Spotlight Articles

The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has been spearheading some key collaborative projects in the cotton sector aimed at enhancing productivity, improve farmers’ livelihoods, and promote sustainable farming practices. A texfash report.

Most environmental issues in the cotton industry are being discussed and addressed, but the question remains: is enough being done? Award-winning innovation and sustainability leader, Michela Puddu, touches on a diverse range of subjects, from the cotton production and recycling landscape to its huge and fragmented supply chain, the role of standards & certifications, traceability, impact of global climate change, water challenges, livelihoods and more.

The road to widespread adoption of conflict-free cotton won’t be easy, but it’s a path being paved by a mix of legislative action, corporate responsibility, and consumer demand. While much remains to be done, the progress made so far is promising. Continued collaboration between governments, corporations, and consumers is imperative to ensure conflict-free cotton becomes a reality.

The last piece in this five-part series on the twin subjects of the second-hand clothing in Africa and that of post-consumer textile waste in the content emphasises that the two are, of course, related, but not in the way that Western activists would like us to believe.

It is not just an irony, but an outright travesty that this needs to be emphasised: the second-hand clothing sector does indeed generate jobs in a region where millions live below the International Poverty Line of $2.15 a day. A study that looked at SHC in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia explored a facet that anti-waste activists unfortunately choose to ignore.

The Uganda Circular Textile project is designed to support a transition to a local textile manufacturing base by incorporating clothes that would otherwise end up in landfills into new products and design. Leading the project, which kicked off earlier this year, is WasteAid. Director of Programmes, Michelle Wilson, explains what it takes to navigate the second-hand clothing landscape in the country.

Less than a month ago, the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association (GUCDA) released a report which contended that media reports of waste were gross over-estimates. These reports and also the campaigns are being driven by flawed data, argues GUCDA General Secretary Edward Atobrah Binkley in this riveting interview with texfash.

One of the many African countries that has been repeatedly mentioned in the swathe of Western media reports about the impact of the second-hand clothing trade is Kenya. But the sector is huge in the country in its spread, and mitumba touches the lives of millions. Yet, the opinion of the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK) has largely gone unheard. The Chairperson of the MCAK, Teresia Wairimu Njenga, tells texfash that much of what abounds is misinformation.

As the Autumn/Winter 2024/25 edition of Munich Fabric Start gets all set and ready to welcome the global fashion fraternity on 18 July, texfash.com tries to gauge what's happening on the ground with a mélange of impressions and opinions.

Whither innovation? Are fabric innovations driving the apparel market? Or, is it the other way around, i.e. demand for certain kinds of apparel is driving fabric innovation? texfash.com talks to some exhibitors who will showcase at Munich Fabric Start as it gets under way 18 July.