This collaboration reflects IAF’s ongoing commitment to supporting manufacturers and industry associations in navigating a rapidly changing business environment. Through its national association members in more than 40 countries, IAF represents a global industry network reaching more than 180,000 manufacturers worldwide. Across this network, companies are facing rising expectations around transparency, ESG performance, due diligence and responsible sourcing, often while operating in highly competitive and fragmented supply chains.

Infor’s multi-enterprise business network, Infor Nexus, with a network over 100,000 companies across retailers, brands, manufacturers, logistics providers and banks,  brings important expertise and scale to this effort. As a real-time, multi-enterprise network, it connects partners across complex global supply chains and supports collaboration, visibility and execution across multiple tiers. In addition, Infor Nexus continues to invest in innovation, including AI-enabled capabilities and new tooling designed to support the specific needs of apparel and footwear brands as they adapt to new compliance requirements and rising expectations for supply chain agility and transparency. Its strong position in the market, including relationships with many of the world’s largest brands in this industry, makes its scale and experience especially relevant to IAF and its global network.

By welcoming Infor into the IAF community, we create new opportunities to connect our global network with digital capabilities to assist manufacturers and associations to respond more effectively to both regulatory and market-driven demands. For IAF, the value of this collaboration lies above all in its practical relevance. Innovation is only meaningful when it helps companies operate better, comply more efficiently and strengthen their position in the value chain.

The collaboration is also relevant for IAF’s member associations, which play a vital role in supporting manufacturers through advocacy, education and industry development. Better tools, stronger insights and more informed discussion around traceability, market dynamics and compliance are of direct value not only to individual companies, but also to the wider industry structure that enables them to adapt and compete.

IAF looks forward to working closely with Infor in the period ahead and to exploring how this collaboration can create meaningful value for members and for the broader apparel and footwear industry. By bringing together IAF’s international reach and Infor’s technological expertise, this collaboration will contribute to practical innovation that helps the industry meet new demands with greater confidence and capability.

Het bericht Introducing new IAF associate member Infor verscheen eerst op IAF.

Guest article by Andrew Martin

For much of the past decade, the apparel industry’s sustainability agenda has largely been shaped by brands and global initiatives, with manufacturers primarily responsible for implementation on the factory floor. That model is now being tested, as suppliers begin to organise more actively to shape how sustainability is defined, financed and delivered across the industry. In a recent article published in EcoTextile News, I explored how this shift is beginning to take shape, drawing on conversations with a few industry leaders, including IAF’s own Matthijs Crietee, as well as manufacturer perspectives from Türkiye and Indonesia.

Initiatives such as the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative (STTI) and the Apparel and Textile Transformation Initiative (ATTI) — co-created by IAF, with ITMF (for ATTI), and driven by the energy and commitment of key industry leaders such as Miran Ali and Cem Altan — both of whom have played important roles in advancing these initiatives — point to a growing trend: manufacturers organising in a more structured way to influence how sustainability frameworks are designed and implemented.

This is an important development.

Manufacturers sit at the centre of the industry’s social and environmental impacts, yet historically their voice in shaping sustainability frameworks has been relatively fragmented.

Through deeper discussions with manufacturer leaders in Türkiye and Indonesia, such as Cem Altan (CEO, Cenka Tekstil) and Anne Stutanto (Vice-CEO, PT Pan Brothers), a consistent theme emerged: closer coordination among manufacturers can help ensure that the operational realities of production are better reflected in industry discussions.

At the same time, one point came through clearly — sustainability cannot be separated from the economic foundations of the supply chain.

Initiatives such as STTI have played a key role in highlighting how purchasing practices shape the commercial environment in which manufacturers operate. Order predictability, contract terms and pricing structures are not just commercial details — they are fundamental to whether suppliers are able to plan, invest and ultimately deliver on sustainability expectations.

This is particularly relevant in the current context, where rising energy costs and broader economic pressures are placing additional strain on manufacturers, further reinforcing the need for more stable and predictable commercial relationships.

Looking ahead, there is also a growing connection to finance.

As the industry seeks to mobilise capital for decarbonisation, more coordinated articulation of investment priorities — potentially through platforms such as ATTI — could help improve how financial institutions assess risk and opportunity across the sector.

However, this shift will not happen automatically.

The apparel industry remains highly competitive and fragmented, and in the short-term manufacturers will continue to operate within structures largely shaped by buyers. Collective organisation, while important, is still developing.

This is where the opportunity — and the responsibility — for manufacturers becomes clearer.

Engagement, collaboration and a willingness to contribute to shared frameworks will be essential if these platforms are to translate into practical outcomes. As Miran Ali notes, “if supplier-led initiatives are to realise their potential, they will depend on active participation from across the manufacturing community.”

In that sense, the next phase of industry transformation may not only be defined by new initiatives, but by the extent to which manufacturers themselves choose to step forward, engage and help shape the systems in which they operate.

The full article can be accessed here: Manufacturers mobilise to reshape fashion sustainability

Het bericht From implementation to influence: Defining the next phase of supplier collaboration verscheen eerst op IAF.

Yeşim Group positions sustainability as a fundamental pillar of its long-term value creation strategy. Guided by its “People First” philosophy and aligned with its corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) approach, the company’s initiatives are implemented within a holistic framework that focuses on reducing environmental impact, fostering safe and inclusive workplaces, and generating social value.

Şankaya’s continued presence on the list reflects the company’s consistent progress in advancing environmentally responsible production, a people-centered corporate culture, and a strong commitment to social responsibility.

Together with its global business partners, Yeşim Group continues to advance responsible manufacturing practices and long-term sustainable growth.

PreviousNext

Het bericht Selim Şankaya Recognized Once Again Among Türkiye’s “Sustainability Leaders 50” List verscheen eerst op IAF.

Invitation

The Brazilian presence at the event came about through an invitation from the fair to the Brazilian Embassy in Rabat, which extended the participation to Abit. The Association had a booth where it presented materials from seven Brazilian companies that are part of Texbrasil (Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program), a partnership between Abit (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) and ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency).

The participating companies were: Kalimo, Lunelli, Pantextil, Paranatex, RVB Malhas, TextilFio, and Vicunha. The materials sent by the companies were displayed at the association’s booth, with the aim of promoting their products and strengthening the presence of the national industry in the international market.

African textile market

Gateway to the African textile market – With a focus on promoting business and strengthening exports, Morocco Fashion Style & Tex stood out for offering a conducive environment for qualified networking, in addition to seminars, workshops, and presentations on trends and technological innovations.

The fair also positioned itself as a gateway to the African textile market, encouraging the generation of new commercial partnerships and increasing the volume of exports to the region. Another highlight of the event was the approach to cultural transformations in design, bringing together influences from Africa and Europe in the creation of new patterns, colors, and products.

Het bericht Abit takes Brazilian companies to Morocco Fashion Style & Tex verscheen eerst op IAF.

No other publication produces a monthly data report at this scale using certified national sources. The closest comparison is the PMI index used in manufacturing, though nothing equivalent exists for fashion or any consumer retail vertical across 100 markets.

National statistics

Each country report draws from national statistics offices and verified institutional sources. In Europe, sources include Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, the Dutch statistics office CBS, the UK’s Office for National Statistics, Eurostat and the European Central Bank. In the US, data comes from sources like the Census Bureau, FRED and the Bureau of EconomicAnalysis. In Asia, the series draws from many different governmental sources. National statistics offices supplemented by the African Development Bank, cover African countries.

Standardised format

The reports follow a standardised format across all countries: consumer prices, retail sales, macro context and a bottom-line summary for fashion executives. Sources are attributedinline, and all content adheres to the FashionUnited editorial style guide.

Fashion pulse reports are published on the FashionUnited data dashboard and on each of the platform’s regional sites in the country’s native language, reaching fashion professionals across all major markets.

“Fashion executives have had access to annual industry reports, but never to monthly government data presented in a standardised, comparable format across 100 countries,” saidFashionUnited. “Fashion pulse fills that gap.”

Het bericht Fashion pulse: monthly data reports for 100 countries by FashionUnited verscheen eerst op IAF.