The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) International Working Group is announcing Version 4.0 of its globally-recognized standard for the processing of textiles made from certified organic natural fibers. GOTS' core provisions such as the 70 % minimum content of certified organic fibres, bans on GMO (genetically modified organism), nanotechnology and carcinogenic substances have been maintained. There are modified rules on the conventional 'additional fibre materials': These now may consis

Apparel accessory makers and packagers aim to triple sales to $12 billion in the next four years, buoyed by robust growth in garment shipments globally. The sector with 1,200 companies now meets almost the entire accessory and packaging needs of the apparel sector, said Rafez Alam Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Accessories and packaging material makers earned $4.1 billion from sales to local garment exporters l

Workers at the Garment 10 Company under Vinatex pack shirts for export. Vinatex is seeking investment for 57 projects this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet Viet Nam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) is seeking VND9.72 trillion (US$458 million) to invest in 57 projects, including fibre production, knitting, dyeing and garment production. Vinatex's General Director Tran Quang Nghi acknowledged that the $458 million investment capital was a very large amount and difficult to raise, especial

Luxury American brand Michael Kors has introduced its new store facade concept for its first flagship in China, at Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, which will become the brand's largest store in China. The shop, which measures nearly 6,000 square feet, showcases a completely new store facade concept designed by Michael Kors’ in-house design team in collaboration with New York-based architectural firm KPF. The flagship features numerous new design elements, starting with a “shimmering” two-story

The Nepal Carpet Exporters’ Association (NCEA) has urged the Government to reduce tax to stop the decline in carpet exports from the country, The Himalayan Times reported. Addressing the ninth annual general meeting of NCEA, the organization’s president Anup Bahadur Malla said Nepal’s carpet exports have fallen to about 600,000 metres at present from about 3.3 million sq m exports in the early 1990s. Explaining the reason for drop in carpet exports from Nepal, Mr. Malla said the price of N

The Government has handed out fresh sops to exporters of a number of labour intensive items such as leather, textiles and chemicals for exporting to the European Union. The additional incentives provided under the ‘market-linked focus product scheme’ is in the form of a duty credit scrip worth two per cent of what a firm exports. The scrip can either be used to import goods at lower interest rates equivalent to its value or sold by the exporter to other importers in the market. Big relief

Chairman AEPC, Mr. Virender Uppal, welcomed the move to extend the 2% duty credit scrip under the Market Linked Focus Product Scrip (MLFPS) for RMG sector (2% Duty credit scrip, HS 61 & 62) to EU and USA for exports from 01/04/2014 till further orders. Chairman AEPC, Mr. Uppal in his statement remarked, “The incentive to RMG products which have the highest employment intensity and potential was the need of the hour. I am sure that this decision of the Government would surely go a long wa

Standing knee deep in toxic chemicals, Mokter Hossain loads animal hides into huge drums filled with still more dangerous liquids at a tannery in the Bangladesh capital. Barefoot and sick with fever, Hossain stops every now and then to cough, a legacy of the job that his doctors warn could one day kill him. “Some days I am too ill to work,” said Hossain, 25, who has spent years inhaling fumes from the hexavalent chromium and other chemicals used to turn the raw hides into soft leather.

Work orders from international buyers are picking up with the return of political stability in Bangladesh after the January 5 national elections, exporters said yesterday. Garment makers aim to achieve the export growth target at the end of the year, given there are no further political upheavals. Bangladesh, the second largest garment exporter after China, shipped knitwear items worth $7 billion and $7.18 billion of woven items, registering year-on-year growth of 18.13 percent and 17.32 p

Workers of seven jute mills of Khulna-Jessore region staged demonstrations on Sunday to realise their 11-point demand, including providing fourth installment money of the National Wage and Productivity Commission through cash slips. Witnesses said the workers of Crescent and Platinum jute mills in Khalishpur, Star in Dighalia, Alim and Easter in Atra industrial area, Carpeting and JJI jute mills of Noapara gathered at the respective mill gates around 9am where they held separate rallies in fa