The Spanish textile industry’s turnover has continuously dipped for two consecutive months in May and June 2013. The turnover index of the textile industry in June 2013 recorded a decrease of 9 per cent, after a fall in May when it registered a decline of 3.6 per cent. 

The decline in textile industry turnover is the largest compared to the average turnover of the Spanish industrial sector, which fell by 4 per cent in June 2013. Contrary to the textile industry, the turnover of the garment manufacturing sector in Spain rose by 3 per cent in June, compared to a dip of 1.7 per cent in May 2013. 

The New Orders Index (IEP) of industries related to the Spanish apparel sector grew unevenly in the month of June 2013. The IEP of the clothing industry recorded an increase of 15.4 per cent whereas that of textiles registered a decrease of 2.4 per cent. 

The IEP in manufacturing of knitted fabrics, carpets, rope, non-woven fabrics, textile products for technical and industrial use, as well as other textile products also decreased by 0.9 per cent. 

In June 2013, the textile sectors production also fell by 5.4 per cent year-on-year. Spanish companies have developed many innovations like automatic reeling machines, circular knitting machines for fine gauge sweaters and clothing inspection by artificial vision, electronic sectional warping machines with visual width control, re-reeling machines and automatic reeling machines. 

Many Turkish textile companies which had units in Egypt have suspended their operations and future investment plans in the country escalating violence. Many foreign companies are concerned about their investments in Egypt in the high-risk environment. Some Turkish textile firms have decided to halt operations until the violence ceases. 

There are many Turkish textile companies, which make up around 80 per cent of Turkey’s more than $2 billion investments in Egypt. LCWaikiki started retailing operations in Egypt two years back. It has shut down its stores in Cairo and Alexandria and is continuing operations only in Hurghada. 

Some companies have already announced that they would halt their production in the country due to the state of emergency, including Turkish Yıldız Holding, European oil giant Shell and Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux. Egypt has been highly favored by Turkish and other companies to establish production facilities thanks to its low production costs and ability to sell custom-free goods to many countries. 

Wal-Mart, GAP and other major US retailers will implement a Bangladesh factory-safety plan. The group is made up of 20 companies known as the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. It has pledged to put fire and building safety standards in place by September 10. 

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety is the US industry's way of improving working conditions in facilities in Bangladesh and preventing disasters like the garment factory collapse in April. Retailers, who include Macy's and Target, have struck a five-year deal to train workers and inspect factories. They will require factory owners in Bangladesh to pay for their own safety renovations but have committed to providing $100 million in low-cost loans toward the effort. 

Meanwhile owners of some 500 readymade garment units in Bangladesh have agreed to invest in workers' safety systems, fire-fighting equipment, evacuation mechanism, proper installation of machines and a healthy work environment. Factory owners are trying to introduce compliance following constant pressure from home and abroad. Nearly 1,830 garment workers have died so far in different building collapses, fires, and other accidents from 1990 to 2013. 

Myanmar’s garment exporters have made record earnings in the first quarter of this year. Exports almost doubled in the period from January to March over the same period last year. Maximum orders came from Japan and South Korea. The US and European countries are also increasing garment orders after Myanmar was allowed into a trade preferences scheme by the European Union. Many Myanmar garment factories have started exporting to the US.  Now the Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association is training workers, to enable them to cater to the rising demand for garments from domestic as well as overseas markets. 

Myanmar’s garment industry is labor intensive and the industry’s growth can create a large number of jobs. The country has a long history of making yarn, fabrics and garment. Currently, there are over 200 garment factories in Myanmar, employing about 20,000 people. 

Some of Thailand's top garment companies will be moving their operations to Myanmar soon. Outsourcing labor to Myanmar offers significant cost savings to western manufacturers, as Burmese workers are among the lowest paid in Asia. The nation has the potential to develop into a viable apparel sourcing destination.