India : British retailer Marks and Spencer has reaffirmed its commitment to double its retail presence in India through its joint venture in the emerging market. The retailer currently operates 17 stores in India in conjunction with Indian-owned Reliance Retail.

The firm said it plans to increase that number to more than 50 over the next three years. The affirmation comes on the back of the opening of a larger format store in Chennai last week.

A spokesperson for Marks and Spencer said the joint venture with Reliance Retail has allowed it to “gain better control” in India. “In India there are lots of great opportunities but a lot of it is about relying on the space becoming available, so we do want to open stores but it’s about making sure we get the right locations, and the right shopping malls.

She added: “As well as trying to expand our presence, it’s about getting the size of the store right. So where some of our franchise stores are a little bit small, the stores we are opening now, we’re trying to build them a bit bigger so that we can offer a bigger catalogue.”

Marks and Spencer announced plans to open 50 stores in India when it formed the joint venture in 2008. The retailer said the target remains. “There are some really positive things about business in India, in terms of local sourcing, which we’re trying to increase, which helps lower some of the prices,” the spokesperson said.

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=306&yr=2010

India -A recent study commissioned by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) shows that India’s share in US imports of technical textiles and non-woven fabrics is abysmally low.

The FICCI has raised concerns over the fact that India’s market share in US imports of technical textile fabrics stands at just 2.9 per cent and that of non-woven fabrics make up for an even lower 1.2 per cent in 2009.

In comparison, China’s share stands at 15 per cent in exports of technical textile fabrics and 12 per cent in non-woven fabrics in the same period. The FICCI says that a research and development textile policy needs to be formulated to correct this anomaly.

According to FICCI, the current share of Indian advance technology-based and high value-added textile goods in global market stands at just two per cent and the policy should target a market share of seven per cent.

The apex body also suggests that the policy should offer a special-focus on eco-friendly textiles that would help in reducing carbon footprint. The FICCI has recommended setting up a national textiles research council with a capital outlay of Rs 30 crore and a yearly grant of Rs 10 crore.

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=302&yr=2010

Bulgaria: For three days, in September, 16 - 18, 2010, Sofia will host the 9th International Fashion Fair BGate - 2010 This B2B specialized international exposition will present the professionals in fashion and producers of clothing and textile, designers and dealers, commercial chains, distributors, branch organizations, vocational schools, media from Bulgaria, Europe and the Balkans.

Exhibitors:

• producers of textile and designer brand apparel
• producers, working as subcontractors on CM, CMT or private label bassis
• producers and importers of equipment, machines, accessories and services for the industry
  and more 1000 profesional visitors from over 20 countries….

BGate - 2010 will be opened on 16 September by Mr. Traicho Traikov, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Mr. Francesco Marchi, Director General of Euratex and Mrs. Valeria Jekova, Chair of BAAPTE.

Venue: Inter Expo and Congres Center (ICE), Sofia. - www.iec.com

Organizers: BAAPTE and Bulgarreklama Agency. - www.bgtextiles.com

Source:http://www.bgtextiles.org/?cid=78&NewsId=1100

The Global Union representing workers in the garment sector is convening a meeting on the Bangladesh factory fire which earlier this year left twenty-one workers dead and over fifty injured.

The Garib & Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur caught fire on February 25 for the second time in a year. The fire, which was started by an electrical short-circuit, turned to tragedy because the exits were blocked and the fire-fighting equipment inoperable. Just six weeks later another fire broke out, leaving a number of workers injured. The Garib fires were the latest in a string of factory disasters that have claimed the lives of 150 textile and garment workers in the past five years alone.

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation is inviting unions, civil society organisations, Garib & Garib, the buyers, the employers association’ BGMEA and the government to come to the table to examine what has been done so far and what more needs to happen to meet the needs of those affected by the disaster and to avoid a re-occurrence.The brands invited include H&M, Teddy, LC Waikiki, Provera and El Corte Inglés.

The meeting, scheduled for July 21 in Dhaka, aims to review developments in compensation in Bangladesh; examine the needs of those affected by the fires at Garib & Garib; determine what compensation has been received to date and what further compensation may be required; examine what improvements are needed at the factory; and ascertain what lessons can be learned from Garib and Garib.

Source: http://www.itglwf.org/lang/en/GaribandGarib.html

Arlington, VA – American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) President and CEO Kevin M. Burke today released the following statement regarding the publication of the National Intellectual Property Strategy by the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC).

“The United States has long needed an aggressive, collaborative, and practical approach to combating the scourge of counterfeiting that continues to harm U.S. apparel and footwear brands competing in the global market. I applaud Ms. Espinel and her team for working so diligently to present the U.S. Congress with first-ever survey of our country’s intellectual property (IP) regime.

“As this report is transmitted to Congress, it is important to keep in mind that America’s competitive edge is dependent upon strong intellectual property enforcement. With strong IP protections for U.S. apparel and footwear brands, our industry will be able to generate and sustain jobs while keeping innovation and creativity at the forefront.

“For the last four years, the U.S. apparel and footwear industry has consistently been the largest victim of IP theft with over half of the seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection being footwear, fashion accessories, and apparel. Without an approach forward, the threat of IP theft in stores or through e-commerce will continue to pose significant dangers to U.S. consumers, harm the reputations of U.S. brands, and rob the U.S. government of tax revenue.

“I am pleased this report reflects a comprehensive approach that pulls all IP stakeholders together. This plan will only bring about meaningful improvements to intellectual property protections when our trade partners value IP the same way we do and when we all work with one common goal. AAFA will continue to work with the IPEC, Congress and industry stakeholders as the United States moves forward with these report recommendations.”

Source: https://www.apparelandfootwear.org/UserFiles/File/PressReleases/2010/062210aafawelcomesnationalipstrategy.pdf

New York, NY - Cotton Incorporated announced the promotion of Mike Tyndall to Vice President, Product Development and Implementation, as part of a realignment of the company’s textile research efforts. Tyndall, who will report directly to Cotton Incorporated President and CEO J. Berrye Worsham, will supervise all aspects of technical textile research for the company.

In his new role, Tyndall will oversee activities in the Fiber Processing, Product Development, Dyeing Research, and Finishing Research Departments. To foster greater synchronicity between research and implementation, the company’s Technology Management and Technology Implementation departments will also report to Tyndall.

“We believe this realignment of research and implementation will help us get from technical theory to practical application with greater efficiency,” said Worsham. “Mike brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the job and will provide the essential leadership the role requires.”

Tyndall has been on staff at Cotton Incorporated since 1974, most recently as Managing Director of Product Development and implementation. He has a B.S. in Textile Chemistry and a Masters of Textiles, both from North Carolina State University, where he was also an Adjunct Associate at the Textile Extension and Applied Research, College of Textiles until 2005. Tyndall has been a member of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists since 1976 and currently serves as the President-elect of the organization.

Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. producers of upland cotton and U.S. importers of cotton and cotton products, is the research and marketing company representing U.S. upland cotton.

Source: http://www.cottoninc.com/PressReleases/?articleID=539

CARY, NC - Speakers from industries as diverse as automotives, consumer products and health care - along with some of the most forward-thinking innovators in the business - highlight the impressive agenda at the inaugural Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics (RISE) Conference, scheduled for September 20-23 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, RISE is designed to stimulate innovation in all aspects of the development, production, marketing and sales of engineered fabrics.The target audience ranges from product managers and technical sales and marketing executives to product engineers, purchasing managers and research engineers at both consumer and industrial products companies.

“Our goal for RISE is to start the conversation between technical and marketing professionals to create new markets and revenues for companies in these markets,” says INDA President Rory Holmes.

Holmes points out that RISE will bring together some of the most creative, innovative minds in the global engineered fabrics business, as well as from related industries that utilize the products made by engineered fabrics companies. “RISE will provide attendees with the tools - and the motivation - to jumpstart their own progressive thinking in the global engineered fabrics industry.”

One of the highlights of RISE will be an intense four-hour innovation “boot camp” to help companies re-align their innovation efforts. It will be led by Karl-Michael Schumann, Innovation Advisor and Coach and former director of Research & Development at Procter & Gamble. Companies are invited to submit a specific innovation problem or question to Schumann in advance of the workshop for a confidential solution.

Another session on Sustainable Innovation - featuring Ron Hageman, Chief Technology Officer, New Composite Partners; Liila Woods, Senior Consultant, PE Americas; and Suzanne Shelton, President & CEO, Shelton Group - will discuss Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a quantitative tool to measure the impact products and systems have on the environment.

Among the market-specific sessions being held at RISE:

• Construction: Under pressure to “green up” their projects with alternative materials and energy saving solutions, architects and builders are caught between outmoded building codes and the need to introduce innovative practices into their designs. Innovation in building science requires more than new materials, however. World-class speakers — André Desjarlais, Program Manager-Building Envelops Program, Oakridge National Laboratory; Helene Hardy-Pierce, Vice President of Technical Services, GAF Materials; Joe Lstiburek, Principal, Building Science Corp.; and Jerry Phelan, Bayer MaterialSciences - will discuss where innovation is driving these changes.
• Hygiene-Consumer & Medical. The concerns of consumers and environmentalists are merging and “green” is becoming a technical standard that must co-exist with other performance characteristics. Nancy Muller, Executive Director, National Association for Continence; Pricie Hannah, Vice President, John R. Starr, Inc.; Robert Green, Business Director, NatureWorks LLC; and Blair Childs, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Premier, Inc. will help attendees learn what consumer needs and wants are and how they can be balanced with green alternatives.
• Innovative Equipment. The latest and greatest in energy-saving technologies and equipment will be the focus of Steve Lessley, Market Manager-Nonwovens, ITW Dynatec; Alan Lavore, Executive Vice President, Mahlo America; Hans-Georg Geus, Technical Director, Reifenhauser Reicofil; and Doug Brown, Biax-Fiberfilm.
• New Markets & Opportunities. Exploiting new market opportunities is vital for companies to guard against the time when a strong product or service will become static or declining. The panel of Jerry Fan, Independent Consultant; Rory Holmes, President, INDA; Ram Maheshwari, Director of Marketing, Ginni Filaments (India); and Keith Osteen, Principal, Smith, Johnson & Associates, will explore new market opportunities springing from a range of possible sources. The speakers will investigate the markets of China and India and discover the global possibilities with a look at recent patent filings and industry “mega trends.”
• Innovative Thinking. John Wilbanks, Vice President of Science, Science Commons/Creative Commons; Abbie Griffin, Royal L. Garff President Chair in Marketing, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah; Karl-Michael Schumann, Innovation Advisor & Coach, Former Director of R&D, The Procter & Gamble Co.; Chris Andrews, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research; and Al Dietz, Johns Manville, will explore innovation as the bottom line of our industry.
• Advanced Materials-New Developments. Attendees will learn about new developments with eco-friendly raw materials and innovative ways resins and fiberglass are being used to create sustainable energy. The panel includes Ralf Taubner, Scientist-Spunbonds & Films, Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut; Rockey (Bin) Zhao, ExxonMobil Chemical; and Andy Campbell, Senior Staff Engineer, Braskem Polypropylene.

Source: http://www.inda.org/press/2010/RISE_Speakers.html

Carbon tax is a kind of environmental tax decided by the amount of carbon emission during product processing. In practice, it also takes the form of energy tax, in which circumstance the fuel price will increase and the cost will be taken by the end users. During the investment of enterprises, carbon tax has a fixed reference cost.

It is learned that carbon or energy tax has already been implemented in the North European countries: Denmark, Finland, Netherland, Norway and Sweden. France will also put it into practice in 2010.

According to some officers of Ministry of Finance, China might deepen the reform of resource tax and began environmental tax this year. The reform of resource tax may focus on expanding the tax scale and raising the tax rate, turning lump-sum tax into progressive tax. Meanwhile, the taxation would cover both producing and consuming process. Officers of Ministry of Environmental Protection say that China would turn the current resource tax into carbon tax. Currently, every province is preparing energy-saving fund for local enterprises.

Source: http://www.cnga.org.cn/engl/news/View.asp?NewsID=24624

At the 2010 China (Qingdao) International Fashion Week and Qingdao Exquisite Product Trade Fair opened on May 5, Qingdao Jifa Group published low-carbon products such as carapace-covering underwear and heat-preserving clothes which received good feedbacks. In recent years, as an enterprise of national technical centre, Jifa has fully utilized its technical advantages, pushing the exploration of new fabrics and post-processing techniques. The corporation focuses on the trend from knitting to outer wear to fashion and the function of products, developing new fabric materials such as wool, linen, bamboo, natural silk, soybean fibre, and so on. The cooperation’s post-processing techniques have made these materials stain-and-oil-preventing, sweat-absorbent, antibacterial, moisture-absorptive and heat-preserving.

Source: http://www.cnga.org.cn/engl/news/View.asp?NewsID=24589

Inditex, the owner of the Zara fashion chain, posted a forecast-beating 63 per cent jump in quarterly net profit yesterday as its fast-to-market business model helped it to respond quickly to an upswing in demand.

The world’s biggest clothing retailer by revenue returned to double-digit sales growth in the first quarter as demand picked up after almost two years of recession, with shoppers snapping up items including oversized graphic T-shirts and harem pants.

Profits, sales and gross margin all beat forecasts, driven by positive currency effects and the proximity of Inditex’s factories, which allows quick replacement of high-turnover items.

The cash-rich company has picked up market share in its home market, Spain, which accounts for a third of sales, during an economic downturn in which many smaller clothing stores have gone out of business.

Inditex, which opened its first Zara store in India in May, has also expanded aggressively into the savings-rich economies of the Middle East and Asia, reducing its exposure to sluggish Spanish consumer demand.

Source: http://english.ctei.gov.cn/Headlines/243068.htm