Identifying cotton as a key driver for the manufacturing sector, Kenya has earmarked the cash crop in its ‘Big Four’ action plan as a multipurpose crop with the potential to turn around the collapsed textile industry, with lint and seed being the principal products. Yields, however, remain low, with the annual production recorded at 25,000 bales last year. Scientists say the main challenge is pest infestation which has reduced the average harvest of cotton lint and seed to 211 and 373 kilogr

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, the platform of European fashion retailers and buyers, recently handed over the safety activities of 80 more readymade garment (RMG) factories to the country’s department of inspection for factories and establishments (DIFE), taking the total number of such factories transferred from Accord to 100. Accord started the handing over process on October 24 with the transfer of 20 factories to DIFE’s remediation coordination cell. Accord ex

Courtesy: rawpixel.com from PexelsThe Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), the Confederation of Trade Union of Myanmar (CTUM) and the Myanmar Industries, Craft and Services Trade Unions Federation (MICS) recently appealed against the withdrawal of the European Union’s (EU) generalised scheme of preferences (GSP). The EU had reinstated GSP for Myanmar in 2013. The trade unions said they will continue to support ongoing reforms and programmes to respect hum

Courtesy: Bryan Schneider from PexelsOver a lifetime Brits will amass £32,951 worth of unworn clothing in their wardrobes - equivalent to the average cost of a wedding or university fees for undergraduate degree. This has been found by True Fit, a global data platform for fashion industry that decodes personal style, fit, and size for consumers to help them find right clothes and shoes. Research involved over 2,000 consumers. According to the report, the average British woman will stash £22,

Courtesy: Sunrise Imports & Exports Co.Sunrise Imports & Exports Company is going to display its latest machinery for the textile weaving sector at the upcoming Surat International Textile Expo (SITEX) to be held from January 4-6, 2019. Sunrise deals in products from one of the top quality textile machinery manufacturers in China. The company also provides complimentary after-sales service. “At our booth IS 361, we are going to showcase our latest models of water jet looms, high-speed

The Bihar state Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) recently signed an agreement in Patna with Raymond Ltd to sell the state’s khadi fabrics under the brand name ‘Bihar Khadi’ through its retail outlets across India. Raymond will directly procure khadi fabrics from weaver organizations in Bihar above the base cost and sell them through its outlets. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between BN Prasad, the CEO of KVIB and Pramod Pradhan, category head of the p

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged the government to create an Independent Regulatory Authority for E Commerce to regulate and monitor the e-commerce trade. The said Authority should be duly empowered to take action against any entity which defy the policy and ensure that the policy is strictly implemented in its true letter and spirit. “FDI norms as spelled out in the policy (recently by the government) should also be made applicable on domestic e-commerce players as wel

Courtesy: Francesco Paggiaro from PexelsTo facilitate restructuring of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accounts that have become stressed, the RBI has decided to permit a one-time restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an asset classification downgrade. The restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020. “To be eligible for the scheme, the aggregate exposure, including non-fund based facilities of banks and

Courtesy: TrunkclubThe most searched fashion style in America is smart casual, which has been found most popular in 21 states, according to an analysis by Trunk Club, a personal styling service for men and women, which examined the most searched fashion styles in 2018 across all 50 states to see what styles and style questions people across the country are searching for. The study examined more than 400 different search engine queries about specific style questions (such as what to wear with

Around 70 per cent of European Parliament lawmakers recently backed the European Union (EU)-Japan agreement that binds two economies accounting for about a third of global gross domestic product and signals their rejection of protectionism by launching the world's largest free trade zone early next year. Japan's parliament also approved it recently. EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the deal would bring clear benefits to EU companies and farmers. The EU-Japan agreement will re