Textiles has been a tough business in the U.S. for a long time. Nobody knows that better than the Zaslow family. So their newest project, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) line of organic cotton bedding called American Blossom Linens, is something to keep a close eye on.
The trade conflict between the US and China may be unsettling global trade. But home-textile exporters from India see a silver lining, though benefits could be insignificant if US demand remains subdued.
Indian companies expect to benefit from the imposition of US duties on imports from China. Beginning September, import duties will kick in on home textiles, including towels and sheets.
A major U.S. consumer of RPET enjoyed higher sales figures but suffered significantly lower net income last fiscal year. One reason was cheap polyester imports from China and India.
Unifi, which recycles PET into REPREVE brand fiber, reported sales of $708.8 million during the 2019 fiscal year (the year that ended June 30, 2019). When adjusting for foreign currency translation impacts, that was up 7.6% over the prior year, according to a press release.
PrettyLittleThing and Missguided have hit the big time selling £5 dresses and £1 bikinis to the youth market but another online British brand, Hush, is expanding rapidly in a backlash against fast fashion.
Sales at London-based Hush, which is run by a husband and wife team, jumped 35% last year to more than £40m as its jumpsuits and dresses found an audience among women aged 35 to 45 who, it says, “like fashion but are not a slave to it”.
DOMO Chemicals and Solvay have signed today an agreement for DOMO to acquire Solvay’s Performance Polyamides Business in Europe. This includes Engineering Plastics operations in France and Poland; High Performance Fibers in France; Polymer and Intermediates operations in France, Spain & Poland. The agreement also involves a joint venture between BASF and DOMO in France for the production of Adipic Acid. The Business comprises Production, Sales, Technical Support, R&D and Innovation services which currently have a combined headcount of approximately 1100 employees.
A US-based start-up claims it is the first brand to offer activewear infused with CBD (cannabidiol), an active ingredient in cannabis derived from the hemp plant.
Acabada CEO and co-founder Seth Baum says CBD can have a positive effect on pain and inflammation.
He said: "While typical CBD products such as tinctures and edibles are growing exponentially in popularity, we began to envision a product that addressed health and wellness through a different lens."
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has said the US government’s decision to delay until December 15 the imposition of 10% tariffs on some imports from China will be of little help to its member companies or to US consumers.
In its announcements about this, the government claimed to have removed some products from the tariff list altogether for reasons including national security, but also including health and safety. Nevertheless, AAFA pointed out, products such as allergy-resistant bedding and protective footwear remain on the list.
Sportswear brand Puma has warned that an increase in the price of its products is inevitable should proposed tariffs on more China-made products imported into the US come into effect.
Chief executive Bjorn Gulden has said the brand is already taking action in response to the situation. This has included moving some of its production from China to other countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia.
While far from the top 10 list of textile and apparel suppliers to the U.S., Portugal is offering the supply chain something it desperately needs: flexibility.
At Texworld USA in New York City Monday, exhibitors in the Portugal Pavilion took an opportunity to bring their competitive offerings to light at a time when sourcing has been upset over changing trade relations, and companies are looking for new places to manufacture product.
Global jeans brand Wrangler has started its new The Wrangler Rooted Collection, a limited edition premium jeans capsule meant to support US sustainably grown cotton in five Southern states. Each piece–the Alabama Jean, the Georgia Jean, the North Carolina Jean, the Tennessee Jean and the Texas Jean–uses fabrics made with cotton grown, milled, then cut and sewn in the United States and treated with a unique wash, as well as trim and patch details featuring the state’s silhouette and other embellishments.
