Industry News | 2/19/25
What's Up Texprocess Americas?
Welcome to a new Behind the Seams feature! In just under three months the industry will gather in Atlanta for the 2025 editions of Texprocess Americas + Techtextil North America. Between now and then, we'll share some of our favorite show highlights to get you as excited as we are about May.
First up: The Notorious NBC (Nicole Bivens Collinson, that is). Several of you know her and love her. She's the one that helps us navigate the wild and ever changing landscape of tariffs. Not only will Nicole be speaking during the Texprocess Americas Symposium about the current state of the industry and tariffs/trade, but she will also spend some time with Xochil Herrera Scheer during the show floor Tech Talks. If you haven't done so already, we recommend you register for the Texprocess Americas Symposium before space fills up! You won't want to miss Nicole's session.
Also, did you hear that the Alphabet Soup Collective is coming to Atlanta? You can read more about that here.
Build vs. Buy: What To Know Before Deciding
Centric Software (Sponsored Content) | February 19, 2025
Let’s face it. There is no shortage of vendors offering sleek tech solutions tailored to nearly every industry. However, with so many options to research, demo, or customize, building a tailored solution in-house may seem like a smart, resourceful option. While there are certainly advantages to both, there are some key considerations for brands currently in the build vs. buy dilemma — and some of them might come as a surprise.
Here you'll find some guidance from SPESA member Centric Software on what to expect and what to consider when determining the best software provider to work with.
Gildan Announces Executive Leadership Changes Including CFO Transition
Press Release | February 19, 2025
Gildan Activewear Inc. has announced executive leadership nominations and a CFO transition as part of a multi-year succession planning process intended to ensure strong continuity as the company drives forward with the “Gildan Sustainable Growth Strategy.” Chuck Ward, currently President of Sales, Marketing and Distribution, has been appointed EVP, Chief Operating Officer; Rhodri J. Harries, EVP, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, will retire on January 1, 2026; Luca Barile, currently CFO, Sales, Marketing and Distribution, will succeed as EVP, Chief Financial Officer.
Shein Offers Chinese Manufacturers Incentive To Move to Vietnam
Retail News Asia | February 19, 2025
Shein is reportedly offering its Chinese manufacturers temporary incentives — including up to a 30% increase in procurement prices and larger order guarantees — to move some of their production to Vietnam in response to rising U.S. tariffs.
Some additional insight from Sustainability Magazine: What Could SHEIN's Move to Vietnam Mean for Sustainability?
Deal on New EU Rules To Reduce Textile and Food Waste
European Parliament News | February 19, 2025
The EU Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on new measures to prevent and reduce waste from food and textiles across the EU. In regard to textiles: Under the new plan, EU countries would have to establish producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, through which producers that make textiles available in an EU country would have to cover the costs for their collection, sorting, and recycling, 30 months after the entry into force of the directive.
‘Made in Senegal’ Vogue Hemmed In by Textiles Slump
The Malaysian Reserve | February 19, 2025
This is an interesting article about the rising interest in locally produced apparel in Senegal, as well as the hurdles producers face — taxes are high, production can be expensive, and there is a lack of skills training available.
SPESA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | “Groz-Beckert Offers the Perfect Needle for Every Application”: Mirza Tanzim Hossain Beg, Groz-Beckert
Apparel Resources | February 18, 2025
In an exclusive interview with Apparel Resources, Mirza Tanzim Hossain Beg, Senior Sales Manager, Sewing Machine Parts and Services, at SPESA member Groz-Beckert, shares insights into the company’s innovative products and strategies for addressing the evolving challenges of Bangladesh’s textile sector.
China’s Unbeaten Price for U.S. Fashion Imports in 2024 Set To Continue
Just Style | February 18, 2025
“U.S. fashion companies’ reluctance to shift more orders closer to home could be due to China and the wider Asian region continuing to provide the most price competitive fashion imports.” As always, this article provides excellent insights from Dr. Sheng Lu.
He also recently penned an article for Just Style breaking down the U.S. import data from 2024 revealing “a complicated sourcing environment that could continue in 2025.”
Robotics Living Lab Opens Using Collaborative Robots To Tackle Sustainable Fashion Manufacturing
Greater Manchester Business Board | February 17, 2025
The UK’s first fashion manufacturing lab has opened its doors to fashion businesses and researchers who will benefit from its collaborative robotic technology. The £3.8m Robotics Living Lab (RoLL) at Manchester Met’s Manchester Fashion Institute will enable fashion designers and manufacturers to create and produce more sustainably, modernizing fashion manufacturing and helping to address the industry’s skills shortage.
One Day, Three Designers and a New York Garment Industry in Decline
The Washington Post | February 17, 2025
What does a day in the life of three New York-based designers tell us about the past, present, and future of domestic fashion manufacturing? This profile by The Washington Post seeks to find out.
Vietnam To Impose VAT on Low-Value Imports Sent via Express Delivery
Fibre2Fashion | February 17, 2025
Low-value imports sent via express delivery services will not qualify for a value-added tax (VAT) exemption in Vietnam beginning February 18th. The new decision officially revokes a 2010 order that established the value threshold for VAT-exempt imported goods. The decision aligns the country’s tax policies with international practices (the recent trend of eliminating de minimis exemptions), and is expected to create fair competition between local and imported goods, promoting local production.
Cotton-Apparel Industry To Be Set Up in Nigeria's Ogun State: Governor
Fibre2Fashion | February 16, 2025
SPESA member Zünd announced FibreLINE, a groundbreaking high-speed preforming The Governor of Nigeria’s Ogun state, Dapo Abiodun, recently said the biggest cotton and apparel industry in West Africa will soon be established in the state with a capacity to employ up to 40,000. In addition, Abiodun said his administration is working on generating power that would offer industries in the state the cheapest source of energy.
Old Town Development Vision Garners Public Aid
Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) Oregon | February 14, 2025
Prosper Portland’s board of directors approved a low-interest $7 million loan to facilitate the sale of two buildings in Old Town Chinatown to a trio of footwear and apparel entrepreneurs. The property transaction will help facilitate a much larger project: Backers envision a campus of nine to 10 buildings totaling 300,000 square feet. While this article focuses on the real estate moves, we wanted to include it as it relates to Portland’s Made in Old Town initiative to grow a footwear and apparel manufacturing hub in the Northwest United States.
HanesBrands Announces Planned Leadership Succession
Press Release | February 13, 2025
HanesBrands announced that Steve Bratspies will depart as Chief Executive Officer of the company at the end of 2025, or upon the appointment of his successor. As part of the company’s leadership succession planning process, the Board has begun a comprehensive search to identify the company’s next CEO and has retained a leading executive search firm to support its work. Bratspies will step down from the company’s board of directors concurrent with the end of his tenure as CEO. He will stay on in an advisory role once a new CEO is named to support a smooth transition.
Bending the Adoption Curve: Next-Gen Materials To Reach 8% of Fiber Market by 2030
Press Release | February 13, 2025
A new report from Fashion for Good, Scaling Next-Gen Materials in Fashion: An Executive Guide, reveals that next-gen materials could represent 8% of the total fiber market by 2030, equivalent to approximately 13 million tons. Although a vast improvement from just 1% of the fiber market today, this growth may still fall short of industry demand due to mounting regulatory pressures, climate-related supply chain disruptions, and evolving consumer preferences.
DyStar Consolidates Charlotte Operations into Reidsville, N.C., Site
Press Release | February 13, 2025
DyStar, a leading specialty chemical company with a heritage of more than a century in product development and innovation, announced the sale of the property housing its manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a result of the sale, the production facility, which produces performance chemicals, textile chemicals, and leather chemicals, will be integrated within DyStar LP in Reidsville, North Carolina.
OECD Reveals Three Key Markers of Fashion Sustainability in 2025
Just Style | February 13, 2025
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's deputy secretary general says there are three key issues impacting the fashion sector's path towards sustainability this year: 1) The fashion and footwear sector is constantly evolving; 2) Time is running out to hit fashion sustainability goals; 3) Fashion sustainability progress must be based on set targets and measures. However, that isn’t to say that there isn’t opportunity for making fashion sustainability profitable.
Türkiye’s Fashion Suppliers Spot New Growth Opportunities for 2025
Just Style | February 13, 2025
Türkiye’s fashion suppliers tell Just Style that despite rising labour costs in 2025 there is still profit to be made from developing their own retail brands and tapping into the growing childrenswear market.
SPESA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | Frank Henderson Explains How Automation Has Changed Sewing (Video)
WhatTheyThink | February 12, 2025
“In apparel manufacturing, there is a great deal of automation, but historically cut and sew has been the last mile in terms of the time to market.” Cutting is quite automated these days, and as SPESA Board member Frank Henderson explains, so is sewing. In this video from WhatTheyThink He shares his thoughts about automation, AI, and more based on 51 years in the business founded by his grandfather.
What the U.S. Foreign Aid Backlash Means for Garment Workers Worldwide
Sourcing Journal | February 12, 2025
Sourcing Journal examines the immediate and potential long-term impact of the Trump Administration’s shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency is best known for investing in programs that stoke worker empowerment or job creation, but it also actively undergirds organizations that forge long-term community, provide access to mutual aid and legal assistance, resolve disputes and grievances, and safeguard against trafficking, gender-based violence, and forced labor.
The American Apparel & Footwear Association is urging the Trump administration to work with Congress and other stakeholders to ensure that USAID remains “fully funded and fully staffed.” In a statement it released last week, it named USAID’s Workers Empowerment and Participation activity, its Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence initiative, and its Africa Trade and Investment project as “just a few” of the programs that have been harmed by DOGE’s slash and burn but must remain “vital, robust, and operational” for the sake of America’s economic, diplomatic, foreign policy, and humanitarian objectives.
Taiwan Turns Textile Sludge into Energy
TexSpace Today | February 12, 2025
Taiwan is making significant strides in sustainable waste management by transforming textile water sludge (TWS), a byproduct of its thriving textile industry, into a valuable energy source. This innovative approach aligns with circular economy principles, reduces environmental impact, and contributes to the island’s transition towards net-zero emissions.
French Government’s New Recycling Scheme To Drive Circular Economy in Textile Sector
Apparel Resources | February 11, 2025
With the European Commission’s approval, the French government’s new €500 million chemical recycling program to promote the circular economy in the textile and plastic industries has gathered momentum. The initiative aims to promote the chemical recycling of specific plastic waste including polyester textile products. The program is the first country program assessed under Section 4.4 of the Climate, Environmental Protection, and Energy 2022 (CEEAG).
Brightfiber Textiles Opens Clothing-to-Clothing Recycling Factory in Amsterdam
Material District | February 11, 2025
Brightfiber Textiles has launched a textile factory in Amsterdam dedicated to processing discarded clothing into high-quality textile fibres. The factory employs advanced machine technology to transform used garments into spinnable raw materials for new yarns, fabrics, and clothing. The Netherlands introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for consumer textiles on 1 July 2023, requiring anufacturers to integrate recycled fibres into their products. By 2025, at least 7.5% of new textiles must contain recycled fibres, increasing to 16.5% by 2030. Brightfiber Textiles provides recycled fibre solutions to support compliance with these regulations.
SPESA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | IVE Group Sets New Performance Standard with Zünd Installs
ProPrint | February 10, 2025
IVE Brand Activation has ramped up its production capabilities following the recent installation of a new Zünd D3 3XL-3200 and BHS150 at its production facility in Melbourne, Australia. This year, Zünd is looking to continue to expand across the local market. The company recently moved into its new Zünd Australia headquarters with a dedicated showroom in Victoria, with an official open house to launch the news premises slated for March.
U.S. State Legislatures Take Aim at Fashion’s Sustainability and Safety Concerns
Fashion Dive | February 10, 2025
While U.S. federal fashion legislation, including the Americas Act, continues to stall, states are taking textile and garment legislation into their own hands. Two recently passed bills out of California and New York, and proposed legislation in Massachusetts and Washington state, are creating momentum in the industry around safety and sustainability. The bills take aim at textile recycling and recovery, retaliation against retail workers, supply chain transparency, and hazardous waste.
ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey Results: Cautious Recovery Amid Persistent Challenges
Textile World | February 7, 2025
The ITMF’s 30th Global Textile Industry Survey conducted in January 2025 reveals a cautiously optimistic outlook amid ongoing challenges in the textile value chain. While the overall global business balance remains negative at -15 percentage points (pp), the trend has been on an upswing since November 2024, especially in South America, which shows a positive balance of +21pp. Notably, garment manufacturers have also turned positive, registering a balance of +3pp. Looking ahead, optimism is growing with 43% of survey participants expecting improved conditions in the next six months, lifting the global outlook to a positive balance of +29pp.
Ferrara Manufacturing Is Boosting Tech, ‘Made-in-USA’ Products at Its Long Island Factory
Manufacturing Dive | February 7, 2025
This Manufacturing Dive profile on Ferrara Manufacturing provides an example of an apparel maker focused on producing and sourcing its products in the U.S. The New York-based company focuses on technical and tailored garments, producing everything from Olympians’ outfits to U.S. military gear.
Trump 2025 Tariffs: The Fashion Supply Chain’s Biggest Winners and Losers by Country
Just Style | February 7, 2025
“Trump sees tariffs as a tool to protect the U.S. economy and in some cases to negotiate a deal but the impact on the wider fashion supply chain and who will win or lose from them is far more complex.” As you know, the news around President Trump’s tariff decisions has been difficult to keep up with lately as it constantly evolves (the latest is the announcement of a blanket strategy of tariff reciprocity as well as auto tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%"). Posted on February 7th, this Just Style article is already a bit out of date, however we are sharing because it includes insights from SPESA and other industry stakeholders that remain relevant.
“The Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA) believes the latest tariffs on China will continue to push more production to Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, while also encouraging more nearshoring back to the Americas (primarily Central America).
SPESA points out nearshoring is already happening in the U.S. with activewear brands bringing programs back, but it ‘still feels kind of small.’ However, the association, which represents U.S. suppliers to the sewn products industry, anticipates that more will develop over this year and the U.S. domestic fashion manufacturing sector will be looking for growth.”
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