An ethics expert at British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) says that the company is giving more responsibility to its garment suppliers. Dr Anna Harvey, ethical trading manager at M&S, told an environmental conference in Britain that ethical sourcing goes beyond audits.

“At M&S we have a full and thorough auditing process for our suppliers. But more important than that we approach suppliers to help them manage issues for themselves. Our approach is to empower suppliers,” she said while speaking at the annual RITE Group conference in Westminster, London.

“At present the monitoring process manages the status quo, and there are significant limitations with auditing,” added Dr Harvey. “Audits might help to improve conditions but often don’t address the root causes of these issues. There are many reoccuring issues that need a more in-depth innovative process and tools to overcome, an example of this would be the global issue of wages.”

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/international.asp?id=391&yr=2010

Bangladesh - The Bangladesh textile industry will be helped to improve its environmental standards through a wing of the World Bank.

Its International Finance Corporation (IFC) will use regional and international consultants to transfer knowledge to Bangladeshi consulting firms and auditors. They in turn will work with textile companies to assess existing environmental practices in a bid to improve waste-management and energy efficiency.

An IFC communiqué claimed textile manufacturing in Bangladesh “has a huge environmental footprint, annually discharging as much as 56 million tonnes of waste water, 0.5 million tonnes of sludge and consuming tremendous amounts of energy.”

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/international.asp?id=389&yr=2010

India - Barely 10 days after the government opened registration of cotton exports for the current season, total quantity of contracts for the natural fibre to be shipped has touched the ceiling of 55 lakh bales.

The government has allowed duty-free exports of 55 lakh bales (of 170 kg) for the 2010-11 marketing season, which runs from October to September. For the first time, the government also made it mandatory to register exports online starting October 1.

The exports against this quota will commence from November 1. According to the Office of the Textiles Commissioner, the online “applications equal to the stipulated exportable surplus quantity (55 lakh bales) have already been received.”

As a result, the online process for registration of contracts has been suspended, it said on its website. Of the total cotton exports contracts for 55 lakh bales, the Commissioner has given permission to export only 12.89 lakh bales as of now.

It said that some of the applications for exports of 5.64 lakh bales did not meet the required norms while the applications for exports of 7,058 bales were rejected. Applications for the balance 35.16 lakh bales are being processed.

The Commissioner, however, said that online registration may resume depending on the government’s decision to allow exports beyond the existing limit of 55 lakh bales.

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=390&yr=2010

India - With the partially-convertible Indian rupee touching a record two-year high of 44.20 against the dollar, the chorus from exporters demanding intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) isgetting louder.

A section of trade is worried whether India can be a mute spectator in the ongoing currency war where major economies such as China, Brazil, South Korea and Switzerland rush to devalue their currencies to remain competitive.

“The RBI must intervene now. After all, it is the matter of protecting jobs in the country. There are about 12 million employed in the apparel export sector and another 12 million in the other export industries. The rupee appreciation has made exports uncompetitive and are flooding the markets with cheap imports,” said Premal Udani, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

But for RBI, the course is not all that clear cut. A stronger rupee is helping its war on inflation and intervention could unleash a flood of liquidity that would either stoke prices further or would require sterilisation that would worsen the fiscal deficit.

Source:http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=388&yr=2010

Teijin Fibers Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group’s polyester fibers business, announced that its ECO CIRCLETM closed-loop recycling system for polyester received an ICIS Innovation Award 2010 in the category of Innovation with Best Environmental Benefit.

The award recognizes ECO CIRCLE as an innovative chemical-based recycling technology and Teijin’s efforts to protect the environment through polyester recycling. ECO CIRCLE helps to conserve oil resources and reduce waste by repeatedly recycling polyester material. It also leads to significantly reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions, as compared to conventional processes in which polyester is produced from petroleum and eventually disposed through incineration.

ECO CIRCLE was developed by Teijin Fibers in 1999 and then enhanced with the world’s first technology for chemical recycling in 2002. Teijin’s proprietary technology enables polyester to be chemically decomposed at the molecular level and then converted into new polyester raw material.

The purity and quality of the recycled material are both comparable to polyester derived directly from petroleum. The ECO CIRCLE system includes developing and manufacturing recyclable polyester products, and then collecting the products at the end of their useful lives to recycle them once again. The system now encompasses a global network of more than 130 companies, including apparel, sportswear and uniform manufacturers, all of whom share a common commitment to environmental responsibility through recycling.

It is an honor and a pleasure to receive this ICIS Innovation Award from the global chemical industry in recognition of our innovative chemical recycling technology and efforts to advance environmental protection,said Norio Kamei, president of Teijin Fibers. Together with our ECO CIRCLE partners, we will continue to pursue our common goal of promoting sustainability through recycling. Going forward, Teijin Fibers also will continue to enhance ECO CIRCLE, aiming to create innovative recycling models for the entire polyester chain in the longer term.

Source: http://english.ctei.gov.cn/News/Companies/258390.htm

Xennia announces that it has released its XenInx Diamond general purpose UV cure CMYK ink set for use in printing systems based around a wide range of printheads.

Xennia has a long history of developing specialist inks for individual customers and supplying inks to OEMs and end users as part of complete production line solutions based around Xennia inkjet modules and printing systems. Xennia launched its XenInx range of high performance ink products earlier in 2010, and recently announced the opening of its large capacity industrial ink production facility. XenInx Diamond CMYK ink, along with a range of other UV cure inks, has now been released for use in third party inkjet printing systems.

XenInx Diamond gives excellent colour performance and good adhesion and durability when printed onto a wide range of non-porous substrates, said Dr Alan Hudd, Managing Director of Xennia, This performance is now available for the first time to third party systems based on many industrial piezo printheads for a range of wide format and industrial applications.

Printing reliability
XenInx Diamond is a general purpose CMYK UV cure ink set, with high vibrancy and extended colour gamut combined with reliable jetting in a range of industrial piezo printheads. The ink shows good flexibility, adhesion and durability, with high levels of chemical, abrasion and temperature resistance and good lightfastness. Diamond is designed for printing onto a wide variety of rigid and flexible graphics, packaging and label substrates as well as most plastics, glass and metal foil.

Alan Hudd comments: Diamond has proven printing reliability, even in very demanding production environments, with excellent dwell performance, easy start up and minimal need for printhead maintenance.XenInx Diamond is part of a range of UV cure inks now available from Xennia, including XenInx Moonstone, a high opacity white spot colour and undercoat ink, and XenInx Lazurite, a high durability clearcoat.

Source: http://english.ctei.gov.cn/News/Companies/258389.htm

Following the 2009 event that took place against a background of crisis, there was a much improved atmosphere at this year’s MoOD, which was very evident. The 269 exhibitors were happy with the quality of visitor and the way the fair developed. Fibre manufacturer Trevira used the industry platform as a contact exchange and presented their partners?? new Trevira CS collections in the context of the trend towards the natural look.

As is the case every year, a highpoint of the event was the award for the most attractive and innovative Trevira CS collection. The Trevira CS Award went to the Italian weaver Lodetex, who had already taken the much sought-after trophy in 2006. Operating since 1946, the family business won the day on this occasion with its Natural Elegance collection, designed by Gudrun Schiestl and her team. It contains many innovative fabrics ?? including a double woven leno fabric with an embossed print giving an added noire effect, a wool-like quality in Trevira CS yarns (by a wool spinner), and refined laser cuts and cotton-like taffeta qualities.

Lodetex CEO Luca Farhanghi is proud of the new award. Our philosophy is based on creativity. Our driving force is the love of experiment and the joy of turning new ideas into reality. We achieve this by having in the company a common understanding of how the team implements fresh product developments, but also by cooperating and exchanging ideas with our partners, such as spinners and finishers.

Source: http://english.ctei.gov.cn/News/Companies/258225.htm

Wilson Racquet Sports is proud to announce that Philipp Kohlschreiber, in addition to his long standing racket contract with the brand, will be a head-to-toe player and will debut their 2011 apparel & footwear line starting in January.

Since joining the tour in 2001, Philipp has been a consistent force on the ATP Tour, earning 8 singles and doubles titles as well as 4 Tour finals. He has also advanced to the fourth round in 3 Grand Slam Tournaments and is currently ranked #32 on the ATP Tour.

Wilson is the brand I trust with my equipment and has helped me throughout my career. I’m excited about their renewed focus on apparel and footwear and that I am able to be a part of the new program, Philipp said.

Philipp will be working closely with the Apparel and Footwear Team at Wilson, providing input into the creation and development of new products. The Wilson apparel and soft goods line features premium technical fabrics and the latest technologies, which focus on fit and function. Philipp will wear the newest collections throughout the season and will debut all of the latest footwear styles along with it.

Source: http://english.ctei.gov.cn/News/Companies/258109.htm

Handloom Export promotion Council, Chennai and Weavers’ Service Centre, Imphal jointly organized a seminar on handloom exports awareness.

O Nabakishore, the Principal Secretary (Commerce & Industries) while addressing the seminar, pointed out that weaving is an important aspect of life in the north-eastern region and every part of the society to which the art of weaving is known.

The chief guest added that export market provides higher prices for the commodities. He also vehemently supported the idea of expanding the scope of income and employment generation through the export of handloom commodities.

He was of the opinion that the seminar will be regarded as a successful effort only when it enables a few individuals from the area to emerge as handloom exporters. He also recommended that there is a necessity for raising the production of handloom commodities to fulfill the export demands as well as restructuring the managing and networking system.

The indigenous products, especially the woman’s apparel, have high demands not only from the Manipuri women residing in different parts of India but also from foreign women settled elsewhere in the globe.

He suggested that the local handloom products must be sent to the Manipur Emporium, Delhi as there is high demand for these products in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, when compared with the low sales within the state.

Source: http://www.tea-india.org/portal/pages/newsview.aspx?ID=3489

India : The Garment and Textile Machinery and Accessories (Gartexma) 2010 expo showcasing Indian textile and apparel machinery and accessories kicked off here Sunday.

Organised in association with CISMI (Community of International Sewing Machine Industry, India) and Dara Projects, the show is a B2B (business to business) platform to promote technology, products and companies.

‘Over the last few years, more than 100 processing units and 30,000 garment units have come up in and around Mumbai. Seeing the potential of these areas, Gartexma 2010 is being organised here for the first time,’ said Manjeet Singh Bakshi, chief executive officer of Gartexma 2010.

Bakshi said several technology suppliers from Italy, China, Korea, Japan and Switzerland would showcase their production systems in the show.

Source: http://www.tea-india.org/portal/pages/newsview.aspx?ID=3482