Zimbabwe on Thursday announced a ban on imported second-hand clothing, citing health risks and a negative impact on local industries. ‘Any future importation of second-hand clothing and shoes will be liable to forfeiture and destruction,’ said finance minister Patrick Chinamasa. ‘These measures seek to enhance the competitiveness of the local market,’ he said. The ban comes into effect in September. ‘Used clothing present a health hazard to the citizens,’ the minister added.

The country’s RMG manufacturers are likely to get two more months to complete RMG factory assessment –structural integrity, fire and electrical safety inspection – led by the ILO and the government. Syed Ahmed, inspector general of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), has raised the issue on extending the deadline at the meeting held in the city recently, a senior official, who attended the meeting, told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity. Ambassadors

Integrated Fabric Resource (IFR), which specialises in the custom design, development, and manufacturing of textile-based returnable packaging systems and containers for various industries, has announced the start of an additional manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico. The investment in new manufacturing facility will help IFR to better serve its growing Mexican customer base, the company said on its website. The new production facility will enable to increase its manufacturing capaci

Cambodia has witnessed 21 percent rise in the number of garment and footwear factories, from 528 in late 2013 to 640 in March 2015, while exports are up by more than 10 percent in the past 16 months according to a recent International Labour Organisation (ILO) report, which claims the rapidly growing state of the industry has confounded those who suggested that increased minimum wages for workers would lead to a decline of the sector and the exit of inward investors. The buoyant state of the

EU member states have unanimously voted to ban the textile chemical Nonylphenol Ethoxylate (NPE) found in clothing as its poses an “unacceptable risk” to the environment. The proposal was brought forward by Sweden in 2013 and backed by scientists at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). It is expected that the European Commission will approve the ban within the next few weeks and it will take effect within five years, which means companies will not be able to import textiles containing NPE in

Jute has been a vital sector for the country's economy and remains so even today with about 45 million people of the country depend directly or indirectly on jute farming, trading and employment in jute manufacturing. Bad time for the country's jute industry has staged a comeback after some years to haunt the nation said the Chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). According to reports available, the government-owned BJMC has lost Tk 4.5 billion (Tk 450 crore) during FY2014-

Pakistan’s exports of value-added textile products rose 7.5 per cent to $4.517 billion in 2014-15 from $4.202bn a year ago, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. Exports of readymade garments grew 10.5pc to $2.101bn from $1.909bn, and of knitwear rose 5.37pc to $2.416bn compared to $2.293bn during the previous year. Official figures show that the government held out support of Rs6bn, mostly to the value-added textile sector, during FY15 as against Rs3bn over the previous year.

China's consumer price index (CPI) went up 1.4% year-on-year in June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. In which, the prices of clothing commodities and footwear rose 2.9% and 3.2% respectively while the clothing processing service charge rose 5.4%. In the first-half year, the consumer prices went up 1.3% from the same period of last year, in which, the consumer price of resident's clothing hiked 2.9%. In June, the consumer prices remained unchanged on a monthl

During their recent joint Cabinet meeting in Bangkok, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed to intensify cooperation between the two countries in various sectors, including the textile sector. At the meeting, Dung urged Thailand to increase its investments in Vietnam, especially in areas of mutual interest including in the textile-garment and footwear sector. Both nations agreed to increase their bilateral trade to $20 billion by 2020.

Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in his written reply to Lok Sabha mentioned that the export of textiles for the current financial year (2015-16) targeting a growth of 14 percent has been fixed at USD 47.5 billion from actual exports of USD 41.6 billion in 2014-15, parliament was told on Thursday. He also said that the government is encouraging exports through Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), which has recently been modified to include the markets of Bangladesh and Sri Lan