As a result of research funded by Australian Wool Innovation, international certification body Allergy Standards Limited (ASL) has officially recognised bedding products made from Merino wool as asthma & allergy friendly®. By preparing independent scientific standards for products, ASL’s aim is to help create the healthiest possible indoor environment for individuals with asthma and allergies. ASL works with a nu... Read More

To reduce the Australian wool industry’s risk of being too reliant on China as the major buyer of Australian greasy wool, AWI has an ‘Emerging Markets strategy’ to identify and encourage potential new manufacturing hubs in Southeast Asia and the Indian sub-continent. The strategy aims to replicate the success that AWI has had in helping develop new manufacturing supply chains for wool products in Vietnam. Buyin... Read More

Wool prices continued their strong ascent this week at the Australian auctions. Pre sale news had all buyers expectant of a very significant rise. All types and descriptions were positively affected and recorded compelling gains of varying magnitude. For the third consecutive week, the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) added hefty improvements to wools general values. In AUD (Australian dollar) terms the EMI lifted ... Read More

COVID-19 control measures have reduced consumer demand for apparel and disrupted all parts of the clothing supply chain, driving up stocks of unsold textiles and raw fibres. As a result, wool prices are forecast to fall to 12-year lows (in real terms) and cotton prices are forecast to reach their lowest levels (in real terms) since 2001–02. The world cotton price is forecast to average US67 cents per pound in 202... Read More

South Island only offered 10,170 bales.  The selection consisted of 45% crossbred and hogget fleece wool, mainly good/average colour, 10% crossbred second shear 75/100mm and shorter good colour, 10% halfbred fleece good style 22.0 to 29.0 micron good style, 8% merino fleece, 16.0 to 21.0 micron super style, 15% associated oddments and 5% miscellaneous types.  Keen widespread competition with the Indian Subcontin... Read More

BW106 saw more competitive bidding, with prices generally firm to 2% dearer, and a total sale volume of 1,432 tonnes. Of the wool sold 838 tonnes was old season wool and a further 594 tonnes was new season wool.  Total weight offered 1.725m kg Total weight sold 1.432m kg. Clearance 83%·  Average clean price £0.749 / kg, Average greasy price £0.515 / kg·, The clearances by wool type were as follows;  Fine wool 76%... Read More

During London Fashion Week (LFW) this season, which came to a close mid September, a lot of attention was put on the presentations, and not just the clothes. Designers put to the test against a struggling market and more social restrictions. While stage dressing and setting are usually key elements of any fashion event, now, whether designers choose to put on a live show at all, or go online — with a film, a digital... Read More

Milan Fashion Week (MFW) has kicked off with a combination of digital and live presentations, and with many more in-person runway shows than the three that were held at London Fashion Week, which wrapped on 22 September . Fendi hosted a live show with a socially distant front row featuring “Normal People” star Paul Mescal. The theme was family and, fittingly, invitations came in the form of Fendi-branded pasta al... Read More

Australia’s shearing contractors and wool producers fear a national shearer shortage with COVID-19 border closures and travel restrictions, making it difficult for New Zealand shearers to enter Australia.  Every August an influx of 500 shearers from New Zealand arrive in Australia primed for spring shearing — but not this year. They handle at least seven million sheep over three months and head home to New Zealand f... Read More

Sportswear firm Nike has seen a huge rise in online sales as it bounces back from a coronavirus slump. The US company saw digital sales rocket 82% during the June to August quarter, offsetting falling revenue in its stores. Nike posted revenue of USD$10.6bn as many of its key markets recovered including China. For its previous quarter revenues were down by more than a third as it tackled store closures and lockdo... Read More

ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, has launched a project aimed at defining a form of digital certification, which can be used by Italian manufacturers to certify the ease of integration of their machinery into the production systems of their textile customers. The first step in this project has been the elaboration of a shared reference vocabulary for Italian textile machinery ma... Read More

The monthly comparisons of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for August 2020 compared with the same period last season are: -22.2%, -20.5% and -20.1% respectively. The progressive comparison of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for July 2020 to August 2020 compared with the same period last season are: -19.7%, -18.2% and -17.7% respectively.  AWTA Ltd has tested 31.4 mkg (million kilograms) this season compared with 38.... Read More