Representatives of the BGMEA and the Steering Committee of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (Accord), met in Dhaka on 14 January 2020 to finalize the establishment of the ‘RMG Sustainability Council (RSC)’ by signing a Transition Agreement and agreeing on Articles of Association for the RSC.Figure: RSCwill retain all health and safety inspections and remediation, safety training and complaints handling functions currently carried out by the Accord.The RSC is an unprecedented

The Lycra Company, a global leader in developing innovative solutions for the apparel industry, will showcase the most ground-breaking line up of innovations at ISPO Munich in years. Attendees can learn about new LycraFitSense technology, LycraMyFit fibre, LycraEcoMade fibre and Planet Agenda, The Lycra Company’s sustainability platform.© The Lycra Company.“We are very excited to showcase our latest innovations for activewear, sportswear and athleisure apparel at ISPO,” said Julien Born, Preside

For the year to date through November US jeans imports from the world were down 3.05%. US jeans imports from China fell 24.35 per cent. China lost its top supplier spot to Mexico earlier this year, as the US-China trade war cut into its US-destined production. For the third straight month since the 15 per cent tariffs on denim jeans and associated products imported into the US from China took effect, shipments dropped significantly. Bangladesh’s denim exports to the US rose 1.5%. Vietnam’s shipm

Vince, a leading global contemporary group, has announced the appointment of Steven Cateron to the position of senior creative director, Rebecca Taylor and Parker, effective January 13, 2020. In this position, Cateron will lead all aspects of apparel design and creative services for the two brands. Vince is a global luxury apparel and accessories brand.Pic: Vince HoldingCateron joined the company from Club Monaco, where he served as creative director, SVP Design. Cateron started with Club Monaco

Clothing and footwear brands and retailers have dramatically increased their disclosure of information about their supply chains in the past three years, a coalition of unions, human rights groups and labour rights advocates said in a report. This has become a widely accepted step toward better identifying and addressing labour abuses in supply chains.Pic: ShutterstockThe 15-page report, titled ‘Fashion’s Next Trend: Accelerating Supply Chain Transparency in the Garment and Footwear Industry’, d

Indian minister of textiles Smriti Irani recently asked businessmen and the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) to work out a plan to make Surat a textile machinery manufacturing hub. She met SGCCI office bearers in Surat recently and urged them to participate in a textile machinery expo that the government plans to organise in August.Pic: ShutterstockSGCCI president Ketan Desai told a top Indian English-language daily that SGCCI could host this expo.Textile Machinery Manuf

New investment focus on compliance and value-added productsIn the just-concluded year, export-oriented apparel entrepreneurs made an investment in setting up 123 garment units paving ways to generate employment for over 67,500 people mostly for women workers.Figure:123 newly setup garment units paving ways to generate employment for over 67,500 people mostly for women workers.According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), a total of 78 new factories registered w

Free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) will help boost India’s textile exports, according to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), whose chairman A Sakthivel recently said the government should pursue FTAs with these countries as they hold tremendous potential for India's exports.ShutterstockIndian textile exporters have to pay about 10 per cent customs duty in these countries now, he said.FTAs will help in significantly red

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi ((IIT-D) has developed a ‘fabric feel tester’ at a cost nearly 100 times cheaper than the ones commercially available. The instrument measures the subjective fabric feel perception and expresses it by an objective numerical value. A patent has also been filed for the instrument.Pic: ShutterstockApurba Das’ team has developed the instrument with support from the department of science and technology.The existing Kawabata Evaluation

The textile and garment factories must comply with ‘Rules of Origin’ if it has to benefit from the recently signed free trade agreements (FTAs) said Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, or VINATEX.Figure: Vietnam needs to invest in fabric production to meet origin requirements while exporting to CPTPP and EVFTA countries. Courtesy: bdg-asia.comLe Tien Truong, General Director, VINATEX said, “Vietnam needs to invest in fabric production to meet origin requirements while exporting to CPTPP