This year's International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) Meeting will take place October 7-12 at the Congress Centre Kursaal Interlaken, in Switzerland. The theme of the congress is "Shaping Sustainability in the Cotton Value Chain." Over the next few weeks, the Rupp Report will focus on this event with a selection of issues related to the congress agenda. This week, the focus is on the controversial issue of genetically modified plants in general, and cotton in particular. Allegations And

Viscose staple fibre markets continued to slip in weakness as downstream buyers deferred buying activities in view of falling prices. Overall prices stably moved down, with sales/output ratios maintained at the low level of 30-40%. Sales were hindered amid the prevailing bearish outlook. Viscose filament market inched down as supplies turned surplus leading to overall inventory touching a new high. Coarse denier viscose filament saw poor performance. Viscose filament-grade pulp makers showed s

Cotton prices were down this week across markets on demand supply fundamentals slipped into the surplus terrain. US Cotton futures closed the week 0.50% down at US cents 75.90 per pound. December cotton was down in the first three sessions of the week, hitting a one-month low by Wednesday, after the US Department of Agriculture increased its estimate for the global cotton surplus to a record of 76.5 million 480-pound bales due in part to a drop in consumption and imports by China. In Pakistan,

100% Cotton yarn market was stable in Chiba with larger sales volume in Guangdong market. However, the markets were still dull amid stable prices. Sales for high-count yarn increased, while trade volume for carded cotton yarn decreased. In Pakistan, cotton yarn prices remained relatively stable on the export market but activities remained slow due to high offers and weak buying interest. Spun polyester yarn markets were driven up by upstream feedstock cost, but the overall trading was subdued.

Remember when makeup artist Francois Nars created 65 different looks for the Marc Jacobs Fall 2009 show? Well, that didn’t happen this time around at New York Fashion Week Spring 2013 but some designers did decide to deviate from a uniform beauty statement, creating a few different looks for one show. Here’s our rundown of the best double takes from backstage: Alexander WangThough Guido Palau gave every girl at Alexander Wang a tight, low ponytail, the accessory that ran down the centre p

Plexus Cotton Limited reported that New York (NY) futures came under pressure this week, as December lost 246 points to close at 73.53 cents. The market’s 3-month uptrend, which began on June 4 from a low of 64.61 cents, has finally been broken when December dropped below its uptrend line after a bearish USDA report on Wednesday. However, as was the case when the market was trying to go higher, there is not a lot of conviction behind this down move either, since we are still not seeing the

Asenior trade official warned on Thursday that the Japanese government's so-called purchase of the Diaoyu Islands will "inevitably have a negative impact on China-Japan economic and trade ties", while Japanese-funded companies expressed concerns over tensions. "If Chinese consumers, in a reasonable manner, express their positions and views against Japan's violation of China's territorial sovereignty, I think it is within their rights to do so and it is understandable," Vice-Minister of Comme

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) Annual Conference 2012 will be held in Hanoi/Vietnam from November 4-6, 2012. The theme of the conference “Challenges for the Global Textile Industry – Present and Future” reflects the fact that the global textile industry faces a very difficult business environment. Volatile raw material markets, sovereign debt crises, currency disputes, political instability in some regions, a blocked Doha-Trade-Round, looming protectionism, growing