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  • Enrique Silla Shares Views On Future Of Industry- #Covidtimes talks

    Enrique Silla Shares Views On Future Of Industry- #Covidtimes talks

    Enrique Silla is the founder of globally known technology company Jeanologia. He is considered one of the world authorities in the Science of Finishing and has contributed significantly towards growth of sustainable principles in global apparel industry. Sandeep Agarwal spoke to him on Instagram to know from him about what he feels about the impact of current crisis on the industry. He shared his views during the IG Live talk with Sandeep Agarwal during our #Covidtimes series. We reproduce the talk below

    Sandeep:

    Hi Enrique, How are you ?

    Enrique:

    Everything is okay, It is a pleasure to be with all of you.

     Sandeep:

    Thank you and it’s my pleasure and honor that you are joining us. So welcome again and first of all our wishes to everybody in Spain. Things are getting better now, and we hope everybody in your company, friends and family are okay. 

    Enrique:

    Yes, everybody is okay till now in my family and Jeanologia family. We are living a terrible time around the world , but so far we are all good.We hope that your family and everybody’s family joining this conference is okay.

    Sandeep:

    Yes, we are pretty okay here and I hope everybody who has joined us is also okay. So, I believe that Spain is now in the process of coming back to normal in a few weeks. The peak is over and normal situations can be seen now. Can we hope for that?

    Enrique:

    As you know COVID 19 has hit very strongly in Europe, especially in Italy and Spain.We have seen 17k deaths in Spain and we can’t say we are going back to normal. Most of the people are still at home. Our company Jeanologia has been nominated as an essential company by our government against COVID –19 but non-essential companies will come back to work tomorrow.

    Many activities like concert, restaurant, hotels will be closed at least till July . We don’t know yet as we are not told by the government, but  if we follow what is happening in China , they have started going back to normality but probably it will take them 3-4 months to come back to normal life. Europe and the USA are in the middle and after this comes countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan. I guess the shops will not open till June. Spanish companies are providing masks and other equipment which is a good thing to protect from the crisis.Advanced companies have already started understanding the short term effect and creating a vision of what is going to be the future.Most of the companies are in phase 2 where we have to protect each other and keep alive.I think most of them will go in phase 3 that is trying to mug in the future.

    Sandeep:

    So, I saw some information on your company playing a very big and important role in terms of helping the government, in treating sanitization,preparing masks and other equipment.So can you tell me a little about how it works and what you are doing?

    Enrique:

    This is a beautiful history and we are so proud in Jeanologia.You know our company has been named ,as I mentioned before , as an essential company by the government of Spain in the fight against COVID-19. What is happening is that most of the hospitals around the world are not having the screen protected masks.These are the masks which the fire department and army used to protect their face , eyes . So together with Valencia Polytechnic University and school of engineering , and with collaboration of other makers Spain , masks has been designed. We follow protocol of sanitization to sanitized them before delivering to hospitals- so they contacted and Jeanologia have started manufacturing machines to wash jeans without using water.We have started in 2005 and we have 1000 equipment around the world that are today processing jeans without the usage of water and with zero emissions. But now we had 15 Jeanologia engineers working 24 hours a day for 4 days including software engineers, mechanical engineers , chemical engineers. We have been working to transform our denim washing machine in a sanitizing box that sanitizes the screen facial masks. We started the production 10 days ago . 

    We are producing and sanitizing 15000 masks every day . We have already delivered 150,000 masks to the Spanish hospitals. This donation by the Jeanologia team will continue to help our country and our people and we are honored to do that. The main thing here is that we have built it in the modular system that means that only in 4 hours , we can transform the old 1000 G2 denim machines that are around the world , in a sanitizing box. Together with the team , we have developed a wide room campaign for the conversion into sanitizing boxes . 

    So , now we are contacting our customers and explaining to them how to do it. We are also giving the instruction of how to build a mask to them . So , they can offer these to their communities and I think we will have a beautiful history and I invite all the people joining this conversation.We can globally make a contribution to the world in these difficult moments. So , this is what we are doing and it is a great initiative and I am so proud of all the Jeanologist that are working here. I invite all the industries to join this action.

    Sandeep:

    I think this is a great initiative and you deserve applause from all of our visitors and people who are here. It’s an amazing thing what you’re doing. Now in terms of as you mention the company’s having a machine can convert it into a sanitizing box. So is it they need some extra hardware or software? 

    Enrique:

    We need to connect with the software for 10 minutes. Then, we need to send them drawings of how they can stop or turn the drum and very important, we need to send them the protocols that are decided by the health authorities and are approved . But we have very strong experience because we are in production every day. So, in only one day they can be ready to serve their communities.

    Sandeep:

    That’s really wonderful and amazing.Now in terms of the masks, what about the mask itself you know how let’s say by just pain you’re doing it but how can countries produce that mask? What is the protocol for that?

    Enrique:

    Well , there are 3 ways. One way is that we can send the ways of how to print a 3D printer, so if they can have 3D printers in their countries, they can do it. For eg companies in Spain , car companies etc are all using 3D printers.The second way to do it is through plastic injectors and by the plastic mold injectors company.We can also sell all the drawings and if they use plastic injectors in their company,they can do it. 

    And the third, there are companies in Spain  with winter production capacity of 80,000 a day that are ready to produce at a cost so they are ready to produce how to send this at a price of only 1 euro per mask which is their cost because their aim is to contribute to the world. So , we can help them to get the mask and the mask needs to be disinfected and sanitized in the countries because it’s not that we are taking this back from the hospitals , its that sanitization and disinfection is the last step of the production process before arriving to the hospitals.Because then the doctors are going to use the mask during one month and they will clean it themselves every day.

    Sandeep:

    And are the masks packed afterward? Are they put into something or packed in some kind of way?

    Enrique:

    That is a complete protocol. We do not touch it and we pack them in the net into a machine. After that , we put it without touching it in a special box that is also thermoflossed. We are just following the protocols decided by the health communities. So, we are already training other people how to do it.

    Sandeep:

    That is really amazing, and I think if we somehow get all these people who have these machines to do the same what you are doing, that would be an amazing contribution to the community.

    Enrique:

    Yes and that is we hope after this conversation, I will share a small video with you in which you can be at Jeanologia  at 2 pm , we change the shift because we are producing in a safe environment. What is the ambient , what is the strong motivation that our people have in this critical moment . But, imagine the jeans community through this technology that is spread all around the world. 

    We can make a contribution , but we want to tell you that we are not doing this donation in the name of Jeanologia but in the name of all the denim community, in the name of all the brands and in the name of all the manufacturers in the world. So, we are ready to help anyone who comes in contact with us. we are working every day, we have not stopped even one day . This was our first priority to help our nation, to help our hospitals and to save life. Now, we are all ready for our second priority and the second priority is to avoid the mistakes.

    Sandeep:

    In terms of protocol, since this is Spanish Government protocol. If we want to do the same thing in India, probably we also want to get approval here or how does it work ? Or this is WHO protocol or only Spanish Government protocol?

    Enrique:

    This is a protocol that has been defined by the Spanish Government but obviously we are talking about European governments that are in touch with European authorities and other countries also , will be having their own legislatures and rules . 

    But in Spain , which is having advanced sanitary system in the world, this is what we are doing and I think this is something every country must do according to their laws. What we can do and serve is our experience how to do it , how to follow the protocols , how to transform G2 denim machines into sanitization box. This is something we are ready with and we have a team of people prepared for that.

    Sandeep:

    That’s wonderful! Now we come to our industry because that is one of the main points which we currently have in our mind. So what is really going to happen to our industry?  What do you see in the coming times? Right now we know that it is in a big disaster. Stores are closed, mills and factories are closed.What is the next step you see ? What is going to happen?

    Enrique:

    For sure we are going to suffer a lot. I anticipate that 50 % of the brands and retailers will disappear. This is our calculations. I anticipate that 50 % of the manufacturers will disappear and we will face a very strong, very strong consolidation. This means the survivors will be much stronger. But apart from that, I don’t think that the business is going to change. What I think is we are going to face a tremendous acceleration of trends that were already there before COVID-19. So, what we were suspecting that is going to happen in 2005, 2010, now will happen in 2021 and 2022. 

    There were 2 main trends that were there before COVID –19. The first one is Sustainability. Before COVID-19, sustainability means any toxic discharge to the ambient, to the water and atmosphere. Sustainability was an advanced manufacturing capability. From now on, Sustainability is a must. Now its not an advanced capability but a basic capability. Consumers will not buy again a product that has been manufactured without taking care of our rivers, our sea and our planet. 

    Nobody will be loyal to a brand which is not respectful to our environment. So I anticipate that all these companies that are forced to close by the government, when they will open, they will never start again the scrapping lines, the potassium permanganate lines. This will never reopen again. If someone reopened that, he is crazy because consumers are not going to accept that. 

    So, the way we manufacture jeans is already cost change and it will change, it will only be an acceleration. Everything needs to be sustainable now. The second thing is about digitization. It’s about digitally designed, digital sourcing, it’s about virtual design in 3D, it’s about digital showrooms. these are already there but we need to accelerate because the losers after the COVID-19 will be the physical stores. Europe it is 10 % online, China is 20 % , but after this China will be 40-50 % online. We need to sell online and we need to completely change our operational models. We need to change the way we produce. So in Jeanologia, we have software named e-Designer where we 3D design and render the photographs. We have created a software that is called Digital Wash that gives you the formula how to produce. 

    We are already working online with the main brands around the world by making tests  and working with them .The results are fantastic because we can create a collection without the physical garment and we can extract the process. It is in the initial stage but we have already launched a project last week with main brands and companies and we are working on that. No matter what we do , what people are doing , 3D design is the next thing. The third thing is that the way we sell is changed. The way we produce needs to be changed. So we are strong believers and this trend also there before COVID-19 .

    The main problem in the market is now inventories. We anticipate that 10% of the production will come from the urban factories with automation to the USA and EUROPE. We anticipate that some countries will be winners like Turkey , Mexico , Portugal. 

    We anticipate the new opportunities in the world. The USA and EUROPE sure will be the part of it but Bangladesh and Pakistan having big manufacturers will win . Working for it , we already launched a program on demand manufacturing . We really believed that COVID-19 had accelerated that. This was going to come slowly but now we strongly believe that these 3 main things are not about the product but it’s about the way we manufacture the product. We believe that product is going to be more simple , more minimalist but the way we produce is the key. 

    So now it’s about how we produce and manufacture, it’s going to be Sustainability , Digital Design and On Demand Manufacturing. These are the 3 keys for the trends and this is the acceleration of the trend which was there before COVID-19.

    Sandeep:

    Are we expecting this acceleration which was to be done over 10 years now will be done in 1 year due to COVID-19?

    Enrique:

    In 1 year or 2 , we are going to face a very strong economical crisis.But at the end of the day , it will balance the demand and the offer. The relationship between the brands, retailers and the manufacturers , it’s not going to be a 10 year relationship. It’s going to be a strategic partnership that you can see in the future. So, Yes I agree the acceleration which I defined was going to happen in 10 years which will now happen in 1 year but at a small scale because the market is going to shrink. There is too much to offer in terms of manufacturing capabilities and brands to consumers. So, this is going to re-balance everything. Consumer demands with brands and retailers with manufacturers, this will save the same to a much better industry. But , unfortunately it will be with a lot of suffering.

    Sandeep:

    So do you think we are looking at demand reduction by over 40% going ahead?

    Enrique:

    Let’s see what is happening in China, according to the Chinese government from December. So, from December to April, that means 4 months, they have been closed. Then in April, they start slowly to open. I will say that in the first of May, all the stores will be open. But reality, if we speak to our customers in China, a lot of shops in China are reporting, they are around 35% down. So, it will take till December, to come back to normal levels. 

    So, the first consumer needs to buy again. In New York as well, things will take till July to September to come back to normal. But after that also, if you go to a shop , your temperature will be measured before entering and then you are afraid to touch the garment and afraid of going to the try room because you don’t know how many people have tried that before you. Some people will not buy because they feel afraid and uncomfortable. So, this is the problem and we are also working as a technology company to help the retailers and consumers to win trust in the product again. To tell them, when we open in June or July, they tell them not to be afraid as this product is safe for you. That is why, all the experience that we are gaining through sanitization or medical material, with experts from medical army , we are now going to use all this experience to help our industry. 

    We need to make the consumer trust the product so that it is safe, and they can shop again. They need to be sure that this textile material cannot harm their health. This is the main thing and the short-term solution on which we all need to concentrate. There is no sense in opening the stores if no one is going to buy. And if no one is going to buy, then all the manufacturers and our customers will not have orders and if they are not going to have orders, we are not going to have orders. So, our first thing is to recover the trust of the consumer in the health and safety of textile pros. With this focus, we have a team of 15 engineers that are working in masks sanitization are now working in textile sanitization. All our innovation teams including 40 people are working on this project. We have invested a substantial amount also in this project because we think for us people on the planet is first, but the textile industry is in our heart. 

    We think that in this moment, we should help the brands and retailers. Without them, there is no industry , therefore we need to put all our efforts.. Some people criticize and cancel all the orders, but we should think that stores are closed, and they might not open and we need to help them.

    Sandeep:

    Do you think it is possible to have at the retail level that there is some machine that can sanitize the product and give them again so that the consumer is assured that whatever he is touching is safe?

    Enrique:

    I still don’t know what the model is because in their minds it seems simple but in reality, it is not so simple. As COVID-19 is a killer, so we need to be sure that whatever we do is 100% perfect. It is not about fast, now it’s about fast and better because we are playing with the health of the people. So, I don’t know if there is a system like that but believe me the one thing I learned from this experience is that a development project that normally in Jeanologia takes 6 months, we make in only 1 week. How is that possible? Just because our people are working 24 /7, they were highly motivated, they were focusing on only one thing. So, I learn that we can do things faster and better. So, our team is working and within a month, we will be having some answers and will be making some presentations.

    Sandeep:

    This is amazing because this team effort at this time with your inspiration and the feeling to help a community is so strong and your team is working so fast and so hard for this. 

    Enrique:

    I know everybody is suffering and the economic disaster is everywhere. Everyone is trying to survive, but this time we need to not only protect our castle but also the spirit of humanity. For this, we need to do good things. It is the time of the companies who put the people and planet before profit. It is the time for collaboration of the companies and trusting our customers. We are at Mission zero right now and as a company we will refuse to work with the companies that will contaminate. It is the time to react all together.

    Sandeep:

    That is an amazing and a visionary statement to take a stand of this kind which you are taking.

    Enrique:

    One more thing I would like to mention, clothing is very important, but material is very important too and fabric is important as well. This is very important. It is going to be how we manufacture the fabric. It’s not only for 4 months, I want to make sure that when I start in my factory, I should have the right fabric for manufacturing. The fabric is going to help the Mission zero to succeed. We need all the powerful minds together to work on this in the denim industry. We are working with G2 Dynamic and with collaboration with different companies to take the fabric finishing to another level.

    Sandeep:

    So now, one more aspect is the health and wellness of the product. So, when we are talking about fabric, do you think the basic character of the fabric also needs to change in terms of adding some features like antimicrobial and other treatments? So, do you think these kinds of treatments at the fabric level and the washing level should be increased for the health of the people?

    Enrique:

    As I told you before there are 2 things – short term and long term. In the short term, there is only one priority , recover the trust of consumers . If all these treatments help in recovering the trust of the consumer, they are welcome. Target is to recover the consumer. 

    Don’t think about yourself, or what you are doing, think about the final consumer, what they need. Number 1 , they need to feel safe and number 2 , they need to make sure they use the product from the machine which is safely producing them .In the jeans community , we want to be the first industry to tell the world that we are 100% mission zero with zero emissions.

    Sandeep:

    The issue I see here is that companies are already financially weak due to this crisis whether they have funds to invest for sustainability or not because this has always been the issue why sustainability was taken properly earlier ?

    Enrique:

    The moment is perfect because the company who was producing 40000 jeans per day will now reduce to only 10000 per day. So , you don’t need to do anything to reduce pollution you just need to start on a small scale. 

    If you want to re-start your business the same way as it was before COVID-19, there is no way that can happen and it’s not realistic. You need to invest in the private investors, consolidate to be competent in the market. 400 denim mills in the world is not sustainable. The biggest manufacturer , Crystal , is not even producing 1 % of the jeans consumed in the world. Big brands like Levis, is not producing more than 4-5 %. So, this is not consolidation. We have to start as small, and then we have to grow from there but do it in the right way. Now we need to gain the consumer’s trust through sanitization and through sustainability.

    Sandeep:

    The apparel and textile will be high tech as compared to the present scenario.

    Enrique:

    Yes , absolutely . The first thing we can see in the future is no 12-month planning or a 6 month planning. It’s all about on demand engineering, about quality, sustainability.

    Sandeep:

    So it is a refined form of fast fashion where the weaker parts of it are removed and we are looking at fast creation of products with good quality and sustainability.

    Enrique:

    YEs, it’s about reacting fast to a consumer trend and on demand manufacturing is about producing rather than selling. But occurring fashion is about understanding what the customer buys before they buy. But this is the long term but now we have to concentrate on the short term.

    Sandeep:

    So before we finish , let us take a few questions from our Instagram viewers. First one is “What is your idea of laundry business?”

    Enrique:

    Stop the discharge, the potassium permanganate, a combination of technology , in a complete way , try to connect to new technology.

    Sandeep:

    The next question is from Grandtex, “How Jeanologia is taking the part of the circularity denim forward?”

    Enrique:

    If we define circularity in denim, we need to think first that 15 % of the products from the manufacturers are never sold, never go to anybody’s wardrobe. So, the first thing to remove this is on demand manufacturing. Then upcycling and recycling is very important. As a technology company, we are working on how can we help sanitization to process like , upcycling , recycling , design garments that can be recycled in a simple way.

    This is not a big problem with cotton because it is biodegradable, but polyester is something that is killing our planet. We are trying to work on that. First we will stop emission and second, we will re – use. But if we will still make the things which nobody wears , then it makes no sense.

    Sandeep:

    We all really got the point and first of all I would really like to thank you for all this initiative that you have taken for helping the global community in terms of this crisis. Making your contributions to keep people safe and secure the future. That is an amazing contribution by you and your Jeanologia family. So, we thank you to all the large no of people who were a part of this conversation. Thank You once again and it’s been a great pleasure.

    Enrique:

    Thank you and please don’t forget that we at Jeanologia, we are doing this not in our name but in the name of all our customers and all the people in the denim community. Thank you all of you.

    Video

  • Andrea Vernier – Officina 39 Shares Views On Effects Of Covid 19

    Andrea Vernier – Officina 39 Shares Views On Effects Of Covid 19

    In our continued quest to get views of different stakeholders of the global denim industry , people whose views matter, we spoke to Andrea Vernier from Officina 39 Italy on how he sees the impact #Covidtimes will have on all of us. Sandeep Agarwal spoke to him to get his views on the situation and we reproduce the talk below .

    Sandeep

    Hi Andrea, I hope everybody is safe, your family , your friends etc everybody is safe during current crisis.

    Andrea

    Yes, we are safe, our team , friends and family also. What about you,your family and friends?

    Sandeep

    Everyone is good, we are under lockdown until May 03 here. Things are ok and we hope very soon all will be ok here, and I hear that situation in Italy is also improving and within a week or 10 days offices will be opened and all will start working. Is it so ?

    Andrea

    In Italy the situation is really tough, as of now we have over 170 thousand cases of Covid19 and unfortunately we’ve lost over 22,000 people. If you allow me , I would like to thank our doctors and nurses, they are doing something incredible. Italian system gave a great system to face this tsunami. 

    We’ve been in lockdowns for the last three weeks, and this is affecting the entire supply chain. We’ve received the suspension of around 70% of the orders , at this moment we’re considering this suspension, not cancellation. Some of our customers informed us that many brands have canceled 90% of their orders. So it will be very tough in coming months for the entire textile industry.  

    Just for your information, I would like to inform you that we’re working with only 50% of the workforce as of now and most of them are working remotely. Recently we also try to give our contribution in this emergency like situation by donating detergent for the sanitization. This is a difficult situation and we all should give our contribution, big or small , but we should definitely give our contribution. 

    Sandeep

    That’s great ! Hope all will be well very soon. Do you think in the coming one month or one and half months, Italy will come back to normal in the major part?

    Andrea

    In Italy, the lockdown is effective until May 3, but I don’t know if we’re going to open after that as everytime they extend the lockdown. So I am not sure if May 03 is going to be the last day of lockdown. So will the government order to reopen partially , I don’t know but this will take time  and I think this will take many months , not only a month or two to restart our activities. We all understand that the coming months will affect a lot of our industry, we can not hide it . I think we need to be transparent about it and the management needs to prepare for it. 

    We’ll probably have 40-50% reduction in consumption or production of denim in future. I can not predict the exact reduction but I have discussed it with my father also, so I guess there will be a 40-50% drop in consumption/production in near future, not in the long term but in the coming months. 

    Many companies may not be able to continue its business and personally I believe that until winter 2021, the situation will be complex in Italy and in the entire Europe. Imagine that the stories which are closed now and maybe they will open in middle of may or june but practically for them summer season would be gone at that time.

    The summer collection of 2020 is in the stores now which they will repurpose in next summer, so there will be a contraction in the production next year also for sure. As a consequence of course, the chemical and dyes production also suffer as far as the production and consumption are concerned.

    So Sandeep, I think we have to rethink our business model in the coming months. It would be a big challenge for all of us and to remain in the market , a lot of money needs to be invested in new technology and innovation. I think these are the only ways to address the challenge and I think by 2022 we would have new opportunities, and these 18 months would be really challenging.    

    Sandeep

    One of the questions which are coming up is about antimicrobial , anti dust, water resistant and other denims which help in health and wellness. What is your take on this and how can you help in this regard. 

    Andrea

    I think Denim and in general the clothing apparel industry will work to develop more safe garments in terms of sanitization. But in this moment, especially in this moment, we don’t have to feed false expectations and create fake marketing on the coronavirus emergency.

    In recent weeks we have received several requests to offer products against Covid-19 !!! If they asked me, I guess someone in the market is offering that. My friends, we must all be serious here. Very serious. There is currently no adequate medicine or vaccine against Covid-19. How can we imagine that there is a product to put on fabrics against Covid-19 !! So please don’t support fake news and requests. As always, we must be transparent and serious. Say what is possible today and what is not.

    For example, it is possible to treat garments to obtain 99,8% sanitization. It is possible to treat garments with antimicrobial products with a certain resistance. But it will still be limited in time. Doctors disinfect their work clothes continuously. 

    So, maybe we’ll have to think of giving the consumers some easier way to sanitize their cloth. I believe more in this. And as I already told you, we’re studying new multifunctional products that may increase the sanitation of clothing. 

    Sandeep

    What do you think about the consumer behaviour post this pandemic? I mean what changes we could see in their behaviour in different regions of the world?

    Andrea

    Probably it will depend a lot on whether the economic crisis will impact on each region. And also by the degree of maturity with respect to sustainability of each region. In general, for a certain period, I guess people will have less money to spend in clothing. I think people will be more careful about spending their money on buying products of superior quality and more durable. We have to go back to good quality products like in the 80s and part of the 90s. This is for me the only future. 

    Brands will have to attract consumers again, but also with beautiful products. Fashion must be beautiful. It must generate emotions. (In recent years it has been really flat). To do that brands will have to recover consumer confidence by offering transparent, sustainable, durable and quality products. People will probably buy less, but they will be willing to spend more on a better product.

    Maybe it will go back to the 80s and 90s. When you dreamed of buying something for months. You were saving months to buy a specific item. I hope that in part we go back to those times. But with the main focus of sustainability.

    Sandeep

    How is sustainability going to be redefined in terms of what we have been saying for the last two-three years? There have been a lot of talks of sustainability and also some action but I really don’t know how much good it was but in real terms how much it will make a difference in the coming months?

    Andrea

    I hope that some brands do not decide, given the crisis, to go back 5-10 years ago. I hope the brands will support even more forcefully the new sustainable technologies and chemicals.

    But there is a real risk  that some brands decide to produce even cheaper and poorer clothing. Here I believe will be the biggest mistake. We as Officina + 39 will certainly not follow this direction. We will engage even more to produce better quality products. To develop new technologies. New products with less impact on the environment.  We were already working on some very innovative concepts. And frankly speaking we can’t wait to be able to start again.

    Sandeep I always respect everybody, I don’t like to wish anyone bad things, but I guess that the companies that produced garbage (both in terms of chemicals and clothing) will disappear from the industry. These are the companies that with their policies in recent years have given more impacts on the environment. But the risk of going back in sustainability is there. For this reason I hope that the most virtuous companies in our sector (from brands to the supply chain) we can join in a sort of committee for rebirth and together to be able to push even more forward in true and concrete sustainability. We must join forces between those companies that believe in change. Who believe this is an opportunity to finally jump to the next step.

    Italy was the cradle of the Renaissance after the crises of the late Middle Ages. I hope that my country, its history, its know-how can contribute again to this epochal and ever more necessary change and rebirth.

    Sandeep

    Two key changes in basic character of denim as  an apparel product Post Corona

    Andrea

    Denim will have to be more durable (higher quality) and more beautiful. Consumers will have to fall in love with denim again. And desire it. The denim of the future will have to be like a new girlfriend, who gives fire emotions. (….my wife will kill me for this sentence)

    Sandeep

    Haha ! I hope not … What are the biggest positives you see from this situation, though it’s a very difficult situation, still do you think any positives are coming?

    Andrea

    This lockdown situation certainly allowed me to enjoy my family and children. like never in the past. I don’t think in the past 20 years I had ever spent 15 days without a flight and traveled. So for one side, this period is very stressful and gives worries for the management of the company and the various economic complications. 

    But for sure on the other hand, I am experiencing this period rediscovering some important aspects of life. And thinking of a new project with our Team in Officina+39.

    Sandeep 

    Anything else that you may like to share .

    Andrea

    Let the last thought be dedicated to the millions of workers worldwide in the denim industry. Especially for those of more affected countries (in terms of production) like Bangladesh, Cambodia etc. Here I think that all together, starting from the brands we will have to work together to build a new sustainable model, especially taking into account this aspect. 

    We cannot think of leaving millions of people out of work. Today, sustainability is above all of this. I don’t have a solution, but I believe that certain slogans should not be used at the moment. We have to be realistic. In Bangladesh millions of people who work in dry-processes. We cannot think we can do without them overnight. For me this is not sustainability, it is the opposite.

    Video

  • Albert Candiani : In A #CovidTimes Talk

    Albert Candiani : In A #CovidTimes Talk

    Continuing our series of #Covidtimes talk and its huge impact on our lives and business , we speak to Alberto Candiani from the globally well known Candiani Mills Italy . Sandeep Agarwal speaks to him on various impacts of this crisis and Alberto shares his candid and insightful views about the situation and how he sees it will affect our industry. Here we bring a transcript of the talk.

    Sandeep

    Hi Alberto, Very Good Morning , It’s too early there. How are you and how’re you doing ?

    Alberto

    Hi Sandeep,Good Morning, it is still dark here. All good here, I hope the same for you guys.

    Sandeep

    Thank You, everything is fine here. How are you coping with the current situation at personal and professional level?

    Alberto

    Well, the situation here went out of control when our region became one of the most affected regions in the entire europe. We are still under lockdown, everything is closed here and we do not have any other solution to limit the outbreak. But now the government is thinking as to how to resume things gradually. We may see a phased resumption from May 4th, but as of now we are under lockdown.

    Sandeep

    There are a lot of things expected to change post pandemic. How long it would take to come back to normality ,and what would be the new normal ?

    Alberto

    It’s a good question. More than normality, I think we should talk about ADAPTATION. I’m afraid of that if we will ever go back to normality but I’m sure there will be a new normality which we all have to adapt to and that will be depending on social distancing and other types of practices which will certainly change our society probably longer than the adaptation of time itself.

    Sandeep

    Do you see in these times digital communication and digital tools are coming very important and how even after this crisis they are going to be a part of our new normality?

    Alberto

    Communication is becoming key, connection is the only way or tool now to keep going. In my case we run pretty large textile operations and if you don’t produce, there will be no much communication. We made a miracle by finalising the last collection. We’ve got to ship it out right before the shutdown and the past two weeks have been very interesting as the market is “working” remotely from home. We did put together a very amazing presentation about a very good collection considering we rushed it in the month of March.

    I hope our industry is willing to learn more about it, so you want to feed people with more information and deeper information and yes communication is key. It also needs to be successful when you want to show the difference between your product and the others, but it has to be very honest too. We have to be a little more conscious during this time as this is the great time for fake news, but it should be no more time for fake marketing.

     We make denim and again we only have to create more interest in people, these is something that denim is lacking quite a lot being it’s the most democratic fabric in the world. It’s such a big industry and it should be as popular as music.. again we need to bring it out there.Sustainability is giving a greater push to make Denim more interesting to the people and I believe that we’re on the right path, as Candiani we do everything we can to make Denim look cool.

    Sandeep

    One thing I’m curious to know is that your company was founded before the II World War – so your family has faced the IInd World War and now you’ve been facing this war like situation with an invisible enemy. Do you compare what was the situation during the II World War and what is the situation now? What is really the difference between two times ?

    Alberto

    There are so many many common things – this is a very interesting question. Yes our company went through that moment when it was a much smaller company in a domestic market. Today we are a larger company in a global market. I think things did not stop at that time while things did stop this time because of mandatory lockdown. And that gives you a little bit idea of the damage or or the disaster which we actually have been facing.

    That time we’ve fought against visible enemies, this time the enemy is invisible which is more dangerous. I realised after the II world war, my father- my great-grandfather’s company decided to transform the company from a little weaving into a vertically integrated company. So if you look at the 50s and the 60s especially with my grandfather taking the lead when he was only 18 years old, it was reconstruction creating opportunities.

    He faced the right economical conditions which were very supportive that time, now I don’t really know if this disaster is going to create interesting economical conditions anytime soon. The market we envision is something which we will only be able to read after compression and oppression times. Having said that, I believe there will be an opportunity for growth and again.

    Sandeep

    Do you see the big part of supply chain disappearing post this crisis in terms of retailers or in terms of manufacturers and that’s what we are hearing from lot of players would be disappearing and then the ones who are remaining are will be the strong ones would be the one who will really carry over the whole industry in a strong way?

    Albert

    Look, I’m afraid the industry is gonna take a serious hit ,a serious one actually. I don’t know how much of the supply chain will disappear, some people will leave and some people will join in the future but the supply chain will suffer a lot because of the outward business model.

     As Candiani, a Denim mill, we’re sitting at the very beginning of the process, so we have to source the raw materials in order to make our products and that exposes us significantly. If you’re not a solid company, if you’re not a very healthy company, then you can find yourself lost especially if you didn’t manage to scale up your economy.

    I was thinking this morning about small Italian textile companies, they will certainly suffer because now they don’t get nothing and due to uncertainty unfortunately these guys don’t really know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. So there will be loads of problems in the supply chain. especially small vendors. I’m not really talking about my competitors or garment makers. I relate with them, but for sure many smaller companies are not going to survive this. I just wish everybody’s prosperity in this moment, but we have to face reality, if you can’t take this, you would probably fail.

    Sandeep

    In terms of sustainability, your company has such a huge name globally in terms of contributing to sustainability in various ways, also recently you came out with the natural stretch and so many of the technologies you’ve been working on, so what do you see and how do you see sustainability changing after this crisis?

    Albert

    It will change, because I believe we’re all relating ourselves to a very interesting thing which is “health”.. so now we’re looking at the health of human species, we’re looking at health of the planet which is a reflection of sustainability as we were just talking about a potential disaster. I think people are now ready for a fresh start and people have been sitting long enough in their living room to gather more informations about what’s good what’s not. Also this pandemic is touching pretty much everyone.

    I think this is gonna wake up people and will make them more careful, conscious and wishful for better stuff and better in this case necessarily means cleaner and nicer. Most of the time you know it’s just better ingredients that makes a better pair of jeans. Just like food, better ingredients equals better quality and that normally leads to healthier food. I think it is going to be an interesting change and sustainability will certainly play a bigger role.

    Sandeep

    Do you think denim can also contribute in some way in protecting the health of consumers some way with applications with future technological developments?

    Albert

    You know, we can help people to preserve their health by using smarter ingredients and new technologies. I think our KITOTEX applications today can be rediscovered under a different prospective and not only water savings, due to their bacterio-static and anti-microbial properties. This new type of R&D can literally change the game.

    It’s also time to differentiate what is technical from the styptic stereotype. Nowadays much cleaner chemistry is finally available as much as smarter applications of natural products with incredible features. Chitosan , a natural and bio-degradable polymer, probably represents the most amazing solution to several issues.

    We’re doing deeper studies now on our KITOTEX beneficial effects and properties. We will certainly extend this technologies to more dyes and finishings. I am expecting to include several new developments in the second release of our REBOOT collection, since the first release is already in our agents hands and available to our customers.

    Sandeep

    Coming to consumers what are the major changes you see in the consumer perceptions post crisis and will this really differ from region to region?

    Alberto

    The main problem now is related to uncertainty. Uncertainty creates depression and it is not just about the crisis, I’m afraid that consuming behaviour of people will certainly be changed because of three reasons.

    Reason #1 – There will be less money and this will further reduce the purchasing capacity of people and I am talking about from a global perspective , not only in Italy. People will not buy more just because it’s cheap, hopefully they are going to buy less and might be of better quality.

    Reason #2 – Second reason would be Uncertainty itself. People don’t know about the scalability of this damage.

    Reason #3 – Sci-Fi… I am afraid that a lot of people’s behavior will be changed drastically due to the mutation of humans during this time of isolation and social distancing. I can’t say what is gonna happen, but yes, I am positive some of the people’s behavior will change forever after this crisis due to a real mutation. I believe that this is going to be a small part of the population though.

    This pandemic is something which was totally unexpected six months ago and again I was just saying that we cannot really predict which things are going to change post this pandemic.

    Sandeep

    In terms of retailers, those retailers which were direct to consumers are probably better off than those which are pure brick-and-mortar stores ?

    Alberto

    If you look at retail, retail has been suffering a lot already for the past 10 years, I am not talking about the fast fashion retailers, I am talking about all the others. What’s been growing lately is the online market, so retail can now adapt to this new online type of distribution, because we’re talking distribution in the end. Those retailers who are manufacturing quality products should literally find a way to communicate with the consumer. Direct-to-consumer again is an interesting way but it’s also not easy: you have to create confidence, you have to create pretty much the same experience you want to create in the physical store.

    Sandeep

    In terms of product development , how does this pandemic affect the whole cycle? Everybody would like to have a shorter cycle and not want to invest their resources for a long time so this product development cycle, how much do you think it can be reduced?

    Alberto

    I find this entire season thing “bullshit”. I mean look at the seasons, they don’t really make sense. Sometimes we look at crazy product cycles while the product stays pretty much the same or too similar to other products. If it is about a pair of jeans just make sure its own creative cycle makes it relevant enough to look in a way it is supposed to be. I think while we go forward we have to look at more relevant changes. A whole new cycle again for something which is not relevant is representative of a broken system.

    We are mostly talking about basic and core products which are mostly seasonal and don’t require permanent new cycles, but adjustments, corrections, updates.

    Sandeep

    In terms of globalization what changes do you think we’re going to see and what changes do you think will be coming times we’ll see in terms of near-sourcing ?

    Alberto

    Everything will be affected, in fact sourcing has been affected already.The world has been under a global lockdown and its consequences are not known yet. So far as the consequences on the sourcing is concerned, I’d like to tell you that, important customers, especially the big guys are cancelling on full winter and pre-spring 2020 collection.

    I see costs going crazy, cotton going down but I also see crazy speculation probably coming on soft commodities going forward. We believe no one is in control and again this thing will create opportunities at some level. When you face this type of uncertainty you have to you have to wake up early, adapt to the new environment and you have to realise what’s going on before others do so you can create or catch those new opportunities. You just can’t wait, you have to move.

    Sandeep

    If you want to rank and let’s say for the denim fabrics if you were to rank one two three the biggest changes in denim fabrics, what we will see in the coming times biggest biggest three changes which will come in the name as character of denim in the next few months or year let’s say in the near future what would that be number one two and three.

    Albert

    So as you mentioned before technical innovation, so certainly more special finishings which will not necessarily alter characteristics of the jeans. We’re looking at finishings, clear coatings, they’re transparent so on paper they’re are not really interfering with the aesthetics of denim unless you want them to.. unless you want to create something special, something which looks different from usual denim going in a more technical direction.

    I believe what’s gonna change is not really the aesthetics but the contents though. We will find more and more interesting compositions. We will certainly find more and more sustainable stories and sustainable ingredients as well again .

     Every day the industry can be fair and talk about sustainable products more than sustainable stories. At least we have to come up with a sustainable story when we have a sustainable product and make sure your brand talks about it, not just green-marketing style, but also contents. So when I say composition and contents I don’t only refer to the fabrics but also the message and the transparency that this whole process requires in order to be honest while communicating it.

    I believe the future of denim of course is about sustainability, we talked about it a lot before . But in reality we are seeking new paths which finally people can take to increase their knowledge and awareness about the product. We want to go straight to the seed of our cottons, to the nature of our dyes, we want to explore agriculture and link it to the industrial process,. That goes straight back to the nature.

    This is something that people couldn’t see for the past hundred years. They couldn’t see that the items sitting on the shelves of the stores would come from certain fields, certain mills and people did’t really know what’s going on in those fields or those mills. Today the consumer ,which I rather call the citizen , is willing to know more and traceability is the way to create more interest.

    Again storytelling is going to be such a big deal but again you have to tell the story of something good and you have to make something good in order to tell that story. And again that’s gonna change for sure. “Something good” is not only related to the aesthetics but it’s also related to the perception of quality and then the importance that you finally give to your next pair of jeans.

    Sandeep

    What are the main big positives you see from the current situation ?

    Albert

    Well as I said earlier I’m a little scared to talk about opportunities in this moment, I’m not scared to talk about positivity because this can be over, the sooner the better. I can tell you that I am a positive person and people in our industry will be a little more conscious about how vulnerable we are, us, humans, and our industry, our models. I mean we’re working in an industry that constantly overproduces, we’re probably making the world’s biggest landfill.

    The planet is good for everybody and I don’t like to call this particular situation or virus an equalizer, but in a way it has been an equalizer and I really hope we’re not going to go back to the old normality in which the consumer is just a consumer and not a citizen.

    I think we can have some interesting surprises going forward, but for now we know how vulnerable we can be.

    Sandeep

    It was a pleasure talking to you, thank you so much for your time.

    Alberto
    Thank you

    Video

  • Denim Post Covid – Views Of Top Denim Personalities

    Denim Post Covid – Views Of Top Denim Personalities

    In these times of crisis , we are all badly effected and most business is in a turmoil. This includes our fashion and apparel industry which is in throes of a huge disaster as global markets are shut down, retailers are closing their stores affecting the entire supply chain . The future is very uncertain and we really need to make sense of the current situation and understand in some way how it may unfold in the future . Keeping this need in mind, we started our series of talks with some global denim personalities around the world to understand their analysis of today and tomorrow . The views shared have been very insightful and give us an understanding how we may need to plan and repurpose ourselves and our business. Sharing herewith comments and quotes from the experts .

    Adriano Goldschmied

    Next year for sure we’re gonna be down in our business at least by 50%.  It will have a terrible impact on the organizations of all supply chains globally.  It will hit dramatically in countries where textile is a big part of their economic sector. 

     All the digital shopping is going to be booming but they are going to reconsider shopping in a more responsible way. They will buy less and buy better.  Transparency will be more evident and help the consumer make better choices with the information provided. 

    The rule was that we come to the market with new products every six months. We need to change our method of work and to be more open-minded. There is no obligation to make 40+ piece collections.  We should bring new products to the market when it is interesting for the market. This way will be much more simple. 

    The reaction to the new normality will be different in Asia (especially China) & in emerging countries.  People are at home for a long period of time and they are anxious and probably the reaction for them is to go shopping again.  It will probably be a shopping party. On the other side, in America & Europe, consumers will reconsider their way of shopping. 

    When we come out of this pandemic, we will have a new face of our business.

    Complete Talk – Video

    Enrique Silla

    I anticipate that 50 % of the brands and retailers will disappear. This is our calculations. I anticipate that 50 % of the manufacturers will disappear and we will face a very strong very strong consolidation

    Consumers will not buy again a product that has been manufactured by taking care of our rivers , our see and our planet.

    Europe is 10 % online, China is 20 % , but after this China will be 40-50 % online.We need to sell online and we need to completely change our operational models. 

    We anticipate that some countries will be winners like Turkey , Mexico , Portugal.

    We already launched a program on demand manufacturing . We really believed that COVER-19 had accelerated that.

    Video

    Alberto Candiani

    I find this entire season thing a bullshit thing. I mean look at the seasons they don’t really make sense. Sometimes we look at the crazy product cycles for the same product or similar products.

    If It’s a pair of jeans just make sure it’s relevant enough to look in a way it was supposed to be. I think while we go forward we have to look at more relevant changes, the whole new cycle again for something which is not relevant so maybe this break again.

    More special finishings which will not necessarily alter characteristics of the jeans. We’re looking at finishings, they’re transparent so on paper they’re are not really interfering with the aesthetics  of denim unless you want them to , unless you want to create something special something which looks different from usual denim 

    We are now talking about basic core products which are of high quality, which keep on going for a couple of seasons and so I mean this is a complete change in that way.In fact you know it has been started probably something back but still it will continue further and it will be accelerated for.

     The reaction to the new normality will be different in Asia (especially China) & in emerging countries.  People are at home for a long period of time and they are anxious and probably the reaction for them is to go shopping again.  It will probably be a shopping party. On the other side, in America & Europe, consumers will reconsider their way of shopping. 

    When we come out from this pandemic, we will have a new face of our business.

    Video

    Stefano Aldighieri

    There’s no easy solution, but what is going to be interesting to see is how committed they will still be to the whole sustainability and ethical principles,  all these companies. Because one thing is to say that you are committed to doing everything socially right, and ethically right, and environmentally right when things go relatively well, but when you’re into an emergency like this you tend to forget those things.

    You know some time back all brands were racing to see who was the most sustainable company out there up to a few weeks ago?  I want to see how many of those are really, really serious about it, and how many will not stick to those principles because being sustainable means also taking care of your partners in the supply chain, and I know it’s a really really difficult thing to do because at some point you have to decide what you’re going to cut, what are you going to sacrifice, and unfortunately it is human nature to take care of the ones that are closer to you than the ones who are far away.

    Complete Talk

    Video

    Sedef Uncu Aki

    There is a term called REVENGE SHOPPING – which all the countries might see especially countries like China. But in Europe, they are focusing on understanding the situation. 90 % of the stores are open in China but total spending has been decreased by 50 %. Therefore people are not starting to shop right away. What we have seen so far from the previous world crisis is that consumers take 1-2 years before they actually regain their interest in shopping.

    There is a term called REVENGE SHOPPING – which all the countries might see especially countries like China. But in Europe, they are focusing on understanding the situation. 90 % of the stores are open in China but total spending has been decreased by 50 %. Therefore people are not starting to shop right away. What we have seen so far from the previous world crisis is that consumers take 1-2 years before they actually regain their interest in shopping.

    Durability, Built for life, and sustainable, circular design. We are focused on developing eco net-positive, high-quality fabrics. We are engineering for durability and long-lasting comfort and performance, optimizing our usage of recycled cotton, both pre and post-consumer, and creating revolutionary new levels of water- repellency, self-cleaning, anti-bacterial, thermoregulating products.

    Complete Talk | Video

    Albert Tjandra

    By all means, logistics and distribution will definitely change. The supplier needs to be closer to the consumer in this way. All kinds leading to near sourcing will imply sooner or later.

    People who have been in digitalization will keep doing so, and others will start to follow, I had even seen these in our local market which Indonesia just had few digital market-place to go ​e-​comm for textile and apparels, but their rating and sale numbers are spiking up during this situation. 

    The Millenials and Z Gen are the most active visitors for these. And yes, we all know they are roller spenders but somehow they are less dropping attention to identify what the brands are. These are the generation that doesn’t care about names and brand tags. 

    In terms of quantity may also be simply changed, they will not aim for more, instead, they will be very particular on what they want to buy, They will buy in better quality and make better choices.

    Complete Talk | Video Link

    Lucia Rosin

    This huge cancellation really creates a big problem for the workers. Some brands, retailers, need to cancel because they have no orders/garments in the shop. So, for the future, some brands have already started focusing on basic products, well-done products. 

    Focus more on long-lasting products, non-seasonal products because we have SS currently, we need to be ready for winters but some companies are closed. So, we need to create a collection with no season according to my view.

    Complete Talk | Video

    Michelle Bracha

    So maybe instead of a 20 piece collection, a denim collection, we focus on those five things we don’t need to do the other 15 because the five things and things that are going to sell. So much of these products get made and they get marked down, sold off and end up in landfills. Therefore, we have to create less.

    Seasons – I think for the most part yes there will still be some seasonal things like sleeveless tops and five-ounce jeans. Those kinds of things. They will still remain but they’ll be one or two. They won’t be an entire collection and I think that’s the main point.

    I think out of necessity PPE denim may become a category for the short term. I don’t know that it will stick around forever as much as we wear it every day but we will be able to flip back into it. 

    Category of indigo knits that were starting to explode. Everybody’s just waiting until they can figure out how to do it more efficiently so that’ll probably grow. 

    But others may change their way of shopping.  By all means, logistics and distribution will definitely change. The supplier needs to be closer to the consumer in this way. All kinds leading to near sourcing will imply sooner or later.

    On some possibility stage, along with consumer demand changes, denim will be provided as a safety protection product somehow. 

    We had been enjoying the privilege of having premium denim for better margin, for just appearance and feel.  Now they will ask what premium can give them a better and healthier life enhancement?

    There might be a temporary advantage for the factories that are close to the markets, so for the US, I think there will be Mexican factories. For Europe, you’re going to probably see Turkey.

    Complete Talk | Video

    Alice Tonello

    It is the right time to think about the volume that we are producing, to think about the quality, to think about how sustainability has been used inappropriately. I think some deeper thought process is required when we go back to normality.

    I don’t know if it will be a priority for the consumer when we will return back to normality to buy a pair of jeans but I believe that they will take care much more about a lot of things including water, chemicals, and other resources exploited to make a pair of jeans. 

    I feel retailers will be more comfortable having very short runs and they don’t want to wait for long lead time, items in production which are to be delivered in five to four months and to be in stores in six months. So probably they would like to have shorter bets – for two months or three months. 

    Consumers now have a break in their spending and they will get more time to think about what they are doing. This may lead them to re-evaluate what is the value of spending money on goods. So my view is that we must value high quality, more durable, sustainable products. I think this pandemic will go down in history as a great global reset in the system and the consumers really start thinking about these values.

    Complete Talk | Video

    Neeraj Sachdeva 

     I think one thing that is gonna make a huge comeback is the brick-and-mortar store. I think all of us will rush back to engage with humanity as you said to actually touch t feel because of the product and I think currently three weeks in I’m a bit dizzy and I’m a bit digital afflicted and I will be okay not to see my computer screen for hours and hours and hours then because that’s all I do ten hours a day now. 

    So I think this season analogy has been abandoned as the collections are coming after every alternate month, I guess. So I do not think that there is anything new about it. I guess we should ask retailers not to produce in such heavy quantities. 

    Complete Talk

    Video

    Vasco Pizzaro

    I think the measurement mechanics of sustainability needs to be expanded a little bit. Especially in how you measure it because I think it’s that the standards can be deceitful now today because I know that there are a lot of people that have their companies based on ZHDC or other parameters.

    The producer and manufacturer need to be more united, irrespective of the competition. I often wonder about how it could be, if we the producers and the manufacturers and the laundry houses and all the little guys unite themselves.

    Instead of seasons, you see more through with presentation and instead of being colder, this winter season or fall or spring or summer, you kinda see a flow and you see variances that you couldn’t see in another place. I think the frequency with which we have been launching our collections have already made it seasonless.

    I believe that if you stay and if you have the ability to endure this time it can be very beneficial for you in the future.

    Complete Talk |Video

    Dilek Erik

    These days, we’ve been living three major social changes. One of them is Women Empowerments or Gender Equality, Unisex fashion let say and it changed fashion. The second thing is Sustainability which is being talked about quite a few times and the third thing is Technology. Whenever we talk about technology, we think about computers or laptops or the internet. We’re not using technology in fashion yet, only a few companies and that too in very limited ways.  This is going to change.

    We need to develop smart habits and smart fashion. Whoever develops smart fashion and connects it with the right technology and finishing will last for a long time. Smart fabrics, which were developed by Levis in a partnership with Google, and these kinds of innovations will be required in the coming years. So this is the future and creates more and more demand. 

    I think so, also there will be a paradigm change in the presentation of the products and also in the ways exhibitions have been happening right now. The concept of online sourcing has already been introduced and much more will come into the picture very soon. We are now doing video shoots of our products and involving more and more digital solutions.

    We always say less is more and good, but we do not practice as all the brands push people to buy more and more by offering discounts, so we need to be a little more honest. We talk about sustainability but if we sell like this, I do not think this is a sustainable practice. We should focus more on quality and long-lasting products but I don’t think this is happening very soon, it will take time. 

    Complete Talk |Video

    Tricia Carey 

    We have this terrible way of promotion all the time​, you need to have 60% off in order to sell apparel because customers are just trained that way​.​ I wish that the US retailers operated more like some of the European retailers and with sales twice a year and that’s it. Start fresh in some ways​.​

    W​e will have this time to re-evaluate and look for clothing which will become more of protection.  Now we look at how we can protect ourselves against getting this virus. Whether that’s masks or other apparel. Also now we look at how our apparel protects us and keeps us safe. This is also a mindset change.

    S​o I think we will be back to basics. That’s​ happening. People will be​ ​again looking for comfort. They will be looking for fabrics that can protect​ ​them, whether it’s antimicrobial or antibacterial finishes. So I think​ ​there will be some changes. I also think knits will increase. 

    There’s a comment here about a season less also being long-lasting and this goes back to consumption changes.

    I would add to that performance. Regional or near sourcing definitely.  Sustainability Environmental and social concerns

     A lot of things are going to be virtual and digitalization of most of the process is going to happen now. 

    Complete Talk |Video

    Katsu Manabe

    We need to decide to change how to communicate. We have to use digital ways to communicate with people. The export can be made smoother because we can contact online and can support afterward also. Secondly, we need to focus on production, because after this many people would have lost their job and it is very difficult. 

    Complete Talk | Video

    From the above talk some key words emerge :

    Seasonless – Near Shoring – Sustainabiity with humanity – Quality Over Quantity – New Categories (Health & Welness, Loungewear , Homewear etc)- On Demand Production – Digitalized Presentations and Developments etc

    All these point to a changed face of business which is likely to be much smaller and more agile and highly consolidated once it comes back on its feet .

    We will come out with the second part of our talks in another article with many other experts sharing their views . Do keep tuned.

  • COVID Times – A Talk with Albert Tjandra

    COVID Times – A Talk with Albert Tjandra

    Continuing our series of #Covidtimes – How are you coping, Sandeep Agarwal speaks to Albert Tjandra – Director of Grandtex Indonesia about the current crisis to get an Indonesian perspective and how Grandtex as a denim mill is evolving itself during these tough times. Albert shares his candid views on all questions during the Instagram live talk

    Sandeep
    Hi Albert, How are you? How’s Indonesia is doing?

    Albert
    Hi Sandeep, How are you? We are good so far, trying our best to stay healthy and doing what is so literally called “homework” for now.

    Technically we are late/short on disclosing the fact and details at the beginning, where people all over are wondering if this 4th largest populations country really not least affected by the virus.
    We have started applying the Big Scale of Social/Physical Distancing Policy, where numerous rules set to bound the mobilization without saying not allowed. Certain numbers and distance set for public transport mode. 

    Keeping pushing people to stay home with new law penalties and enforcement. Limit the official works/ office in related only for supply chain and health assessment ,only F&B retails, small grocery store/market, basic needs shop, drugstore, bank and energy, electrical, communication, hospital and medicare allowed to be operated in certain hours. The rest are closed.

    Sandeep
    How Indonesian Industry is responding to the crisis?

    Albert
    The pandemic shuttered factories in late March. Companies in all regions of Indonesian facing huge layoffs,  labor termination, and closing. The travel industry is the most affected by the current. Retailers are on the same path followed. 

    We do have 2 different markets for Indonesian textile and garments. Both are contributing to the biggest percentage of Gross Domestic Product for the Indonesian Industry. Its a big population and big market indeed for Indonesian, the fact that we do have one major season, which is Eid in the next 40days.

    Locals are supposed to start distributing the goods to retail for new clothes. Garments are on final seasons to complete the productions and begin with logistics.

    Then this issue comes up so suddenly and heavily spread out.  Stores closed, the factory closed, delay payment and soured cash flow. People will not be spending on clothes, which usually a major category for locals during the festival.

    They are going home to the village, being unemployed, where its kind disrupting the government plan of encouraging social distancing since the beginning. 

    Export has suffered significant numbers of cancellations and postponements of orders. Indonesia is currently exporting 14 Billion USD to world textile and garment, US is major 5B$,  Japan 2B$ and EU 1,5B with the rest of the regions. The impact on current crisis is massive. We are seeing lots of factories closed. Goods abandoned unshipped and not knowing payments will be honored. 

    The Government is working on all measures that will be incorporated as a stimulus package for almost US$ 1Billion , aimed at easing rules for export -imports as supply chains continue to be disrupted by the virus spread. They are also working to relax the income tax and import duty to boost production. But this is truly beyond the safety net. The uncertainty about the duration of the crisis weighs heavily on the industry.

    Sandeep
    How are you coping personally and professionally?

    Albert
    I think as many people globally ,I share the same experience to continue contributing to the industry by working from home. That should be not be an issue for most of the Indonesian business level, The system and digital world really put us through this tough situation with tremendous help and effort. 

    Our office team located in the central city of Jakarta had been doing social distancing as early protocol months ago and stayed domestically home for the last 10-14 days for now. The main goal for everyone here today is to stay healthy. Holding on digital technology to have the meeting virtually, we were able to engage everyone simultaneously and try to be even more efficient.

    While some part of us from the production unit at the factory is still running, with very tight scrutiny following government protocol , we do have a thousand workers in the facility who currently put on hold partially for the day in and day home policy to maintain the social distancing.

    Sandeep
    How is your company / industry operation affected and how you are reinventing yourself?

    Albert
    Coming in the month of April, there are no other mills (denim) running production in our region . Safety and health will always be a priority, so by the next 2weeks, perhaps we will declare shut down, as an extension of the Muslim holiday, which will be very long indeed. 

    Coronavirus lockdowns aren’t the only thing affecting our industry’s ability to pay our workers. Most of us will say the main problem is unreasonable demands from big clients. We’ve also experienced demands for cancellations for goods that are ready or are work in progress, or discounts for outstanding payments and for goods in transit. 

    They are also asking for 30 to 120-day extensions on previously agreed payment terms. Some brands are showing a true sense of partnership and a high level of ethics in trying to ensure at least enough cash flow to pay workers.

    Sandeep
    Any CSR initiatives during the current times in relation to coronavirus by your company?

    Albert
    Yes. Once the operations taking a slow pace, what we can assure to our nearby environment, by distributing more supplies and water needed for the villages around the facility. We are employing more unemployed workers to maximize our operations.

    We are producing fabric masks optimizing our capacity. We are not doing this because there is a demand, but because it’s the right thing to do.

    Sandeep
    How do you think the fashion world is going to change after things come under control? 

    Albert
    Well, I guess it will definitely come from Retail and Consumer point of view, who will drive back the whole industry. 

    They had waited too long at home and some are eager to put all effort and excitement to go on the shopping floor again especially for the medium to long-run prospect. We do have a certain society here from medium core buying power, who just simply dying to go browse over fashions and step in retail stores once this pandemic issues over.
     
    But others may change their way of shopping.  By all means, logistics and distribution will definitely change. The supplier needs to be closer to the consumer in this way. All kind leading to near sourcing will imply sooner or later.

    People who had been in digitalization will keep remain doing so, and others will start to follow, I had even seen these in our local market which Indonesia is just had few digital market-place to go e-comm for textile and apparels, but their rating and sale numbers are spiking up during this situation. 

    The Millenials and Z Gen are being the most active visitor for these. And yes, we all know they are roller spender but somehow they are less dropping attention to identify what the brands are. These are the generation that doesn’t care about names and brand tags. 

    These are the direct buyers for the direct user, they may have brand loyalty but always open for new evolution immediately. 
    In terms of quantity may also be simply changed, they will not aim for more, instead, they will be very particular on what they want to buy, They will buy in better quality and making better choices.

    So yes, definitely we will see a lot of changes in the fashion world as soon as all these are over and lifted. We just do hope every player in the chain industry, from manufacturer to retailer will have and provide the right products that consumer wants.

    Sandeep
    Do you see possibilities of creating Personal Protection Denim (PPD)?

    Albert
    At the current stage, more units are pivoting their production to manufacture such products as medical masks and gowns, including Grandtex – this also leads the reason why we still allowed to operate during the time. 

    However, I think we have to be reasonable and responsible for what we produce. There will be a limitation on cotton woven to get into the medical parameter which has a concern with human healthiness and safety. 
    On some possibility stage, comes along with consumer demand changes, denim will be provided as a safety protection product somehow. 

    We had produced highly constructed denim fabrics with special anti-burn finished and water repellent applications for some Mining/Tobacco company uniforms. We are now applying antivirus/anti-bacteria with water repellent finish on our woven denim tops range for blue medical uniform 1st layer before their actual spunbond protection unit. These are more into general performance fabrics. 

    But when it comes to denim as daily fit casual wear with protection applications, I think these will take some part of consumer mindset consideration in coming. 

    Sandeep
    Do you see Denim becoming more technical?

    Albert
    Indeed it will. Like we discussed earlier, people are eager to know what’s inside the materials. Before they want to know what’s inside the garment, now whats inside the materials, what kind of cotton, how friendly the dyestuff and washed chemicals are that we use. 

    When it comes to performance instead of appearance, details on the property will be transparently projected. Then suddenly buying denims not only for the look and fit but also how it constructed will be more appreciated. That’s the shifting of premium denim. 

    Sandeep
    Do you expect Consumer behavior changes post Covid to be different in different regions?

    Albert
    The consumer will evolve with the situation differently. Some regions will have earlier store opening will lead consumer closer to the store floor, while others may have enjoyed exploring the digital platform to source products . Again subject to different regions’ situations indeed.

    For sure, Slow fashion will play major role impressions, More transparent and committed to sustainable production will be needed. Ready where people can find out the impact of the brands they want to buy just as easily as they can see the price or size

    Sandeep
    Two key changes in the basic character of denim as an apparel product Post Corona.

    Albert
    Well, denim not again will be as structured as simple as it was. Two changes will be:

    1. Denim as basic casual wear means People will wear basic denim for better life performance simple jeans.
    2. Denim as basic casual fabric means, whatever current interest simplicity that reflects the originality of denim fabric plus includes green processed within. 

    Sandeep
    How do you think consumer will evolve in his preferences after going through this crisis

    Albert
    One thing for sure, consumers becoming more alert on the information, craving for the content and property over physical appearance. They will start looking at what’s inside. What kind of materials the manufacture use. What will be the hygienic performance that the brand pushes for after these issues happened globally?

    Some may still keep brand loyalty but mostly they will be more realistic in making a purchase. There will be more on anti-bacteria/ anti-virus/ less odor breathable denim jeans compare to fashion nice-looking novelties fit. 

    We had been enjoying the privilege of having premium denim for better margin, for just appearance and feel.  Now they will ask what premium can give them on better and healthier life enhancement?

    Sandeep
    Sustainability – Your thoughts considering the existing situation? 

    Albert
    The definition of sustainable fashion has changed over the years, and yet global fashion still searches platform aims to bring some clarity. Sustainable fashion defines as protecting the future of our planet and the people through design, how we create and wear our clothes, by carefully managing resource use to reduce waste and climate impacts, protecting the welfare of the human being, and the assurance of the safety and fair treatment of workers all the way down the supply chain.

    People start talking in advance on Biodegradable jeans, which are a stretch of jeans made from renewable resources and free from plastics and micro-plastics. This is really sustainable product-driven.

    Sandeep
    and how it will change?

    Albert
    Denim remains one of the most-wanted sustainable products. In a world where resources are diminishing and landfills are overflowing with discarded garments, it’s our duty to look for renewable resources 
    So yes Sustainability will go on as it remain as the soul of the apparel industry. But will the Recycle and Reuse garments gain more consciousness after the global pandemic? Are people start asking questions on the should we still pursue on pre-owned” and “secondhand fashion, that will need further clarification. 

    Sandeep
    What do you think are the main positives from the current situation

    Albert
    Perhaps when no one can control the virus or even the economic fallout but we can control how we react to the crisis. I am very positive about our prospects for the future—surfing through the crisis in the short-to-medium term and in the long-term recovery. I believe if we are flexible and efficient enough, we will be well-positioned, to get through these difficulties.

    We are looking for ways to drive efficiency and speed to market and reduce waste while improving the company’s operations through and beyond the pandemic. I had seen a lot of chances to reshape and get slim light for the company, people will look at products in more different aspects, asking the different ways of sourcing.

    Thus the crisis gives us an opportunity to not just renew the business, but to reset it for the future. Garment manufacturing has been diversifying away from China for around ten years due to China’s high costs. We will just have to play out our strengths, go as efficiently as we can. 

    Sandeep
    Thanks, Albert. Pleasure talking to you and see you soon. Stay Safe and Please take care.

    Albert
    Thank you so much for the time Sandeep, as hoping we will keep in touch and share what’s happening in the industry,  Wish you all the best and stay safe.

    Note: We will be continuing these series of daily talks – with normal timings being 10.30 am NY time / 3.30 pm UK time and 8.00 pm India time at our Instagram handle. Do follow to be notified.

    Video link of the talk


  • COVID TIMES -A Talk With Michelle Branch

    COVID TIMES -A Talk With Michelle Branch

    Michelle Branch from Markt &Twigs is a well known denim consultant from US . Sandeep Agarwal spoke to her recently to find out her views on the prevailing crisis and its impact on her work as well as the fashion and denim industry. She shares her candid views on the situation and her analysis of the same.

    Sandeep
    Hello Michelle, How are you? I welcome to you and first of all I hope that everyone in your family and friends ,everybody’s fine , healthy and safe.

    Michelle
    We have had a couple of family members who caught the virus.They are recovering though, they are on the opposite side of it now and I have some family members who are medical professionals so we pray for them every day but so far so good everybody is alive and on the mend if not already healthy.

    Sandeep
    I really hope so and pray for everybody. How situation in New York ? How’s everybody is really coping with the current situation?

    Michelle
    It clearly is crazy for everybody. It’s unprecedented and I think initially it was a shock and now people are kind of settling into their social distancing routines because honestly this is the only way that we can eradicate it .So, yeah here in New York and New Jersey have been hit pretty hard. My small town of Jersey City which is right outside of Manhattan even though it’s in another state, I just read somewhere that we have more cases thancases in 23 states. Not combined but more than 23 individual states.

    Sandeep
    This really clearly is a very unprecedented situation and and it calls for unprecedented responses from all of us . As denim consultant and as a person who is interacting with so many players in the supply chain from the retailer’s to the mills , what is your professional response to this?

    Michelle
    First of all, everything is shut down right now so personally as a creative person I try and make sure I do something creative every single day – A for my own Sanity and B to be prepared for when this situation ends which it will. I think the important thing to  look at for all of us particularly in the denim community where we’re very tight and we’re very huggy and touchy with the product, It is something that there are times when I personally find it easier to make presentations when I have garments in my hands. It’s like a security blanket and I think those things are going to change. I mean even the lexicon is gonna change .You know – shake on it – to do a deal, that’s not gonna happen anymore ! . Those words will probably go away as and we move towards a digital way of communicating and is sad as it is for me because connection is the thing that I love most aside from the actual product . Connection is the thing I love the most about our industry .We’re gonna have to find other ways to connect and it’s gonna be interesting but the good part about this to me is that it came at a time where all of us recognized that we had a problem and it’s giving us an opportunity to hit the reset button that we would have never been able to do in such a quick period  of time. Slowly we were moving there but now I think this is forcing everyone.There’s a saying that the universe wants you to know something and they whisper in your ear .If you don’t listen , it’ll tap you on your shoulders and if you don’t listen to that it’ll hit you in the head and that’s what’s happened to us. So, I think it’s really an opportunity for all of us to look at how we do things. We don’t need to travel nearly as much as we do but it’s become part of our way of doing business that will clearly change and there’ll be and are already technological ways to develop the product without actually having to touch it all the time .So, those are ways I think that it’s gonna change and that’s good for us.

    Sandeep
    Yeah, I think it’s good for us and we need to really push the Reset button. What do you think will become of sustainability ? Because we already been moving in that direction. Will the definition of Sustainability change in some way ? Because we have been talking about various definitions of Sustainablility which are confusing. So post CORONA , is our definition of sustainability going to change?

    Michelle 
    Of course it will change. It will be enhanced,it’ll be bigger because the things that this virus will force us to do – for example less traveling – you know that uses less resources already. I think that this is going to kickstart us into having to behave sustainably whether we want to or not. It’s just the way it’s going to be but , for example , I just read somewhere where – if anybody  is listening from Jeanologia hey you guys thumbs up – they developed the G2 to figure out ways of bleaching the product more sustainably. But now because of this virus that has evolved into a way to sanitize medical equipment. So I feel like the things that we’ve already been doing will just be ramped up a little bit and maybe we have to look at things from all different angles. Everybody that I know will still pursue creating products more responsibly.We also need to create less of them I think.

    Sandeep
    We are talking about reduced quantities, maybe a huge reduction.

    Michelle
    Yeah, it’s gonna be painful and for sure but it’s the right thing to do. I think that we have to kind of look at it that way -for example – we have models , seasonal models that we’ve used for decades but now we have the ability to speak directly to the consumer and get information directly from the consumer. So maybe instead of a 20 piece collection ,a denim collection, fabric collection for example – I’m talking about  a denim collection – we know that the consumer insights come from Instagram or from whatever comes out of this that they like these five things the most. So we focus on those five things we don’t need to do the other 15 because the five things and things that are going to sell. So much of these products get made and they get marked down , sold off end up in landfills. Therefore, we have to create less.

    Sandeep
    So we are cutting the seasons and we are cutting the number of products, the collections that we are making and we are saying we should be sure that we are doing it in a much greater speed then we were doing before.We were probably doing it before also but now we need to speed it up much faster and probably seasons are going to become kind of redundant in terms of the impact the way people used to prepare for two or more seasons and all of what we have done in the past well.

    Michelle
    I think for the most part yes there will still be some seasonal things like sleeveless tops and five ounce jeans those kinds of things.They will still remain but they they’ll be one or two . They won’t be an entire collection and I think that’s the main point .

    Sandeep
    So if you would try to quantify for the moment – let’s say for currently we are making 70 to 80% products as per  seasons. Probably we might come down to 20-30%,  20% or something like that?

    Michelle
    It would definitely be less.I don’t know the exact percentage and I don’t think that there’ll be a cut-off. I think it’ll be something that quickly and gradually will happen.

    Sandeep
    One more thing which comes to my mind is that this disease is not really going away so soon. Even if you are coming out of it, after two months we are back to work ,still this is going to remain until the time we have a really effective vaccine against it. When everyone is vaccinated and safe but that rule might take let’s say one and a half to two years. So till that time we need personal protective apparel . What do you think about this so we are actually probably creating new fashion category?

    Michelle
    I think maybe for the short term . I think a couple of things here and there are some fashionable ones like there was a company in China which had each of their employees create their own individual ones and they had like their faces but with a smile because when you wear a mask you can’t see the smiles and so everybody digitally printed their smile on top of the mask and it’s cute and it’s fun . For sure will need it for the short term but I think what is happening or what will happen probably is that this is a wake up call to make us aware that a pandemic is possible.I don’t know that we will wear masks forever I think out of necessity it’s going to become a category for the short term. I don’t know that it will stick around forever in as much as we wear it every day but we will be able to flip back into it . Like people will find ways of becoming flexible in case it happens again to flip back into it just like the G2 machines .That machine will go back to bleaching denim and then if this happens again – God forbid – we know that it’s able to be switched quickly to sanitize equipment . So I think it’ll be more about flexibility. I don’t imagine jeans factories converting  to making masks for the long haul – I just I hope that doesn’t have to happen.

    Sandeep
    But you know if you see countries like Japan, 10 years back they had this problem of SARS and that you see Masks have become a reality in their life.

    Michelle
    Yes, not every body wears that but yes you see it there for sure.

    Sandeep
    I think twenty percent people are wearing them once out there .So they have learned how the people in this part of the world uses masks.What I see is on the internet right now that even expensive masks are coming up even I saw yesterday $60 mask which was quite interesting to see. So that is probably something which might happen – this crisis may trigger a new fashion accessory.

    Michelle
    I think for sure in the short term and short term meaning a couple of years like you said until there is a vaccine that they know for sure will work.

    Sandeep
    It might also be an oxygen supply to the supply right now . Now the second thing is what do you feel about the category of home wear? Because many people are now working from home and it may also become a sort of regular practice for many people over the next few months or worse -years. Does that also pick the category of new products ?

    Michelle
    I think that it was or even before this it was already I wear jeans at home but that’s just me but I think before this there was a category of indigo knits that was starting to explode. Everybody’s just waiting until they can figure out how to do it more efficiently so that’ll probably grow. I see that category growing but I don’t see it replacing denim because that’s more of an emotional purchase – jeans are still comfortable.

    If you’re talking about the comfort aspect of it there knits would be the biggest but there are obviously there are fibers that create a bunch of comfort , stretch comfort .That’s the thing about this pandemic is that all of the things that we’ve been doing along the way more slowly focusing on comfort stretch that exploded several years ago. Tencel ,for example, on the market now creating comfort everywhere and it’s exploded into denim in the last few years. Those things have already been happening slowly but surely plugging along. Now everything gets kicked into high gear just like sustainability everything is getting kicked into high gear out of necessity.

    Sandeep
    How the supply chain is going to survive ? What we are hearing is so many orders canceled ,so many stores closed, so many factories lose workers out of work .What do you think what will happen to the supply chain and how they the people, the workers will survive ?

    Michelle
    I think it’s gonna be hit really hard .The saving grace in some countries will be that from an employment perspective –not an inventory perspective – but there’ll be some help from governments but not every government is going to do that .Those countries where the government’s help will kind of ease the way a little bit and in terms of inventories I mean people need to honor their orders that’s the bottom line.They need to honor their orders even if they ship it longer-term .I mean if you think about the supply chain there is a top of the food chain and a bottom of the food chain. I think that the folks at the top of the food chain are that have to honor their orders so that when we do recover there are places to produce things. They can wipe folks out if they cancel completely – they need to come together and maybe you know take some sort of reduction but not cancel the whole thing.There was a million ways that they can handle this but they need to honor the orders that’s my personal opinion.

    Sandeep
    It’s a moral responsibility and it is also part of the sustainability talks that we have been doing for so many years and know it’s the time to really walk the talks.

    Michelle
    Yeah the people are part of this.To that point I think the consumers we are all in this together right not just a supply chain, not just the retailers and brands but the consumer is also a part of this. They’re gonna recognize those companies that act responsibly now and that act from a place of humanity and they will  remember that too . So it behooves everybody.

    Sandeep
    What we have been hearing from different thoughts going around the world is actually many of the retailers, many of the factories the factories who don’t have so much cash flow they may not survive and at the end of the day we’ll have retailers who are very strong surviving and we have the factory so very strong who were surviving and also the mills. So I mean will that be actually a more balanced situation where we actually are in a production situation right now? If we talk about till now what has happened is actually an overproduction.We are producing and over selling and over buying , so maybe after this rebalancing ,we are actually looking at the new balance being created between the supply chain.

    Michelle
    I think that there is a rebalancing that needs to happen for sure is  that is probably the point of this whole thing but I don’t know that if these smaller producers without the cash flows need to go away . Instead of that it would be great if they can be absorbed into the larger ones that are nearby . There needs to be some sort of balance and it has to include the least of us.It has to , otherwise this whole thing was just a big waste of time. If this pandemic doesn’t show us that we need to care for the folks who have less and figure out a way to absorb them maybe into these larger businesses or convert them to other like maybe cotton growers get converted into food sources But there needs to be a way to make sure that the least of us is protected.

    Sandeep
    In China you know after this disease have been sort of controlled now, what we can see in China the consumers coming back to shop .They are actually quite happy to shop because they’ve been confined to their homes,  they’re going out there to eat and visit places and  shopping a quite a bit. So do you think this is a similar response we might have in Western world when, let’s say after three months, everything is okay and you see people rushing to shop and go. Of course they will be meeting friends and family and all those things but do you think you see them shopping?

    Michelle
    Well I think it depends on what part of the world you’re talking about because I feel like in the US and in Europe there’ll be an aspect of people that just have cabin fever and they need to go out . So restaurants probably will see an uptick but in terms of shopping I think that people in the West are kind of reevaluating what’s important.Do I really need 20 pairs of black boots? I mean so people will start shopping again but they’ll be more mindful about about how they shop. I think China has probably a socially a different perspective  about shopping and I think that in the West we will probably think a little bit more about what we buy. We will still buy but we’ll think a little bit more about we do.

    Sandeep
    What are the biggest positives you see coming  from this situation?

    Michelle
    I think the biggest thing -and this is gonna sound weird – because we’re all so part but I feel like the biggest thing is that everybody is connecting more.First of all we have more time to connect. There are people in the industry that I speak to all the time   but now I have time to reach out to those people in the industry that I never speak . Like you -we never talk -you know we we talk once or twice a year maybe you know so I think that’s kind of a positive thing that people are reaching out to each other that’s one thing . The other thing is that it forces us to become a little bit more ingenious about an intentional thinking when this is over how do we move forward and  people are coming up with ways to to use technology . For example,  to help us when we can’t get on a plane and fly 15 hours to get to where we need to be to review a sample.So  I think that it’s using ingenuity and having the time to really sit down and think about those things we never have the time before because we’re moving too fast.

    Sandeep
    In terms of digital usage how easy or difficult you are finding work digitally?  Or how fast you are adapting to this digital communication and do you think let’s say if we have to continue this for a long period of time does it work out ?

    Michelle
    Well for my business because most of my clients are in other parts of the world, I work that way anyway. I only really had one major client in New York that I could actually get on the train and go visit but most of mine are all around the world anyway . So I’ve always worked this way I mean but I still got on a plane and and have to go places but maybe they’ll even be less of it but we found ways digitally to to review things.

    Sandeep
    I just want you to know if you want to say anything else to so many friends of ours who  are watching you.

    Michelle
    Yes I miss you guys. Well I I do miss my denim community. We are a tight-knit group and we will get through this together. Thank you so much and stay safe . Namaste!

  • COVID Times – A Talk with Dilek Erik

    COVID Times – A Talk with Dilek Erik

    Dilek Erik is a well known denim consultant based in Turkey and has been working with different companies in the denim supply chain for over 2 decades . Her exposure across the supply chain gives her an insight to the working of different segments and she shared the same during the IG Live talk with Sandeep Agarwal. We reproduce the talk below :

    Sandeep 

    Hi Dilek, How are you? 

    Dilek 

    Hi Sandeep, I am good, thank you. I hope you’re also doing fine and safe. 
    Sandeep 

    How’s the situation in turkey?

    Dilek

    The situation in Turkey is not that so good, we’ve had the first case of COVID19 in the month of March and now every day it is increasing and increasing by every day. Over 16,000 people have been infected so far and more than 300 people lost their lives. People here are saying that it’s just the beginning, the worst is yet to come. So we are very afraid and not going outside. Most of the places are closed here and the government has advised not to go outside. 

    Sandeep
    What about the stores and Retailers’ offices? Are they operational?

    Dilek
    Most of them are closed now, only a few pharmacies stores are opened in the malls. Most of the garment stores and offices are closed, even if some are working, they are working for a very limited time.

    Sandeep
    What are things which are going to be changed post-pandemic, the shopping pattern per se or consumer priorities?

    Dilek

    I believe the change has already started. Digital solutions were already in our lives but we were not using these or If I may say we were not serious about these options. But now we’ve realized its importance. Something will change eventually, maybe not very quickly but over a period of time. This is a very good chance for us to reorganize our work, reorganize our time, reorganize the way we’ve been doing our business. So I think in one day, nothing will be changed but it will be changed very soon over a period of time.

    Sandeep
    How’s the situation going into the Turkish Mills? We’ve been hearing a lot of news of cancelation from most of the mills around the world, is this so in Turkey as well

    Dilek
    Of course! It is the same in Turkey as well. If No one is buying what is the meaning of producing? So yes, there is a lot of cancellation from brands and retailers. And most of the responsible companies have already stopped their production because if 500 workers will be working in a factory, they can infect each other or they can take the virus to their families. For example, Sharabati Denim decided to close the factory two weeks ago and most of the other factories including Bossa have already closed down. So every responsible company should stop the production even though there is a demand, priority must be the health of the workers, your communities because when all this pandemic will be over, you may not find right workers for your company as they might have certain reservations or perception about your company. 

    Sandeep
    I’ve heard that buyers have agreed to pay for the current orders, what about Turkey? Have  Turkish Mills and Exporters also received such assurance? Also what about the garment workers? 
    Dilek 
    So far as the brands are concerned, I do not have much information about it. The big companies in Turkey have not announced layoffs yet, they would like to protect their workers as they do not want to lose the trained workers. Also after every health crisis, an economic crisis also comes along followed by a political crisis. Considering the current situation, I do not think the current government would be able to hold its position in the upcoming years.
    Sandeep
    From the designers’ point of view, how are they changing or adapting themselves? What are they thinking about the situation and how are they coping with?
    Dilek
    I think about 3 years ago in your 1st India show I made a presentation and I talked about how the social changes will affect fashion and I tried to explain (I’m still trying to though) that the big social changes not come in one day, it comes after a long time, maybe after a decade or two. 
    These days, we’ve been living three major social changes. One of them is Women Empowerments or Gender Equality, Unisex fashion let say and it changed fashion. The second thing is Sustainability which is being talked about quite a few times and the third thing is Technology. Whenever we talk about technology, we think about computers or laptops or the internet. We’re not using technology in fashion yet, only a few companies and that too in very limited ways.  This is going to change.
    We need to develop smart habits and smart fashion. Whoever develops smart fashion and connects it with the right technology and finishing will last for a long time. Smart fabrics, which were developed by Levis in a partnership with Google, and these kinds of innovations will be required in the coming years. So this is the future and creates more and more demand. 

    Sandeep
    Do you think Globalisation will take a back seat after this pandemic? We hear that the brands and retailers may not prefer to produce 5 thousand miles from their country and will preferably go for regional sourcing or near-sourcing, what do you feel ?

    Dilek 
    I think so, also there will be a paradigm change in the presentation of the products and also in the ways exhibitions have been happening right now. The concept of online sourcing has already been introduced and much more will come into the picture very soon. We are now doing video shoots of our products and involving more and more digital solutions. We always talk about sustainability, but nobody is stopping their travels which also adds to our contribution to the carbon footprint. I believe that people will now understand this and think seriously about it.
    One more thing in global context that I believe is going to happen in the coming decades is the centrality of the power and we could see a Minister of Health or Minister of Textile for the world, not for a state. 

    Sandeep 
    Are we going to be seasonless?

    Dilek
    It depends on the development of fabric. For example Coolmax, you can feel cool in summer but in winter it doesn’t have any impact. Therefore I again assert that it again depends on the smart fabric. And technology will help the industry to go seasonless.

    Sandeep
    What are your thoughts on the Homewear category? Are we going to see a spike in its sale as most of us are spending a lot of time at home these days?

    Dilek

    I think it maybe it will increase but I believe people are already buying a lot of homewear products as people always want to look good. 

    Sandeep
    Are we looking at the end of fast fashion?

    Dilek
    We always say less is more and good, but we do not practice as all the brands push people to buy more and more by offering discounts, so we need to be a little more honest. We talk about sustainability but if we sell like this, I do not think this is a sustainable practice. We should focus more on quality and long-lasting products but I don’t think this is happening very soon, it will take time. 

    Sandeep 
    What are the positive takeaways for you from this pandemic? 

    Dilek

    I am a very positive person. I feel due to this people start to value their relationships with their families. Also, the use of digital tools will be increased. This is a kind of reset button that was needed for the environment also. There is always a pool of opportunities due to new problems, and people will realize the importance of people around them and the community they are surrounded by. 

    Sandeep
    Thanks, Dilek, it was a pleasure talking to you. See you soon. 

    Dilek 

    Same here. Hope to see you soon. 

    Video link of talk with her .

  • How’s Vietnam Doing?

    How’s Vietnam Doing?

    Last week, we did a detailed report on Bangladesh and Cambodia and tried to understand the repercussions of COVID 19 on the Textile and Garment Industry. 

    In this report, we’ll try to understand the situation of Vietnam due to lockdown in China and also the challenges Vietnam has been facing and will face in the coming weeks due to the lockdown in the USA and EU. 

    VIETNAM SO FAR 

    Vietnam’s growth story has been known to everyone, and the globe is looking towards Vietnam as an alternative to China.

    Vietnam is now one of the biggest garment exporters to the USA and also it has signed a very important trade agreement- EVFTA which was supposed to take effect this year, after which it was anticipated that Viet Nam’s export value to the EU would increase by 20% by 2020, 42.75 by 2025, and 44.37% by 2030. However, COVID 19 has punctured all the hopes for now. 

    European Parliament ratifies EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)

    Overall exports to Europe in 2019 were $41.48 billion and the major contribution came from textiles, footwear, machinery, and agriculture produce, and Germany emerged as the largest market. Vietnam also recorded a trade surplus of $26.6 billion.

    Both the U.S. and the E.U. are the two largest buyers of Vietnamese textile products, 45% of Vietnam’s export goes to the US and 13% goes to the EU. In the first two months of this year, textile exports to the U.S. rose 5.3 percent year-on-year to $2.25 billion, while that to the E.U. rose 0.3 percent to $570 million. 

    Lockdown in USA and EU and Its Impact on Vietnam

    Vietnam has managed to contain the outbreak but since their dependence on Chinese raw materials led to further delays in the order and after the global lockdown, the buyers started to cancel the orders.

    Europe is now almost closed and shipments are more or less cancelled since early March. Hence the first and second quarters are going to be severely affected by the turmoil for Vietnam. But as some normalcy is restored, Vietnam is the country that will be benefiting the most. This is not only because they will be seen as replacement for Chinese apparel but also because they handled the COVID 19 problem so successfully . This will create increased confidence of world community in their governance .

    Many trade bodies of different countries requested the US and the EU buyers not to cancel the orders. Nine countries’ garment associations including VITAS also signed the joined statement released on April 13 through which buyers have been urged to honor the purchase contracts.

    source:Getty Images

    KOREA AND VIETNAM PARTNERSHIP

    To resume the supply chain, Vietnam and South Korea have started to work on a plan under a collective partnership. Vietnam is the 3rd largest export destination for South Korea.

    South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and his Vietnamese counterpart Trần Tuấn Anh discussed ways to expand bilateral ties amid the growing economic fallout from the pandemic.

    Both the countries are a part of EVFTA and thus a concrete business plan has been developed to allow businesses to immediately exploit the combined origin of textile materials under the EVFTA, to take advantage of high-quality textile and apparel materials from South Korea, serving production and export of Vietnamese textile products to Europe.

    Both the countries have also agreed to process all the certifications in regards to the ORIGIN CLAUSE electronically and within a quick time frame.

    WHAT INDUSTRY PEOPLE THINKS

    1. VITAS Deputy Chairman Mr. Troung Van Cam said that E.U. and U.S. buyers have stopped ordering from Vietnam because they are struggling to sell the products amidst the pandemic. This may cause a lot of trouble for Vietnamese Manufactures.
    2. Nguyen Xuan Duong, chairman of the Hung Yen Garment Corporation in the northern Hung Yen Province apprehended that the revenue could fall up to 20% in Q1.
    3. TNG chairman Thoi said that at the beginning of the year, the company expected revenue in the first two months to rise by 4 percent year-on-year, but now they only hope this year’s revenue will remain the same as last 2019.
    4. Le Tien Truong, CEO of Vinatex, said that during the difficult time, the company could have to cut down working days of staff who are expecting to see their income fall.
    5. According to Bach Thang Long, Managing Director at the Garment 10 Corporation, in the last week enterprises have managed to arrange materials for the processing of orders, but the customers then proposed to suspend or stop production.

    IMPACT OF COVID 19 ON VIETNAM’S ECONOMY 

    Over 30,000 enterprises stopped their operations temporarily and in some cases, it has been learnt that the operations have been also suspended for Q1 2020. The government has proposed economic incentives including tax breaks of up to $2bn and a credit package of over $11bn.

    The Asian Development Bank, while predicting the country’s sharp decrease in GDP growth, said that the Vietnamese economy remains ‘uniquely robust’ in the subregion.

    Vietnam has managed to contain the outbreak very professionally and have been receiving applauds from everywhere for its efforts. Vietnam’s success in curbing the pandemic has been attracting global attention including the eyeballs of foreign investors and its traditional advantages of cheap labor, political stability, and proximity to China may add some more points to the considerations. There are some more economic aspects which have been reported so far, these are as follows:

    • Underemployed laborers are expected to be between 30% and 50% in April and May 2020. 
    • The estimated loss for the Garment and Textile – $212.25 million and if the situation remains the same for long, the industry may lose up to VND 3k billion/month
    • Government has released special funds and incentives which is costing the government $1.16 bn
    • State Bank of Vietnam cut the interest rates from Feb’2020 and asked commercial banks to lower interest rates 

    Not only Vietnam, but the entire globe is also in distress now. We need to see how the situation evolves. However, the global leaders in the industry are still not positive.

  • COVID Times- A Talk With Sedef Uncu Aki

    COVID Times- A Talk With Sedef Uncu Aki

    Continuing the series of talks , today we speak to Dr Sedef Uncu Aki – Director of Orta Anadolu , Turkey – and try to find from her how things are shaping up in Turkey and how she thinks our industry will be affected by Covid 19 . We bring the talk Sandeep Agarwal had with her last week and the video of the talk is also given under this article.

    Sandeep:
    HI Sedef, How are you? How is everything in Turkey?

    Sedef:

    Hello, first of all thank you very much for inviting me. This is a very different world in this situation.Well, the situation in Turkey is not that drastic right now.We are one of the lucky ones in Turkey , we are in our farmhouse right now.

    In Turkey , we have over 40K cases out of which 60% are from Istanbul. Travel between cities are abandoned. Restaurants are closed and only take away is available.These are the precautions as of now. It is not at the peak yet , therefore people are requested to stay home.Government are taking strict measures based on the numbers statistically right now.

    Sandeep:
    What about the factories? Are they all closed?

    Sedef:
    Most of them are closed including fabric manufacturers. Most of the garment manufacturers are also closed. Some of the big ones are producing masks for the government which is a good thing. Many of the  local brands  are producing masks. As Orta, we started taking precautions very early like banning travel , social distancing , quarantine etc. We have decided to close the factory last week of March for 2 weeks and after analyzing the situation we planned to restart from 20th April but we will be communicating weekly based on the situation. It is something which is not in our hands and is forcefully done for the safety of all the employers because that is the priority right now. We feel that it is not safe for hold  production. Besides, all the other garment factories, countries are  closed like Turkish manufacturers, Italian companies, Tunisian manufacturers etc.

    Sandeep:
    We are seeing that current crisis is  going to be a huge impact on the industry. So what do you think say for Turkish industry , what will be the impact of this pandemic on the customers and Turkish industry ?

    Sedef:
    There is the effect on the customer side for sure. Communication is key during that time. Talking about the pandemic – it is  very  unusual in that sense. It affects both demand and supply side. It all started with questions about if we see any risk in sourcing since everything was only in China and it seemed as if it would stay there, the supply side. When things got really complicated when Europe and later The USA was in the picture, than the demand side respond. We did not receive many cancellations of the orders but customers suspended some of the orders as they did not know when do they want the shipment. That was the real communication what we did in the beginning. Next wave we encountered was a request to delay in the payment terms like 60-90 days delay in terms of payment they wanted.The second wave after this was the discounts on the shipment due to the crisis. Some of the companies communicated very well with complete list of what is happening and what can be done. This is a good way as we are all in this together. It is a chain reaction and things should be negotiable. So the reaction is very different for different companies.

    Sandeep:
    I think in current times the communication is very important. How the customers talk to the suppliers and how suppliers communicate with the customers because this is something both of them will remember post pandemic. Maybe if you are lucky in couple of months we are through with this pandemic and after that people will remember which customer really behaved in what way at that time or which supplier behave in what way in that time. So it is really important I think that both of them have to be empathetic to understand each other’s problems and try to find the joint solution.

    Sedef:
    Exactly, we should think from both the perspective and not only our individual perspective by being selfish.

    Sandeep:
    We have been taking views from different people that post pandemic there will be a big change in how sustainability is viewed. Some of the people are saying that sustainability will become much stronger force and people would be focused on goods which are really sustainable and which are transparent .On the other side, you know either there is feeling you know feeling that post pandemic, most of the companies whether it is suppliers whether its brands , retailers , their entire supply chain , everybody will be in a very weak financial situation .In last couple of years,  we really did not make a huge progress in sustainability because probably people didn’t want to invest that much as they needed to . So now post pandemic , when companies are not really in a position to invest on sustainability, Do you think sustainability as a focus probably would gain for the momentum?

    Sedef:
    There are 2 sides of it. According to a consumer perspective, we have got a break. Consumers now have a break in their spending and they will get more time to think about what they are doing.This may lead them to re-evaluate what is the value of spending money on goods. So my view is that we must value high quality , more durable , sustainable products. I think this pandemic will go down in the history as a great global reset in the system and the consumers really start thinking about these values. I am sure not 100% of the consumers will do this way but I hope at least people start thinking about valued products if this continued for longer which I hope not. Consumers will be thinking about sustainable features. On the other side, I found insincere how brands and retailers, most of the brands and retailers react to this pandemic. Before this, they were auditing us both environmentally and socially, asking us about employee rights, any investments for sustainability. We, as the industry made a huge effort to deliver the compliance. After this happened they turned to survival mode. And first reaction they want to extend the payment terms, and second wave they started asking reduction of the sales price of shipped goods, without thinking how the supply chain will survive. This should be a collaborative discussion with all parties together. Not all the brands and retailers are doing it that way.

    At ORTA, our brand partners and retailers are our collaborators, and together we will co-create a new denim ecosystem that works for each of us and for the greater industry. Together, we are HERE4GOOD.

    Sandeep:
    May be the definition of sustainability changes where the focus on human factor is more than on the environmental factors. Whether you are taking care of your workers and employers may be the priority rather than environment . So we might not focus as much on some aspects such as  water less or chemical less as of now immediately after the crisis ?

    Sedef:
    What I think is , the future of production depends on the circular fashion and it might not stop the way it is done. We use engineering to sustain the production in this way. We make long lasting jeans, high quality jeans, and also now we have a lot experience in sustainability about how we can optimize the percentage of recycling in the product for example. And these do not require big investments. So these questions are the ones on which we should work.

    Sandeep:
    Yes right , in this we do not require so much of investments.

    Sedef:
    It is not like they are pushing us to make sustainable products but it is also our mission since the beginning of 2000s.

    Sandeep:
    It is the direction in which in any case we have to move in. Whether there is this pandemic or not , that direction is always there. How fast we move, certainly depends on so many factors.

    Sedef:
    We definitely need to re-evaluate all the processes. Because this pandemic helps us to think and we should continue to use this resilient thinking in our decision making as well.

    Sandeep:
    As you mentioned health and wellness are the important factors. For these factors, do you think is denim is probably going to move in a direction  of a kind of technical textiles where we have so many performance based results as well a number of applications to be done on denim ?

    Sedef:
    In denim production, during the washing step , even though it is lasers or sustainable steps , you literally take out some part from the fabric. Mostly the surface of the fabric is treated with anti- bacterial and anti-microbial techniques. sot he wash resistance is not high in this type of applications. we use fibers instead to provide these technical properties. There are different solutions that we can use to improve the process of denim technical fabric procedure. But when I think about the real technical fabric , there are some regulations that you should pass.So I don’t think denim is a very technical fabric in this sense.

    Sandeep:
    As you said , consumers might change their view on spending and will focus more on values.But this change may be different in different regions. So there might be different reactions in different parts of the world in terms of post pandemic reactions.

    Sedef:
    We have been discussing and zooming with the team regularly. There is a term called REVENGE SHOPPING – which all the countries might see specially countries like China. But in Europe , they are focusing on understanding the situation. 90 % of the stores are open in China but total spending has been decreased by 50 %.Therefore people are not starting to shop right away. What we have seen so far from the previous world crisis is that consumers take 1-2 years before they actually they regain their interest for shopping.

    Sandeep:
    In terms of product categories , do you think this kind of crisis will create new product categories like we talked about health and wellness ? I have been looking at many kind of designer masks individuals and brands have been making – do you think these kind of fashion accessories will become a regular part of our life.

    Sedef:
    I don’t really support the kind of makeover masks and people matching the masks according to their dress. I don’t think it will be a category but digitalization will be another category. As we have been following social distancing, there is digital closeness right now. And companies should think this as a new way of personalization in communication and business solutions. This is ‘digital closeness’. You can consider this tool not only for communication but for also co – creation too.

    Sandeep:
    Yes you are right. Even after this pandemic is partially over , people may still won’t like to go out and meet when they can digitally contact with each other.

    Sedef:
    Yes, they will be much more comfortable . Even I won’t think of wasting my time going out when I can do it digitally.

    Sandeep:
    Okay , coming back to denim again , what are the 2 biggest changes you see in the denim character after this pandemic?

    Sedef:
    Durability, Built for life, and sustainable, circular design .We are focused on developing eco net-positive, high quality fabrics. We are engineering for durability and long-lasting comfort and performance, optimizing our usage of recycled cotton, both pre and post-consumer, and creating revolutionary new levels of water- repellency, self cleaning, anti-bacterial, thermoregulating products.
    We should always ask for value both good quality and an emotional value.These are the main characteristics and should be carried way long.

    Sandeep:
    What are the main 2 positives you find from this current situation?

    Sedef:
    I am very happy seeing the picture of blue skies and no pollution now.So , I am personally very happy to see this environment everywhere.

    Sandeep:
    I think when we will come out of it , we will feel like animals coming from the zoo.

    Sedef:
    We should really realize that we are not the boss.

    Sandeep:
    Do you want to say to all our friends who have joined this conversation?

    Sedef:
    Thank you so much for the opportunity. It is really good to be connected this way. Hope to see you soon in person.

    Sandeep:
    Yes , now we see how important this is and how good our lives were in terms of social contacts ! . Thankyou so much for being there as a part of the discussion.

  • COVID Times – A Talk with Alice Tonello

    COVID Times – A Talk with Alice Tonello

    Continuing our series of daily Live IG talks with important personalities in denim world, Sandeep Agarwal spoke to ALICE TONELLO from Tonello Group, Italy. Tonello is a well respected name in the global denim and apparel industry providing unique washing , dyeing and technology solutions to the manufacturers worldwide. With her global perspective and being an important player in the supply chain, it was important to have her views . Lets check out the verbatim discussion below :

    Sandeep:

    Hey Alice , I welcome you and hope that all of your family friends are safe and healthy in Italy.

    Alice 

    Yes, thank you, Mr. Sandeep, our family is fine and also the tonello team. We have three weeks of lockdown in all Italy and things have been improving daily and it looks like we can probably restart work next week.

    Sandeep

    That’s a wonderful news !  It has been such a huge tragedy that nobody expected and there are so many lives lost and the with the fighting spirit of Italians, I know you will be able to come back strongly. 

    Alice

    Thank you, Sandeep. Yes, I think Italy can be considered an example of resilience and if you permit me, let me thank all our workers and the employees who never pull it back during the difficult day and always support the company’s needs. 

    Sandeep:

    That’s great, Alice. What do you make of the current situation and how it is affecting our industry and specifically  a technology company- your company? 

    Alice

    Sandeep, as you can imagine, this situation has created a huge crisis for all kinds of supply chains. Our production, unfortunately, has suffered. Some orders are getting delayed but we are positive. We have been working on some new ideas and our engineers have been brainstorming on different machine applications and I think this is the right time to think out of the box. 

    We are trying to understand how to use existing available resources. Many laundries in Italy are innovating and coming up with new technology in these tough times. In another part of the world, companies are using our ozone machine for sanitization and at this moment these are some examples that can really bring change and can help in this situation.

    Sandeep: 

    Absolutely, so when we come back to our industry, what do you think are the changes we are going to see because they are huge challenges that we are looking right now with the entire supply chain which is totally disrupted and closed. Right now I’m sure nobody can really make full sense out of it but at least what is your take on this of  what is really happening and what is going to happen? 

    Alice

    Sandeep, I think every day is about what is going to change and how we can support in the best way, how we can be part of this change. Of course, as you say it is very difficult to predict but I think it’s a sign to reflect on some points. 

    For example, it is the right time to think about the volume that we are producing, to think about the quality, to think about how sustainability has been used inappropriately. I think some deeper thought process is required when we go back to normality.

    The consumer will probably have a different priority than buy a pair of jeans but​ ​on the other side, I think there will be a desire to return back to do something. Let’s say normal but maybe with a different approach on value and with a different approach on quality, probably it will be lesser but better .

    Sandeep

    How is sustainability going to be  redefined in terms of what we have been saying for the last two-three years? There have been a lot of talks of sustainability and also some action but I really don’t know how much good it was but in real terms how much it will make a difference in the coming months?

    Alice

    I think also  the terms of sustainability will change a little bit, more responsibility from a different point of view. Let’s say how the garments are made? With which product it has been made and under what conditions(Factory and worker conditions) it has been made?

    I don’t know if it will be a priority for the consumer when we will return back to normality to buy a pair of jeans but I believe that they will take care much more about a lot of things including water, chemicals, and other resources exploited to make a pair of jeans. We also hope the consumer will become a little skeptical and stronger because now when we have seen that so many big retailers have canceled orders and workers are suffering so maybe a sustainability angle also includes how you are treating the human resource. 

    Sandeep

    What are your thoughts on Nearshoring? Do you think this is going to be aggressively adopted by brands and retailers?

    Alice

    I completely agree with you. I feel retailers will be more comfortable having very short runs and they don’t want to wait for long lead time, items in production which are to be delivered in five to four months and to be in stores in six months. So probably they would like to have shorter beds – for two months or three months. 

    I know that many brands have already canceled their season preview so I think some small beds will be most preferred. And so I believe that some company has to become more flexible and faster to guarantee these kinds of requests. 

    Sandeep

    One more thing that we are hearing is digital, everything is going to be digital. So what let’s say for your kind of technology company, what does it mean? Does it affect you anyway in some ways where things are going digital?

    Alice

    We have been working for the last few years on digitalization and so far as the Tonello is concerned, I would like to give some examples. In our company, we’ve innovated a new way to wash a pair of jeans which is completely digital, simple and automatic. 

    By Digitalisation we mean that we are able to see from home or from the office what is happening in your laundry, how many liters of water your washing machine is consuming and also energy, steam and time.

    With this technology, one can check, irrespective of location, what is happening in your washing machine in real-time and without any human manipulation. In Today’s time, Transparency with consumers is also very important and therefore going digital is very important.

    Adriano said in the past that after some time we have to try more to reduce waste of time – for example during the collection development there is much different software and this for sure can help in terms of sustainability and responsibility. 

    Sandeep

    Adriano said that a 50% reduction in denim business would be seen. My question is, do you think some of the different categories of products might come up which might replace some of the apparel which is being currently produced, for example, PPE- Personal Protective Equipment, designer mask or might be , Homewear products etc which in the supply chain might be a kind of oxygen for suppliers?

    Alice

    I think in some cases- yes and in some cases, it can help if some company can find some new​ ​ideas. Comfortable clothes, for example, are really important, the mask we are wearing in Italy, never happened before this emergency. There will be some more categories but I don’t think this is going to be an alternative to what we have lost.

    In some cases, maybe 20% of their capacity, can be used for producing masks in this emergency but we have to use our mind to create something new and to be ready when they return to normality.

    Sandeep

    How do you see the consumer behavior post-pandemic? What you think there will be some changes in the consumer behavior either in Asian Market or in the European market? Or will it be some kind of a similar reaction to the one we saw?

    Alice

    I think once  people will return back to normality, they need some time, let’s say they have the desire to restart but it depends on how much this emergency affects the economical situation. Also maybe their approach to go to the shop and their approach to try something will be different and we have to think about it. 

    Maybe the online shopping will increase and I don’t believe it will return back to normality quickly, therefore we have to be stronger and to think of something different to give some new ideas to the market and at this moment we need to try to understand the new needs, the new values of the consumer.

    Sandeep

    One of the questions which are coming up is about antimicrobial , anti dust, water resistant and other denims which help in health and wellness. What is your take on this and how can you help in this regard. 

    Alice

    Absolutely Sandeep, Our Ozone machine can do and has been already doing the sanitization to the garment for many years and we used to do this in a small quantity. Normally we use huge quantities to do the bleaching with our ozone machine but in a small quantity, our technology can do it.

    The sanitization process can be easily done with our ozone machines, our client can easily do the processing and so can be very flexible and wash a pair of jeans and after that in the end if they want, they can do sanitization and send to the customer, to the shop.

    For example some special products by nebulization, we have the nebulization system which can be used. Rudolf company , which is a chemical company, t are producing anti antimicrobials or something I said to apply at the end of the blowing the processor and that’s  good.

    Sandeep

    What are the biggest positives you see from this situation, though it’s a very difficult situation, still do you think any positives are coming?

    Alice

    This is a very difficult question, but from all the difficult situations and from all the crises, something new can happen, sometimes you have to think about it in a different way. I hope this situation will compel all of us to be more honest in terms of sustainability, transparency and I believe that all the companies that work honestly in a transparent way and support the customer will have the chance to reinvent themselves without any problem.

    Sandeep:

    Thank you so much, Alice, it was a real pleasure speaking to you.

    Alice

    Thanks to you, thank you for sharing and we catch up very soon again.
    (check the video of her talk below )

  • Are Designer Face Masks To Be A Big Product Category Amidst CORONAVIRUS Crisis

    Are Designer Face Masks To Be A Big Product Category Amidst CORONAVIRUS Crisis

    Due to the pandemic , all the authorities across the globe have been making the use of face masks compulsory when stepping out to prevent the spread of CORONAVIRUS.Recently the Center For Disease Control have also officially recommended the widespread use of face masks. In many countries, it is not allowed to go out for necessities without the masks. The N95 masks are available in the short supply and are retained for medical resources and professionals.According to CDC notes, the face can be covered using a cloth made from home as well ,made of layers or breathable fabric (such as cotton).This is a very important step for protection specially at places where social distancing can’t be followed.

    The asymptomatic carriers are the most threatening types of COVID-19 patients who effect the other people without showing any symptoms themselves. Face masks prove to be very effective in such cases where we can avoid the risk of transferring the deadly disease by covering the face.The brands which are making the masks are not doing it out of complete financial help from the government. They are also donating the masks as per their share of help to essential workers and needy people.

    Many luxury brands are sewing masks but are reserved for medical stakeholders. The brands involved in luxury making includes , Prada, LVMH , KERING , LAMBORGINI etc. Ralph Lauren, New Balance, and brands such as Christian Siriano, Eileen Fisher, and Brandon Maxwell are other manufacturers as well. Not only these expensive masks are there in the market  but the DIY cloth face masks are the new trend that the people have been trying at home. Although , purchasing a $60 s mask or a 1$ mask won’t make a difference in curbing the disease , but there is a visible trend towards  making the designer masks for retailing to appeal to the aesthetics of the consumers.

    The trendy collection is made from different fabric and cotton with silk and laces and of course denim . Motifs and patterns have been mixed to produce different designs .These masks may not come out cheap and can be as  expensive as $60 .On the other hand, Maison Modulare created a mask which cost 120 $ made with 3 layers of French lace. Citizens of Humanity is selling the 5 pack of masks at 25 $ and Kes is offering the mask made from pure silk. Blanket Co. is making fleet versions masks at five for $30 .Buck Mason from Los Angeles is selling masks at 20$ for five.You can buy a five-pack double-ply cotton coverings from the LA-based brand Sanctuary for $29.99, available in   floral, leopard print, and camouflage patterns  or a Chantilly lace face mask from the bridal designer Katie May for $45.Amazon and Flipkart have also asked the clothing brands to increase the production of mask. Myntra has also started the delivery of masks breaking the halt due to lockdown.Big Basket has also introduced anti pollution disposable masks.

    As we see reports on the current corona crisis, it seems that though we may be able to overcome the huge current impact and things may normalize in a few months, it is quite likely that the virus is here to stay with us for a couple of years. In such a case, it may become imperative for people around the world to invest in personal protection clothings and masks would be an essential part of it. If the situation comes so and we are forced to wear masks in our daily routines , we might see a huge new product category being created. Imagine – even if 20% of the population is wearing masks  around the world (about 1.6 billion)  and each of them would definitely need few masks (say 5) , we are looking at a demand of 8 billion masks !

    The question that would remain is whether these designer and simpler masks would be certified as protective against the virus or not . Time will tell how this whole thing folds out .

    Face Masks Are The Latest Trend Amidst CORONAVIRUS | Denimsandjeans

    Face Masks Are The Latest Trend Amidst CORONAVIRUS | Denimsandjeans

    Face Masks Are The Latest Trend Amidst CORONAVIRUS | Denimsandjeans

    Face Masks Are The Latest Trend Amidst CORONAVIRUS | Denimsandjeans

       

  • Adriano Goldschmied Speaks About Covid 19 Impact On Apparel Industry

    Adriano Goldschmied Speaks About Covid 19 Impact On Apparel Industry

    When the times are tough , we need to look up to people with vision , people who have shown us the path in the past and who will show the light to us for the future. In our industry , perhaps the most prominent personality on this pedestal is Adriano Goldschmied – The Godfather Of Denim . He needs no introduction for any one of us and it is upto leaders like these that we seek answers and inspiration from , during the unprecedented times that all of us are going through. It was indeed a pleasure and honor for me that he agreed to share his views on current situations and future indications for our industry. I spoke to him on the various aspects of the coronavirus crisis (at our Instagram ) and its possible impact on us and how we need to adjust ourselves and find solutions . He shared his erudite views backed by decades of experience in his very humane and humble way. The immediate future looks tough but we need to be resilient and adjust ourselves in innovative ways – is his fundamental message.

    Sandeep:
    First of all I want you to thank you for joining this discussion it’s such a pleasure and honor for me.

    Adriano:
    It is an amazing opportunity- thank you very much .We are experiencing first hand what it means to be digital . It is a good exercise because it looks like this will be our future.

    Sandeep:
    Absolutely, I agree with you.So how’s everything in LA ? Is it getting better than before?

    Adriano:
    The situation in LA is very similar to other parts of America, but better than New York . Let’s say, every business is closed and only essential facilities are open. People might need to stay home long time, which is not a good thing.  Basically, we are suggested to stay at home, but free spirited Americans are still going around. In Italy, for instance, is different because they can pose heavy fines if you disobey a state/federal mandate.  We hope Americans who love freedom & independence understand the importance of staying home and can contribute to everyone’s safety.

    Sandeep:
    Absolutely, because it’s for everybody and it’s totally unexpected and we all are actually trying to find a way out what to do .We have to find a way out of this situation. First of all , I really hope that all your friends and relatives and family , everybody is okay and healthy.

    Adriano:s
    Everybody is fine including my staff.  Let’s say, I really care about my team. They are the biggest value of the company.  I ordered them to stay home even before the California government ordered people to stay home.  We are working remotely from home, but all our mills in China are reopened and operating at 100%.  Our business is already very digital.  That is why we can adapt easily to the new situation.  But we do miss the touch & feel portion of our business.  This is a big moment of responsibility for us all. It is in the hands of every single person to help and to try to arrive to a good conclusion.

    Sandeep:
    So what do you think of the situation ? how it’s really going to affect all of us because we are seeing massive issues going on,  the stores are closing down , bankruptcies are coming , the supply chain is getting totally disrupted. What is really going to happen in fashion industry and denim industry in particular ?

    Adriano:
    My feeling is that we do not realize the magnitude of this disaster.  Everyone is very uncomfortable.  All the stores are closed, all the companies are closed.  We are doing our best to do our work remotely at home, but I don’t think we realize the real consequences of this situation in our business.  The reality is that we don’t have a complete vision on the impact on our business.  The work has turned more towards a digital platform.  This is very difficult for my generation. Personally for me, I am used to having physical contact with the people, with my team.  Working digitally is something we are all forced to learn today to maintain business.  I think this is a positive thing. What we have done in the past by physical contact can be done digitally & remotely today saving a lot of time. We will continue to work this way even after we get back to normal.  The current mood right now is very emotional and the only button that we have in front of us is the panic button.  Instead, we need to be ready to press the restart button.  This will require us to have a better vision of how the situation is revolving. The consequences of the coronavirus will change the way we make business decisions.  This situation is going to have long lasting effects and we have to think to take on a bigger moral responsibility.

    I believe this will forcibly push our industry in a positive way towards sustainability & circular fashion.  It will also push the consumers to buy products that are more durable, more valued, in a more responsible way.  The consumers will indicate to the mills and manufacturers to go towards this direction. Next year for sure we’re gonna be down in our business at least by 50%.  It will have a terrible impact in the organizations of all supply chains globally.  It will hit dramatically in countries where textile is a big part of their economic sector. 

    I don’t want to be negative, but the denim business has been changing the social life in a lot of countries.  Particular in developing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan & many others.  So my mind is going to the millions and millions of people that rely on manufacturing jobs not just as work, but also their livelihood.  They don’t have other options and their governments have limited means to assist them.  When we overcome the coronavirus and go back to normal, we will have to adjust to a new “normal.”  It will not be like switching a light on.  The industry has to find a formula to understand the new reality and reinvent the way we work. Even though it is difficult for all, for countries like America, it will be easier to be able to help people.  Unfortunately the poor will be the ones who will pay the biggest price.

    Sandeep:
    It is a really very tough situation and I don’t know if you are not able to think about solutions , it is really very difficult for us to really think about solutions.There seem to be no way out but in terms of consumption patterns by the consumers what changes do you think will happen in terms and the end of the consumer? What would they look forward after these crisis?

    Adriano:
    It’s clear we face difficulties, but I’m positive that life will go on.  Everyday we will have a new morning.  The reaction to the new normality will be different in Asia (especially China) & in emerging countries.  People are at home for a long period of time and they are anxious and probably the reaction for them is to go shopping again.  It will probably be a shopping party.  On the other side, in America & Europe, consumers will reconsider their way of shopping. 

    The consumers are more mature and not afraid to change the approach that they have to shop.  All the digital shopping is going to be booming but they are going to reconsider shopping in a more responsible way. They will buy less and buy better.  Transparency will be more evident and help the consumer make better choices with the information provided. This is the direction that we have been pushing for for years and years.

    Sandeep:
    Do you think fast fashion will move out? Is Fast fashion is going to finish ?

    Adriano:
    We have different reactions from different parts of the world.  One way is that fashion will be more important.  Fashion has an important role because it is creating an emotion for the buyer.  Fashion is stimulating this approach that the consumer is thinking that they cannot live without the new fashion.  Consumers of fashion are interested in new products, fits & washes all the time.  In my opinion, the market will change. 

    The rule was that we come to the market with new products every six months. We need to change our method of work and to be more open minded. There is no obligation to make 40+ piece collections.  We should bring new products to the market when it is interesting for the market. This way will be much more simple. 

    We need a more digital approach that is available anywhere, all the time.  The other way is that the consumer is going into more basic, simple & clean products.  Basics is not all about price.  As transparency is more available, they will choose products with more value and durability.  Our consumers are ready for a lot of different price points.  The price will reflect the real value of the product. 

    I am one of the original leaders of premium denim.  I remember when we could take a mediocre quality denim and put a hefty price like $300 dollars and call it “premium.”  That is fake premium.  It was taking advantage of the emotion of the consumer and not providing a real premium product.  Now consumers have information and choices to select better quality products.  Recycling and reuse of garments is taking a lot of attention.  When we come out from this pandemic, we will have a new face of our business.

    Sandeep:
    Well as we see the reports, we understand that this situation in some way will continue for at least one year or one and a half years till the time we have really have a vaccine.So do you think with so many people working from home will also affect the kind of clothes the people will be buying ?

    Adriano:
    I think there are a lot of things that can be done digitally. For instance, I am a partner with MYR , a digital platform to design & develop remotely.  With this technology, you can control the development and production digitally and remotely. 

    This is a very important step to reduce cost and is much more sustainable.  On another level, the trade shows will play a different role as we work with at digital platform.  This will save us time & money.  Think about design, with a digital platform we will be able to have a closer relationship with the vendors. 

    This will also enable us to have a closer connection with the market for a faster exchange of ideas.  We don’t know how this will work, but for sure it will be the new way, our new normality.  The current situation is like a tsunami.  Only the good & strong will survive.  The panorama of the mills will be reshaped by acquisitions with companies that understand the need to switch to a more digital platform.

    Sandeep:
    I really want to thank you for your wonderful views and people are really happy to watch you speak and understand from you what’s happening around.So I really thank you for everything that you know.

    Adriano:
    Thank you very much. I wish to our people and all the humanity to be healthy and that this will pass soon.  We need to be ready for big changes and find a way to make our business better.  I hope the industry will think in a much more moral way and think about all the affected people to guarantee a better life and not just about the profits.  Thank you very much and good luck.