The Role of the Fashion Industry during Coronavirus Pandemic

Pratik Patil
Department of Textiles (Fashion Technology),
DKTE’S Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji, India
Intern at Textile Learner
Email: pratikpatil85388@gmail.com

Look into the manufacture of community masks:
In many European countries, public health power currently requires people to wear a cloth face-covering in general. This is an extra welfare measure, for example on public delight and in the shopping centres. These group masks are an enough new product, due to the huge lack of professional masks on the market now.

There is increasing proof that people with mild or no symptoms can spread COVID-19. Non-medical face masks / covers should thus be thinking about only as a complementary measure. They are not a replacement for accepted preventive measures. Accepted measures are, for example, physical distancing, couching/sniffle etiquette, hand hygiene, and keep away from touching the face, nose, eyes, and mouth.

Wearing masks in public is becoming the standard. Some textile manufacturers are thus remodelling their production capabilities to meet the increasing demand for community masks in various designs and materials. Community masks and other textile face covers have the edge that they can be produced effortlessly. They are also washable and recyclable. The next reasoning step will be for consumers to start looking for fashion things with a matching group mask.

Example of fashion brands making cloth masks:
Shop these labels to carry unusual designers and those on the front lines.

By Jaclyn Alexandra Cohen and Andrea Zendejas

Figure 1: Example of fashion brands making face masks

Since last spring, global design houses inspire headlines for flipping their ateliers into manufacturing hubs for medical masks and gowns. From Ralph Lauren to Louis Vuitton, these efforts motivated additional company to follow suit and combat the burden that COVID-19 impose worldwide. While members of the fashion industry have made significant contributions to reassurance efforts, this area of commerce has faced a sharp decrease in buyer spending, placing strain on those working in production, retail, and beyond. Yet, despite current strains on these businesses, emerging brands are merging their resources to support at-risk populations in whatever ways they can. La Ligne, for example, was providing 15% of its sales to ROAR NY, along with a mask with each pick up.

In a time when the principle of community support crucial to protecting those who need it most, we highlight some of the fashion brands step forward their teams to provide relief to vulnerable populations and medical responders. Acquire from these names we have grown to love will not only finance the manufacture of critical supplies but also support the continuance of their businesses through this uncertain time.

Marketing a fashion brand flourishing in times of COVID-19:
This calamity has presented a chance for brands to create a community by showing they care and to continue top of the mind remember with customers by shove products that they need right now and by charming them through various challenges on social media.

Figure 2: Marketing of fashion brands (Photo: Fashionista.com)

Retailing is a dynamic field; one that must adapt adeptly to every new event shaping our world. As we find individually in the middle of a situation that is pretty much as remarkable as imagination may go, the nuances that go into marketing a brand will have to alter punctually too.

Today’s purchaser is capricious and the difference between gaining an avid shopper and losing one could be a single post or video on social media. An industry like fashion, which we have recently found to not be a crucial one, will have to take steps in the right direction during this breakout to ensure they keep the discussion going amongst shoppers without sounding outdated in their approach.

How the textile and apparel industry can help countries retrieve from COVID-19:
The textiles and apparel section can bring about jobs and impetus further bespoke in countries recovering from COVID-19. To make the most of this chance, however, countries will need to accept new partnerships and approaches.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unequaled public health crisis that has exerted an external shock on the international economy. Despite this contraction, the textile and apparel industry could be a key engine for improvement and utilization in certain countries.

The textile and apparel opportunity:
Countries start back after COVID-19 should not ignore the textile and apparel industry; it is considered a starter sector in the road to industrial development. When industry expands, it supplies a base on which to build capital for more technologically demanding industries. In fact, the textiles and apparel sector can be censorious to the growth and development plan of many developing countries.

The world textiles and apparel industry market had a sell market value of $1.9 trillion in 2019 and is predict by Boston Consulting Group to reach $3.3 trillion in 2030, growing at a compound annual extension rate of 3.5%. Projections ahead of COVID-19 predict that population growth, rising levels of replaceable income and rapid urbanization in advance countries would likely drive demand in the future.

Textile and apparel exports compose an important share of the total exports in a range of countries: 85% in Bangladesh, 59% in Pakistan, 12% in Turkey, and 11% in Egypt. Still, while many kingdoms are well located in the raw materials or the production stage of the textile and apparel global value chain (GVC), they are only playing a restricted role in the absence of retail (comprised of marketing, branding and sales). Thus, they have possible waiting to be unlocked to carry more benefits from the global markets.

As well the textile industry generates a special opportunity during the pandemic given the number of employment opportunities it can provide. This labor thorough sector employs millions, and the share of employment in the sector over the total manufacturing employees is remarkable in Islamic Development Bank member countries.

Is DB’s 57 member countries would mainly benefit as these countries jointly act for the purchasing power of almost one quarter of the world’s citizens? With GDP growth rates of up to 8% per year, their social science has considerable potential to further increase their market share in the global wealth.

Strategic investments:
Those investing in the textile and apparel market could relent tangible economic benefits from select investments. Sustainable and reprocess fibers represent one such opportunity, as they are composed to replace resource-intensive raw materials at an increasing pace. Additionally, technical, smart textiles have huge potential to be used in several industries such as auto, construction and medical equipment. Emerging tech, already transformational, will continue to shape the textile and apparel sector. Data applications, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and 3D printing are some of the technologies increase product design processes and bring down lead times, leading to laser-cutting machines, sewing robots, and nanotechnology. Furthermore, COVID-19 has shown the need for block chain technology to create lucidity and traceability all over the supply chain, providing other opportunities within the market.

Figure 3: Top 20 exporting countries of fashion goods* (share in global exports), estimated TEU 2019

COVID-19 could also fuel a shift to in shore; ensuring factories are closer to their final sales markets. Also, leading company will seek strategic partnerships with first-tier suppliers to meet demand and lessen lead times. The future market structure will mainly be control by a country’s location, as well as the ability of its textiles and apparel industry to provide cost-effectual production, competitive skills, quality products and efficient lead times.

Online textile industry: Turning disaster into opportunities
The post-COVID-19 period has provided a big opportunity for the online textile industry. The sales in the online textile industry observe a jump in different cities and states of India due to the lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clothes are one of the important needs of existence, even during lockdown, the online textile industry observe a boom in sales. The lockdown failed to leave any bad impact on the online textile industry because of its operations in the effective space, leaving no room for person or physical contact. The online textile industry even recorded an increase in sales due to no province on the offline industry comprising, for example, the wholesaler, semi extensively, retailers, middle persons etc.

Online retailers to be the next unicorns:
Due to such an uphill trend being extensively in the online textile industry, retailers with a presence on the internet have a big chance to become unicorns (a company with a value of over $1 billion) of the New Age India. When the lockdown was foisting amid the COVID-19 situation, it was the summer flavour and people were doing their summer-related purchases.

With all these evolution in place, businesses of the online retail industry also witnessed a prong in revenue sheets. The online textile industry has the entire valid motive to give birth to new unicorns in India. During the lockdown, shopping was taking place through the online way and most of the customers were happy with the online experience.

Right from select items to trying them, even the return plan created a win-win situation for shoppers on the internet as customers felt very agreeable purchasing their stuff online.

Textile e-retailers: Game changers for India
In 2021, e-retailers will demonstrate to be a big game-changer by playing a vital role in the recovery of the Indian economy in the post-COVID-19 situation. The Indian textiles and apparel industry have contributed 2.3 percent to the GDP of India, 13 percent to industrial production, and 12 percent to transport earnings. Post COVID-19, as the Indian economy shows green wound of recovery, the future of the online fashion industry looks promising in the wake of increased domestic utilization after a lockdown, in addition to transport demand playing an important role.

Even the government pivot for the textile section to be the key aim of new policies being framed to achieving the target of a $5 trillion economy.

In Budget 2021-22, the government suggest a scheme for setting up mega textile parks in the country to permit India’s textile industry to become globally pitiless, attract large investments, and boost employment generation through the formation of world-class infrastructure.

It also reported seven mega textile parks will be started over three years as part of the scheme. The mega textile parks will have desegregated facilities and quick turnaround time for keep down transportation losses, eyeing big-ticket investments in the area.

With such a huge level of production in the textile sector due to the unparalleled boost by the government, e-retailers are going to be the biggest recipient of these developments.

India now second-biggest producer of PPE kits: Textile ministry
PPE kits are the first line of defence for health workers against contagious diseases like Covid-19. India has become the world’s second-largest personal preservation equipment (PPE) constructor with the industry worth Rs7,000 crore of 1,100 constructor producing 450,000 units daily.

PPE kits are the first line of protection for health workers against infectious diseases like Covid-19. Their manufacturing was ramped up in March amid growing demand for them as the Covid-19 pandemic aggravate.

The export of the equipment’s and other protective equipment was banned in March, so that enough supplies could be obtain by the central government, which were subsequently contribute to the states free of cost.

India was manufacture was producing 10 million PPEs per month, on the specs that were order to by the Central government to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Central government had put an order for 22 million PPEs in March to meet the demand for health workers. The government had also faced severe assessment for not being able to provide sufficient coveralls for essential workers.

Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on the fashion industry. In addition to the instant crisis that it presents to the livelihoods of workers and the financial viability of factories, our study foreground that in the long run the industry will be impacted by the ways in which the coronavirus alters production patterns and accelerates existing and new industry trends. While trends such as increased focus on technological development and speed and agility were already in motion, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the importance of these factors and therefore the rate at which these changes are expected to be adopted throughout the sector. Though there is expected to be a reduced focus on social and environmental sustainability in the near-term, in the long-run concerns related to communal and environmental sustainability could be addressed through stronger partnerships in which manufacturers, buyers, social partners, governments and non-governmental company all have a role to play.

The study revealed that there will likely be a grow divide between large and professionalized and non-professionalized constructor, which will present the industry with two more clearly defined separate paths. On the one hand, some factories are likely to become increasingly professionalized and offer more technologically advanced production. As a result, these factories will be able to support increasing demands for lucidity, flexibility and agility in production processes and amplify social and environmental standards. These developments will likely result in closer partnerships between some consumer and manufacturers and possibly in more balanced power dynamics. On the other hand, stretched border will drive some factories and consumers to focus more and more on cost-advantage at the expense of other considerations. In these factories there are likely to be increased satisfactory work deficits.

References:

How the textile industry can help countries recover from COVID-19 by World economic forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/how-the-textile-industry-can-help-countries-recover-from-covid-19/
How COVID-19 has shaped the Indian textile industry for the better by SMBstory. Retrieved from https://yourstory.com/smbstory/how-covid-19-shaped-textile-industry/amp
India now second-largest producer of PPE kits: Textile ministry by Hindustan times. Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-now-second-largest-producer-of-ppe-kits-textile-ministry/story-0wpw6Y302b2gEmWf9iQvdJ.html
What next for Asian garment production after COVID-19? by international labour organization. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/asia/publications/WCMS_755630/lang–en/index.htm
Perspective for north America’s fashion industry in time of crisis by McKinsey and company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/perspectives-for-north-americas-fashion-industry-in-a-time-of-crisis

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Mazharul Islam Kiron

Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.