Amid a slowdown in exports, the government will likely raise allocation for its flagship tax remission scheme for exporters by 10% in the Budget for FY24 from the revised estimate for the current fiscal, official sources indicated to FE. It had budgeted Rs 13,699 crore for the so-called Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for FY23 and the revised estimate is expected to be around this level. The commerce ministry has already decided to expand the scope of the RoDTEP scheme by including sectors like steel, pharmaceuticals and chemicals from December 15. But no extra budgetary allocation has been made for this purpose for FY23. Given that merchandise exports are going to be under pressure, thanks to an economic slowdown in key markets, the commerce ministry may manage to fund the expanded RoDTEP scheme with just a 10% hike in the FY24 outlay, one of the sources said. Of course, the scheme has been expanded to cover exports of steel, pharmaceuticals and chemicals until September 30, 2023. After that, a fresh review of the scheme will be undertaken to gauge if any calibration in the RoDTEP benefits will be warranted to keep the offtake within the budgeted amount for FY24, said the source. The inclusion of more sectors will widen the number of products to be covered under the RoDTEP to 10,342 from the current 8,731. India’s exports already dropped 16.7% in October, the first contraction in 20 months and the worst since May 2020. Of course, exports were still up 12.6% to $263.4 billion until October this fiscal, thanks primarily to decent performance earlier this fiscal. The World Trade Organization has warned of a “darkened 2023”, as it has slashed the global trade volume growth forecast to just 1% for the next calendar year from 3.5% in 2022. It has even flagged the risk of a contraction in 2023 if the conflict in Ukraine escalates. This will weigh on the Indian export prospects as well. Analysts have argued that sustained and adequate remission of taxes, in addition to structural reforms, will help exporters improve their competitiveness and better equip them to boost shipments at a time when demand from key markets, such as the US and the EU, has started to falter due to an economic slowdown there. It also remains critical to India’s efforts to scale up goods exports to the targeted $1 trillion by FY30 from $422 billion in FY22.

Source: financial express

Digitization of MSMEs

The Government runs various programmers/schemes to boost business potential and to compete with other e-commerce large business entities through various digitalization initiatives for MSMEs such as Udyam portal, MSME Champions Portal, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), msmemart.com. In addition, MSME SAMBANDH for monitoring of procurement by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) from Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and MSME SAMADHAAN portals for filling applications regarding delayed payments. As on date 1.24 crore MSMEs are registered in Udyam Registration portal and further benefitted through various programmes. Procurement from Central Ministries / Departments / CPSEs made purchases about Rs. 95576 Cr. from MSEs under Public Procurement Policy (PPP) for MSEs and 21,360 applications filed by MSMEs have been disposed by MSEFC council. The information with respect to the status of revenue and profitability of MSMEs is not centrally maintained by Ministry of MSME. Under the MSME Champions Schemes ‘Digital MSME’ component has been included for digital empowerment of MSMEs in the country. The Ministry of MSME propose to support MSMEs through “Digital MSME” a component of MSME Champions Scheme to bring in digitization and digitalization and to make MSMEs digitally empowered and motivate them to adopt digital tools, applications and technologies in their production & business processes with a view to improve their competitiveness. This information was given by the Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Source: PIB

MoT requests states to sponsor maximum number of loan applications for handloom pockets

44,037 MUDRA loans with a loan amount of Rs.246.24 crore have been sanctioned to the handloom sector during the last three years and current financial year (up to 31st October 2022) under Concessional Credit/Weaver MUDRA Scheme. The MoT has thrust on offering more loans to the handloom sector as it has requested State Governments to sponsor maximum number of loan applications for handloom pockets. The Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha shared that Ministry of Textiles (MoT) has written to Chairman/CEO/MD/President of all Banks and State Governments to sensitise Bank branches about the scheme, register on portal, expeditious sanction/disbursement of loans and organise regular meetings to monitor the progress of increasing number of loans to weavers, across the country. Even awareness camps/ chaupals and distribution of pamphlets in weavers’ pockets are being organised in association with State Governments and banks concerned to encourage and educate handloom weavers for availing loan benefits. Local public representatives are also being invited in awareness camps/chaupals for their affirmative impact on the handloom workers.

Source: apparel resources

Punjab Technical Textiles producers protest against ban on non-woven fabric

The Association of Punjab Technical Textiles, on Wednesday, staged a protest against the Punjab government on their decision to ban the non-woven fabric in the name of plastic ban, as per a report in the HT. Association of Punjab Technical Textiles pointed out that the ministry of textile provides subsidy on non-woven fabric up to 60 grams per square metre (GSM) which encourages business, “Also, as per the law, non-woven carry bag comes under the category of cloth,” they said. Speaking about the matter, Association president Pawanpreet Singh said, “We have submitted concerned documents regarding the issue to Punjab government, Punjab Pollution Control Board and other departments, but to no avail.” Referring to the neighbouring states, Singh said, “Delhi has not put any such ban on non-woven fabric, but the Punjab government, which is implementing the Delhi model here, is imposing ban. Singh further said that despite ban on non-woven fabric, tons of carry bags are coming in the state from outside.” During Covid pandemic, the same non-woven fabric was used for making mask and PPE kits, but now the government has imposed a ban on it,” he said.

Source: knn India

Govt working on ways to contain surge in imports of non-essential goods

The government is working on ways to contain surge in imports of non-essential goods with an aim to boost the country's exports and reduce trade deficit, an official said. The commerce ministry has identified those products and have sent communications to the line ministries to work on remedial measures for cutting down those imports, the official said. According to the ministry's data, imports during April-October this fiscal have increased to USD 436.81 billion as against USD billion in the same period last year. Trade deficit for April-October 2022 has widened to USD 173.46 billion as against USD 94.16 billion in April-October 2021. Another official said that it is the commerce ministry's mandate to constantly monitor trends in imports and exports, and ascertain reasons behind those trends. "In this regard, we reach out to various ministries, industry bodies, export promotion councils, trade experts and other relevant stakeholders to seek information related to the trends as well as for taking appropriate actions, wherever necessary," the ministry official added.

Source: economic times

Trade Pact with Australia Will Boost India's Textile Exports: Report

India's free trade agreement (FTA) signed with Australia, which comes into effect from December 29 this year, will be beneficial for Indian garment and home textile exporters, according to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Australia's zero import duty access to India, which was earlier 5 per cent, will provide a level-playing field with exports from China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, the Ratings agency said on today. Given that China accounts for almost 60 per cent of textile imports into Australia with India at 5-6 per cent, Ind-Ra expects the volume of exports to gradually increase in 2023 and thereafter may increase further based on producer capacities. A long-term shift for meaningful volume increases, which encourages incremental capital expenditure, would necessitate improving the cost competitiveness and availability of a pool of skilled labour, it added. The agency said the availability of domestic sources of cotton and long-term visibility of demand could encourage domestic entities to diversify exports and manage demand cyclicality better. FTA with Australia eliminates the import duty on textile exports from India bringing them at par with China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, according to the agency. India's exports to Australia contribute 5-6 per cent to the total Australian requirement and at a value of $500-600 million, they remained at 1-2 per cent of total textile exports from India in 2020. Given the economic challenges being faced by some exporting nations and the increasing need to diversify supply chains, Indian home textile/garment producers are likely to benefit. The ratings agency opined that given the slowdown being experienced by the US and Europe, this could provide partial relief along with other FTAs likely to be signed with UAE, UK, Canada and Israel. According to the agency, these markets have an aggregate textile import of $60 billion and even an incremental gain of 5 per cent for India would be a 50 per cent gain on the existing exports of $6 billion. The total textile export from India to the world aggregated $43 billion in FY22. India exports a significant proportion of its low value-added products 25-30 per cent in FY22 such as yarn and fabrics to China, Bangladesh and Vietnam which use them to value add and export to countries such as Australia and other potential FTA partners, it said. Ind-Ra expects the removal of these tariff barriers through FTAs to increase the incentive to create value addition within the country and increase the proportion of such products in the overall export basket. This will aid the process of diversification and limit the inherent cyclicality associated with the industry. The textile industry, especially lower down the value chain, remains susceptible to booms and busts, and it is likely that with a less cyclical demand, the risk of defaults and restructuring is reduced significantly over a period of time, it said. The removal of duties under the FTA would need to be complemented with improved cost competitiveness with other Asian exporters, the agency said. According to the ratings agency, China, Vietnam and Bangladesh continue to hold major market shares in the import basket of Australia and a meaningful shift in volumes would necessitate looking at addressing tax anomalies, shortage of skilled labour and increasing the focus on sustainable practices including the use of green energy. As wage costs in China continue to rise, the ratings agency said India would stand to benefit, although, our costs are still higher in relation to Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Source: ndtv

Global headwinds continue to pose a threat to India's high growth rate

The Indian economy seems to be in good shape compared to most others around the globe, judging by the perspective of international agencies. The World Bank has revised its growth forecast for India from 6.5 to 6.9 per cent for fiscal 2023 while Fitch Ratings has retained its outlook of 7 per cent for the year. It seems clear that this country is set to become one of the world's fastest growing economies in the current fiscal. But the upbeat news has obscured the rest of the story which is that the next two years could see a slowdown in growth. Both the World Bank and Fitch have recognised that the good times cannot continue for too long, given global headwinds. They have therefore scaled down their expectations for the medium term. The Reserve Bank of India has taken an equally cautious approach while scaling down its growth target for the current fiscal to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent earlier. As for the World Bank, it has pegged growth for next year, fiscal 2024, at 6.6 per cent. Fitch has downgraded its forecast to 6.2 per cent for that year and then 6.9 per cent for fiscal 2025. This is lower than its earlier projections of 6.7 and 7.1 per cent growth respectively for these two years. For the current year, other institutions like the International Monetary Fund are aligned with the central bank in predicting growth to reach 6.8 per cent. It is thus generally accepted that India is one of the few countries that has managed to weather the storm of geopolitical events, high inflation and rising interest rates without a steep downturn in economic performance. One of the reasons cited for the country's ability to be relatively insulated from global factors is robust domestic demand. Its large internal market makes it relatively less exposed to international trade flows. At the same time, both the Bank and Fitch Ratings have pointed out that it is not completely shielded from events in the US, the Euro area or China. For instance, the global economic slowdown will affect exports. The impact has already begun with exports in October this year having contracted by as much as 16.7 per cent. This reverses the trend of consistently rising exports over the previous 20 months. Not only that, the previous fiscal had been marked by outbound trade flows touching a record level of 418 billion dollars. The dip in export growth in October was in tune with global demand as the effect was felt across most non-oil categories including handicrafts, textiles, iron ore, chemicals, engineering goods and gems and jewellery. Textiles, a key export commodity, fell by as much as 41 per cent during the month while apparel exports dipped by 21 per cent. In this context, the ratings agency has noted that monetary policy tightening and high inflation have also contributed to a slowdown in imports, an easing in personal loan growth and falling purchasing power. It comments that tighter financial market conditions are weighing on demand for capital goods which serves as a leading indicator for investment. It concedes, however that there is economic resilience in upbeat labour market conditions with unemployment easing and labour participation increasing.

Source: bizzbuzz

Tax sops for craft paper, textile, pharma units in Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government is leaving no stone unturned to facilitate investment assistance to various sectors. In a recent meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Investment Promotion, led by Chairman and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the government decided to give concessions in electricity rates and other facilities for four upcoming projects. These include those of Amrit Papers, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Swaraj Suiting, and Maral Overseas. These units will invest more than Rs670 crore, giving jobs to 4,000 people. Other than electricity subsidies and land banks, the state government has announced special packages for textile and large-scale garment units. Amrit Papers will start a craft paper unit in Dhar district with a fixed capital investment of Rs140 crore. About 341 persons will get employment in this. A drug manufacturing unit is being set up by Alembic Pharmaceuticals with an investment of Rs217 crore, which is proposed to provide employment to 600 people. Apart from this, a yarn-manufacturing unit is being set up by Swaraj Suiting in Neemuch district at a cost of Rs125 crore, which will provide employment to 282 people. Maral Overseas’ investment of Rs290 crore will create 3,000 jobs

Source: business-standard

Textiles player Chiripal Group forays into solar equipment manufacturing

Textiles major Chiripal Group has announced its foray into the renewables space through the subsidiary Grew Energy Pvt Limited which will manufacture solar components. The new venture looks to provide solar energy solutions for domestic as well as international markets. Vinay Thadani, Director, Grew Energy Pvt Ltd informed that initially, the company will set up 2 Giga Watt (GW) of a fully automated unit in Rajasthan, while the other manufacturing facilities will be set up across India in a phased manner. “Over the period of the next four years, the facility will catalyse a manufacturing capacity of 4 GW PV modules, 3 GW PV cells, and an impressive 300 tonnes/day of tempered glass,” said Thadani. The company will commence production in June 2023 and will cover the manufacturing of components required for the entire solar energy ecosystem in the next 3-4 years. Grew aims at narrowing down the prevailing gap in the demand and supply in the area of solar energy. It attributes this gap to the current situation where about 90 per cent of solar components for photovoltaic modules are imported from various countries. The company looks to provide indigenous solar components for PV modules at a competitive value. “What catapults Grew to soar high is the expert team with 15 to 26 years of experience in sustainable solutions, the spirit of technovation, and a world-class infrastructural facility that brings together intricate engineering and functional design,” Thadani said. The company, which is one of the participants at the Intersolar event at Gandhinagar being held between December 7-9, has also ventured into solar infrastructure installation and has 50 MW of projects in its kitty.

Source: The Hindu business line

Fabindia Accelerates Its Decade-Long Journey To Take Odisha’s Handicrafts To The World

Fabindia Limited, the 62-year old consumer lifestyle platform focused on authentic, sustainable and Indian traditional lifestyle products, has strengthened its regional footprint across Odisha and boasts a network of ~3600 artisans in the state. This community demonstrates how a common purpose and aligned values can bring about equitable and inclusive growth and impact. Fabindia Group has set up community-owned companies through an MOU with the Government of Odisha (Handloom, Textiles & Handicraft Dept.) and constituted Orissa Artisans and Weavers Limited (OAWL) – a public-private partnership company. From the first cluster which was formed in Gopalpur in 2011, it has now grown to 16 clusters in Bargarh, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Keonjhar, Boudh, Sonepur, Gopalpur, Nuapatna, among others. The development process of each cluster can take2-3 years to (a) identify crafts in the state, (b) upskill artisans on design, quality, business financials, digital literacy, (c) create market avenues, (d) map development through a 12-step ladder Craft Cluster Development and Livelihood Impact (CDLI) programme. Mr KP Rajendran, Market Regions Head, Fabindia Limited, said, “We dedicate the success and growth of Fabindia to the thousands of artisans, weavers, and communities who have been a part of our mission to keep Odisha’s handicrafts and traditions alive and relevant. Fabindia is committed to ensure that as it grows, all of its stakeholders grow and prosper.” Some distinct handicrafts procured from Odisha include Ikat Sari, Ikat Dupatta, Ikat Stole, Tussar, TussarGhicha, Korea China, Cotton Ikat fabric, Cotton Woven Fabric, Paper Mache &Sawai Grass/Date Palm & Golden Grass, Palm leaf with Pattachitra, Wood Pattachitra/ Wood Stone Pattachitra, Stone Products, Saura Painting, Dokra Casting/Dokra Jewellery, Filigree Jewellery.

Source: pragativadi

INTERNATIONAL

Hemp: Growing A Made-In-USA Industry

Buzzwords come and go in the textile industry, but two words in particular have had some staying power over the past handful years — sustainability and hemp. Not surprisingly, the two words are connected, and one man chasing hemp as the next big thing in sustainable fibers is Guy Carpenter. He is not alone in the United States in that endeavor but is widely acknowledged as one of the forerunners. Carpenter’s experience in the fiber industry goes back many decades, and his exposure and interest in hemp began when he was working in Europe. He eventually co-founded Bear Fiber Inc. in 2017 when he realized no one else was exploring the potential of hemp fiber in the United States. Bear wants to be the supplier of choice when it comes to high-quality textile grade hemp fiber, and the company is highly invested in reestablishing American hemp as a source of sustainable, natural fibers. The company operates under the trademarked motto “Hemp Makes It Better™,” and it’s a motto Carpenter firmly believes in. While a hot topic and buzzword in the textile industry lexicon, hemp for textile use is not new. Hemp is acknowledged as one of the earliest known textile fibers and has come and gone from the textile landscape throughout history. However, hemp has a checkered history in the United States due in part to its association with cannabis and the negative thoughts this connection invokes. The current rebirth of the fiber in the United States coincides with the 2018 Farm Bill Act that removed industrial hemp from inclusion in the Controlled Substances Act , November/December 2020). The bill made commercial production of hemp legal in the United States, and thus, an opportunity was born for textile hemp fiber. Current market research reports looking at the value and potential growth of the hemp fiber industry vary depending on the market research company. But two things researchers agree on is the growth numbers are in the billions of dollars and increased use of hemp in the textile industry is driving the growth. Carpenter isn’t focused purely on dollar signs. He understands the significance and widespread value of the industry from the farmer to the textile producer and wants to help develop the United States hemp fiber industry while also continuing to grow the global hemp industry. “We’re trying to create an industry, not just run a business,” he emphasized. “They say there’s 25,000 different things you can do with hemp, but my brain is tracked to one thing and one thing only — textile grade fiber for apparel and footwear.” The benefits of hemp fiber, a member of the bast fiber family, are not in dispute. Hemp is an environmentally friendly and sustainable fiber. It is strong, durable and absorbent. It also has natural antimicrobial properties and exhibits resistance to ultraviolet light. Its benefits in textile apparel applications are evident. “Using at least 30 percent hemp in a yarn blend with cotton makes for a new natural fiber-based technical textile, which is strong and will last longer,” Carpenter noted. “The blend allows for the familiar touch and comfort feel of cotton made better by the positive attributes of hemp. “I should talk about sustainability, regenerative agriculture, carbon sequestration, and hemp’s strength and technical attributes,” Carpenter said. “But I like making apparel with hemp because it feels good, and it lasts a long time. It’s that favorite jacket, sweatshirt, T-shirt, socks, shirt or jeans that just keeps getting softer and softer over time. Hemp wears in, it doesn’t wear out!” China and Europe already have established industrial hemp markets growing the plant for food, cannabidadiol (CBD) and textile use. There are many, many different hemp varieties depending on the end use for the plant. Hemp grown for CBD, marijuana or food uses is cultivated to be as leafy as possible. More branches mean more buds and flowers where the cannabinoids are concentrated, and the plants are grown with ample space between each plant to allow this leafy growth, which also encourages thicker, stronger stalks. Hemp plants are similar to trees with branches and everywhere there is a branch on the stalk, there is a knot hole. “Each knot hole is an interruption in the fiber growth of the long, straight fiber that we require for textile applications,” Carpenter said. “Where fiber fineness is not a consideration, grain hemp stalk can be used,” Carpenter said. Applications may include nonwovens and composites for construction and geotextile products. “Because the stalk has matured by necessity to support the weight of the flower and then the grain itself, the fibers become stiffer and thicker in order to support the weight at the top of the stalk. These fibers are inherently too mature for textile yarn spinning applications.” Therefore, the approach for growing hemp for high-quality textile fiber is quite different. The seeds are planted very, very close together, which encourages the plant to grow tall and thin with little in the way of branches. Hemp grows rapidly — the stalk can be 10 inches tall in as little as 14 days — and as the plant develops its first set of leaves, the leaves create a canopy that inhibits sunlight from reaching the ground, thus providing natural weed prevention so little to no herbicides are required. Once the plant is ready to flower, and before the fibers get too tough for textile applications, the fields are cut and the stalks lay on the ground to begin dew retting. This is a natural process whereby bacteria begin to degrade the pectin, which is the gummy substance that binds the fiber to the woody hurd — or center — of the stalk (See Figure 1). After retting, the stalks are baled and sent to a processor to be decorticated — a process that physically separates the fiber from the hurd in a manner similar to any bast fiber process. After decortication and refining, the fiber is ready to be degummed to remove the lignin “glueing” the individual fibers in bundles and ribbons. Extracting the lignin allows the fiber bundles to release the individual fibers during the next process — opening.

Source: textile world

Dhaka seeks zero tariff on RMG exports to US at 6th TICFA meeting

At the 6th meeting of the US-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) held in Washington DC recently, Bangladesh proposed zero tariff on finished apparel products made with American cotton being exported to the United States. Bangladesh currently pays the highest tariff on its apparel products exported there compared to other nations. Assistant US trade representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia Christopher Wilson and bangladesh commerce ministry’s senior secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh led the respective delegations at the meeting. The topics discussed were removing fumigation requirement for imported US cotton, preferential access of Bangladesh products to the US market, production sharing of US cotton-based garments, trade and investment climate, intellectual property rights, technical cooperation for quality certification infrastructure and labour issues. Wilson agreed to continue further discussion on the proposal made by Bangladesh. The US side requested Dhaka to simplify the profit repatriation for US investments in Bangladesh. Both sides agreed to hold the 7th TICFA Meeting in October next year in Dhaka.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

Fashion goes green with Israeli finishing technology

Europe is getting tough on the highly polluting fashion industry, and one major textile machinery brand in Germany is banking on an Israeli technology to green its processes. Within a few years, every garment imported to Europe will need a digital identity card stating its carbon and water footprints, the presence of dangerous chemicals, and materials used in production. “This will introduce transparency and revolutionize the textile industry,” said Axel Pieper, owner of Brückner Textile Technologies, which supplies a quarter (5,000) of the world’s fabric finishing machines. Fabric finishing, the last stage in textile production, is where the fabric is dyed and/or coated with antibacterial, odor-repellent, water-repellent, UV-blocking or other substances. According to Pieper, this is the most polluting step in textile production. Brückner therefore partnered with Israeli technology company Sonovia to develop a textile finishing machine that uses soundwaves to infuse desired properties into fabrics without polluting materials and adhesives. This technology uses much less water and energy than traditional processes, significantly reducing polluting emissions. The Sonovia-treated fabric is more sustainable because it holds up better after repeated washings, further reducing pollution caused by discarded textiles. The first jointly developed SONOfix machine was recently installed at Delta Galil Industries in the Galilee to produce underwear and sports clothing for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Adidas. Sonovia is planning to deliver additional machines to textile plants in Taiwan and Central America that manufacture clothing for brands such ase Adidas, Nike, The North Face, Decathlon and Lululemon. Pieper expects the coming regulation will convince many textile manufacturers to follow suit; revenue in the first phase is expected to reach tens of millions of dollars. “I am convinced that Sonovia’s technology is the best way to reduce the carbon and water footprint not only in the production of textiles but also in the use of textiles,” said Pieper. Earlier this year, Sonovia partnered with Italian denim manufacturer PureDenim to transform indigo dyeing by reducing the intensive use of water and energy and improving dye durability. Igal Zeitun, CEO of Sonovia, said the textile industry is “desperately looking for technological solutions that will allow even partial reduction of pollution while maintaining the same product quality. Sonovia’s technology allows them to achieve the same quality and even better with a dramatic reduction in pollution.”

Source: The israel21

Lenzing, Renewcell in supply agreement to drive circularity transition

The deal between Lenzing and Renewcell includes the sale of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100% recycled textile Circulose dissolving pulp to Lenzing over a five-year period, for use in the production of cellulosic fibres for fashion and other textile applications. “The textile industry must change. By signing the agreement with Swedish textile-to-textile recycling company Renewcell, Lenzing is able to further integrate recycling and accelerate the transition of the textile industry from linear to circular. As champions of sustainability, we know that moving towards a circular economy is vital to address the enormous textile waste challenges of the industry”, says Christian Skilich, chief pulp officer of the Lenzing Group. Patrik Lundström, Renewcell CEO, added: “Lenzing is a major player in our industry, with an inspiring track record of path-breaking technical excellence and sustainability leadership. Our new partnership fits perfectly into Renewcell’s strategy to accelerate the scale-up of circular materials by collaborating with fashion’s most important players. We are more than pleased to join forces with Lenzing with the shared goal of making fashion circular.” Canopy, a not-for-profit environmental organisation dedicated to protecting forests, species, and climate, welcomes the agreement between Lenzing and Renewcell. “Accelerating the transition to low-impact, circular production is the challenge of the decade for the fashion industry. That is why this partnership between Renewcell and Lenzing is so refreshing – it will bring low-carbon next gen solutions to market at scale,” stated Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Canopy. “With the climate and biodiversity clocks ticking, the race to circularity is one we need all companies to win.”

Source: just-style

Post COP27: Mapping the Future of Sustainable Fashion

One of the biggest outcomes I’d really like to see from COP27 this year specially for the fashion industry is a recognition that we are part of this conversation—part of a conversation about climate change,” Samata Pattison, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress, said in an online interview with Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) during the summit (November 6-18). “We keep being marginalised as almost as a frivolous aesthetic add-on, when actually our solutions can transform other sectors.” Despite the ‘buzzification’ of the term, sustainable fashion, and the processes are of key importance in the bigger discourse around climate change. Fashion has been a recurring subject of interest at the UN Conference of Parties (COP for short), though its presence rests somewhere in the sidelines. The Voice of Fashion speaks to sustainability officers, researchers, designers and activists on fashion highlights at COP27 and what more can be achieved on such international platforms. From conversations about waste management and the ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ to Fashion Industry Target Consultation by Global Fashion Agenda and the UN Environment Programme, these stakeholders note the strides forward and the industry issues that deserve a spotlight on international platforms. Perhaps a wishlist for COP28, scheduled to be hosted next year in United Arab Emirates.

Source: The Voiceoffashion