California Apparel News

Cone Denim has announced an expanding partnership with hemp-processing innovator BastCore, an announcement that came on the heels of Cone’s recently launched U.S. Hemp collection. “This evolving partnership continues to open new opportunities for collaboration between like-minded companies, providing increased sustainable-denim offerings to customers while increasing our support of American agriculture,” said Cone in a release. BastCore’s innovations include patent-pending technology that produces clean hemp fiber at its headquarters in Montgomery, Ala. It was recently selected as a Top 50 Startup Finalist at the WorldFestival 2022 Startup Awards. “With a shared goal of pushing new sustainability levels, our partnership with BastCore is creating exciting opportunities that support U.S. agriculture and its use of world-class practices and responsibly sourced products,” said Cone President Steve Maggard.

Fashion brands Yarn Movement and MYM ORGANICS have birthed a collaboration called the YM X MYM ORGANICS Fiber Collective with a mission to help protect artisans, tradition and culture by actively resisting fast fashion, plastics and chemicals, and working toward sustainable-fashion solutions. Under the hashtag #100KDreamGirls, the collaboration’s Colorful Dreamer initiative, with third partner Believe in What You Dream, hopes to empower 100,000 women and girls over three years with a fund-raising goal of $2 million. The program helps low-income girls “discover their superpowers” by sharing the power of social-emotional learning tools and sustainable-fashion techniques through environmental awareness and conscious consumption.

Huue, a pioneer in sustainable bio-based dyes and the winner of TIME magazine’s Best Invention of 2021, has secured $14 million in funding to launch the world’s first clean indigo dye. “The world can’t wait for sustainable solutions, and consumers are starting to hold their favorite brands accountable to using eco-friendly materials,” said Michelle Zhu, CEO and co-founder of Huue. “We’ve developed a way to tap into biology’s artistry to create clean color solutions without the environmental impact and harmful chemicals.” Textile dyeing is the second-largest polluter of water globally, and for the past century dyes have been made with harsh chemicals such as cyanide and formaldehyde in the case of indigo. Huue’s enzymatically produced dye mimics how colors are produced in nature.

Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada, the country’s largest apparel and textile-sourcing event, has rescheduled its show from Aug. 22–24 to Nov. 7–9. The additional time will allow Canadian offices worldwide to process all visa applications. Delays in the current processing of travel visas into Canada is a widespread issue affecting all international travelers. The change was finalized after consulting with international governments, industry partners and exhibitors. “Our commitment is to bring the world’s apparel and textile sources back to Canada in 2022,” said spokesman Jason Prescott, “with 150 factories from at least 15 countries plus dozens of speakers, matchmaking and networking [offerings]. We did what was best for the show, the factories and the attendees.” More than 3,000 attendees are already registered for the event.

B2B fashion wholesale marketplace FashionGo held its fifth annual online trade show, FashionGo Week Online, in July with a focus on combating inflation and a possible looming recession. FashionGo.net bills itself as the No. 1 B2B fashion wholesale e-commerce marketplace, connecting the fashion industry to buy and sell the latest trends on a one-stop platform. Founded in 2002, it boasts 1,400 sellers and 740,000 buyers, provides powerful tech tools, insightful data and best-in-class service to empower the industry to shop smarter and grow faster. At its recent edition, FashionGo Week Online saw a volume of buyers who were more cautious but with brands positively offering a wide diversity of products, 0 percent commissions and a user-friendly platform.

After two years of postponed nuptials, people are tying the knot again as evidenced by the success of the International Market Center’s three recent shows—Atlanta Apparel, VOW Bridal & Formal Atlanta and World of Prom & Social Occasion—held Aug. 1–6 at the AmericasMart in Atlanta. “The bridal and social-occasion industries are booming right now,” said Caron Stover, IMC senior vice president of apparel. “Business is back and better than ever, with Atlanta Apparel offering buyers a one-stop-shop across categories like bridal, prom, accessories, children’s, resort and, of course, general apparel.” Steady attendance from the combined apparel, bridal and social-occasion markets drew retailers from nearly all 50 states as well as 26 international countries.

The Dallas Men’s Show is coming off the biggest show in its history as buyers from coast to coast descended upon the Lone Star State. Held July 30–Aug. 1 at the Dallas Market Center, organizers say the show broke records for the number of brands participating—750, to be precise—and the number of new buyers. Retail decision-makers from 30 states visited the show, and more than 10 percent of buyers were first-time attendees. “We appreciate the support of so many retailers who visited our expanded show,” said Cindy Morris, president and CEO of the DMC. “The 2022 Men’s Show truly set a new standard in Dallas and elevated the quality and diversity of products available here. We have tremendous momentum going into 2023.”

Emerald Holding, owner and organizer of NY NOW, the wholesale retail market, has announced the acquisition of Bulletin Inc., a wholesale marketplace connecting 3,000 independent brands with over 26,000 retailers. All Bulletin employees will join Emerald as part of the acquisition, including co-founders Alana Branston and Ali Kriegsman. The acquisition will elevate the experience for wholesale buyers to discover a broader array of innovative brands and makers through a fusion of in-person and e-commerce offerings. The merger will also infuse the iconic NY NOW Gift and Home Show with Bulletin’s entrepreneurial spirit, industry expertise and extensive customer base of brands and retailers, as well as help small businesses fuel innovation and design and provide buyers with year-round inspiration and discovery.