TI14 - October 2021

PRODUCTION

INVESTMENT

PORTUGAL IN 5TH PLACE IN PRODUCING FOR FASHION GIANTS

RIOPELE WANTS ITS PRODUCTION 80% SUSTAINABLE BY 2025

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L DIRECTOR: MANUEL SERRÃO

COMPANY

P&R TÊXTEIS ON THE PODIUM WITH DOZENS OF OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS P6 PHOTOSYNTHESIS

SAMUEL COSTA

FROM PORTUGAL STRIKES ALL EUROPEAN MARKETS P 12&13

FOTOS: RUI APOLINÁRIO

Responsible for the commercial and production areas of Sonix

“ON THE PATH OF DIGITALIZATION SINCE 2018” P 8&9

TRADE SHOWS

GROWTH

MODTISSIMO: A HUGE SUCCESS ABOVE ALL EXPECTATIONS

CARVEMA INVESTED 3.5 MILLION TO UPDATE MACHINE FLEET

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n EDITORIAL By: Manuel Serrão

FOCUSED ON THE SOLUTION

MODTISSIMO: A HUGE SUCCESS ABOVE ALL EXPECTATIONS

“A huge success”, confirmed by the numbers, but also by the general environment at Alfândega do Porto, “which surpassed all expectations”. This is how Mário Jorge Machado, the president of ATP – The Portuguese Textile and Clothing Association, summarizes the two days of MODTISSIMO58, noting that “the growth in terms of foreign buyers rose by almost 40%”.

The growth of Portuguese costumers, but mostly of foreigners roaming the building’s corridors is indicative not only of the fair’s success, but mainly of the business gro-

wth waiting ahead. Those numbers were “at least 30% above the ones registered at the September 2020 MODTISSIMO, and the growth in terms of foreign buyers rose almost 40%”, notes the president of ATP. In total, around four thousand professional buyers attended the fair, of which around 500 were foreigners. “This is the result of the teamwork of Selectiva Moda, AICEP and the exhibitors themselves, but it is also the result of a new trend: many buyers prefer to visit smaller and closer fairs, and MODISSIMO benefited from this”, says Manuel Serrão,

director of the fair. “All the physical trade shows we’ve been attending, such as Première Vision, Munich Fabric Start or Momad, had less than half of the usual exhibitors. Here, a record was broken in the number of exhibitors. It was a validation of Portugal as a pioneer in terms of sustainability”, the director explains.

For Mário Jorge Machado, ATP’s president, the buzz registered at the event’s corridors will help exceed, at the end of 2021, the total exports of the textile and clothing sector in absolute values, surpassing the numbers reached in 2019.t

In our paper editions, and in the thousands of characters already written in our newsletters and on the T website, we have highlighted a huge number of textile and apparel companies and industries that have faced the crisis head on and with eyes set on possible solutions, and not on difficulties.

Our concern is to give companies clues on how to get closer to the so desired success, but we also do not neglect to paint a truthful picture of the present because not everything is a sea of roses, and difficulties continue to lurk around the corners of the textile and clothing industry.

For that, you can count with T Jornal to fight for the Portuguese textile and clothing industry.

Today, as always! t

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Property: ATP - Associação Têxtil e de Vestuário de Portugal NIF: 501070745 Editor: Mário Jorge Machado Director: Manuel Serrão Adress: Rua Fernando Mesquita, 2785, Ed. CITEVE 4760-03164 Vila Nova de Famalicão Telephone number: +351 252 303 030 Email: tdetextil@atp.pt Subscription e Advertising: Cláudia Azevedo Lopes Telephone number: +351 969 658 043 - mail: cl.tdetextil@gmail.com ERC Provisional Registration: 126725 Circulation: 1000 copies Print Shop: Grafedisport Adress: Estrada Consiglieri Pedroso, 90 - Casal Santa Leopoldina - 2730-053 Barcarena Legal Deposit Number: 451405/19 Editorial Status: Available in: http:// tjornalinternational.com/editorial-statute/

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TEXTILE CONSORTIUM WILL DRESS THE PORTUGUESE HERITAGE Calvelex, Lameirinho, Paulo de Oliveira, Polopique, Riopele and Twintex gathered in a consortium that, aware of the importance of culture as Portugal’s visiting card, started the ‘Dressing the Heritage project’, with which intends to develop uniform production in Portugal. “With quality and efficiently”, the plan foresees the production of uniforms “destined to employees of some of the most important Portuguese monuments, dignifying the image of an essential public service for the dissemination of Portuguese culture near both Portuguese and foreign visitors”, they stated.

"We have a very strong knowhow, and a good response ability, even to complex problems" António Alexandre Falcão Fitexar Administrator

LOUCOMANIA DEBUTED ITS NEW BRAND, STROIDA

“It’s called Stroida and it’s Loucomania’s own brand, an athleisure label that combines the company’s savoir faire with high quality materials. “After years of manufacturing for major Portuguese and international brands, we felt that it was the time to create our own brand”, says João Carlos, managing partner of Loucomania, who hopes to internationalize Stroida as soon as possible. “Our goal is to present the brand to the global markets and, for that, we are considering to partake in physical international trade shows. t

RIOPELE WANTS ITS PRODUCTION 80% SUSTAINABLE BY 2025 Riopele has set new environmental and sustainability goals: by 2025, it wants 80% of its products to be fully sustainable – having already reached, in this segment, a share of 45%. The company's decision, led by CEO José Alexandre Oliveira, follows Riopele’s long-established commitment to sustainability: “When I started working at the company in 1979, we already had projects to save water and to become energy efficient”.

In the last five years, the company has reduced its energy consumption by around 16%, not only through the installation of a photovoltaic solar plant, but also through industrial equipment with greater energy efficiency. Over the past five years, Riopele has cut CO2 emissions by 13% for every meter of fabric it produced.

Currently, 48% of the energy that Riopele uses comes from renewable sources, but José Alexandre Oliveira believes that, “given the evolution that is being registered in the energy sector, namely with strong business investments, it will be perfectly possible for Riopele to consume only green electricity in 2027”.

The company also recycles around 55% of water, while a central rainwater collector installed on the roofs of its industrial building supplies 2% of the water consumed in the manufacturing processes.

Present in more than 30 markets, to which it exports 95% of its production, Riopele has around 700 customers, including major brands such as Massimo Dutti, El Corte Inglès or Zara. t

IMPETUS USES DIGITALIZATION FOR ECOLOGICAL PURPOSE In order to continue its mission to reduce its ecological footprint, Impetus recently invested in the acquisition of Smartex’s artificial intelligence and computer vision technology. This investment in digitization and innovation reflects the will of the underwear brand to manage its waste even better and more efficiently.

This system will allow the “reduction of textile waste, increase efficiency and production

transparency”, they explain in a press release. It will also help “detect defects in real time and avoid waste, not only of raw material, but also of water, energy and chemical products”, adds the group’s administration.

In recent years, Impetus has taken several measures regarding the company’s sustainability: “we have photovoltaic panels in a large part of our industrial area, and we changed

80% of our fleet to plug-in electric and hybrid cars, that run on energy produced by our solar panels”, the company shares as an example.

The group’s journey will continue with the goal of “developing new products, new processes, and new elements that make a difference in terms of production”, but which are closely related to reducing Impetus’ ecological footprint, they conclude.t

BUENOS AIRES FASHION FILM IS FFF’S PARTNER AND PROMOTER

MO WORKING WITH FAMILY CASH HYPERMARKETS

The Fashion Film Festival has the Buenos Aires International Fashion Film Festival (BAIFFF) as a partner – which will also be represented on the jury through Willmer William, founder and director of that organization. “In 2021, BAIFFF, as a partner festival, will promote the Fashion Film Festival in Latin America”, announces the organization.

MO has just reinforced its internationalization strategy by signing an agreement with the Family Cash hypermarket chain. “Through a category management regime, the Portuguese fashion brand will manage the fashion area at Family Cash in Zaragoza, in an agreement that establishes the opening of several sales points by the end of 2021”.

98%

of CM Socks' turnover is oriented towards the foreign market

VOOD FOUND THE FORMULA TO INCORPORATE WOOD IN CLOTHING The Portuguese company VOOD has just presented an unexpected innovation: the incorporation of wood in men’s clothing, footwear and accessories. It is through laser techniques and various treatments that the company manages to transform common wood into a flexible structure, which is then combined with an organic cotton fabric base, making the pieces comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and highly durable. The idea already has an international certificate. The wood used is generally walnut or beech, and it is possible to wash and iron without altering their features.

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Events • Exhibitions • Conferences • Fairs • Stands • Tents

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33 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ASSEMBLING EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS:

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UNIFARDAS BETS ON 3D PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY The workwear company Unifardas started to use 3D technology to design its products. Besides allowing the company to optimize its production – by anticipating possible defects, but also by preventing surpluses – this technology will also allow customers the possibility of designing their own uniforms on the company’s website. Together with a more sustainable production since it saves the multiple materials used in the pre-production stage, customization is another advantage of this technology, which has been in great demand from customers.

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"We have a team completely focused on the online, that's where the future is" Bruno Correia Play Up Manager Director

TINTEX, TRIMALHAS AND CARVEMA AWARDED AT ISPO TEXTRENDS Trimalhas, Tintex and Bloomati by Carvema are the three Portuguese companies awarded in the spring/ summer edition of ISPO Munich Textrends Forum – the largest international textile fair specialized in sports – which highlights products for their performance, technology or sustainability. The chosen products are then included in the Trendbook guide. Tintex placed a sample in the ‘Best Product’ category; Trimalhas saw four of its samples appear in the Top10/Top5 lists and ten in the ‘Selection’ segment; while Bloomati by Carvema managed to include one sample on the ‘Selection’ list.

P&R TÊXTEIS ON THE PODIUM WITH DOZENS OF OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS Besides the four medals that the Portuguese athletes won at the Tokyo Olympics, there is also another Portuguese champion who got up to the podium close to a hundred times. P&R Têxteis has equipped champions from several countries and modalities, mainly through Adidas, and athletes from the United Kingdom, Hungary, Greece and Ethiopia. Altogether, around a hundred medals were won with the help of the quality, innovation and ability of P&R’s textiles, which is already working on new products for Paris 2024.

A specialist in technical sportswear and focused on high competition, P&R Têxteis ended up equipping athletes from different countries and modalities, as a result of the company’s connection with Adidas, but also through agreements made with other brands, and with athletic federations from several countries, in sports such as swimming, rowing, canoeing, cycling or triathlon.

Being on the Olympic podium is “the result of continuous work inside and outside our company’s walls, based on partnerships with customers, with other companies, and with scientific entities.

We also bet strongly on innovation and on the development of

personalized solutions, adapted to each athlete”, explained the company’s founder, Nuno Pinto.

An example is the suit with a built-in sensor for cyclists, called Sensor Built-In Suit, which allows athletes and coaches to retain bio information, and thus optimize training and performance. A product developed in partnership with CITEVE and the University of Porto within the scope of the TexBoost project. The suit is ready to start industrial production.

Among the high-competition trophies, P&R is also proud to be the Tour de France yellow jersey manufacturer for several years now, and to have also aided the mythical sprinter Usain Bolt win the Olympic gold in the Beijing Games (2008), with the help of an innovative jersey.

Getting closer to its 40th birthday, the company grew 20% in 2020, and made 16 million euros in turnover. The target for this year is to reach 20 million euros.t

INVESTMENT STIMULUS MAKES PAFIL GROW Pafil, a textile company that specializes in high-performance clothing, has just inaugurated its new facilities, an investment of around two million euros.

This new investment by Pafil was embodied in the construction of new and impressive in-

dustrial facilities: a 4,500 square meter model unit, acknowledged by the City Council as being of municipal interest.

Pafil has tripled its industrial space, and gained a more fluid organization. “From the entry of raw materials to the expe-

dition, there is a linear circuit that means that nothing has to go from front to back”, explains João Rui Pereira, who together with his siblings, Bruno and Carla, leads the company founded by their parents, Vicente Pereira in and Emília Araújo, in 1988.t

MINERALS DYES ARE TROFICOLOR'S SUSTAINABLE NOVELTY Denim specialist Troficolor Denim Makers has just launched a denim line in earth tones, dyed with minerals. A process that, the company guarantees, in addition to giving unique colours to the fabrics, is completely free of chemical products, and, consequently, uses less water and energy in the dyeing process.

The line goes by the name of Colour Denim Mineral Dyeing, and is entirely made with 100% organic cotton. The process begins with dyeing the yarn with clay-based mineral dyes, and after the fabric is finished, it receives a natural dye coating to fix the colour, explains Troficolor Denim Makers.

This process, which is shorter and does not use harmful chemicals, saves around 80% of water when compared to normal dyeing. It also only uses natural bio-resins and enzymes, which are safer for the skin, guarantees the company.

Besides this line, the company has a wide range of sustainable offer, such as the Ecru line, which, as the name shows, provides the fabric in its natural state, and ready to use. All dyeing processes are eliminated, saving water, energy, chemicals and emitting less CO2.

Eco Denim, on the other hand, presents itself as ready-to-wear denim, which means that after the garment is made, there is no need to wash it, which saves water, energy and chemicals.

The finish product is also unique: the technique gives the fabric a non-uniform finish, and, therefore, unrepeatable appearance. t

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n INTERVIEW Samuel Costa 33, in charge of Sonix commercial and production areas, Samuel Costa wants the group divided between projects with major companies, which represent around 80% of the income, but also niche businesses that enable reaching clients with other types of needs. After the first and strongest impact of the pandemic the group is ready to expand its interests and advance to a new period of growth

PHOTO: RUI APOLINÁRIO

"OUR FOCUS ARE THE PREMIUM SEGMENTS, WITH GREATER ADDED VALUE"

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dmitting that 2019 must be considered the ground year, the pandemic found in Sonix and its group a strong fighter that didn’t falter, not even in the worst days. Now that the worst is apparently gone, the company is prepared for new challenges and is impatiently waiting for the return of trade fairs so as to expand its business again.

ders who will, in turn, export. The final client ends up being 100% exportation.

What are the main markets?

At the moment are The Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom and we are entering the United States.

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sell digitally. There are some clients that did this transition with us, challenged by us. We have started to make physical items and 3D simulation at the same time, and the result was very similar. 3D allows us to save at least two weeks of development.

Is there also a significant cost reduction?

Is it an increasingly sought market?

Yes, curiously we started in the end of 2019.

We have European clients that export to the US but which we can’t account for. We have three direct North American clients. We grew last year and the trend, taking into account the feedback we have been having, it is to continue growing even with the taxes issue.

Is North American economy in a higher level of openness than the European?

This is the perspective of the client. We don’t have seamstresses on the other side but we have someone who masters 3D, software and hardware, which is still not very affordable...

Well, in the end of the day it is more sustainable but not cheaper. It is quicker, which is an important side gain.

Diastêxtil is a little more advanced in the recovery and our objective is to close 2021 similarly to 2019. Diastêxtil went from 11 million euros in 2019 to 8,5 million in 2020. Sonix went from 20 million to 16,5 million and Modelmalhas went from 6,4 million to 5,3 million euros.

This year we are going to be aligned with 2019 values, with a slight increase.

You have recently integrated Crisof. Is the actual dimension of the group comfortable or are you planning to make new investments in companies?

Was 2020 the difficult year?

Are you actively looking for new markets?

2020 was difficult, but regarding the operation we have had more challenges now in 2021. Not because we stopped but because the demand was higher than our production capacity. There was a displacement of production from Asia to Europe as some clients tried to buy in closer industries. The operation has stabilized but this has been a challenging year...

At the moment we have stabilized in terms of high volume clients but we are obviously not closing doors to new challenges. Last year we started with clients that are growing a lot and are very targeted to a more premium product, with added value. We need to step out of our comfort zone and bet in more elaborated products that challenge us to innovate every day in search for better solutions.

I believe Europe will become more responsive but, if consumption habits don’t change, it will never be enough. If we looked at our business in 2018 we had between six and eight main collections per year.

We now add several capsule collections per year that enable brands to respond to specific targets more directly and faster.

In the good sense?

It is similar to 2019, with a slight increase. We take 2019 as the reference year.

We shall increase between 5% to 10% in a transversal way to all the companies.

What is the total number of workers?

At the moment we are 500. We kept 100 people from Ricon’s bankruptcy. After that we reduced them to 50 – part came from Sonix – but with a unit in Celorico de Basto predicted to reach 100 by the end of the year, we will totalize 550.

Where are the group units located?

Diastêxtil is in Barroselas, Sonix and Modelmalhas are in Barcelos, Pontosinelos is in Celorico and another one which was recently incorporated in Diastêxtil, is also located in Barroselas.

What do you still have in Tunisia?

We have been there for more than 15 years. Initially we had a production unit in Monastir, a structure with Portuguese and Tunisian people where we reached a peak of 100 workers but at the moment we have around 50. We have a mature subcontractors’ network and we use the company as a platform with little internal production and focusing on finishings.

What is the group’s export volume?

Our national sales are aimed towards tra-

What is your comfort zone?

The items we produced the most when the pandemic started were comfortable clothing – t-shirts, sweatshirts, trousers and shorts. However, among the services we offer we can produce almost anything, from tailor-made classic suits to technical triathlon suits, which makes us a sort of one stop shot for our clients.

What sort of investments did it force you to do?

The family acquired Sonix in 2007. Ever since then we have invested around 15 million as we have redesigned almost the entire company. We have integrated weaving machines in Modelmalhas, which is now taking an interesting path in the sales of finished fabrics.

Do you miss the direct contact established in trade fairs?

Completely. There is a whole language and contact that is very important and that gets lost. The personal contact is indispensable, even if the resource to technology is more efficient in the management of the agenda.

There are things that will remain, though, such as digitalization, digital catalogues…

We have been walking that path since 2018. We already have clients that approve models with the physical samples and even

Mico Mineiro Twintex COO

Is it more expensive than seamstresses?

Yes. We were caught by Trump’s blockage to Asia but the business is now recommencing. We also had a significant dependence from the United Kingdom market – it was our first major client – which currently seems to be restraining. We had been feeling a reduction since 2013 and 2014, so an adjustment was made in response to that. In 2012 we had a dependency of around 80% on a single client.

A research work for new clients has been done and it now represents around 25%.

What are the company size indicators?

What is Sonix dimension and the dimension of the mother company, Diastêxtil?

the questions of

At the moment the strategy is not to increase the installed capacity. We are, on the other hand, continuously recruiting seamstresses.

Do you agree that the pandemic conveyed the idea that supply chains have to reduce and that Europe can’t continue depending on third party industries?

How do you see the circular economy process in the near future of production in Portugal?

It is happening but the change will be too big to happen in a timely manner. There is still the need to make many adjustments to the industrial part, including joining the interested parties and creating more global and aggregating solutions .

What’s your opinion on the impact the pandemic will have in consumers?

Not everything brought by the pandemic is bad. Consumers have become much more receptive to new forms of buying and, consequently, to try new brands. Consumers are more curious about the productive processes and look for articles that are more environmentally friendly, with more efficient and less harmful compositions and methodologies.

What about new projects?

We have a very interesting project based in the trends’ research and product conception area – we are now producing unique items based in NFTs. Sonix can not only work in private label – we have been going through a process of adaptation and we are attentive to all opportunities and want to provide a good service. Some things must change. For example, sometimes I go into shops and see Sonix items that have crossed the entire Europe before being put into sale there, half an hour away from the company which produced them. Logistics will have to go through several changes.

Has it ever been in your perspective to create a brand?

We have already created several brands, but not our own. The last example was in 2019: a couple arrived at Sonix with an idea for a brand, with financial support and asked: “Can you help us?”. The only thing they had was a logo, all the rest was developed by us. When we were shipping the items they understood they didn’t have bags for the clients. We even developed and produced the bags for them.

So, the question arises with even more insistence…

Well, we own the brand Sonix of classic underwear. We can either be manufacturers or salespeople. Our clients’ intellectual property must be totally protected and for us that is a point of honour. We cannot compete with our clients. t

Conceição Dias Sonix CEO What will be TCI’s biggest challenge for the next years?

The biggest challenge the sector will face is the labour force, which is getting scarcer and scarcer and difficult to attract, either with or without experience. The industry, in general, is not attractive and younger people are afraid of making a career in textile, which leads to a loss of good opportunities.

How will technology impact the sector?

We already have state-of-the-art technology incorporated both in product development and production.

People will not replace machines and probably the opposite won’t happen either, we will optimize and take advantage of a good symbiosis between both. The internal and external logistics will benefit from technology as it is quicker, adaptable and efficient, particularly from the emissions point of view.

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MANGO’S NEW HOMEWARE LINE IT’S MADE IN PORTUGAL Mango’s new home textile collection, which includes products for the bedroom, living room and bathroom, is manufactured in Portugal. “For us, it was important to have the collection produced nearby,” said Laura Vila, director of the homeware line that the well-known Spanish brand has just launched. The responsible for Mango’s home wear line explained that 80% of this new collection was manufactured in Portugal, highlighting that the Portuguese industry is one of the most important in the European market.

"We have a strong cluster that makes Portugal an important supply center" Manuel Gonçalves TMG Administrator

LE EUROPE LOOKS TO SMALL BRANDS

The fabric manufacturer Le Europe, owner of the La Estampa brand, has just launched a new business segment aimed at smaller brands.

It’s called Matteria and, in addition to its sustainable concerns, offers a 100% digital service, designed for small and medium customers, who require a different type of service than that provided to large buyers. With four annual collections, Matteria presents itself as 100% sustainable, both in raw materials and in the sales processes. t

CARVEMA INVESTED 3.5 MILLION TO UPDATE MACHINE FLEET Carvema Têxtil has just finished renovating its machine park, a 3.5 million euro project started in 2019, and which also included the investment in production automation. The next step is renovating the company’s infrastructures.

“Altogether, we bought 32 machines with jets ranging from 300 to 1,200 kilos and that allow Carvema to be highly operational and flexible in terms of response time”, explains André Carvalho (photo), representative of the third generation in the company’s management.

The project also involved the modernization of the company’s colour laboratory and kitchen.

More than growing or increasing production, the goal is to upgrade the company’s response capacity.

“From now on, Carvema will only grow in quality, not in size or quantity”, guarantees José Carvalho,

one of the administrators of the family business founded by his father and two uncles in 1974.

Dedicated to textile dyeing and finishing, the company recently expanded its activity to supplier of finished knits with the debut of the Bloomati brand, which exports nearly 100% of its production, and is conquering the market at a surprising speed by offering a premium product and innovative solutions in terms of functional, ecological and sustainable finishes. In just two years, it already represents close to 10% of Carvema’s turnover, having won distinctions in practically all the trade shows it attended.

Founded in 1974, Carvema reached eight million euros in revenue in 2019, currently employs 154 people, and occupies a covered area of around 46 thousand square meters.t

SAMPLESS AMAZES SPANISH MARKET SampLess, a digital prototyping centre dedicated to the fashion and textile sector, was highlighted in the Spanish press and surprised by the innovation and quality of a service that will soon be a must for most companies. The newspaper Modaes wrote a long article about the Portuguese project, and its mentor, Paulo Salgado, “industrial engineer with over eighteen years of experience in the sector”. The report also highlighted the inevitability of, little by little, digital catalogues replacing traditional ones.

70%

of Cristina Barros’ turnover comes from exports

DRAKE WEARS SWEATSHIRT FROM PEDROSA & RODRIGUES

PORTUGAL IN 5TH PLACE IN PRODUCING FOR FASHION GIANTS Fashion giants have reduced their dependence on China as a production supply centre following the Covid-19 pandemic, and Portugal appears to be one of the alternative countries that is gaining from the changes induced by the health crisis. The top 5 of the production markets, right after Chi-

na (which still remains in first place), are Turkey, Bangladesh, India and Portugal.

The four largest fashion producers in the world (Inditex, H&M, Fast Retailing and Gap) now aggregate, according to data collected by the Spanish newspaper Modaes, an exposure (in number of

contracted factories) to the Chinese market of 18.79% (for 11,301 factories ), when a year ago this percentage was more than 26%.

However, despite the reductions registered, China continues to position itself as the largest production hub of those four companies. t

It is with a Pedrosa & Rodrigues jumper that the famous rapper Drake shows up on his Instagram page, highlighting the made in Portugal clothing. The fact was quickly spotted by the company, which spread the good news on its social media outlets: “This is our “Shaggy Fleece Sweatshirt” model, designed last year and made in teddy fabric, with extra-soft luxury and leather details in the pockets. Our work always finds a way to end up in the coolest and most inconspicuous wardrobes", notes Pedrosa & Rodrigues.

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2. IN SOMELOS STAND JOÃO CORREIA NEVES, SECRETARY OF STATE, COLLECTED THE TESTIMONY OF SUCCESS OF THE PORTUGUESE PRESENCE IN MUNICH

PHOTOSYNTHESIS by: Cláudia Azevedo Lopes

1. IN MUNICH FABRIC START, CLIENTS QUEUED UP AT RDD’S STAND. THE MANNEQUIN, IRRESISTIBLE FOR THE EYES - AND TOUCH – HELPED ENTERTAIN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO WAITED

“FROM PORTUGAL” STRIKES ALL EUROPEAN MARKETS With the return of presential trade fairs, the Portuguese ITV takes international markets by assault in a real attack From Portugal in different stages. An onslaught beginning in Munich, (Munich Fabric Start), followed

by Paris (Who’s Next) and Madrid (Intergift and Momad). It went on to Baltic, in Vilnius, Lithuania, passing by Copenhagen (3 Days of Design) with a triumphant return to the city of lights for another edition of Première Vision. The Portuguese entrepreneurs attending all the trade fairs came across full stands, made lots of contacts and met good business opportunities in an atmosphere resembling good old times and leaving hope in the air for the times to come

7. IN 3 DAYS OF DESIGN, IN COPENHAGEN, BUREL FACTORY PRESENTED ITS PROPOSALS FOR INTERIOR DESIGN, INTERIOR DECORATION AND ART INSTALLATIONS

6. DILINA TEXTEIS SEES MADRID TRADE FAIR AS A CRUCIAL ONE. “IT WAS A CLIENT WE MADE IN 2019 IN INTERGIFT WHO ENABLED US TO MANAGE THE PANDEMIC BETTER”, STATED ANTÓNIO DIAS, MANAGING PARTNER OF THE COMPANY

12. BACK TO THE CITY OF LIGHTS FOR THE RENOWNED PREMIÈRE VISION NGS MALHAS WAS OVERWHELMED

BY THE INVASION OF BUYERS IN ALL PORTUGUESE STANDS

11. THE INVASION FORCED KALISSON/ BAGORAZ TO RECEIVE ITS CLIENTS OUTSIDE THE STAND

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4. CRISTINA BARROS CELEBRATED THE RETURN TO TRADE FAIRS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO CLOSE CONTACTS WITH CLIENTS AGAIN

5. THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION, ALONGSIDE THE FALL / WINTER PROPOSALS, FILLED RIOSUL’S STAND IN INTERGIFT WITH CLIENTS

3. AT WHO’S NEXT, PARIS, CONCRETO WAS INVITED TO GET SETTLED IN THE SPACE DEVOTED TO NEXT SEASON TREND BRANDS. TERESA MARQUES PEREIRA ESCAPED NEITHER THE SPOTLIGHTS NOR THE JOURNALISTS

9. SUSTAINABILITY WAS LOUROPEL VISITOR’S CARD IN VILNIUS TRADE FAIR AND THE RESULTS DIDN’T DISAPPOINT

8. LEMAR CHARMED BALTIC VISITORS WITH PROPOSALS OF FABRICS FOR THE WINTER MONTHS

10. BACK TO MADRID GET IN VIBE, THE NEW GIVEC GROUP’S BRAND, WAS ONE OF MOMAD’S STARS. THE VIBRANT COLOURS AND THE BOLD PATTERNS SEDUCED THE CLIENTS

14. TINTEX ALSO CELEBRATED SUCCESS AND CHOSE PV PARIS AS ITS FIRST AND UNIQUE PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIRS IN 2021 AND PRESENTED “THIS IS NOT A COLLECTION”, ITS NEW LINE

13. JOAPS MALHAS WAS BURSTING AT THE STEAMS WITH VISITORS DELIGHTED WITH THE NOVELTIES THE COMPANY TOOK TO PARIS

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SOBRI JOINS TINTEX TO CREATE MESH WITH CORK It was at Tintex that SOBRI found an ally to create a new type of mesh with cork, focused on the principles of circularity. Cristiana Rebelo, co-creator of SOBRI, moved forward with the partnership to create apparel and accessory products with technical properties in the most sustainable way possible. And that is how B.Cork was created – an innovative coating applied over the fabric, in this case organic cotton, which gives extra properties to fabrics, such as impermeability and elasticity. And the partnerships extend beyond Tintex. XNFY Lab will also put into practice its expertise in creating digital garments to help SOBRI minimize the number of prototypes, making the entire process even greener.

120

million euro is TMG Automotive's annual turnover

CONCRETO'S COLLECTION WITH CAROL CURRY

Summer’s late afternoon breezes and sunsets were the inspiration for Concreto's new capsule collection. Riviera, the result of a partnership with Brazilian singer Carol Curry, is made up of three one-size-fits-all pieces that apply the savoir-faire of the Portuguese brand when it comes to knitting. The top and skirt in golden tones are named after the Greek islands Mikonos and Crete, where “transparencies, obtained through open knitting stitches”, stand out, brand highlights. t

POLOPIQUE SIGNS WITH RECOVER FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS Polopique and the North American company Recover, which manufactures recycled cotton from textile waste, signed an agreement to promote sustainable products, and to develop ecological integral solutions for the fashion industry.

Recover, a Hilaturas Ferre spinoff that for a year now is in the hands of the American fund Story3 Capital, signed a multi-year agreement with Polopique, which will allow the two companies to have greater international reach, and offer greater proximity to the final consumer.

According to the Spanish press, with this initiative brands will be given the opportunity to use recycled cotton fibres from Recover, which last July had closed a strategic al-

liance with Happypunt and the South Korean Hansae, under the same premises now signed with Polopique.

Polopique is one of the few fully vertical textile companies, from spinning to weaving and finishing. It exports to over 47 countries, and works with over a thousand employees on a global scale. Its production incorporates 50% organic cotton and recycled polyester with Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification. From now on, with the inclusion of Recover fibres, the company will further reduce its ecological footprint.

Recover is a company that produces recycled cotton from textile waste, and plans to increase its production to 200 thousand tons of recycled cotton fibre per year by 2025. t

TMR CLOTHING LAUNCHES HYPER, THE SUSTAINABLE DRESS It is sustainable, with chemical-free finishes, and great technical performance. The Hyper dress, TMR Fashion Cloting's latest jewel, is also waterproof, and thanks to its finishings can also be worn on formal occasions.

The gown is part of the new Brand Me collection, has a waterproof hood and zips, and a side bag, which can be separated and used as an elegant handbag. Brand Me is essentially a challenge TMR does to its customers – small, prestigious brands in Central Europe that work directly with the end consumer.

"In quality and price, the Portuguese fabrics are ahead of the Italians" Bruno Mineiro Twintex Administrator

MODATEX GRADUATES AWARDED AT EUROSKILLS

SONAE SELLS CB4 TO THE AMERICAN GAP Gap, one of the US largest apparel brands, bought CB4 from the Sonae group, an artificial intelligence (AI) software company that developed a program that improves the consumer in-store experience.

CB4's software uses machine learning and advanced AI algorithms to identify the products that are most demanded in stores. When a product

fails to sell at expected levels, CB4 sends an alert to the store manager, and suggests ways to fix it.

“This solution increases new net sales between 0.5% and 2%, improves customer experience, and makes it easier to find products”, reads the statement.

Sonae, which through Sonae IM had entered the capi-

tal of CB4 in 2019, following an international round of financing, thus definitively leaving the AI company. CB4 now belongs to GAP, “whose strategy is to invest in technology that promotes growth and innovation, and that has an impact on the company’s entire brand portfolio”, says the North American group in a statement. t

Two Modatex graduates from the Fashion Design course were awarded at the European Professions Championship – Euroskills. Beatriz Julião and Niuka Oliveira competed in the city of Gez, France, against five teams (Austria, Russia, Poland, Estonia and Latvia), winning bronze for Portugal in the Fashion Technologies profession. The teams were evaluated in fashion design, modeling, cutting and confection.

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OPINION PANDEMIC LESSONS Hélder Rosendo Member of ATP’s Advisory Council

POST-COVID ITV: COOPERATE TO GROW, GROW TO SURVIVE Paulo Vaz ATP's Direction Assistant - Portuguese Textile and Clothing Association

The pandemic crisis has affected all the textile and clothing chain of value. According to Euratex, the business flow fell approximately by 20%. According to Mckinsey, even global brands with a consolidated presence and consistency in online commerce witnessed slow economic upturns.

It is unquestionable that consumer behaviour towards fashion has changed. Logics underlying purchase decisions have shifted, new values are arising and others are gaining new relative importance – that is the first learning we shall draw from this crisis. We have definitely learned that we are neither selling nor communicating the same way. The information about the product is now much more relevant and there is a whole new consumer’s tribe that doesn’t want to go back in what concerns their purchasing demands.

Another learning of this pandemic crisis was Europe’s excessive external dependence, both in terms of production as in terms of raw materials. The prospective study entitled “Critical Raw Materials For Strategic Technologies and Sectors in the EU”, published by the European Union, illustrates well the levels of supply risk in sectors and technologies that are strategic for the European economy.

Let us remind what happened as soon as the race towards mask production started. The hunt for certifiable materials, according to the corresponding norms (FFP2/N95) placed an unprecedented pressure on Prolypropylene TNT Textile Fabrics, mainly produced by melt-blown technology, immediately

Over the past two decades, the Textile and Clothing Industry has gone from hell to heaven, only to be projected into the abyss once more.

The liberalization of international trade and China’s rise as a stronger player in the industry, at a global scale, forced the Textile and Clothing Industry (TCI) to reinvent itself in order to survive. TCI was then on the verge of a second and profound change. This change was dictated by the sustainability paradigm, a theme formerly exclusive to environmental and social activists which has now become mainstream, entering loudly through companies’ commercial departments. If the market demands one must know how to respond.

In the end of 2019 the fashion industry in developed countries, with more mature markets, was already facing and unprecedented crisis, claiming for reflexion and solutions, as the systematic fall in the main fashion brands’ sales had become undisgui-

revealing the tip of this iceberg.

Regarding ITV I believe we should have started the search for local solutions for raw materials sooner, in order to reduce excessive external dependence that currently brings about new implications.

Let’s consider the example of TreeToTextile project, which gathered the Stora Enso, Ikea e H&M group in promoting a more sustainable alternative to cotton, polyester and viscose obtained through traditional methods, betting to take the project to an industrial scale. I’m keen on this example for three main reasons: it uses results of previous years of investigation, taking the project formerly carried out at pilot facilities to an industrial scale; it is an European project that joins several companies in co-promotion (much more than the three promotors mentioned); it has a critical dimension (an investment of 35 million euros).

If above all the visible impact, resulting from the pandemic we manage to retrieve other learnings that are truly important, transform them, in a timely manner, into advantages to our industry we main be just in time of thinking about a new generation European industry.

Few industrial sectors have shown the resilience and the ability to learn how to reinvent themselves as ITV has. Therefore, with the optimism that always accompanies me, I believe we have effectively learned a lot from this crisis and, if we are agile in the formulation and application, we will soon be stronger. t

sable. The change in consumption habits in younger generations explains the phenomenon: greater worries regarding environment and working conditions in producing countries, the longer use of items and the diversification in the application of income.

This ongoing change impacted fast fashion business models, and the Portuguese textile and clothing sector’s main clients.

They were forced to implement profound changes in their assumptions as they saw their future, or at least their growth, threatened. For many brands the solution was to make a bigger investment in ecommerce and in fast-growing emerging markets, such as the Far-East, with little environmental and social awareness, where the expansion prospects are still exponential, and obviously hindering our local industry’s businesses.

In the meantime, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived to undermine the game once more. In concrete terms, the pandemic triggered the fashion business digitalization

and created disruptions in the chain of value, and in the supply of textile products manufactured thousands of kilometers away. It also raised issues related to the carbon footprint in the transport of goods that may seem cheap to the final consumer but whose environmental impact is unbearable to the planet.

This is TCI’s main challenge for the third decade of the century. The post-Covid world has changed a lot and will keep on changing.

The fashion industry will be even more demanding with those who want to remain.

There won’t be many options left for the Portuguese Textile and Clothing: it will have to be more professional, with a more demanding management, more capitalized, more able to innovate and to surprise but, most of all, aware of with the small dimension of most companies, there is no other way than escalating, through mergers, acquisitions or agreements between companies, which will enable them to have the necessary dimension to compete. t

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