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The European Union has suggested Bangladesh comply with the ILO-recommended labour right standards by mid-June 2017 to avoid “consequences” with regard to its current trade privileges in the EU. The suggestion was put forward by a four-member EU delegation that wrapped up its three-day Bangladesh tour.
The EU team also stressed on the need for a uniform labour law for all workers -- including those employed at factories in export processing zones. The team pointed out that the EU and other partners of the Sustainability Compact would review the progress Bangladesh made in the RMG sector in terms of ensuring workplace safety and labour rights.
Following the Rana Plaza disaster in April 2013, Bangladesh signed the Sustainability Compact with the EU in September that year, committing itself to responsible business behaviour and improvement of workplace safety and labour rights.
EU is currently examining the whole issue of fairness in garment supply chains across the globe. “The Accord and Alliance are encouraging examples of what can be achieved when companies, government and workers pool efforts to improve standards.”
The delegation led by Arne Lietz, a member of the EU Parliament, met the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, the commerce minister, the labour minister, leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and labour unions, representatives of brands and retailers, and also ILO officials.
Lietz said, “We felt a readiness and goodwill from all parties to engage on this issue and are hopeful this will translate into concrete progress before the May review of Sustainability Compact in Dhaka and the Geneva ILO Conference in mid-June. As members of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, our engagement with Bangladesh, as with other countries, is guided by our core values where respect for human rights and labour rights, in particular freedom of association and collective bargaining, ranks high. That is why the full implementation of the Sustainability Compact is so important in our view.”
Bangladesh raked in $18.68 billion from its exports to the EU in fiscal 2015-16, which was 54.57 percent of the total receipts for the year. Of the $18.68 billion, $17.15 billion was from apparel shipments. The EU currently accounts for more than 62 percent of Bangladesh's garment export receipts in a year.
This year, Arizona could plant more than 150,000 total cotton acres as California might push past 250,000 acres. California and Arizona are poised for significant increases in cotton acreage in 2017, putting the U.S. on track for a total of 11 million acres of the fiber crop.
Preliminary estimates from California and Arizona suggest acreage increases in the neighborhood of 25-30 percent for Arizona and upwards of 20 percent in California.
California cotton plantings for 2017 could include 186,000 acres of Pima and 70,000 acres of Upland varieties. Reports from the various seed companies suggest some cotton seed is sold out or in short supply in California. If this holds, this will be a 22 percent increase for Pima acreage and 6 percent boost in Upland acreage.
Arizona last year reported over 129,000 total acres of cotton, according to Leighton Liesner, director, Arizona Cotton Research and Protection Council. California produced nearly 219,000 total acres of cotton in the same period.
If projections hold, total cotton acreage in Arizona could climb to between 160,000-170,000 acres. It is expected that extra-long staple Pima varieties could account for a little over 13,000 acres of that – unchanged from last year.
Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services (Bureau Veritas), leaders in testing, inspection/audit, advisory and certification services, have announced an exclusive partnership for the next 5-years with the Cotton Egypt Association (CEA) to provide conformity assessment services to verify that the materials are traceable to confirmed lots of true Egyptian Cotton at any stage of production.
The Egyptian Cotton Logo is a mark that helps restore faith as to the authenticity of products bearing the claim, Egyptian Cotton. It demonstrates that the CEA has certified that the product is true Egyptian Cotton by conforming to the requirements in the Factory Audits and Testing services and is ready for retail. The exclusive agreement with Bureau Veritas brings global scale and reach to the scheme thanks to Bureau Veritas' leadership position within the retail / consumer goods marketplace with test labs and auditors worldwide.
Bureau Veritas will be providing the services of Factory Audits, Retail Surveillance and Information Managment to companies making or selling products with the Egyptian Cotton Logo.
Mark Agius, Senior Vice President for Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services in Europe, Middle East & Africa commented, "This exclusive partnership with CEA for the next five-years takes our support for producers and buyers of Egyptian Cotton to the next level, enabling retailers, brands and their supply chain to easily access this scheme."
The ASBCI Spring Conference 2017, titled DOING THE RIGHT THING? Best practice for sustaining our people, planet and profits will take place on 5 April 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Peterborough, UK. Ten years ago, a leading retailer Marks & Spencer launched its Plan A placing sustainability on top of the global fashion industry agenda.
Since then the majority of big brands and retailers have implemented their own robust ethical and environmental sustainability programmes with the collective objective of protecting people and the planet. The best sustainability practices, processes and products are reducing waste, transport and material costs and boosting brand image, efficiency, customer loyalty and share prices.
The ASBCI sustainability conference has some expert speakers with experience of the most effective and commercial, sustainable initiatives and innovations lined up like Rakesh Vazirani, Director – Product Traceability & Environmental Information Management, TUV, Hong Kong, Keynote speaker Mike Barry, Director Plan A, Marks & Spencer. Prof Tim Cooper, Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption, Nottingham Trent University, Robin Anson, Editorial Director, Textiles Intelligence, and Graham Burden, Director, Sustainable Textile Solutions.
The second part of the conference, will have Elaine Gardiner, Sustainability Manager, Berghaus, Guido Rimini, Head of Marketing, Apparel Europe, Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel SE & Co., Ross Barry, Lawrence M Barry & Co and finally, Tara Luckman, Fabric & Sustainability Manager, ASOS.COM
The Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry (ASBCI) was formed in 1992, arising from the British Interlining Manufacturers Association. Since 1992, the ASBCI has grown from 20 members to over 100 including some of the most prestigious names within the clothing and textile industry, forming a huge pool of expertise.
The Association organises a series of specialist conferences and seminars throughout the year on various key subjects. The ASBCI is concerned with new technology, new ideas and new care labelling standards; and has an effective representation of members' interests in the UK, European and International standards committees
Caroline Rush CBE, CEO of the British Fashion Council and Professor Christopher Moore, Director of the British School of Fashion, Glasgow Caledonian University launched the British Fashion Council’s British High-End Manufacturers Database. The national database of UK-based manufacturers aims to make it easier for designers to form supply chain relationships and reach production units. The British High-End Manufacturers Database is the first milestone of 2017 for the BFC’s Positive Fashion initiative.
In March 2015 the BFC and a working group comprising of M&S, UKFT, Creative Skillset, The Alliance Project and Centre for Fashion Enterprise worked alongside independent specialists in the sector to launch the High-end and Designer Manufacturing Report. The need for a database of audited UK manufacturers was highlighted as a direct result of this report, for which research was undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian University and Oxford University.
The Database is free to use and will sit as part of the BFC Designer Fact File, a dynamic designer business learning platform providing insights and training across a wide spectrum of topics. The topics covered are tailored to a range of business stages, from start-ups to established brands, and content is provided by leading industry professionals.
Throughout 2017 and beyond the BFC looks to celebrate Positive Fashion best practice in the industry by direct example and through facilitating processes for change. Through the Positive Fashion initiative the BFC hopes to encourage designer businesses to prioritise sustainability and ethical practices. The three key focuses for Positive Fashion in 2017 are Sustainability, Diversity & Industry Education (including model health) and Local Manufacturing and Craftsmanship.
"Textile industry is an integral part of the global economy and the quality of life for citizens. Knowing the crucial impact it has on economy, it makes perfect sense for the government to offer the most lucrative policies towards its growth. Government initiatives are an excellent way to revitalise textile manufacturing, create jobs, promote the purchase and support of domestic textile and apparel products, and protect the livelihood and stability of the industry and economy."
Textile industry is an integral part of the global economy and the quality of life for citizens. Knowing the crucial impact it has on economy, it makes perfect sense for the government to offer the most lucrative policies towards its growth. Government initiatives are an excellent way to revitalise textile manufacturing, create jobs, promote the purchase and support of domestic textile and apparel products, and protect the livelihood and stability of the industry and economy. Here is a look at some of the most lucrative and supportive government initiatives taken across the globe to boost growth of textile industry:
Nigeria
In February 2017, the Nigerian government announced the allocation of $162 million for revitalisation and recovery of domestic textile industry. These funds will be routed towards stimulating growth in the industry, creating jobs, encouraging the purchase of locally-made textiles and clothing, and combating the threats of counterfeit and smuggled textile goods. The allocation will also be used to improve infrastructure, especially access to electricity, which is key for textile manufacturers. It is also expected to help increase cotton production and quality.
India
The New National Textile Policy, announced in 2016 by the NDA government, is a package worth $894 million. This package supports labour reforms in relevant sectors such as yarns, made-ups, and fabrics, and is expected to help the textile industry in India outpace competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam. It will increase textile exports and is expected to create millions of new jobs. India’s Make in India initiative, which promotes job creation and manufacturing within India, will also help to boost the success and growth of India’s textile industry.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s Third Industrial Master Plan, which will be in effect until 2020, is encouraging the growth of the textile industry. The plan focuses on the growth of industrial and home textiles, functional fabrics, high-end fabrics and garments, and the establishment and improvement of support facilities and services like design houses, fashion centres, and specialised dyeing and finishing facilities.
The USA
Last year, former US President Barack Obama announced the establishment of a new fibres and textiles manufacturing innovation hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and more than $2 billion in manufacturing research and development investments. The Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute is combining $75 billion in federal resources and USD 250 million in non-federal investments to research and produce innovative textiles with novel properties. This initiative is creating textile industry jobs, continuing the promotion of the industry’s recovery from its decline in the 2000s, and promoting domestic textile printing, textile manufacturing, and textile manufacturers.
In recent years, the printing and dyeing sector has been negatively affected by Chinese government's intensified environmental regulation so end-users were burdened with hiking printing and dyeing cost. On the other hand, dope-dyed chemical fibre with its low cost and eco-friendly property has grown rapidly. Dope-dyed virgin PSF, for example, has developed and gained around 15 per cent total capacity of virgin PSF in 2016. And among the non-conventional varieties, the black one takes the lion’s share for around 60-70 per cent. Compared to conventional virgin PSF, this variety has shown good cost advantage. Black virgin PSF basically trended likewise with semi-dull virgin PSF in 2016. However, the price spread between the two sustained high at around 1500-2300yuan/mt. At the same time, black rose 1500yuan/mt or 18 per cent, showing this variety has a better anti-risk ability compared with the cost-sensitive conventional PSF which hiked around 2000yuan/mt or 33 per cent. The fundamental reason for the development of doped dyed virgin PSF is its low cost and eco-friendly properties. Compared to 6000yuan/mt cost of printing and dyeing for conventional spun yarn and grey fabrics, downstream plants will save around 4000yuan/mt using black virgin PSF as the feedstock. Not to mention that their production is free from political influence such as environmental regulation. Thus nowadays, the whole industrial chain from chemical fiber plants, spinners to fabrics plants, all are devoted to proclaiming the dope-dyed product to cater for the idea of environmental protection.
The Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) has submitted budget proposals to the Federal government demanding a bailout-cum-incentive package. This comes as no surprise, since the annual cotton production target has been missed again and the area under cotton has declined sharply by 16 per cent.
Over the last couple of years, Pakistan has seen abysmally low cotton production. At present, cotton arrivals are 10.5 million bales, despite an increase over last year’s 9.7 million bales, it is still short of the initial 14.1 million target that was revised to just 11 million bales later. The textile economy has been suffering from shortage of raw material on top of all its other miseries.
Ginners have demanded a National Cotton Policy though how this would tie into the broader Agriculture Policy that Punjab is currently developing is uncertain. The development of such a policy would be a welcome move though given the country’s track record, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
Muslim fashion exporters in Japan are vying to enter the Japanese market for modest clothing despite the relatively small local Muslim population. They believe they can succeed in Japan. As per estimates Muslim population in Japan varies between 70,000 and 150,000 among the country’s total 126 million people. The Japanese fashion market however, is not small and is expected to grow to $72.72 billion by 2020 from $63.72bn last year, indicates data compiler Statista.
According to Japan Muslim Fashion Association (JMFA) president and chief executive Shinichi Orita there is god potential for Muslim fashion exporters in Japan. What makes him optimistic about Muslim fashion is the Japanese government’s ‘Visit Japan Campaign’, and the interest in Japan brought on by the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2020; easing of visa regulations for countries with a large Muslim population such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. All this will increase the number of Muslim visitors and, therefore, consumers.
On the other hand, the Dubai-based Islamic Fashion and Design Council is increasingly seeing demand from Japanese consumers for a more modest trend, as its chairwoman, Alia Khan points out. There is a big overlap between modest and Muslim fashion, Khan says.
Hong Kong-based Li & Fung, one of the world’s leading consumer goods design, development, sourcing and logistics has entered into agreements for a new supply chain relationship with PVH Corp. The agreements transform the current non-exclusive buying agency agreement between them into a new strategic partnership under which Li & Fung will provide additional value-added services to PVH. The new agreement will lead to cessation of existing non-exclusive buying agency agreement between them. The transaction is expected to close on July 1, 2017.
The new supply chain relationship is expected to be mutually beneficial and focus on applying latest technology and knowhow into the PVH supply chain. And as Daniel Grieder, CEO Tommy Hilfiger Global and PVH Europe said the focus of his company was to create a more effective and efficient supply chain that would enable them to adapt and evolve so that it could stay ahead in the rapidly changing industry. This transformation in the company’s sourcing strategy is an important step to improve speed to market and faster integration of consumer insights into our new collections.
US-based PVH Corp has a diversified portfolio of brands including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo, Warner's and Olga and numerous other owned and licensed brands and markets them globally. PVH has 30,000 associates operating across 40 countries and speaking 20 languages. In 2015, the company generated over $8 billion in revenues.
