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AGI Denim, Ecovative Repurpose Post-Consumer Waste With Mycelium
When it comes to waste, AGI Denim is thinking outside the box.The Next-Gen Material Innovation Revolution is Now The vertically integrated denim manufacturer has partnered with New York-based Ecovative, a leader in mycelium technology, to transform post-consumer waste denim into sustainable architectural and interior design materials. Their first product is mycelium bricks made from discarded jeans. Ecovative harnesses mycelium growth to create solid webs, resulting in natural, biodegradable materials for textiles, packaging and food alternatives. Mycelium is the root-like fiber of fungi that form a web structure, supporting mushroom growth and nutrient exchange in diverse ecosystems. In fashion, mycelium has been primarily used...
Port of Long Beach ‘Recapturing Market Share’ Amid East Coast Port Negotiations
As the threat of a dockworker strike lingers across 36 ports on the East and Gulf Coasts, the Port of Long Beach is bringing market share back to the coastal gateway.Red Sea Container Ship Diversions Likely to Last Into 2025 The San Pedro Bay port achieved its busiest June on record, with the hub attributing the traffic to a combination of factors, including “vibrant” consumer spending, potential tariff increases and the ongoing union labor contract negotiations. On June 25, some 160 U.S. trade organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to work with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)...
VP Pick Vance Backs Trump on China, But Breaks Away on Business
Regarded by many politicos as a bold choice for the vice-presidential nomination, junior Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, a onetime “Never Trumper,” evinces a populist appeal that the GOP believes has the potential to mobilize voters who feel their needs have been disregarded by the Washington establishment. Uyghur Rights Advocates Win Appeal, Forcing UK Crime Watchdog to Investigate China Cotton Imports A departure from Trump’s first VP, Mike Pence, who grounded the former president with a sober affect and decades of experience on The Hill, Vance was until recently a Beltway outsider. The vice-presidential pick embodies the same iconoclastic spirit as the...
Monthly Cotton Economic Letter: July 2024
Recent Price Movement Movement in benchmark prices was mixed over the past month.Here's How Switching to Natural Fibers Can Combat Microplastic Pollution The December NY/ICE futures contract held between 70 and 76 cents/lb over the past month. Near the end of June, prices tested levels slightly above 75 cents. More recently, values migrated to the lower end of the range. The A Index fluctuated between 81 and 85 cents/lb over the past month. Like NY/ICE prices, the A Index drifted higher towards the end of June, but later shifted lower. The Chinese Cotton Index (CC Index 3128B) moved lower over the past month, dropping from 102...
Denim Mills Share Their Best-Selling Fabrics for Fall/Winter 2025-2026
Fabrics with vintage character, circular fibers, and comfort stretch are common themes in denim mills’ bestselling fabrics for Fall/Winter 2025-2026.Denim Mills Navigate Cautious and Curious Market Natural Comfort, Orta’s family of 100 percent cotton fabrics with comfort-level stretch properties, is serving the need for rigid-looking, comfortable fabrics without synthetic fibers. Engineered with virgin cotton and 20 percent recycled cotton, the fabrics have a washed weight range from 10 oz. to 15 oz. and show a stretch performance 15 to 20 percent. “As they contain no synthetic fibers, the garments made from these fabrics can be mechanically recycled or potentially biodegraded. These products...
TradeBeyond’s New AI Tool Rates Products’ Risk of Quality Issues
TradeBeyond‘s latest artificial intelligence tool is helping target quality issues before products ever reach the end consumer. Byte-Sized AI: Amazon Makes Rufus Publicly Available; Mango Uses AI Images for New Campaign The company, which boasts customers like Target, Lululemon and Gap and helps its clients with ESG compliance, announced last week it had brought a new AI-powered capability to the market, which it calls PO Line Risk Rating. TradeBeyond will now use predictive analytics to assign a risk score to each individual line item on a purchase order (PO) based on country of origin, type of product, materials used to create...
How a Nylon Recycling Upstart Won Over Etam and Victoria’s Secret With ‘Powder in a Test Tube’
There are perhaps few things more unsexy than a powder-filled test tube. Nevertheless, a single glance at the piece of lab equipment was more or less enough to sway two of the world’s largest lingerie firms into deciding that this was where the future of their undergarments lay.Exclusive: Debrand Grows Circular Logistics Capacity with Ohio Opening Syntetica was a mere four months old at the time. Another four months later, the Paris-based nylon recycling startup has clinched 4.2 million euros ($4.6 million) in a seed round led by EQT Ventures, with participation from the family foundations of Peugeot and Etam, Volta...
Trump Running Mate J.D. Vance Carries Favorable Track Record for Trucking
The trucking industry might be keeping a keener eye on the 2024 presidential election now that former President Donald Trump has selected his running mate.Teamsters President Slams Big Business, 'Corporate Elites' in RNC Speech Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who was named as Trump’s pick for vice president at the Republican Nation Convention on Monday night, is backing two pieces of legislation that truck drivers are hoping will come to light in the coming years. Vance was a co-sponsor of the Truck Parking Improvement Act and the DRIVE Act, both bills that were introduced in Congress in 2023. The Truck Parking Improvement Act, introduced...
Latest Class-Action Lawsuit Against Temu Alleges Illegal Telemarketing
Phyllis King’s new class-action lawsuit against Temu alleges that the company mistook her do-not-call registry status for an invitation to share its dollar deals. New Class Action Alleges Lululemon's 'Greenwashing' Habit 'Exploits' Consumers King, a Delaware resident, filed the class action on July 3, alleging that despite her status on the federal do-not-call registry, Temu texted her directly four times in April. According to the complaint, “The text messages marketed [Temu’s] ‘deals,’ such as items on sale for $1.99 or $1, and asked [King] to access links to [Temu’s] website.” King says she did not provide Temu with express, written consent to...
Sapphire Mills Measures Impact With Green Story
A new partnership provides Sapphire Mills with the data needed to support its sustainability claims.Material World: Circ's Partners Program, AMSilk's Biofibers Beat Silk The Pakistani manufacturer of woven, dyed, and printed fabrics and garments has partnered with Green Story, an environmental footprint intelligence platform, to conduct comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) at scale across its product line. Underscoring Sapphire Mills’ commitment to transparency and accountability in their sustainability practices, the collaboration’s aim is to “quantitatively measure and communicate” the environmental impact of Sapphire Mills’ products using Green Story’s technology. Green Story conducts LCAs on apparel, accessories, and textiles, collecting data at every...
Teamsters President Slams Big Business, ‘Corporate Elites’ in RNC Speech
Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien railed against “corporate elites” and a “broken” labor system in a defense of the American worker during his historic address to the Republican National Convention (RNC) Monday night in Milwaukee.Trump Running Mate J.D. Vance Carries Favorable Track Record for Trucking The speech marked the first time a leader of the 121-year-old union addressed the RNC, as O’Brien called out major corporations for having “waged a war against labor by forming corporate unions of their own.” He acknowledged that his presence at the convention had some left-leaning critics calling him a “traitor,” with right-wing anti-union activists displaying...
US Denim Mills’ Zen Collection Merges Individuality With Conscious Designs
Pakistan-based US Denim Mills, a company of US Group, is leaning into style and comfort for its Fall/Winter 25-26 collection.How Brandix is Weaving ESG Organization Wide to Build a 'Legacy of Responsibility' Crafted in collaboration with veteran denim designer Piero Turk, the Zen Collection captures the essence of minimalism and balance, with a strong connection to the earth “woven into every detail,” according to Intizar Ali, general manager of research and business development at US Denim Mills – A company of US Group. This collection was recently launched at Kingpins Amsterdam earlier this year. “Imagine each thread, each wash, each unique blend and texture—not...
Momotaro Jeans Rolls Out New Logo, Fabrics and Retail Strategy
Japanese brand Momotaro Jeans is rolling out a new strategy for retail, branding and design to highlight the “allure of Japanese denim both domestically and internationally.”SM Denim Mills Secures Patents for Two Technologies On Saturday, the Kojima, Okayama-based label opened a new store in Kyoto and unveiled a new website, allowing the brand to convey its new brand message seamlessly across offline and digital platforms. The store preserves the traditional Kyoto townhouse design while blending old materials with new ones. It was designed by AS, the architectural unit of Jun Aoki and Masatoshi Shinagawa, renowned for their work on public buildings such...
Milano Unica: Honoring Wool’s Past, Spearheading Its Future
Milano Unica welcomed more than 700 exhibitors to Milan last week for the Italian trade show’s 39th edition, showcasing Fall/Winer 2025-2026 collections of high-end textiles and accessories for womenswear, menswear and kidswear. Of those exhibitors, 454 were local to Italy—up 18 percent from the show’s July 2023 edition.ESG Outlook: Ladianne Henderson of WoolTribe on Why Sustainability is Everyone's Problem “Milano Unica continues to grow, demonstrating that exports of made-in-Italy textiles and apparel represent a very important boost for the Italian economy, contributing significantly to the country’s GDP (64 billion euro in 2023),” said Barbara Cimmino, vice president of Confindustria, the General...
FMC Requests More Info on Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd Alliance
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) wants some more information about the looming container shipping alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.US Ports See 'Strongest Surge in Volume' Since August 2022 This request effectively pushes back the initial date the Gemini Cooperation would have gone into effect, with was scheduled for Monday. Gemini’s operational implementation is still expected for February 2025. More information is needed to determine the potential competitive impacts of the arrangement, the commission says. The FMC does not publicly reveal the information that it is requesting. The commission says it uses the information request process to identify and achieve clarity on matters that...
Washington Needs a ‘Progressive Prescription for US-China Trade,’ Experts Say
U.S.-China trade tensions have been simmering for some time, and with just four months to go before the presidential election, American businesses with skin in the game are awaiting some kind of resolution.Legal Perspective: What's Next for Trade, Tariffs And Customs Compliance No issue will be more consequential than trade in regards to the country’s standing in the world, according to the Center for American Progress (CAP), which on Monday held a panel discussion entitled “A Progressive Prescription for U.S.-China Trade” featuring National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) CEO and president Kim Glas and CAP senior fellow Ryan Mulholland. The talk, presented...
Denim Mills Navigate Cautious and Curious Market
Denim mills have to offer a little of everything for Fall/Winter 2025-2026 to succeed. While some clients search for the next big idea, others are comfortable with proven fabrics and constructions.Just Launched: Rivet's Summer Issue Volatile market conditions have made customers cautious, challenging sales, said Mansoor Bilal, Naveena Denim Mills senior VP and Andy Shaw, Naveena Denim Mills VP. The mill’s sustainable practices have helped it maintain a strong business, however, by “consistently delivering value for money to our customers,” they said. On a positive note, the exec added that “clients are generally open to trying new fabrics” indicating a willingness to...
What Apparel and Textile Import Data Shows About Sourcing Strategies
From January through May, import values and volumes moved in disparate directions.US Ports See 'Strongest Surge in Volume' Since August 2022 According to the latest apparel and textiles import data released by the International Trade Administration’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) this month, the total number of units imported year to date as of May 2024 was up 5.87 percent year over year, while dollar value of goods imported was down 3.51 percent in the same period. For the 12 months until May 2024, dollar value declined a more dramatic 13.48 percent while units were fairly flat, decreasing 0.35 percent. Sheng...
Exclusive: Debrand Grows Circular Logistics Capacity with Ohio Opening
Canadian-based firm Debrand—which specializes in “next-life logistics” for apparel merchandise—has opened its first directly-operated U.S. facility as it seeks to expand its impact in diverting textiles from landfills.How a Nylon Recycling Upstart Won Over Etam and Victoria's Secret With 'Powder in a Test Tube' The 32,000-square-foot facility in Ohio opened last month and is now operational. Automated sorting technology and equipment processes goods for recycling or downcycling, focusing on getting the most value out of garments. In the last 18 months, Debrand’s three existing facilities have processed and kept 4.5 million pounds of textiles out of landfills for brand partners like...
Black Friday In July Expected To See Surge in Sales
For some consumers, it’s never too early to shop for holiday.Amazon UK Warehouse Workers Conduct Union Recognition Vote With some cable channels such as Hallmark Media focused on Christmas in July movies, and retailers pushing July specials to compete with Amazon Prime sales for July 16 and 17, shoppers on the hunt for deals have plenty of options to choose from. A Bazaarvoice 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior study found while more than half of U.S. consumers start their holiday gift shopping by October, 21 percent start by August or earlier. And more than half begin their holiday shopping journey...
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