De-influencers are the new influencers: De-influencing social media followers not to buy certain products is a not-so-new trend that started picking up again in January, the Washington Post reports. Tiktok users are turning the tables on the influencer industry as content creators publish videos with honest reviews about products they think are not worth buying, for poor quality or overpricing. This seems to be gaining more follower traction than ever in light of the rising cost of living demonstrated by high inflation. “I think that the de-influencers are going to get such a following because negative information is believable,” said marketing professor at Georgetown University, Ronnie Goodstein. While some brands are asking de-influencers to give them another chance, others go as far as paying de-influencers not to talk about them, according to Goodstein.

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Is China getting dethroned as king of the textile supply chain? Western fashion brands are veering away from a decades-long reliance on China for textile production as they navigate supply chain disruptions, higher labor and shipping costs, and labor laws, the Financial Times writes. UK-based shoemaker Doc Martens, for instance, outsourced just 12% of production for the 2022 autumn/winter collection to China, down from 27% in 2020, with plans to bring the figure down to 5% this year. Spanish clothing retailer Mango is on board with the shift. “What we’re looking at is the extent to which all this global sourcing, developed over many years, might become more local,” says CEO Tony Ruiz.

What’s driving the shift? Supply chain chaos kick-started by covid has ramped up freight costs and triggered shipping delays as the pandemic caught up with factory workers. The financial incentive to outsource to China has also been taken away by rising wages. The average factory wage doubled from CNY 46k per year in 2013 to CNY 92k per year in 2021. The US has also banned cotton goods from the Xinjiang region following its alleged use of forced labor in the production of cotton. And competition at home is taking off, with European clothing retailers rushing to cut delivery times in a bid to adapt to ever-changing fashion trends.

Turkey is gaining ground: Turkey has been propping itself up as a textile hub, a position advanced by its inclusion in the EU customs union, which facilitates trade between member states. “It is a popular destination and already used by the likes of Hugo Boss, Adidas, Nike, Zara,” procurement expert Simon Geale tells the FT.