Market Information

9 June (Innovation In Textiles) – Two leading Japanese companies, Murata Manufacturing and Teijin Frontier, have jointly developed the world's first piezoelectric fabric called Pieclex, which generates electrical energy and exhibits antimicrobial performance when a motion is applied.

Additionally, the companies have jointly established Pieclex Co., Ltd. on 1 April 2020, as a joint venture company for the purpose of research, development, manufacturing and sales of the novel fabric.

Pieclex fabric realizes antimicrobial performance by converting motions such as human movement into electrical energy by combining Murata's piezoelectric technology cultivated through development and manufacture of electronic components with Teijin Frontier's fabric technology, which spans from yarns and materials to product manufacturing. Pieclex is also said to contribute to protecting the global environment, as it uses plant-derived polylactic acid (PLA) as its raw material and does not apply chemical agents and organic solvents.

- Innovation In Textiles article

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5 June (Just Style) – Amann Group, Crystal International, and Nike are among the latest fashion firms to mobilise their production facilities and supply chains to help address the global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks and hospital gowns, amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

- Just-Style news
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Guangzhou and Shanghai, May 9 (China Daily) – Guangdong province and Shanghai municipality－the two major front-line areas to prevent and control people with COVID-19 entering the country－lowered their public health emergency alert from Level 2 to Level 3, local officials said.

Level 1 is the highest of the four-level public health alert.

"Guangdong is a large economy and the most populous province in the country, and the province that borders Hong Kong and Macao has many annual international events and exchanges," Duan told a news conference in the provincial capital Guangzhou.

- China Daily news
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27 April (Business Wire) - The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has been added to Textile Exchange’s list of preferred fibers and materials. The Trust Protocol will now be one of 36 fibers and materials that over 170 participating brands and retailers can select from as part of Textile Exchange’s Material Change Index program.

- Business Wire article

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Australia, 24 April (Innovation In Textiles) - Researchers at Monash University in Australia have created a new fabric using nanoparticles that they say could potentially replace current clothing textiles. Features include improved thermal comfort, reducing body temperature by 4.5°C, shielding harmful UV rays, and improving washing durability.

- Innovation In Textiles article

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New technologies and materials determine your market position. Visit Functional Lab at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics to maximize the business opportunities in China’s functional fabrics market. Learn more

12 April (Forbes) - For many fashion, handbag and accessories brands, the spread of COVID-19 has meant shuttering their brick and mortar shops and facing dwindling online sales. By pivoting to make face masks instead, many are finding a way to keep their businesses going while also serving a great need.

- Forbes news
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7 April (Elle) - Last year, the Swedish Fashion Council made an unprecedented move while planning the annual Stockholm Fashion Week: They canceled the event entirely, citing concerns about its environmental impact. Not everyone in fashion is taking such drastic measures, of course, but it spoke to the urgent need for action on the issue, one that designers and customers alike are now recognizing.

Fashion is responsible for around 10 percent of the world’s carbon emissions and nearly 20 percent of the world’s water waste, according to several United Nations groups. An estimated 85 percent of the world’s textiles end up in landfills or incinerated. Fast fashion no doubt contributes mightily to this waste, but it is by no means alone.

- Elle article

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The All About Sustainability Zone at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics serves as an iconic area for both exhibitors and visitors to be inspired by ideas on how to be sustainable, along with the fair’s comprehensive fringe programme events including seminars, panel discussions and displays. Learn more

26 March (The Daily Star) - Local production of personal protective equipment (PPE) gained momentum yesterday after a joint initiative got approval from the government about the design and fabrics in a development that would boost morale of the health professionals fighting the coronavirus.

Five garment factories yesterday started producing the PPE under a joint initiative of Pay It Forward, the Manush Manusher Jonno Foundation, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), British retail giant Marks & Spencer, the Arunachal Trust, and the Buet Alumni Association.

- The Daily Star news
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19 March (Quartz) – Changing entire production lines to make unfamiliar items is no simple task.

“What you first have to have is a really granular understanding of what kind of assets are required for this new product: what kind of equipment and what kind of competencies [among workers],” says Thierry Heinzmann, an expert on advanced manufacturing and production at the World Economic Forum (WEF), a non-partisan foundation based in Switzerland. “If the gap is too far, you will not be able to bridge it.”

- Quartz news
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Hong Kong, 19 March (Knitting Industry) - the size and scale of the global apparel industry affects many people in many countries and needs to be kept in mind as when we ¨hopefully return to normal¨, the public will expect product availability to meet the technical and fashion/lifestyle requirements that they require and desire.

This article looks to detail how the world’s production countries are managing, where their circumstances are not widely reported, and the focus is more placed on the consumer environment. The following is a reported commentary from active players engaged in the supply chain from production to shipping.

- Knitting Industry editor’s viewpoint
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16 March (PYMNTS) - Recent reports from China show how bad its economy dipped and how much it’s coming back. Most reports put China in the initial stages of recovery. Six weeks after the initial outbreak, supply chain congestion stands at 73 percent of 2019 levels, up from 62 percent at the worst part of the epidemic. That means 73 percent of Chinese goods are actually getting through to store shelves. Coal consumption (not the most environmentally-friendly metric) has bounced from 43 percent to currently 75 percent of 2019 levels. Overall confidence is also climbing. Here’s a mind-boggling stat about how close the Chinese economy came to shutdown: real estate transactions fell to 1 percent of 2019 levels. They’re now at 47 percent.

- PYMNTS news
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