufacturing heavyweights, such as China, Bangladesh, India and Turkey, continue to hold sway over the sourcing market, but their position is not as secure as it once was. Production costs rose by almost 50% in Bangladesh between 2005 and 2017 and by 33% in China in the same period, consultancy firm Accenture suggests.

As a result, retailers are increasingly turning to the sourcing potential of African countries. Nations with burgeoning textile industries, such as Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia, are vying with the more established African markets, Madagascar, Mauritius and Morocco to become the next port of call. But those looking to Africa will find that advantages such as low cost and geographical proximity are tempered with issues such as underdeveloped vertical manufacturing and a lack of specialisation when compared with more established sourcing countries, and have to prioritise accordingly.

The message about Africa's sourcing capabilities has been building over the past 10 years

Jacqueline Shaw, Africa Fashion Guide

Zara owner Inditex Group is one retail heavyweight sourcing from the continent - the Spanish company has suppliers based in Morocco. Supermarket Asda's fashion brand, George, has manufaturers based in Morocco and Tunisia, as does Primark, which also sources from Tanzania. Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger owner PVH began production in Ethiopia in 2017 through a joint venture with textile manufacturer Arvind.

"The message about Africa's sourcing capabilities has been building over the past 10 years and now retailers are scrambling to get into the market," explains Jacqueline Shaw, sourcing consultant and founder of social enterprise Africa Fashion Guide. "There are various reasons behind the surge in interest: concerns about Bangladesh after 2013 [when more than 1,000 workers were killed in the Rana Plaza disaster], as well as rising costs in China. As a result, retailers are looking to new regions for production."

Keren Pybus is the chief executive and co-founder of sourcing consultancy Ethical Apparel Africa, and has previously held senior sourcing roles at Asda's George. She agrees with Shaw: "There's absolutely more interest in African sourcing opportunities from fashion retailers - the lead has come from the US because it has a duty-free trade agreement that covers textile and clothing with Africa, which is a big advantage over countries such as Cambodia or Bangladesh. As big US retailers have entered the market, they have drawn other businesses' attention to the possibilities. Some African governments have also really understood the impact the garment industry can have on GDP and have been proactive about incentivising retailers to come."

Ethiopia, in particular, has ambitious plans for its textile industry. The government has earmarked the sector as a key pillar in its plan to become ranked by the World Bank as a middle-income country by 2020 - it is currently low income. The country's large workforce, competitive wages and duty-free access to the European Union give it potential to become a garment manufacturing hub, the government body Ethiopian Investment Commission believes. To achieve this goal, the government is investing in industrial parks to help boost manufacturing.

You aren't necessarily going to achieve cheaper prices straight away

Keren Pybus, Ethical Apparel Africa

As with any new sourcing market, there are positives and negatives for retailers to consider.

"The logistic times out of west Africa to Europe are very favourable," notes Pybus. "Because those countries are on the right side of the continent [for proximity], they can ship to Europe in 15 to 20 days, which is fast compared with Asia.

"However, one of the things that retailers will have to think about is that vertical supply chains are not yet here in their entirety - it is likely you will have to import things such as fabrics and trims.

"Efficiency is another challenge. Fashion retailers may expect to save money because of lower salaries but you aren't necessarily going to achieve cheaper prices straight away."

Joanna Maiden, founder of Kenya-based manufacturer Soko, which makes Asos 's Made in Kenya men's and women's wear line, agrees: "One of the challenges about Africa is that not everything is around the corner as it might be in other regions. In Kenya, for example, most things have to be imported, so retailers need a long-term strategy."

Laura Morroll, senior manager at management consultancy BearingPoint, adds that emerging African sourcing markets are best suited to large volumes of core product: "Up-and-coming markets tend to be more focused on basic production and higher volumes, compared with more developed markets, such as China, which have invested in innovation and product development. Specialisms aren't there yet. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are markets I expect to see grow, but at the moment, Ethiopia is at the forefront of where retailers are going. That's in part because of the land conditions there, which are promising for cotton cultivation."

Tessa Laws, chairman of Israeli sourcing giant Bagir Group, agrees that emerging African sourcing markets are better suited to large volume orders because of the level of skill and logistical challenges.

She sees potential for more complex products over a longer timeframe: "Alongside the markets that have already developed skills and capabilities to handle more sophisticated production, we'll start to see more and more African countries, such as Ethiopia, produce mid-to-low price point garments.

"As the textile industry is still traditional and involves intensive labour, it's very attractive for countries that are suffering from a very low employment rate. This development will take at least a decade and depend on offshore investments in equipment, and the nature of the duty-free agreements that these countries have with the US and the EU."

Much of the appeal of emerging African sourcing markets arises from their lower labour costs. However, Morroll adds that, to be successful, retailers' sourcing strategies need to account for more aspects than a simple financial race to the bottom - particularly given growing consumer awareness of sustainability.

This is a central consideration for retailers seeking to source from Ethiopia, given its history of drought and famine. PVH, for example, says it has focused on building water treatment plants, greener production facilities and employee safety at its factory in the Hawassa industrial park to ensure it is working in the most sustainable way.

Morroll says: "Retailers might see new markets and chase lower labour costs, but doing so could result in a trade-off with corporate social responsibility and brand quality. Retailers need to invest in local areas when it comes to education and infrastructure, and work closely with local governments."

Shaw agrees: "The industry expertise on the ground in somewhere like Ethiopia may not be on the same level as Bangladesh - retailers need to invest in supporting workers to develop their skills. There is also an opportunity to work closely with government programmes promoting 'Made in Africa' products."

African countries, particularly Ethiopia, are vying to become global sourcing hubs. Government investment in new textile sectors, along with their low costs and proximity to Europe, make these appealing. High-volume retailers that can make long-term investment in the local area will make the most of the continent's sourcing opportunities.

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T he global sourcing map is constantly being redrawn as retailers criss-cross the globe in search of the perfect destination to meet their manufacturing needs. Creating strong supply chains is a complex jigsaw of speed, quality, volume and, crucially, price.

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The Environmental Audit Committee is calling on the UK government to make fashion retailers take responsibility for the waste they create.
In a new report, , the Environmental Audit Committee ( EAC) calls on the UK government to make fashion retailers take responsibility for the waste they create - suggesting, among other measures, a 1p producer responsibility charge on each item of clothing that could pay for better clothing collection and recycling.

In June 2018, the EAC launched an inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry, surveying 16 leading UK fashion retailers on what, if anything, they are doing to reduce the environmental and social impact of the clothes and shoes they sell. Within the report are key recommendations that the EAC hopes parliament will pass into law. As the EAC states in the report, "The fashion industry has marked its own homework for too long."

The report outlines key recommendations for Parliament that cover not only waste, but also the importance of education, and improving human rights and other responsible supply chain practices:

Mandatory environmental targets for fashion retailers with a turnover above £36 million;

The continued evolution of circularity

Hear about the latest progress in advancing a global circular economy from practitioners and experts in a variety of industries - at SB'20 Long Beach.

An Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme to reduce textile waste with a one-penny charge per garment on producers;

The scheme should reward fashion companies that design products with lower environmental impacts and penalize those that do not - using the tax system to shift the balance of incentives in favor of reuse, repair and recycling to support responsible producers.

The Government should follow Sweden's lead and reduce VAT on repair services.

Lessons on designing, creating, mending and repairing clothes should be part of school curricula

The Government should publish a publicly accessible list of retailers required to release a modern slavery statement. This should be supported by an appropriate penalty for those companies who fail to report and comply with the Modern Slavery Act.

The fashion industry must come together to set out a blueprint for a net zero emissions world, reducing their carbon consumption back to 1990 levels.

Environmental Audit Committee Chair Mary Creagh MP comments below:

Sustainable clothing: "voluntary approach has failed"

The report warns that although some parts of the fashion industry are making progress in reducing their carbon and water consumption, these improvements have been outweighed by the increased volumes of clothing being sold. It concludes that a voluntary approach to improving the sustainability of the fashion industry is failing, with just 10 fashion retailers signed up to reduce their water, waste and carbon footprints.

It recommends that compliance with WRAP's Sustainability Clothing Action Plan targets should be made mandatory for all retailers with a turnover of more than £36 million as a 'license to practice.'

It is also recommended that Government work with retailers to increase use of digital supply chain technology for better traceability.

New economic models for fashion

The MPs say that we need new economic models for fashion that are based on reducing the material consumption associated with growth. To drive improvements, the Government should reform taxation to reward fashion companies that design products with lower environmental impacts.

This could include extending the proposed tax on virgin plastics to synthetic textile products to stimulate the market for recycled fibers in the UK. The Committee also wants the new EPR scheme to accelerate government and industry research into the environmental performance of different materials and measures to reduce microfiber pollution.

The report also calls on Ministers to explore how they can support new sharing economy models such as hiring, swapping or subscription clothes services.

Government must act to end throwaway fashion

Increasing a garment's lifetime is one of the most effective means of reducing its environmental footprint. Around 300,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in household bins every year with around 80% of this incinerated and 20% sent to landfill.

A charge of one penny per garment producers as part of a new EPR scheme could raise £35 million for investment in better clothing collection and recycling in the UK. The Committee is also calling on the Government to ban incineration or landfilling of unsold stock that can be reused or recycled.

Ending labor exploitation

While many clothing brands are produced in Asian countries with low labor costs and weak environmental governance, there has been a recently growth in garment manufacturing in the UK, as brands and retailers seek to respond faster to consumer demand. Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are under pressure from retailers to produce garments at unrealistically low prices - as a result, the EAC heard evidence that sub-minimum wage issues are widespread in Leicester's garment factories.

The report calls for changes to the Modern Slavery Act and Companies Act to increase transparency, and require large fashion brands and retailers to perform due diligence checks across their supply chains to ensure their products are produced without forced or child labor.

In a statement,Fashion Revolution - a key contributor to the report - said it welcomes the EAC's findings:

"We too want to see a thriving fashion industry in the UK that employs people, inspires creativity and contributes to sustainable livelihoods in the UK and around the world, and we believe that brands and retailers have an obligation to address the fundamental business model," said Policy Director Sarah Ditty. "We believe that the fashion industry in the United Kingdom and globally needs far-reaching systemic change in order to tackle poverty, inequality and environmental degradation, and greater transparency is the first crucial step towards solving its human rights and environmental crises. We hope to see the policymakers and citizens across the UK work hard to make sure that these recommendations are adopted into policy."

While agreeing that the proposed tax is a "good first step," Becky Willan, Managing Director of brand purpose consultancy Given London, adds: "A tax initiative like this does put well-placed pressure on fashion brands, but the challenges of making the industry truly sustainable are so much broader and more complex than simply recycling, [which] does little to address the throwaway culture that exists at the heart of 'fast fashion. Consumer behaviour and attitudes also need to be transformed - to reverse the trend of overconsumption, we need to unlock a much bigger culture shift."

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UK Gov Proposes Tax, Other Incentives to Help End Throwaway Fashion

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The Environmental Audit Committee is calling on the UK government to make fashion retailers take responsibility for the waste they create. In a new report, , the Environmental Audit Committee ( EAC) calls on the UK government to make fashion retailers take responsibility for the waste they create - suggesting, among other measures, a 1p producer responsibility charge on each item of clothing that could pay for better clothing collection and recycling.

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ZILINGOxEDITED - Sustainability in Fashion

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Sustainability continues to be at the forefront of product decisions, brand initiatives, and strategic planning in the textile industry. The use of recycled materials, including recycled cotton, is a growing topic of interest within the sustainability umbrella. Recycled cotton is not a new concept to the textile and apparel market, but as manufacturers, brands and retailers continue to evaluate their supply chain footprint, the interest in recycled cotton has grown.

WHAT IS RECYCLED COTTON?

Recycled cotton can be generally defined as converting cotton fabric into cotton fiber that can be reused in textile products. Recycled cotton is also commonly referred to as regenerated cotton, reclaimed cotton or shoddy. Recycled content includes recycled raw material, as well as used, reconditioned, and re-manufactured components. Textile recycling is generated from two primary sources:

1. Pre-consumer: includes scraps created by yarn and fabric by-products

2. Post-consumer: includes garments, upholstery, towels, household items to be repurposed

The largest volume of recycled cotton sources is produced through pre-consumer waste, such as cutting scraps. Post-consumer waste is more difficult to sort through due to various color shades, fabric blends, and it is generally a more labor-intensive process.

THE PROCESS TO TURN FABRIC BACK INTO FIBER

The majority of recycled cotton is claimed through mechanical recycling. First, fabrics and materials are sorted by color. After sorting, the fabrics are run through a machine that shreds the fabric into yarn and further into raw fiber. This process is harsh and puts a great deal of strain on the fiber - it is not uncommon for fibers to break and entangle during shredding. The raw fiber is then spun back into yarns for reuse in other products. The quality of recycled fiber will never have quality values equal to the original fiber. Specifically, fiber length and length uniformity will be impacted, which will limit the end-use application.

BENEFITS & CHALLENGES TO RECYCLED COTTON FIBER

There can be many benefits with using recycled cotton, as well as some challenges.

Benefits

Recycled cotton can find new life in many different low grade products such as insulation, mop heads, rags, and stuffing.

The process of recycling can divert many products from landfills. According to the Council for Textile Recycling, annual textile waste is estimated to equal 25 billion pounds.¹

The amount of energy, water, and dye use is reduced from using a product that has already been processed. The savings are achieved through offsetting production of new materials. Since recycled cotton yarns most commonly are sourced from pre-consumer textile scraps that are sorted by color, the yarns are already dyed.

The CO2 and fossil fuel emission savings can be partially offset from using existing materials. However, the collection, processing and shipping of cotton scraps or clothing can reduce or neutralize some of these savings.²

Challenges

Cotton must be blended with other fibers to be made into new yarn for strength and durability, and therefore cannot continuously be recycled.

The content of recycled cotton will depend on end-use application. Any amount of recycled product will impact the yarn and fabric properties such as evenness, strength, and uniformity.

Recycled yarn cost is generally higher than standard, virgin cotton yarn costs, and could possibly be cost-prohibitive.

Testing instruments are made for ginned, virgin cotton. Sometimes, testing results can be skewed due to the difference in fiber packing and orientation.

The risk of contamination by other fibers is much higher for recycled cotton. Stitching, sewing thread, small amounts of spandex should all be taken into account when establishing the recycled supply chain.

CONSUMER INTEREST

Cotton Incorporated's Lifestyle Monitor™ research shows that consumers are seeking out recycled materials, but "recycled" does not necessarily equate to "sustainable" in a consumers' mind. ¹ Research shows that 24% of consumers are willing to pay more for clothing or home textiles that are labeled as "recycled", and 32% of consumers who plan on purchasing clothing or home textiles will look for "recycled" clothing; however, only 5% of consumers believe that "sustainable" = "recycled". Consumers place more value in clothing or products labeled as "100% cotton", "natural", or "environmentally-friendly".

RECYCLING EFFORTS

Today, there are many recycling efforts by well-known brands that have launched initiatives within their stores. Companies such as Columbia, The North Face, Patagonia, and many others encourage consumers to bring in old clothing to be repurposed. Most companies who encourage consumers to recycle their clothing allow clothes from any brand to be dropped off. Some of these initiatives include consumer benefits such as coupons or points towards future purchases. Patagonia also focuses on repairing old clothing to extend the life of the product.

Cotton Incorporated has created a denim recycling program called Blue Jeans Go Green™. The Blue Jeans Go Green™ initiative recycles old denim jeans to be preprocessed and converted into insulation. The program, created in 2006, has collected over one million pieces of denim and diverted over 600 tons of textile waste from landfills.

HOW CAN YOU BE A PART OF THIS EFFORT?

As the conversation around sustainability continues to move toward a greater need of improving the life of garments rather than promoting a disposable business model, companies should consider using virgin cotton and promoting the sustainable, natural benefits. Recycled cotton is a great option for reducing textile waste and repurposing for lower grade products, but there are still challenges to overcome for end-uses, especially in the apparel market.

Recycled cotton has its place for certain end-uses, but the challenges with strength and quality reduction can cause issues during production and after the consumer takes the product home. Once garments are recycled, they cannot continue to be recycled due to the fiber separation process that weakens the fibers - recycled materials cannot be recycled infinitely.

Ultimately, virgin cotton is already a sustainable option - cotton is a natural and biodegradable fiber, and companies should be encouraged to tell their sustainability stories with virgin cotton, rather than creating low quality garments from recycled cotton. ⁴ Learn more about cotton's footprint, LCA, and traceability at cottonworks.com.

¹ Council for Textile Recycling (2018). http://www.weardonaterecycle.org.

² Recycled Cotton. (2014). Textile Exchange.

³ Cotton Incorporated's Lifestyle Monitor™ Survey

⁴ Li, Lili; Frey, Margaret; Browning, Kristie. Biodegradability Study on Cotton and Polyester Fabrics. Cornell University, October 2008 -September 2009.

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Sustainability continues to be at the forefront of product decisions, brand initiatives, and strategic planning in the textile industry. The use of recycled materials, including recycled cotton, is a growing topic of interest within the sustainability umbrella.

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Why

Nylon is one of the strongest plastics we use in our products. When we need a super-lightweight fabric, it's critical that we use nylon for its strength. With our goal of moving completely from using virgin content to recycled content, we need recycled nylon to continue making some of our favorite technical jackets and garments and to maintain our performance standards.

Incorporating as much recycled nylon as we can lessens our dependence on petroleum as a raw material source. By using this material, we can eliminate discards and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. Using recycled nylon also helps promote new recycling streams for nylon products that are no longer usable.

For the Fall 2020 season, 67% of the nylon fabric we used contains recycled nylon. Using recycled nylon fabrics this season resulted in an 18% reduction in CO ₂ emissions when compared to virgin nylon fabrics. This amounts to over 3.5 million pounds of CO ₂ emission avoided.

Where We Are

Our goal is to divert nylon from landfills, and we're making strides. We've found a nylon yarn made from a 50/50 blend of pre-consumer and postconsumer nylon.

The postconsumer materials come from products that have been bought, used in the world and then trashed and are destined for the landfill, like plastic bottles, fishing nets, worn-out clothes or discarded carpeting. Pre-consumer waste material comes from industrial processes-scraps of material in a factory that would have otherwise been downcycled, downgraded or sent to a landfill. Most of the nylon we use now comes from a mechanically recycled pre-consumer source. Those materials would have gone into lesser quality goods if we didn't utilize them.

What's Next

Most mechanically recycled materials are melted at high temperatures which destroy contaminants and transform the material into a reusable form. Nylon melts at a much lower temperature, leaving contaminants behind. For this reason, nylon must be thoroughly cleaned before being recycled. Good sources of clean, pure postconsumer nylon are difficult to find.

We're using more postconsumer recycled nylon in our gear and looking for new sources of it. We're also exploring other options, such as materials made from plant-based alternatives, which will help curb the CO ₂ emissions associated with material creation.

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Why Nylon is one of the strongest plastics we use in our products. When we need a super-lightweight fabric, it's critical that we use nylon for its strength. With our goal of moving completely from using virgin content to recycled content, we need recycled nylon to continue making some of our favorite technical jackets and garments and to maintain our performance standards.

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Last month I had an amazing experience traveling to India for the first time. India was a blank slate for me. Previously I was only able to experience India from a distance - I had only tasted their delicious food, seen their festivals on TV, and admired their colorful clothes from abroad. Now I was about to experience it firsthand.

Like most e-commerce entrepreneurs, I sourced nearly all my products from China. Some may say that I'm a "China sourcing expert".

But before we get into my trip and what I learned let's first take a step back and ask:
Why source from India?
Four main reasons

Circumvent China tariffs and increased costs

Take advantage of India's lower labor costs

Differentiate your products from competitors

Diversify your sourcing and supply chain

Perhaps the strongest reason to source India stems from the recent US-China trade war. Chinese manufactured products have been slapped with a 25% to 30% import tariff on top of existing import duties when importing into the US.

This means that a product's landed cost is going to be a lot HIGHER than before which makes it more difficult to maintain profit margins.

By sourcing away from China, you can circumvent these tariffs and potentially lower your product costs drastically.

Secondly, India produces many handmade and customized products. They rely less on machinery and more on manual labor which makes it easier to make customized, high-end products that can potentially be sold at a higher price point.

Thirdly, India has an abundant labor force. Their population is 1.3 billion people and will overtake China as the largest country in the world in the not so distant future.

Moreover, India's labor rate is much lower than China. According to a study done by my good friend Dan Krassenstein who heads the Supply Chain for a major American bag company, he sources his products from China, India, and Vietnam. With Dan's permission here's how the three country's labor costs stack up in 2018.

According to his study in 2018, India's labor rate is 37% less than China's. Obviously, your mileage may vary depending on your product and niche but we can make an assumption that India's labor costs will be significantly less than China and Vietnam's.

Finally, it makes sense to diversify your sourcing and NOT put all your eggs in one basket. Besides the tariffs, China's labor costs are rising. China's material costs are rising. China's environmental regulations are tightening up. And policywise, China is encouraging manufacturers to move up the value ladder and rely less on cheaply-made products.

In fact, many of the big players such as Walmart, Uniqlo, Nike, etc. have begun diversifying their supply chains away from China since 2014 or even earlier.

So given the above reasons, I decided to take the plunge to India!

In Oct 2019, I joined the India Sourcing Trip hosted by Meghla Bhardwaj. It was an amazing action-packed week where we visited Delhi and Agra. The trip included a 3-day guided tour of the Delhi Fair, a 1-day conference on best practices sourcing from India from e-commerce sellers and service providers, as well as several cool cultural excursions including a Delhi city tour and a tour of the Taj Mahal (one of the 7 wonders of the world!). More on that later.

It was like a crash course on Indian culture, language, sourcing, and doing business all rolled into one!

As the saying goes, business before pleasure so let's start with that.

Delhi Fair, the "Canton Fair" of India

The Delhi Fair is probably the largest trade show in India focused on showcasing locally made products for export. It takes place twice a year in April and October. Over 3,000 vendors are at the fair and they have both temporary exhibitors and permanent booths. While not as large as the Canton Fair, I suggest to spend several days there in order to see everything.

Some of the product categories featured at the fair include:

Home Furnishings

Furniture

Lighting

Bathroom accessories

Carpets and Rugs

Sustainable and Eco-friendly products

Wood handicrafts

Leather

Ethnic crafts

Art and Frames

At first I was looking for replacements for the products I was already sourcing from China at the Fair. I wasn't too successful at that because those products are more along the lines of mass produced machined products commonly found in China.

However, after walking the floor I realized that there were products there that were NOT FOUND in China due to different materials, different customizations, and different types of craftsmanship. More on this later.

In any case, my key takeaway is that I was surprised to find numerous new product opportunities at the Delhi Fair that are NOT commonly found in China. And they are NOT commonly found on Alibaba as well. In fact, in an informal poll of about 50 Indian suppliers I asked how many of them listed their products on Alibaba and only about FOUR of them raised their hands. This is not a scientific poll but if we assume that this is a good enough sample size then less than 10% of Indian suppliers are listing their products on Alibaba.

This means if you find these suppliers at the Delhi Fair most of your competition will not unless they fly to India. This puts you at a tremendous advantage in terms of finding suppliers for products that your competitors cannot easily find.

This is one of the key traits of a 7 Figure Seller - "Building a moat around your business." For more on that please checkout the 7 Figure Seller Summit.

Indian Factory Visit

After the 3 days spent at the Delhi Fair we visited a leather goods and apparel factory in Delhi. This factory specialized in leather products such as leather jackets, bags, purses, etc. They also had a second factory that produced clothing and apparel for major US and European brands.

I always love visiting factories because this way I get to see "how the sausage is made". This may sound nerdy but by visiting the factory I was able to get a sense for how things work in India.

I saw that the factory was clean and workers were engaged and friendly. The factory was heavily dependent on manual labor and less so on machine and automated production.

For example I saw the workers cutting, shaping, and sewing pieces of leather by hand and traditional sewing machines people have used in the past 100 years.

Indian leather goods factory in Delhi with workers operating traditional sewing machines

In a similar type of factory in China, you would see fewer workers and more automated machines, for example, digital sewing machines where you can program sewing patterns.

Chinese travel bags factory in Shenzhen. Note the LCD monitor on the sewing machine! This machine can sew all by itself with minimal human input needed.

In terms of their equipment, I saw that they are virtually all imported. In fact of the key embroidering machines was made in China!

Sourcing from India - what I learned

After my visit to the Delhi Fair and tour of an India factory, here are my key takeaways.

First, the advantages of sourcing from India:

1. No tariffs! This can immediately save you 25% off your product landed cost if you're sourcing from China to the US!

2. India is strong in handmade and customized products - I witnessed very high-quality lighting fixtures, furniture, handicrafts, bags, and more unique products that aren't commonly found in China or on Alibaba.

Given that most e-commerce sellers source "me-too" or similar products from China via Alibaba, this can be a fantastic way to differentiate your product away from competitors.

3. India is strong in natural materials such as artisanal wood, certain metals, natural fabrics (cotton, jute, silk) an eco-friendly products (Recycled PET, products made of leaves, etc). In fact, China imports a lot of natural materials from India such as artisanal wood, cotton, and leather to manufacture their products. So by going directly to the source you can potentially have a better selection and at a lower cost.

4. Many of the products are surprisingly high quality! I'll be honest - before going to India I expected to see cheap and poorly made products. But at the Delhi Fair and at the factory I visited - the majority of the products were very well made.

Note: This is what I observed in my short time in India and please don't assume this means that all products in India are high quality. Within any country, there will be a range of products that fall on the higher and lower marks on the quality scale.

5. More environmentally friendly products. Besides being strong in environmentally friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled materials such as recycled PET and materials that use leaves,, I was surprised to learn that Delhi has adopted a policy of not allowing any plastic bags to be used in the city.

This is especially shocking to me because in Shanghai when if I ordered breakfast takeout from KFC, I counted at least FOUR plastic bags and several more paper bags for two sandwiches and two drinks!

Moreover in terms of logistics and shipping, I learned that shrink wrap is NOT allowed when palletizing. Though India has some of the worst air pollution in the world, they really emphasize environmentally friendly products and behavior.

6. No language barrier - Most everyone speaks or at least understands English in India. Whether their promises can be upheld is another story, however!

To give you a balanced view, here are some of the disadvantages of sourcing from India

1. Expect slower delivery times - up to 10 weeks! This can be more than double the delivery times you'd expect from Chinese suppliers. So you need to plan your inventory forecast more carefully or else you will be out of stock for several months.

The main cause of the long delivery time is the reliance on manual labor in India compared to reliance on automation and machinery in China.

2. Certain products can be more expensive in India than in China - While India has an advantage in natural materials, it is disadvantaged in synthetic materials such as polyester, nylon, and blended materials.

This is due to the lack of equipment needed to make and process these materials effectively.

In certain cases, if you wanted to have a polyester bag to be made in India for example, the supplier may have to import the material from China. This adds to the time and cost of the final product. Not surprisingly, I was quoted a higher price from an Indian supplier for sourcing a comparable bag made in China.

3. Certain materials may not be available in India - for example, a few of the private label products that I sell are made out of aluminum alloy and food grade "304 stainless steel". Based on the metal product suppliers I met with at the Delhi Fair, none of them were able to make this product out of the same materials. Either the materials were not available at that quality level or they simply lacked the process to make them. So for these products, I decided to keep production in China

4. Lack of export experience - According to the logistics experts I've spoken with, on the whole, Indian suppliers are less experienced with the whole export process than their Chinese counterparts. So expect a longer delivery time as they get their licenses ready and all the shipping details worked out.

Again I'm generalizing but on the whole, China commands a lead in the manufacturing and exporting game by about 10-15 years. So I would expect more bumps in the road when dealing with the export process when sourcing from India given their relative inexperience.

5. Indian suppliers may lack experience with Amazon FBA packaging requirements. Unlike their Chinese counterparts, most Indian suppliers have never dealt with Amazon FBA before. So it will be your responsibility to show them how to create barcodes, packaging size requirements, and palleting instructions to make sure everything satisfies Amazon FBA's requirements.

It's ironic that just four years ago, most Chinese suppliers were not familiar with FBA as well and in fact, I remember having to teach my suppliers how to fulfill these requirements. Nowadays Amazon has offices in China and leads huge conferences that teach Chinese sellers and suppliers thousands at a time how to package and sell on Amazon.

Looking ahead in my crystal ball, I wouldn't be surprised to see a surge of Indian suppliers selling on Amazon.com in the next few years. I had the privilege of speaking to a group of Indian suppliers and they seemed more interested in learning to sell on Amazon themselves than learning the best ways to work with Amazon sellers like us!

6. Expect delays due to transportation, Indian Customs, Monsoons, etc.

Aaron Hughes, an American whom I met in Delhi and has spent 5 years living in India and working for a sourcing agency shared with me that "monsoon and the major festivals occur in the fall around September and October and cause BIG delays".

From the entrepreneurs whom I've spoken with who have sourced products from India, the consensus seems to be to add a TWO week buffer time from the promised delivery date. This is to compensate for "Murphy's Law" - anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Now let's switch gears and look at what I learned in terms of...

Doing Business in India

First and foremost, this is by no means a complete guide to doing business in India. This is based on my initial observations having spent a week in India and meeting with numerous vendors in and around Delhi Fair.

Relationships matter

All of the Indian suppliers I met were very cordial and eager to get to know me better before we discussed any business and numbers and figures.

For example, I met a sourcing company in Delhi and they invited me to lunch and to visit their office to learn more about their business and their product line. As we chatted we learned about each other's families, backgrounds, and hobbies. In addition to that, they were kind enough to drive me back to my hotel afterward. This is all without any expectations to immediately place an order with them. In fact, we only talked business about 30% of the time.

I sensed that building the relationship was important before potentially doing business together. This is similar to building "guanxi" or relationships in China,

In India for instance, it's a wise move to ask factories about their history. Often times it could be a multigenerational business involving fathers, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters. Moreover, I found that Indians are typically proud to share their history. As a result, this helps to lay the groundwork to build a better business relationship.

Regional Differences in India matter

One of the biggest surprises for me was that not all Indians speak the same language! Most everyone understands English, however, they also have native languages which they speak with their friends and family. However, these languages differ depending on the region. For example, I learned a few words of Hindi and tried using it with some new Indian friends I met. I was shocked to learn that they didn't understand Hindi at all! In fact, they were Tamil from Southern India (Chennai) and Hindi is not used in that region. So when they traveled North to Delhi they only spoke English. I believe they have a native language to their region as well.

Secondly, different regions in India have different manufacturing strengths and specialties. Certain parts of India are strong in leather, handicrafts, wooden products, apparel, etc. And it makes sense to source a certain type of product from a certain region to make sure you are getting the best quality.

For example, if you were sourcing leather bags then the key regions to focus on would be Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, and Jaipur. Even within these regions, there will be differences in types of leather. Sometimes you can notice in Jaipur they use a lot of goat leather which is more thin and brittle than other leathers used in Chennai or Kolkata.

Moreover, there are certain environmental conditions you must take into account when manufacturing in certain regions. For example, in high humidity areas, you need to be careful with the risk of mold in your packaging so a dehumidifier is recommended when exporting this product.

Also when shipping your product, you need to pay attention to which PORT you will export from. India has a west coast and an east coast. For example shipping from the Kolkata port to Long Beach, USA will take 38 days. Conversely, if you shipped from the Nheva Shiva port to New York it will only take 21 days. This will save you several weeks of time in delivering your products.

There are NO RULES in India

The perfect example can be found in the streets of India. Even though there are four lanes in the streets of Delhi, you will see SEVEN rows of cars driving through them. Mark Palfreeman from SBI summed it up perfectly by comparing it to water flowing in a river. This system, while chaotic, gets the job done. No rules!

Traffic seven cars and rickshaws deep on a four-lane road in Delhi!

A second instance of this is in my pre-registration for the Delhi Fair. Even though I pre-registered for the trade show several weeks in advance and got a confirmation email, I was still forced to stand in line for 30 minutes to get my badge to enter.

However, others in our group received a BARCODE in the confirmation email and they were able to quickly scan the barcode from a self-service kiosk and printed their badges in seconds.

Why did some people get the barcode and others did not? I posed this question to the staff at the fair but nobody could give me a good answer. No rules!

"Pakka" Rule, for sure?

Mark also explained that when scheduling a meeting with Indian acquaintances the concept of time can be loosely interpreted. For example when you schedule a meeting with someone for 2PM they may show up a lot later. This was explained to us that when two people meet they will devote their complete attention to that person. And even though another commitment may be coming up and they risk being late, they will continue the prior meeting until they completely finish their conversation. This way, when they come to your "2PM" meeting they will give you their complete attention rather than worrying about unfinished business from their prior meeting. I believe it's a matter of respect in some ways. Obviously, the unspoken trade-off is punctuality.

Mark also shared with us however there's a way to make sure that the meeting time is confirmed. The key word is "Pakka", or "for sure"? So when scheduling a meeting with someone and you want them to be on time, you ask them "2pm Pakka?". Then their eyes may slightly widen and then they will tell you if they really can meet at that time or suggest a more realistic time.

Switching gears, now let's turn to the cultural side of my India trip.

Indian Culture

All work and no play doesn't make Gary a happy camper. Fortunately, we stayed at the Delhi Shangri La Hotel. The rooms were clean and comfortable, the service was great, and the food was awesome. Also, I especially enjoyed their 24-hour gym so I could get in my early morning workout to start the day.

In terms of cultural excursions we went on a ½ day Delhi tour and visited Qutb Minar Complex, Humayun's Tomb, and drove by the Prime Minister's office as well (I guess it's the equivalent of the White House for the US).

I learned a quick history lesson in that India besides being ruled by the British, also were ruled by Mongolians, Muslims, and Persians at differing times. And there are various buildings and sites that reflected this diverse heritage that made India what it is today.

But the most amazing thing that I saw in India was the Taj Mahal. It's one of the seven wonders of the world and just seeing the marble building from miles away was amazing. And it's so vast that as you approach it, the building seems to stay the same size even after your walking and walking and walking.

Once inside, seeing all the intricate designs and carvings in marble was a feast for the eyes. If you haven't gone yet I highly recommend you visit it someday.

The trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was a long bus ride which took 5 hrs EACH WAY! Fortunately, we had some good company and fun games (Hitman anyone?) to pass the time away.

Tripgoers passing time on the bus while enjoying a game of "Hitman"

My close friends know that I love enjoying local food and I was really conflicted about this. On one hand, I wanted to try as many authentic Indian food as I could but on the other people told me to be careful of "Delhi Belly". Many visitors experience stomach issues. But I was able to try some amazing butter chicken, samosas, and "egg curry". So good!

Mmm, samosas!

What I learned about myself and my Mindset

Taking a trip to India was really taking a step outside my comfort zone. I've never traveled to India before and many people have told me about the good and bad things there such as "Delhi Belly", getting ripped off as a foreigner, the dirtiness, safety concerns etc.

In addition, as some of you know, I became a dad for the first time last year and this was my first business trip away from my family. So it wasn't easy.

But India was a blank slate for me and I was very curious to learn more about the business, culture, and the people there.

I'm really glad I did the trip, I learned a lot about the fundamentals of sourcing from India, made important business contacts, and made some new friends and contacts from India and all over the world.

Next steps:

At the trade show I identified a number of new potential product opportunities.

After the show, I did further research to "run the numbers" to validate whether they would be good products to sell. Several of them have great potential and I will send more formal Request for Quotations (RFQs) and have samples made to test them before deciding whether to place an order.

And finally I'd also like to send a special thanks to Meghla Bhardwaj for organizing such a fantastic trip to help us learn about her amazing country.

If you are interested in learning more about sourcing from India, I highly recommend you checkout her India Sourcing Trip website and India sourcing trip facebook group.

Dhanyavad (Thank you)!

PS: TL DR (Too long didn't read?) Check-out this podcast by my friend Tim Jordan where he interviewed me on sourcing best practices from India!

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Last month I had an amazing experience traveling to India for the first time. India was a blank slate for me. Previously I was only able to experience India from a distance - I had only tasted their delicious food, seen their festivals on TV, and admired their colorful clothes from abroad.

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With the global population expected to rise to 8.5 billion by 2030 and an ever-growing middle class increasing by three billion people over the next 20 years, ensuring that global consumption remains in line with planetary boundaries will be critical.

Concern about the environment is increasing worldwide and consumers - most notably millennials and Gen Z - are feeling anxious about the state of the planet. In response, they are increasingly 'voting with their wallet' and choosing brands whose values align with their own. While there is still a broad gap between intention and action, a growing body of data is emerging that more and more consumers are actually following through with their intentions. At the same time, many others, despite their best intentions, are not in a position to be able to buy more sustainable products, either due to time or money constraints. To close this aspiration-behavior gap, sustainable living needs to be made more affordable, with a need for greater systemic support to enable behavior change at scale.

2020 Forecast

We'll continue to see a growing number of companies respond to changing preferences by providing products and services that enable consumers to live more sustainable lifestyles, driving global sales of sustainable products. Going above and beyond simply responding to consumer demands, we also expect more businesses to proactively strive to catalyze large-scale, tangible behavior change, recognizing that consumers themselves are one of the biggest levers of sustainable consumption.

Signals to Watch

According to a recent study of 25,000 consumers in 25 countries conducted by GlobeScan, there is still a large gap between people's intention to live sustainably and current behaviors. More than 54% of respondents said that living in a way that is good for themselves, others and the environment was a major priority but only 37% said they currently lived this way.

According to recent research from NYU Stern's Center for Sustainable Business into sales of consumer packaged goods in the US, 50% of growth from 2013 to 2018 came from sustainably-marketed products.

Earlier in 2019, Pinterest revealed a surge in user searches around sustainability, with "sustainable living" the most searched term (up 69% since 2018) and searches for "sustainable living for beginners" up 265%.

According to a survey by ING, a majority (71%) of UK respondents agreed with the suggestion that slower economic growth would be a price worth paying to protect the environment. Most respondents also acknowledged the problem of overconsumption in their home countries, with 64% of Brits, 64% of Americans and 60% of Australians saying people in their country are excessively focused on consumption.

In 1990, some 8.1 tons of natural resources were used to satisfy a person's need, while in 2015 almost 12 tons of resources was extracted per person.

"Over decades of consulting citizens worldwide, we have never felt a moment of more urgency and opportunity for brands to connect with their customers on the topic of healthy and sustainable living. We think the co-benefits are unprecedented."
Eric Whan, Director, GlobeScan

Source: IPBES

Advice for Business

Review your product portfolio: What percentage of your products are sustainable and help customers live healthier and better lives? How are these performing compared to the rest of the business? Integrate sustainability into your core products, don't just add new lines.

Beyond products, review how your company is using its influence with customers to catalyze large-scale behavior change.

Review your sustainable transport policy. What is enabling employees to travel more sustainably? How can you reduce air travel? Are you offsetting emissions generated by company travel?

Don't just consider the impact of individual products, make sure you are considering the sustainability of a system as a whole. Avoid solving one problem by creating another.

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Sustainable Consumption - SustainAbility Trends

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With the global population expected to rise to 8.5 billion by 2030 and an ever-growing middle class increasing by three billion people over the next 20 years, ensuring that global consumption remains in line with planetary boundaries will be critical.

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Friendly Factories - Textile Manufacture

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Friendly Factories is a textile and shoes manufacture in Portugal. We are specialised in the design and the production of clothes, uniforms and shoes.

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Updated Product & Fabric Board Assignment Brief  February 2020.ppx

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Arch & Hook BLUE® is a 100% recycled, fully closed loop, alternative for plastic hangers. These hangers are initially intended for use in the 'garment on hanger' (GOH) transport stage of fashion retail distribution. In this stage garments are transported from factories to stores before being discarded and replaced by branded front of house hangers. GOH is considered one of the most polluting stages in the apparel lifecycle.

With Arch & Hook BLUE® weprovide a sustainable alternative for the hundreds of billions of hangers that end up in landfill each year due to the 'garment on hanger' process. These hangers are made from a mixture of plastic and other waste found in the ocean and collected in the world's most polluted areas. The mixture of materials is sorted and separated, shredded, transported, and prepared as raw material suitable for hangers.

Thanks to clever notches and add-on bars and clips, the modular patent-pending BLUE® hangers can be used for any garment, in any combination. At the end of their lifespan, BLUE® hangers can be collected and recycled into new hangers, over and over again.

Arch & Hook invites you to "Switch to BLUE" and join Arch & Hook's BLUE® fully circular hanger program, which is launched during the London Fashion Week SS20 with the support of fashion designer Roland Mouret and the British Fashion Council.

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Arch & Hook BLUE | 100% recycled hangers | Made from marine plastics.

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Arch & Hook BLUE® is a 100% recycled, fully closed loop, alternative for plastic hangers. These hangers are initially intended for use in the 'garment on hanger' (GOH) transport stage of fashion retail distribution. In this stage garments are transported from factories to stores before being discarded and replaced by branded front of house hangers.

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Ellen Mcarthur

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Circular economy introduction

In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste - the process is linear. In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place.

The circular economy is based on three principles, driven by design:

It is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials. A circular economy decouples economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. It is a resilient system that is good for business, people and the environment.

The circular economy is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.

We must transform every element of our take-make-waste system: how we manage resources, how we make and use products, and what we do with the materials afterwards. Only then can we create a thriving circular economy that can benefit everyone within the limits of our planet.

A way to transform our system

What will it take to transform our throwaway economy into one where waste is eliminated, resources are circulated, and nature is regenerated?

The circular economy gives us the tools to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss together, while addressing important social needs.

It gives us the power to grow prosperity, jobs, and resilience while cutting greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and pollution.

How the circular economy works

Get the basics or explore the circular economy in detail.

Circular economy principles

A circular economy is based on three principles, all driven by design.

Circular economy examples

See the circular economy in action with these case studies from brands, businesses and policy makers.

Apeel

thredUP

Natura Brazil

Working with nature to make food last longer

Apeel is a company that has come up with an innovative way to eliminate single-use shrink wrap plastic packaging on fresh fruit and veg, while at the same time tackling food waste.

Apeel is a layer of edible, plant-based coating applied to fresh products that mimics and enhances the natural defences of fruit and vegetables. This slows down the two main things that cause spoilage - water loss and oxidation.

explore the example

Video series: What is the circular economy?

Explore the circular economy by topic

Resources, guidance and tools

Use our practical tools and resources to put circular principles into practice and find courses and materials for learners and teachers.

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In our current economy, we take materials from the Earth, make products from them, and eventually throw them away as waste - the process is linear. In a circular economy, by contrast, we stop waste being produced in the first place. It is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy and materials.

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The Latest in Global Fashion Week Trends: Sustainability

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GT Role/ Fit session & Measuring

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In Europe, sourcing in Asia isn't the standard go to. The region's cluster of sourcing countries-which includes places like Tunisia, Greece and Portugal-has provided an ecosystem that's supporting European brands' speed to market needs.

And most of these countries are supplying to Zara, which has figured out better than anyone else how to tap its neighbors to create a close, efficient supply chain.

Tunisia was the country of focus in the Manufacturing hall of Premiere Vision Paris last week, and it could be next to garner greater attention as a viable sourcing option for the EU market.

The country is known for its trousers and is a leader in North America when it comes to denim sportswear, according to Boujemaa Harbaoui, an expert in textiles for COM_TEXHA, a project aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the Tunisian textile and apparel sector. After trousers, Tunisia's next biggest areas of production are intimates, swimwear and sportswear, and technical textiles.

There are 1,700 factories making textiles and apparel in Tunisia, and according to Harbaoui, annual turnover in 2016 was 2.3 billion euro ($2.75 billion), What the country still lacks, though, is raw materials.

"We buy raw materials worth 1.2 billion euro ($1.43 billion), so it's a big market for textile factories," Harbaoui said. "But the potential is here."

Zara, H&M, Boss and United Colors of Benetton are just some of the brands that have already picked up on that potential of sourcing in Tunisia.

Turning to Greece, manufacturers like DMiss have fast fashion down pat for its clients, which include Asos, VF and Guess.

"We work with many European clients with quick response orders," junior manager Thanos Papaioannou said. "We stock the fabric, they give us sales projections and we manufacture and ex factory in one and a half weeks." Without stock fabric on hand, production time is still a considerably low five to seven weeks.

Eighty percent to 90 percent of the fabrics DMiss uses in its products are made in Greece, which also keeps the supply chain short. The country is known for its jacquards and cotton quality.

The production isn't done in Greece, as labor costs there are on the higher side. DMiss has goods produced in Fyrom, Macedonia, which is less than a two-hour drive from the company's Thessaloniki home base.

Greece's price-quality ratio is what has set the country apart for clients, according to Papaioannou.

"I believe it's great value," he said. "If you go to Bangladesh, you have a very cheap price, but the quality is not good for a diffusion brand, for example."

And more than good quality for the price, brands are benefitting from a much shorter supply chain, which means fewer leftovers and greater flexibility.

"These companies order a lot less," Papaioannou said. For them, there's the time and opportunity to see what's selling well and cut into more of that, rather than buying everything up front and ending up with too much markdown product.

Portugal could soon be as top of mind for sourcing as Turkey, with its offerings continuously improving and its political stability becoming more and more of a competitive advantage as tensions around the world rise.

For Siena, a knitwear manufacturer 30 minutes outside of Porto, Portugal, whose clients include Zara, Pull & Bear, Carolina Herrera and Guess, interest in both the company and the country were high.

"We can do everything, so it's an easy way to get ready made garments," said Helena Pereira, who works in Sienna's commercial department. "We have the right places to make the fabrics, we have suppliers for the accessories as well, so it's an easy way to get the product ready in a short time." Lead times at Sienna start as low a six to seven weeks from order placement to ex factory.

Portugal has started to pick up some market share from Turkey as the two country's price points become increasingly comparable and Turkey's political tensions become increasingly problematic.

Portugal has know-how for apparel sourcing, more so now that Zara's been in town to help prepare manufacturers in the country to best fulfill its needs.

"Inditex Group is a big quota of the production in Portugal and it's helping the industry because they are pushing to develop in areas like finishing, sustainability, fashion, new techniques, in new fabric compositions, in logistics, in all the areas," Nuno Costa of Somani Sociedade Textil in Portugal. "And that made the textile industry in Portugal very flexible and very developed."

Somani has been in business for 30 years and produces in three main categories: toweling products, nightwear and loungewear, and baby wear and nursery products.

The vertically integrated business controls production almost entirely, with the exception of spinning, though the yarns Somani buys are most often from Portugal, sometimes from India. Scandinavia is one of the company's biggest markets, followed by Germany and France. Turnover at Somani is roughly 12 million every year and the employee count at its facilities is 100.

But it's the company's flexibility and speed to market that's among its biggest draws right now.

"Many customers are coming back from Asia because their business models require fast deliveries and many collections during one season," Costa said. "If you want to have that business model, you need to have suppliers that can adjust themselves to that business model...I think it's the benefit of doing business in Portugal."

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Here's How EU Brands are Sourcing for Speed to Market

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In Europe, sourcing in Asia isn't the standard go to. The region's cluster of sourcing countries-which includes places like Tunisia, Greece and Portugal-has provided an ecosystem that's supporting European brands' speed to market needs. And most of these countries are supplying to Zara, which has figured out better than anyone else how to tap its neighbors to create a close, efficient supply chain.

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Bangladeshi manufacturers lay off thousands | News | Drapers

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Manufacturing a new UK clothing industry | Features | Drapers

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Out of Africa: the new sourcing hub | Features | Drapers

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Buying and sourcing in Turkey | Features | Drapers

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Good sourcing, Vietnam | Features | Drapers

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Here’s How EU Brands are Sourcing for Speed to Market – Sourcing Journal

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Is Turkey's supply chain unravelling? | Features | Drapers

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Why

Nylon is one of the strongest plastics we use in our products. When we need a super-lightweight fabric, it's critical that we use nylon for its strength. With our goal of moving completely from using virgin content to recycled content, we need recycled nylon to continue making some of our favorite technical jackets and garments and to maintain our performance standards.

Incorporating as much recycled nylon as we can lessens our dependence on petroleum as a raw material source. By using this material, we can eliminate discards and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. Using recycled nylon also helps promote new recycling streams for nylon products that are no longer usable.

For the Fall 2020 season, 67% of the nylon fabric we used contains recycled nylon. Using recycled nylon fabrics this season resulted in an 18% reduction in CO ₂ emissions when compared to virgin nylon fabrics. This amounts to over 3.5 million pounds of CO ₂ emission avoided.

Where We Are

Our goal is to divert nylon from landfills, and we're making strides. We've found a nylon yarn made from a 50/50 blend of pre-consumer and postconsumer nylon.

The postconsumer materials come from products that have been bought, used in the world and then trashed and are destined for the landfill, like plastic bottles, fishing nets, worn-out clothes or discarded carpeting. Pre-consumer waste material comes from industrial processes-scraps of material in a factory that would have otherwise been downcycled, downgraded or sent to a landfill. Most of the nylon we use now comes from a mechanically recycled pre-consumer source. Those materials would have gone into lesser quality goods if we didn't utilize them.

What's Next

Most mechanically recycled materials are melted at high temperatures which destroy contaminants and transform the material into a reusable form. Nylon melts at a much lower temperature, leaving contaminants behind. For this reason, nylon must be thoroughly cleaned before being recycled. Good sources of clean, pure postconsumer nylon are difficult to find.

We're using more postconsumer recycled nylon in our gear and looking for new sources of it. We're also exploring other options, such as materials made from plant-based alternatives, which will help curb the CO ₂ emissions associated with material creation.

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Why Nylon is one of the strongest plastics we use in our products. When we need a super-lightweight fabric, it's critical that we use nylon for its strength. With our goal of moving completely from using virgin content to recycled content, we need recycled nylon to continue making some of our favorite technical jackets and garments and to maintain our performance standards.

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Bacteria Dyed Textiles: The New Alternative to Synthetic and Plant Dyes

Water waste and chemicals are two disadvantages commonly associated with the production of synthetic dyes. The Vienna Textile Lab created an innovative alternative by using strands of bacteria to create the dye, which can then be applied to textiles.

Bacteria dyed textiles are derived from naturally occurring bacteria, making them a 100% natural and chemical free. Bacteria are identified and grown to extract colorants that are then purified into pigments. During this process, no crude oil is needed, unlike in the production of many synthetic colors.

It also has an advantage over the production of vegetable and plant dyes which are dependent on seasons, weather conditions and geography. Instead, suitable bacterial strains are stored in laboratories and can be reproduced and multiplied at any time. The color is dependent on the type of bacteria used. Colors such as blue, purple, red, yellow, and orange have been achieved so far. All have superior colorfastness and they can be applied to a variety of different materials such as cotton, wool, angora, and polyester.

About Vienna Textile Lab

The Austrian company is making quite an impact by reinventing the way the world sees textiles. Founder, Karin Fleck and her team are on a mission to make dying fabrics easier and more ecologically friendly.

Vienna Textile Lab plans to sell the finished dyed fabric during the beginning stages of commercialization. In the future, the company plans to license out the technology to textile mills. Applications include fashion, footwear, accessories, upholstery, and bedding.
Join the Material Connexion Database to See More

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Material Insight: Bacteria Dyed Textiles

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Water waste and chemicals are two disadvantages commonly associated with the production of synthetic dyes. The Vienna Textile Lab created an innovative alternative by using strands of bacteria to create the dye, which can then be applied to textiles. Bacteria dyed textiles are derived from naturally occurring bacteria, making them a 100% natural and chemical free.

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"adidas' strategy is simple: create product that not only performs for the athlete, but for the world at large. Designing footwear and apparel with upcycled plastic waste was our first step. The next challenge is to end the concept of waste entirely, in this case creating products that are made to be remade.

We don't have all the answers and we know we can't do it alone, so by collaborating with partners who share our same vision, as we've done with Evrnu, we can combine adidas by Stella McCartney's sports industry expertise with specialist knowledge to bring about a waste-free world."

James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation at adidas

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"adidas' strategy is simple: create product that not only performs for the athlete, but for the world at large. Designing footwear and apparel with upcycled plastic waste was our first step. The next challenge is to end the concept of waste entirely, in this case creating products that are made to be remade.

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Fabrics Made From Fruits and Vegetables | Eco-Age

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Sustainability

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Costings and Margins

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Critical Path

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Pestel and Supplier Chain

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Show caption
Garment workers in Leicester and in the north east are allegedly being paid as little as £3 an hour. Photograph: Wavebreakmedia Ltd UC103/Alamy

Concerns over the ongoing situation of up to 10,000 garment workers in Leicester, who are feared to be trapped in conditions of modern slavery and paid £3 an hour, have been raised in Parliament.

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, raised a question on Tuesday about the continuing state of working conditions in factories supplying the UK's booming fast fashion industry, and sought a meeting with business secretary Kelly Tolhurst for clarity over enforcement of the national minimum wage.

Speaking to the Guardian, Bridgen said what is happening in Leicester is a "national shame" and must not be allowed to continue.

"This is Leicester's dirty secret," he said. "These illegal businesses are not only keeping their workers in miserable conditions, they're also undermining the marketplace for legitimate businesses to make a living in a very difficult market. I've seen the buildings where these workers are and it is shocking: the buildings are condemned - if there was a fire there then hundreds would die, and this is Britain in 2020. It's a national shame."

Persistent investigations into the UK's domestic garment industry has raised the spectre of serious labour abuses thriving in factories across the north west of England with relative impunity.
From nail bars to car washes: how big is the UK's slavery problem?
Last February, an Environmental Audit Committee heard evidence of environmental and labour abuses flourishing in the UK's fashion industry. MPs found that the Modern Slavery Act was not sufficient to stop wage exploitation at UK clothing factories and issued a series of recommendations, including forcing brands to increase transparency in their supply chains. However the government refused to implement any of the committee's recommendations, which also included moves to improve environmental sustainability and limit waste.
Exploitation in focus

Leicester workers allegedly paid £3 an hour in 'miserable conditions', with other serious labour abuses suspected in the north-west

Thu 23 Jan 2020 06.00 EST

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'National shame': MP sounds alarm over UK fast fashion factories

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Concerns over the ongoing situation of up to 10,000 garment workers in Leicester, who are feared to be trapped in conditions of modern slavery and paid £3 an hour, have been raised in Parliament.

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Pestel

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PESTEL analysis is a very useful tool that helps business strategists to understand the impact of the macro-environmental factors on their businesses. It also helps them in making strategic decisions. PESTEL analysis is usually conducted in the context of an industry; however, you can also carry it out on a country.
PESTEL analysis of the UK
This PESTEL analysis of the UK aims to address some of the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal issues concerning the country.
Political factors
The UK consists of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. It is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Political stability is a great strength of the country; however, Brexit has created uncertainties and political debates. Some analysts believe that Brexit will create a chaos unimaginable, whereas others believe it will open doors to immense opportunities for the country.

The UK has long been a popular destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). Many business tycoons and organisations from around the world have invested in a variety of industries in the UK. Sports, real estate, technology, grocery and many other industries have drawn an enormous amount of interest from overseas.

The current corporation tax rate for company profits is 19%. However, the government announced a reduction to the corporation tax at Budget 2016. From 1 April 2020, the rate will be 17% (GOV.UK, 2018).
Economic factors
A very important element in the PESTEL analysis of the UK is the country's economic landscape. The UK is the 5 th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP (The World Bank, 2017). The recession in 2008 had put the economy in trouble; however, the government took necessary steps to improve the economy.

British households faced certain challenges in 2017. Prices in the shops rose at fast rates as the weak pound increased the cost of importing goods to the UK. However, wages did not go up in line with the increased prices. The current minimum wage for people aged 25 and over is £7.50 per hour which is due to increase to £7.83 from April 2018.

The inflation rate rose to 3.1% in November 2017. It is worth noting that the Bank of England has set a 2% inflation target. It increased its key interest rate in November 2017. The rate has gone up from 0.25% to 0.5% (BBC, 2017). It is unlikely that there will be another quick increase; however, many analysts believe that the age of low interest rate is over.
Social factors
The UK has a big consumer market. According to the data released in July 2017 by the Office for National Statistics, the population of the UK was 65.6 million in 2016. Births continue to outnumber deaths and the population is expected to reach 74 million by 2039. The population is getting older as well. In 2016, 18% of people were aged 65 and over, while 2.4% were aged 85 and over. This has implications on both the labour market and the health care system. However, there are a lot of opportunities for organisations to cater for the needs of older population. Real estate, holiday, insurance, health care and many other companies have already benefitted from this category of population.

The UK has historically been influenced by the concept of social class; however, the population is multicultural. Over the years, companies have developed a variety of new products and markets to cater for the needs of different races and religions. There are still many opportunities out there for organisations to explore.

The UK is one of the top 10 countries perceived to have the most educated population in the world. It is also No. 3 in the rank of overall Best Countries. However, it is worth mentioning that the costs of living and higher education are on the rise.
Technological factors
The UK is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. London is the great hub for both financial and technological institutions. Businesses are frequently developing new technologies to offer the best solutions for their customers. The advanced technological infrastructure offers entrepreneurs unlimited opportunities to do business in the UK.

Technology sector is a major contributor to the UK economy. A lot of investment and talent are coming into the sector. It is worth noting that the investment and development are spreading across the country. The UK attracted £28bn in technology investment since 2011, compared to £11bn in France and £9.3bn in Germany (McGoogan, 2017). However, the UK is falling behind the USA, South Korea, India, Japan and some other countries in technological development.
Environmental factors
Economic activities impact on the environment; however, the UK has made significant improvements in reducing the negative impact. The government, local councils, newspapers, charities and many others have taken a variety of initiatives to create environmental awareness and reduce the negative impact of economic growth on the environment.

The UK sometimes faces challenging weather conditions. However, weather still plays an important role in tourism. Millions of tourists from around the world come to the UK, particularly during summer. In fact, tourism is booming in the UK and contributes approximately £127bn annually to the economy.
Legal factors
The last element to examine in the PESTEL analysis of the UK is the legal landscape. However, a detailed discussion on the legal environment of the country is beyond the scope of this article. Nevertheless, the article addresses some of the key areas in brief. The Employment Act 1996 protects rights of employees. Maternity and paternity leave, minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay, and some other rights are legally protected. Likewise, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from any discrimination.

We hope the article has helped you explore PESTEL analysis of the UK. You may also like reading PESTEL analysis of the USA. If you liked this article, please share it by clicking on the icons below.

The article publication date: 16 January 2018
Further reading/references
BBC (2017) UK inflation rate at near six-year high, available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42320052 (Accessed 22 January 2018)

GOV.UK (2018) Rates and allowances: Corporation Tax, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-corporation-tax/rates-and-allowances-corporation-tax (Access 20 January 2018)

McGoogan, C. (2017) Tech sector growing faster than UK economy with 72pc of investment outside London, available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/22/tech-sector-growing-faster-uk-economy-72pc-investment-outside/ (Accessed 24 January 2018)

Photo credit: Pixabay

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howandwhat.net welcome to the world of easy-to-use information!

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PESTEL analysis is a very useful tool that helps business strategists to understand the impact of the macro-environmental factors on their businesses. It also helps them in making strategic decisions. PESTEL analysis is usually conducted in the context of an industry; however, you can also carry it out on a country.