United States Of America : BSA uniform earns Seal of Recommendation award In August 2008, the Boy Scouts of America introduced a new Boy Scout uniform to commemorate its upcoming 100th Anniversary. The material for new uniform broke new ground for the group -- it had an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) rating of 40+. In response to the innovation and concern for the millions of youth and adults who spend hundreds of hours doing outdoor activities, the uniform has been awarded The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation. To earn The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation, a product must be proven to aid in the prevention of sun-induced damage to the skin and must earn a UPF rating of 30+ or above. BSA's Centennial uniform has earned this distinguished seal, receiving an excellent UPF rating of 40+. The BSA's sun-protective, uniform-approved apparel includes the Centennial Uniform Shirt and pants offered in 18 styles for youth, as well as adult men's and women's sizes. Some pant styles have convertible, zip-off components that are very popular with youth. Many people don't give much thought to the amount of sun that their heads and scalps are exposed to on a daily basis. Consequently, three kinds of hats are available, each offering a UPF rating of 50+. As technology and textiles changes, the BSA will continue to add apparel pieces, all offering top UPF ratings, to its product line. "For nearly 100 years, Scouting has given youth and adults a wide range of outdoor activities and safety education unlike any other youth-serving organization," said Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca. "Preparing Scouts for severe weather conditions is of highest priority--winter or summer, the right gear is critical. We will make sure that top-rated, sun-protective clothing is always available." Serving nearly 4.1 million young people between the ages of 7 and 20 with more than 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. United States Of America : Military textile manufacturing workers rally to save their jobs Earlier, 100 Eagle Industries workers in New Bedford, MA, who manufacture backpacks for the U.S. army, rallied outside their factory to save their jobs. Following the May 29 announcement by Alliant Techsystems (ATK), owner of Eagle Industries, that the plant will be closed on July 31, the workers called on the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center, the agency that manages Eagle's New Bedford contract, to preserve the jobs. "We need these jobs to feed our families," said Maria Vieira, a worker at the Eagle plant. "How are we going to survive if ATK takes away our livelihood - on unemployment and welfare? We have to fight for these jobs to the end. We have no other choice." "This contract was awarded by the Army to New Bedford and it should stay in New Bedford," said Elisa Rios, another worker. "The Army has the power to keep our jobs here and we hope the Army will listen and get involved on our behalf." "Shutting down this factory is a terrible act of pure greed by ATK," said Guillermo Cosajay, another worker. "They are not doing this to benefit the Army or to save taxpayers money. They are only doing this to benefit themselves and their profits. Putting 350 people out of work is not how a responsible federal contractor acts." On April 1, ATK, a large defense contractor, purchased Eagle Industries. On May 29, ATK announced that it is closing the New Bedford plant on July 31 and moving production to its facilities in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center in Natick, MA manages the Eagle contract and must approve or deny requests to move production to other facilities. New Bedford is listed as the place of production in the original contract. The Eagle Industries plant in New Bedford, MA employees approximately 350 workers who produce MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load Carrying Equipment) under a contract with the U.S. Army. Since April 2008, workers there have been trying to form a union. Eagle Industries strenuously resisted these efforts and created fears of job loss for months. On June 3, Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator John Kerry, and Representative Barney Frank wrote a letter to the U.S. Army Acting Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology calling ATK's decision to close the plant "abrupt and unnecessary." The letter goes on to state that, "What ATK determined was in its corporate interest certainly wasn't in its workers interests, and cannot simply be assumed to be in the U.S. Army's interests." To read the entire letter, click here: Under the Berry Amendment, all military apparel and textiles are required to be made in the United States. The Department of Defense is the largest consumer of U.S.-made apparel and textile goods. Workers United, SEIU is a union of 150,000 workers in the US and Canada who work in the laundry, food service, hospitality, gaming, apparel, textile, manufacturing and distribution industries. United States Of America : GapKids & babyGap to create new apparel collection GapKids and babyGap, two of the most recognized names in children’s apparel, announced plans for a new collection created for Gap by Stella McCartney. Expected to launch in late 2009, the collection will be carried in select GapKids and babyGap stores in the United States and Canada, the UK, France and Ireland, and Japan, as well as online in the US. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to build on successful past collaborations with a world class design talent like Stella,” said Marka Hansen, President of Gap brand. “I'm looking forward to offering our GapKids and babyGap customers her unique interpretation of Gap's casual American aesthetic. Her experience as a parent and designer are sure to delight both kids and parents alike.” Stella McCartney comments, “For years now I’ve wanted to create a collection for kids, it’s something I’ve often been asked about. I believe that this one-off collaboration will be a great way for customers to be able to participate in the Stella McCartney brand. I believe that kids clothing should be more accessibly priced, which is particularly important at the moment given the current climate. It’s really exciting for us to do a boys and girls collection for the first time.” Taiwan : Trade mission to tap garment sector in Syria & Jordan The Taiwan External Trade and Development Council (TAITRA) has sent a trade mission to Syria and Jordan with the objective to increase bilateral trade, with special emphasis being laid on the garment manufacturing and electronic cable sector. It is estimated that US $4 million worth of trade orders will be signed by the trade mission. TAITRA intends to build on Taiwan's success in tapping into the garment manufacturing in particular and pipe industries in Syria. Bi-lateral trade with Syria in 2009 touched $166 million, up 26 percent from that in 2007, which is however, well below Taiwan's bilateral trade with Jordan, even though Jordan's population is less than one-third of Syria's. India : ‘We hope to double workforce in handmade carpet sector’ – Mr Jain The carpet industry despite the downturn is on a high and is projecting a growth of 8-10 percent in this year. This is hoped to be achieved on a surge in demand from the domestic markets and development of new export markets along with producing cheaper and newer varieties of carpets. Fibre2fashion spoke exclusively to Mr Ashok Jain, Chairman, Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) and Director of Nupur Carpets to understand the positive sentiments carried by the carpet sector of achieving 8-10 percent growth in face of adverse circumstances in the global markets. We began by asking him his take on the expectations of touching 8-10 percent growth in the current fiscal, to which Mr Jain said, “Our handmade carpet industry is suffering a lot in the present circumstances due to global recession and economic slowdown continuing in the entire world and one can very well understand that a carpet is one of the last items of necessities or priorities of life. Though, it is quite difficult to comment anything on the issue of growth at this stage but I am positive and am of the opinion that our handmade carpet industry should post 8-10% growth in the current financial year. We must be positive towards our goals and must make all out efforts towards achieving growth of 8-10%. Therefore, we have to look for new items of floor coverings, which might be cheaper and within the range of common man and I am sure that this attempt will bring fruitful results for our carpet industry”. Next we asked him as to how the sector expected to reach this growth figure to which he said, “Our council must make all possible efforts with the help of Government to find out more opportunities in other countries like Latin America, South America, South Africa, Russia, Gulf Countries etc., and to explore and achieve success in new markets, our council is determined to hold buyer-seller meets, arranging exhibitions etc. and apart from this, we do also organize two fairs in India; one in New Delhi in the month of February and the other fair in Varanasi in the month of October. Forthcoming Carpet Fair in Varanasi will be held from 3-6 October, 2009. For these fairs, we do invite customers from all over the world and offer them some attractive packages like free air tickets and free hotel stay in India etc.” He added by saying, “Now, we are concentrating more on new markets, since, we have limited means, therefore, we try to accommodate first buyers from new markets and later on, from the existing markets and this will also produce fruitful results to increase our business. You may be aware that 80% of world market for carpets & floor coverings has been grabbed by the machine made carpets, which is cheaper than handmade carpets, and thus, we have to think seriously as to how we can increase the demand of handmade carpets by taking a share of machine made carpets, so we have to develop cheap range items and also create awareness amongst consumers that if they buy handmade rugs, they provide livelihood to weavers”. India : EU & Oxfam to support organic farming & weavers The European Commission has committed a financial support of €750,000 for the cotton farmers, weavers and garment makers in South India under a project to improve livelihood and working conditions of the these people. The Commission has been supporting this project since January 2008 and will run the same till December 2011. The project that is being implemented by Oxfam India has a target to ensure 8,000 farmers adopt organic farming and establish direct market access for 1,000 weavers. About 63 percent of the total funds required for the project will be provided by the European Commission while the rest will come from Oxfam. Oxfam, an NGO has been working with farmers and weavers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka since 2003, and encourages cotton farmers to opt for organic farming rather than chemical farming. Till now, it has managed to rope in 4,584 families into organic farming. Oxfam has sold cotton worth Rs. 6 crore to the Cotton Corporation of India. It also has spread awareness about policy research, design development and collective marketing amongst 250 weavers. The NGO also works with garment workers in Bangalore, especially with women, in partnership with Cividep India (Civil Initiatives for Development and Peace India) to deal with the issues regarding working conditions and wages in garments sector. The garment workers in Bangalore receive an average payment of Rs. 101 a day, which is the lowest in India, said Mr. K.P. Gopinath, General Secretary, Cividep. With the help of Cividep the garment workers have formed associations called Munnade (a women workers social organization) and GATWU (Garment and Textile Workers Association). Global : 'Go Green' sets tone of clothing market Today, the hot trend in the market is organic clothing. Made from hundred percent organic materials like soy, organic cotton and hemp, a huge assortment of garments like skirts, blouses, shirts, pants, socks, bathrobes, pillow cases etc are made from organic fibres. Wearing organic clothing reduces one's exposure to allergens, and other irritants. Furthermore, they improve soil fertility, cotton yield, and saves water. The industry is experiencing a high growth trajectory with increasing concern. The industry is further enhanced by fashion designers who design their collections with organic fabrics. The clothing is put under global spotlight through fashion shows, and runway models who pose with trendy outfits made from organic fabrics. Designers are working towards making these clothes more appealing, fashionable and economical to suit the preferences as well as the shopping budget of the consumers. Click here to view the complete article. Global : Scientific approach enhances functionality of socks Keeping the feet dry is the primary concern for socks manufacturers. DeFeet founder Shane Cooper says just including a performance fiber is not enough; how it's used is just as important. Since perspiration comes from inside the sock, the wicking properties are more effective there. Socks are manufactured with different combinations keeping in mind the purpose of usage. xSkiers need additional shin padding while snowboarders need padding on the backs of their legs. Hikers may want to cushion the tips of their toes. For athletic socks in particular, keeping feet warm or cool is important. Wigwam socks use various fiber combinations to transport and evaporate perspiration. These socks are especially important for novice athletes. Click here to read the complete article. Bangladesh : Recession forces garment factories to close down The ongoing global financial meltdown has left its marks on the readymade garment industry in Chittagong by making it to experience a downfall of 28 percent in export orders in the first four months of current fiscal, informed industry leaders. This downfall in orders has forced at least 20 factory owners to shut their factories in the first quarter, said Nasiruddin Chowdhury, first vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in a press briefing. About 50 percent of the 742 garment factories in the port city have lost their competitive edge due to the recession. To reduce the impact of the economic slowdown on the country’s garment industry, leaders of BGMEA are seeking cash incentives, he added. Mr. Nasiruddin, also spoke about the stimulus package introduced by many countries for survival of their garments sectors and said, competitor countries of Bangladesh like India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Cambodia had devalued their currencies. China had awarded 63 types of subsidies for its apparel industry whereas Rs. 5,173 crore has been distributed by India along with a 10 percent cash incentive and a 5 percent subsidy on interest on loans and Pakistan has also reduced bank interest rate to 6.5 percent from 7.5 percent, added Mr. Nasiruddin. Keeping all these major steps, taken by the competitor countries, in mind, Bangladesh also needs to take steps to prepare the industry for global competition. According to Mr. Nasiruddin, the sector fears that more factories will shut down, due to which the dream of creating a $25 billion industry will be shattered. He said that country’s garment industry needs 10 percent cash incentives on the export value of garments and special measures to rehabilitate the country's 270 sick factories. It also requires less than 7 percent interest rate and a reduction in bank service charges, withdraw VAT on RMG units and reduce tariff at Chittagong port. Mr. Nasiruddin urged the government to close the garment factories enjoying 100 percent foreign ownership since they were creating unequal competition in the market and made a demand to set up 12 captive power plants through public or private investment on a priority basis. Bangladesh : RMG exporters demand subsidy in bank interest rates Ready-made garment exporters are clamouring for a subsidy on bank interest rates rather than providing cash incentives as has been done in the case of other sectors. This issue has been raised after the finance minister promised to declare a new stimulus package for apparel exporters since the sector was bypassed in the first stimulus package. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) in a meeting with the Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman suggested and proposed a subsidy on bank interest rate to be included in the upcoming budget. The garment exporters allege of over invoicing in the case of cash subsidies which can lead to mismanagement of funds and suggest that a 5 percent subsidy on bank interest rate would benefit the sector as it will be very effective though exporters with low loan exposures may not benefit as much from this scheme.