Pakistan : Incentives will continue despite interest hike - Minister Irrespective of the increase in interest rates implemented by the apex bank in the country, the government will continue the incentives declared earlier, said so, the Textiles Minister. The minister said that the hike in interest rates will not affect the textile policy and the incentives announced in the same will continue. He said government has provided additional aid to textile industry despite rise in interest rate of export refinancing and long term financing by the State Bank of Pakistan. United States Of America : Hampshire-Geoffrey Beene renew license for men’s sweaters Hampshire Group, Limited, a leading provider of women’s and men’s fashion apparel, today announced a three year extension of the Company’s license agreement with Geoffrey Beene, LLC for the design, production and distribution of men’s sweaters under the Geoffrey Beene brand. The new agreement will run through December 31, 2012. Since 1998, Hampshire Group has licensed the Geoffrey Beene trademark for men’s sweaters, and currently provides the brand, a market leader across multiple categories, to national and regional department stores including Macy’s, Belk, Bon-Ton and Boscov’s. “We are extremely pleased to be continuing our partnership with an established heritage brand like Geoffrey Beene,” said Mark Lepine, President of Hampshire Group’s Men’s division. “The renewed agreement further solidifies our portfolio of brands and demonstrates our commitment to providing retailers with superior quality product.” Merle Sloss, EVP President of Licensing of Geoffrey Beene, LLC, “We are very happy to further our longstanding relationship with Hampshire Group. They have a strong track record and have done a great job in building brand equity in a competitive marketplace.” Hampshire Group, Limited is a leading U.S. provider of women’s and men’s sweaters, wovens and knits, and a designer and marketer of branded apparel. Its customers include leading retailers such as JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Belk’s and Dillard’s, for whom it provides trend-right, branded apparel. Hampshire’s owned brands include Spring+Mercer, its “better” apparel line, Designers Originals, Hampshire’s first brand and still a top-seller in department stores, as well as Mercer Street Studio, Requirements, and RQT. Hampshire also licenses the Geoffrey Beene and Dockers labels for men’s sweaters, both of which are market leaders in their categories, and licenses JOE Joseph Abboud for men’s sportswear and Alexander Julian Colours for men’s tops. Geoffrey Beene, LLC is the #1 selling menswear designer brand across major categories in leading department stores. It is also in the philanthropic forefront with GBGB - Geoffrey Beene Gives Back. 100% of the net profits of Geoffrey Beene, LLC fund charitable causes. Through GBGB - Geoffrey Beene Gives Back, more than $146 million has been donated, with over $106 million donated to the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Other causes include Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Educational Scholarships, Protection of Family, Women and Children, Veterans Support and Animal Welfare. Nigeria : Govt should generate will to tackle textile crisis - Expert An international conference on the textile industry was held recently in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. Most of the delegates at the conference were of the unanimous opinion that a multi-pronged approach was necessary to handle the problems facing the sector. They said that the government, stake holders including the owners and employees had a big role to play in bringing the industry out of the comatose state, with the government’s role being the most fundamental of all. The government needs to have the political will and readiness for a change, should formulate appropriate and stable policies and address the core issue of infrastructure development, was the firm opinion of a textile expert. He added by saying that the government must not only understand the overall implications of the socio-economic losses presently incurred by the country, due to the comatose state of the textile industry, but also must be ready and determined to change the situation. Mr Prem Malik, Chairman of Bombay Textile Research Institute, India, said that the government must give the textile sector priority status in such a way that it would be de-linked from others for a deserved priority attention and advised the government to tackle the issue of rampant smuggling on a serious note. The Managing Director of Banquaires Facilities Limited, Mr. Felix Adeduro whose company organized the conference, urged the government to have a textile department, which could frame a textile policy and other strategies to revive the defunct textile industry. Others at the conference also fired the government on the delay in releasing the N70 billion textile revival funds which was first proposed in 2006, which in the period from then till now, led to the closure of a number of textile mills and in the process created joblessness to thousands of workers. India : Bankruptcy filing by CIT Group may hit apparel exports The recent filing for bankruptcy by the New York-based CIT Group could hit the textile and apparel export sector in India, since it was one of the financing companies which used to provide short term financing to small and medium sized suppliers. This news has come at a time when shipments from this crucial export sector, which is the biggest employment generator after agriculture, were on a path of slow recovery after having borne the brunt of the global recessionary trends in the last 12 months. The markets of the US have a 30 percent share of overall exports of clothing from the country and total to US $3 billion. Most of the suppliers are small and medium sized companies, who used to depend on CIT Group for short term financing. According to garment exporters, this news has come in the busiest season for the clothing exporters who are preparing to ship large consignments of goods in time for the products to hit the retailer’s shelves before the Christmas festivities. Now onwards these exporters will have to depend on the buyers to send the payments on time, else they will be severely constrained for credit and will be unable to process any further orders for lack of financing. United States Of America : Fabric forming company Highland expands in Cheraw The South Carolina Department of Commerce, Chesterfield County and the Town of Cheraw announced that Highland Industries Inc. will expand its facility in Chesterfield County. The new equipment will allow for weft insertion manufacturing at the Cheraw plant. “We are extremely satisfied with the continued growth and the expansion of our operations. We are proud of the job creation opportunities for Cheraw. The strength of our operations is the diversification of our business and the adaptability of our associates to participate in our growth,” stated Nick Irwin, director of manufacturing for Highland Industries. Highland specializes in a variety of fabric forming and finishing technologies, resulting in a diversified product portfolio servicing a global customer base. This diversity has enabled Highland to maintain a fairly stable work force during the current trying economic times. This expansion will not adversely affect the company’s customers. Highland will continue to provide exceptional quality, service, delivery and value to its customers. “Highland Industries’ expansion in Chesterfield County is a great reminder that our state’s business-friendly environment is working to attract new investment and jobs throughout South Carolina,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce. “Highland Industries has reaffirmed its commitment to the area and this is a wonderful to compliment to the workforce and local leadership in Chesterfield County. The County has laid the ground work to make itself an attractive place to do business and we believe today’s news will be the start of more good things to come. We thank Highland for their new investment in South Carolina and look forward to growing our relationship with them in the years ahead.” Matt Rivers, Chesterfield County Council, Chairman commented, “Highland Industries’ decision to locate their new weft insertion operation in Cheraw, South Carolina is yet another strong testament to our skilled workforce and business-friendly environment.” Rivers continued, “On behalf of Council, I would like to both congratulate and thank Highland Industries. The very best tribute to a county and town is when a company continues to reinvest over & over.” “Highland Industries has shown dedication and support to our community and we look forward to many more years of continued growth and success,” said Cheraw Mayor Scott Hunter. “It takes a lot of work and cooperation between our local communities to provide the necessary environment for existing businesses to grow. With recent job losses in the Cheraw area, Highland will have no difficulties finding highly skilled and motivated workers,” continued Hunter. Highland is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has contributed $23 million dollars in utilities, wages and benefits for the local economy. During FY’08 and FY’09, our company invested $9 million in the Cheraw plant. The projected capital investment for FY’10 is $3.5 million. Pakistan : Apparel sector seeks ban on fine count yarn export The trade body leaders of apparel and home textile sectors, who united together under the Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF), demanded complete ban on coarse yarn export, as this yarn is extensively utilized by the domestic industry. The leaders demanded that only fine count yarn above 32s should be permitted for export. Members of PAF are currently facing an acute shortage of yarn in the domestic market and as the whole value-added textile sector consumes coarse yarn below 32 single counts, it is necessary to ensure its availability, said PAF chairman Mr. Jawed Bilwani. Apparel and home textile sector would face shut down of a numbers of its units, if the export of coarse yarn would not be restricted as well as if its availability for domestic industry would not be ensured, he added. The domestic market is already going through an acute shortage of coarse yarn, which has resulted in a number of value-added units not being able to meet export commitments and if effective remedial measures are not taken, the sector would see a major retrenchment of workers, warned the PAF. The towel manufacturing sector said that the textile spinning sector could help serve the nation by exporting yarns of only fine count and bring in maximum foreign exchange in to the country. Experts expressed concern about the industry, which is facing difficulties for raw materials such as yarn though the country has all the natural resources in abundance, including raw cotton. Improper government policies and lack of accurate planning are curbing the progress of the country; however it could do better if it takes efforts in value-addition and stops export of semi-finished raw materials, said the expert. Majority of Pakistan’s competitors are snatching its share in the world market, by importing raw material such as yarn and fabric from Pakistan and by value adding the same. The government was urged to chalk-out a long term plan in order to generate more jobs in apparel and home textile sectors for the development of nation. India : CITI Chairman demands suspension of cotton exports The textile industry has expressed serious concerns on the steep hike in cotton prices in the country. In a statement, Shri Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, stated that in spite of a significant increase in arrival cotton in the market during the last couple of weeks, cotton prices for standard varieties like Shankar 6 has already crossed Rs.25000 a candy on spot basis and the trend of price increase still continues. He stated that after two years of an unprecedented crisis, the textile industry is on the verge of a recovery, since the economies in the western countries have started showing some positive trends and demand for textile products have also started improving. However, at the current cotton prices, our textile products are simply not competitive in the global markets. Shri Jaipuria pointed out that two segments of the Indian economy that depend substantially on cotton are the farmers and the textile industry. The interests of cotton farmers have been protected by government with a huge hike announced last year in Minimum Support Prices. In fact, currently our cotton prices are substantially above even the hiked MSPs and thus farmers are getting remunerative prices. The interests of the textile industry also need to be protected to ensure that the demand for our cotton is sustained on a long term basis, thus benefiting both the farmers and the industry. In this context, Shri Jaipuria stated that the current increase in cotton prices is not the function of either market trends or MSP. The real driver for the price escalation is speculation by cotton traders, especially a few large international traders who are operating in the Indian market, on the strength of highly competitive capital available to them from global sources. Shri Jaipuria stated that according to market information, more than 15 lakh bales of the new crop has already been bought by these large traders for export and this has pushed up domestic prices. CITI Chairman stated that in the long term interest of India's cotton economy as a whole, it has to be ensured that our cotton is available to our industry at competitive prices. The only way to achieve this is by curtailing speculation in the market that benefits traders and not either the farmers or the industry. Shri Jaipuria requested government to immediately suspend cotton exports upto end March 2010 so that speculation by traders can be curtailed at this crucial period when most of our crop reaches the market. He added that cotton production in the country is expected to be substantially lower than 305 lakh bales estimated by CAB in its last meeting, because of the havoc created by rains subsequently. In the context of the slow but steady improvement in the economies of the USA, EU, Japan etc. the industry is hoping to achieve significant increase in cotton consumption. Thus, we may not have any surplus cotton for export at all. If large exports take place at this stage, the best of our cotton will go to our competing countries and the domestic industry will suffer both in terms of quantity and quality of cotton during the rest of the year. He stressed the need for maintaining a healthy stock-to use ratio to ensure adequate cotton availability to the highly labour intensive and export oriented textile industry. Bangladesh : RMG sector to have trade union At a meeting held recently between the government officials, garment factory owners and workers representatives, it was decided to introduce trade unions in the garment sector and a 12 member committee was formed to look in to the matter. Recently a demonstration of garment workers was fired upon by the police, which left three people dead and was condemned by the Prime Minister herself for using fire arms instead of other methods on the demonstrators. The 12-member committee will be headed by Chairman of parliamentary standing committee on labour and manpower ministry Israfil Alam, which will prepare recommendations for ways to introduce trade unionism in the garment sector. It will have five representatives each from union leaders and workers and one official of the labour and manpower ministry. Names of these representatives will be given to the government in next three days. The Labour and Employment Minister, Mr Hossain said that committee will come up with necessary recommendations on how trade union can be introduced in the garment industries of the country. Australia : Wool, a naturally carbon friendly fibre Australian Wool Innovation launched the Wool Carbon Alliance, a group of Australian and international wool industry representatives working together to market the natural benefits of wool as the ideal fibre to help reduce global warming. According to international research, a household can significantly reduce its carbon emissions by living with wool: insulating with wool, wearing wool, walking, sleeping and sitting on wool. The European Commission reports that a household can cut its CO2 emissions by up to 300kg a year and energy bill by 5-10 per cent simply by reducing its heating by a mere 1°C. ‘Wool has an important role to play as part of the everyday carbon solution. Ours is an ambitious plan to let the world know just how versatile our great natural fibre is. It’s wool’s time to help the planet and for us to sell more wool in the process,’ says alliance chair and AWI board member Chick Olsson. Last month, AWI facilitated an alliance of growers and scientists to position wool as the ‘planet-friendly fibre’, an initiative which AWI CEO Brenda McGahan says marries wool’s unique natural fibre story with AWI’s new integrated marketing strategy. ‘The other exciting component is that this initiative brings the industry together around a global issue for which we all feel wool is a natural solution,’ says Brenda. Joining Mr Olsson on the Wool Carbon Alliance are Dr Meredith Sheil (Australian Wool Innovation), Martin Oppenheimer (Australian Wool Growers Association), Günther Beier (International Wool Textile Organisation), Geoff Power (South Australian Farmers Federation and formerly WoolProducers Australia), and Tom Ashby (Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders). Wool is a planet-friendly fibre made from the simple combination of sunlight, water and grass. It is made of up to 50 per cent carbon, stored in a stable form. It is renewable, has the ability to biodegrade without harm to the environment and can be recycled. Furthermore, it takes significantly less energy to produce wool products than man-made fibre products, and this ensures CO2 emissions are kept very low. Therefore, the increased usage of wool can positively reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Wool also gives advanced and developing countries alike the opportunity to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. Mr Olsson also noted the potential for Australian woolgrowers to reduce their carbon footprint through on-farm sequestration of carbon. ‘Provided carbon accounting methodologies are changed to encourage generation of credits from sources other than agro-forestry, there is enormous potential for farmers to credit from good environmental practice while remaining viable as food and fibre producers and significantly reducing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere’. ‘This positive perspective is shared by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists which calls for a greater focus on the positive role of terrestrial carbon, stored in forests, woodlands, swamps, grasslands, farmland and soils. In its October 2009 Optimising Carbon in the Australian landscape report the group notes: ‘CSIRO analysis shows that if we could capture just 15 per cent of the biophysical capacity of the Australian landscape to store carbon, it would offset the equivalent of 25 per cent of Australia’s current annual greenhouse emissions for the next 40 years.’ The Wool Carbon Alliance and AWI are working with the Australian Government to research and promote the many roles the fibre can play in a future carbon economy and to take the wool message global. As a preliminary step, alliance member and IWTO president Günther Beier said IWTO would take wool’s voice to the European Parliament in early 2010.