Apparel industry briefing

International environmental organisation Canopy says more than 400 brands and retailers are now part of its CanopyStyle initiative that aims to transform the fashion industry’s viscose supply chain. Canopy says almost 200 of these new brand partners have joined CanopyStyle in the past 18 months, which indicates the growing urgency to find climate solutions. Among the latest to join are Hugo Boss, The Etam Group, Puma, Li & Fung and FlipKart.

Retailer Primark has pledged to make sustainable fashion more affordable to all under a new nine-year sustainability programme. The commitments include all clothes being made using recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, halving carbon emissions across the value chain, and pursuing a living wage for workers in its global product supply chain by 2030.

German sporting goods giant Adidas struck a deal to sell Reebok to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) for a total consideration of up to EUR2.1bn (US$2.46bn) in August 2021. The sale will allow Adidas to focus on its namesake brand. It bought Reebok in 2006. At the time, the acquisition included the Rockport, CCM Hockey and Greg Norman brands, which Adidas later divested for a total consideration of EUR0.4bn.

While US consumers’ demand for clothing overall remains strong, for the second month in a row, the value of US apparel imports (seasonally adjusted) in July 2021 decreased by 5.5% from the month before and were down 9.7% from May to June, according to figures from the Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA).

French technology specialist Lectra has inked a deal to acquire the entire capital and voting rights of the Romanian company Gemini CAD Systems in a move that will enhance the depth of its fashion software portfolio. The transaction sees the immediate acquisition of 60% of Gemini for EUR7.6m (US$9.02m).

The Good Fashion Fund (GFF) has joined forces with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to drive environmental sustainability in the South Asian country's apparel industry by financing sustainable practices and technologies. GFF aims to invest up to US$10m in textile manufacturing companies in Bangladesh in the next two years and up to $25m at the target fund size, subject to the availability of funds.

Asos, Bestseller, Fast Retailing, John Lewis and Inditex are among the 77 brands that have committed to the new Bangladesh International Safety Accord aimed at making garment factories safer for workers.

In September 2021, cotton prices were trending upward with the Cotlook A index season average at 101.34 cents per pound, according to the latest update from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). Cotton prices are also high in China, with the CC Index averaging 126 cents per pound since the season began.

Companies are increasingly hiring for cloud roles in the fashion and accessories sector, but some parts of the world are proving more attractive than others. The number of newly advertised roles stood at 244 in Q1 2021. That’s up from 147 in Q4 2020 and up from 111 in Q3 2020.

After completing the technical testing required, Central America's largest apparel factory is opening in Honduras, producing sportswear for major brands such as Nike and Under Armour, an executive informed Just Style. With 678,000 square feet, the new Tegra plant will be a vertically integrated apparel manufacturing and supply chain provider. It will employ cutting edge manufacturing capabilities in sewing, cutting, embroidery, graphic prints, sublimated finishing and laser cuts.