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 the, 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 of thein six and four grades respectively.According to the no

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

Exports of textiles and garments from China earned $187.41 billion during January-August 2020, registering year-on-year increase of 5.62 per cent, according to the data from the ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT).Category-wise, textile exports shot up 31.99 per cent year-on-year to $104.8 billion, whereas apparel exports decreased by 15.74 per cent to $82.61 billion, the MIIT data showed.In the month of August, textile exports soared 46.96 per cent year-on-year to $14.72 bill

The UK Government has announced that it will end tax-free sales and shopping on 31 December this year.The decision will encompass airports, ports and Eurostar stations wherein overseas visitors will no longer be able to obtain a VAT refund on goods purchased in the UK.Only tobacco and alcohol have been exempted from the scheme, while fashion, accessories and beauty products will be offered at the original prices at airports in what is being called a fresh blow to the already ailing aviation indu

The Largest US children’s wear retailer, The Children’s Place (TCP), blames COVID-19 for move from Ethiopia, as employees say they are struggling for even food after wage cuts! By canceling millions ofdollars’ worthof clothing orders from suppliers on 26 August 2020, they pushed companies into debt after buying raw materials and paying workers.Figure 1:Ethiopian suppliers claim that TCP has demanded retroactive rebates on products that had been shipped before the crisis. Courtesy: CollectedEthio

Cambodian textile and apparel industry widely known as abusing workers and the inhuman wage has recently decided to increase workers’ minimum wage to US$190 – 5,800 baht – per month, a 4.4%increase. Officials said European Union has been pressurizing Cambodia over its human rights and political record.Figure: Employees work at a factory supplier of the H&M brand in Kandal province, Cambodia, on Dec 12, 2018. Courtesy: ReutersCambodia’s textile and apparel industry is the main employer, gener

India is contemplating measures to discourage silk imports from China, government officials recently told the parliamentary standing committee on labour. The government also plans to improve the quality of cotton and wool production to reduce imports. The committee met on September 7 and discussed challenges and opportunities in the Indian textile industry.Pic: ShutterstockIndia is one of biggest importers of silk from China, the second largest producer of silk yarn in the world, and the governm