LENZING – Textile fibre producer Lenzing has been awarded an improved sustainability rating of B- by field agency ISS ESG for its ongoing efforts to reduce the firm’s environmental impacts.The revised rating, up from C+, positions the Austrian outfit amongst the top 10 per cent of companies globally, and confirms its ‘Prime Status’ – a title assigned by ISS.“The top performance in the ISS ESG ranking is a great recognition of our work,” said Stefan Doboczky, Lenzing CEO. “We are proud to be amon

Gap Inc and Textile Exchange have joined hands to release Gap Inc’s Preferred Fibre Toolkit (PFT). The toolkit is a resource to be used by sourcing and design teams to inform companies on meeting their sustainability goals. It will provide companies with consolidated, validated guidance with a goal to create healthier communities and protect the planet.Pic: Gap IncWith this partnership, the Toolkit will be developed as a publicly available, industry-wide resource. As an industry, apparel and ret

Data-led opportunities and artificial intelligence (AI) are likely to drive the Indian retail industry, according to a joint report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Primus Partners. Changing consumer preferences are driving store digitisation and increased integration of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the value chain will further accelerate the growth of data-driven retail, it said.Pic: Shutterstock"The role of offline stores is

GREENSBORO – Cone Denim, of the Elevate Textiles Group which also owns American & Efird and Burlington, has partnered with supply chain traceability specialist Oritain to validate the end-to-end authenticity of the cotton it uses.Oritain’s method, unlike others which often require molecular tags or sprays, detects naturally occurring elements in the cotton it tracks – otherwise known as Origin Fingerprints – which can be influenced by factors like soil composition and other environmental con

Rating agency ICRA recently said US restrictions on certain textile imports from China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region is likely to prove beneficial for Indian textile exporters, many of which have either already started receiving increased orders or are in active discussions with large global buyers looking at increasing their sourcing from India.Pic: Shutterstock“With China being the leading apparel exporter, accounting for more than 35 per cent of the global trade and more than three-fourths of

NEW YORK - Digital platform provider Eon has linked up with fashion brands H&M, PVH and Target, as well as software giant Microsoft, in a plan to give every garment in the world a unique digital identity.The initial aim is to bring 400 million products online by 2025 in the programme, called Connected Products, targeted at helping the fashion industry develop sustainable new business models.Eon says it will enable brands and retailers to monetise and scale new circular business models such a

Industry stakeholder signatories of the United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action (UNFCCC) recently launched the first Playbook for Climate Action, a living guide to enable all actors of the fashion industry to identify what climate actions to take and which initiatives and programmes could support them in undertaking their decarbonisation journey.Pic: UNFCCIt is primarily targeted at less-experienced fashion companies that have not yet taken action on climate change, but want t

Uruguay recently unveiled the brand ‘Uruguay Wools’ to promote its wool globally and turn the nation into a reference point in the wool industry, both at the regional and global levels. The event was attended by vice president Beatriz Argimón, president of the Uruguayan Wool Secretariat Miguel Sanguinetti and Jaime Miller, executive director of Uruguay XXI.Pic: Uruguay XXIUruguay XXI is the investment, export and country brand promotion agency."This event has a significant importance. The e

Dhaka recently fixed Tk 7,100 as theminimum monthly wages for footwear and leather goods workers, according to a September 8 gazette notification by the ministry of labour and employment. A wage board was formed in September 2019 to review the same. For the first time, a provision for an annual increment of 5 per cent of the basic pay has been incorporated.Pic: ShutterstockThe last minimum wages for the sector was set at Tk 3,652.50 in 2013. The government has categorised workers and employees o

BERLIN – Germany's Grüner Knopf (green button) label, a government-run textile certification mark, has marked its first anniversary by revealing how much ground it has covered over the last 12 months.As many as 52 companies have joined the scheme which aims to guide consumers guidance that the textiles they buy have been produced in accordance with social and environmental standards.German Development Minister Gerd Müller, who joined the initial 27 private sector pioneers to launch Grüner Kn