Cassy Bhairo
Steve Frous
Martine Falk Andersen
Millie V R
Mikko Puttonen
Recently Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Export Oriented Garments Washing Industries Owners Association entered in to an agreement with the South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) to help their respective members to comply with environmental norms.
The agreement will help in monitoring and providing advisory services to the members of the associations on issues of environment compliance, create a database and conduct environmental audits of washing-dyeing-finishing facilities.
Compliance officers will be trained to carry out environmental audits and conduct study to identify best effluent treatment plant solutions along with also creating an environment compliance monitoring and advisory cell, which will organise training programmes and propagate cleaner production processes.
Plush Swimwear announced the inclusion of Cia Maritima to its online offerings of high fashion designer swimwear. Available to purchase immediately are select pieces from Cia Maritima’s 2010 Summer Collection.
Cia Maritima is a premier Brazilian beachwear label and stands as one of the most successful swimwear couture brands from Latin America. Founded in 1990, the label belongs to the Rosset Group, the largest textile producer in South America. Cia Maritima leverages the parent group's know-how to apply the most technologically advanced fabrics, seaming techniques and exclusive patterns to their collections.
Cia Maritima’s 2010 collection was inspired by the classicism reminiscent of designer Madeleine Vioneet, modern Versace creations and Greco-Roman mythical figures. Close-fitting pieces, Greek arabesque and geometry all serve to celebrate women’s features with sensual pieces and discreet elegance. Innovative fabrics, such as “New Nectarina” with its velvety touch, and matte jersey, lend fluidness to the pieces in the collection. The first pieces from Cia Maritima selected by Plush Swimwear all feature these refined artistic motifs in their design.
Models present creations from Coven's 2010 autumn/winter collection during the Fashion Rio Show in Rio de Janeiro January 10, 2010.
Since 2006, Prime Source Forum has been held in Hong Kong once a year, bringing together senior management from across the globe to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers involved in the supply chain of the apparel industry. This international event offers ample opportunity for delegates to network with their peers, mingle with expert panelists and exchange ideas with their peers and competitors alike on issues of mutual interest.
The fifth edition of this annual meeting will take place in Hong Kong in 2010 and promises to be even more popular than ever.
The Forum
• is a unique international meeting place for the apparel industry, located in the global sourcing hub Hong Kong
• enables participants to meet senior management from major brands, retailers,manufacturers and suppliers from all over the world
• features open discussion between panelists and delegates
• provides information about business opportunities in the international marketplace, and is also a networking platform for companies for trading,merchandising and sales promotion
Feedback on the 2009 Forum
Number of participants: some 400 senior executives, representing all sectors of the global supply chain of the apparel industry
Participated countries: 25 countries
Facts about PSF 2010
Date: Workshops: 29 March 2010
Forum: 30 – 31 March 2010
Venue: The Conference Theatre in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Wanchai
Target number of participants: Around 500 senior executives from all sectors of the apparel supply chain, from raw materials to retailing.
Speakers: 50+ speakers from around the world addressing the major issues happening in the industry
Delegate profiles: Academia • Brand Owner • Consultant • Financial,Investment Banking Service • Industrial Association •Legal Professional • Manufacturer • Retailer, Chain Stores, Department Stores • Trade Organisation /Government Official • Wholesaler, Buying Agent,Trading Firm
Delegate business sectors: Apparel • Textile and fabrics • Components and Accessories • Garment Manufacturing-Related Technology & Equipment • Product Lifecycle Management • Logistics& Supply Chain Management • Design • Consultation •Financial Services • Legal Services • Press • Associations& Government Organisations • Educational Institutes
It's been another disappointing year for the hard-pressed export sector. Between Jan. and Nov. 2009, China’s textile and apparel exports declined by 11.02% compared with a year ago to $154.12 billion as demand from all of the major markets deteriorated. Of which, textile exports plummeted 10.66 percent; apparel exports plummeted 11.24 percent
Although the economic crisis hardly creates a favorable environment for the export, some sectors gets new spotlights. According to CNTAC, China's textile and garment exports to the United States edged up 1.53% year-on-year to US$25.34 billion; China's textile and garment exports to Japan edged up 0.26% year-on-year to US$20.1 billion.
Air New Zealand announces it has engaged Trelise Cooper, one of New Zealand’s leading fashion designers, to assist in the design of the next Air New Zealand uniform.
The uniform will be introduced in 2011 to coincide with the introduction of a new fleet of 777-300 aircraft.
“We will introduce a uniform to coincide with our new long haul product and interiors early next year which will provide customers with a number of world-first experiences not currently available on any other carrier,” says Ed Sims, Air New Zealand Group General Manager International Airline.
Cooper was chosen for her outstanding design concepts, of which she presented a collection of more than 60 at the end of last year. Since then she has been working with dozens of Air New Zealanders to further understand the style and functionality needs of seven different work groups scattered across many different parts of the world.
“We have also been working closely with Trelise to ensure the uniform colour palette works in harmony with our soon to be unveiled new aircraft interiors,” said Sims.
The uniform is contemporary, based on New Zealand themes with a cohesive visual uniformity while still allowing individual choice by addressing body type and personality preference. For women, this will include a variety of jacket, skirt and trouser options as well as dresses, blouses and shirts.
The uniform for females has a greater expression of femininity based on their feedback and overall the uniform will be more tailored, reflective of Air New Zealand’s status as a premium carrier.
The collection has varying levels of formality, especially for cabin crew, one that provides a more formal look when travelling through airports and welcoming customers onboard, changing to a more casual and friendly style once in the air.
Color highlights of twilight pink for cabin crew, godzone green for ground staff and sky blue for ground and inflight managers will be underpinned by black formal items such as suits and coats. Uniforms for inflight concierges, pilots and several other work groups are currently being developed.
The final design for the uniform will be completed over the coming months after further staff feedback, followed by fabric selection and testing, wearer trials and production of an expected 90,000 garments to create a uniform that will be worn by more than 5,000 staff.
“I have developed uniforms for other organizations and working with Air New Zealand on their new uniform is a real highlight,” said Cooper. “I fly regularly and understand that functionality for the wearer is just as important as how you look. It is extremely gratifying to create a collection that can suit a variety of body shapes and work requirements.”
Trelise’s selection follows an extensive review of more than 25 New Zealand designers. She joins a prestigious line-up of designers who have produced the national carrier’s uniform including Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Isobel Harris, Barbara Lee and Zambesi.
• Female cabin crew dress option in twilight pink
• Female ground staff trouser suit option with godzone green colour highlights
• Male manager suit and coat option with sky blue highlights
Three visiting American Congressmen have promised to lobby for free-trade access for clothing exports to the US markets from Cambodia. This was revealed by them after a meeting with the Prime Minister of Cambodia.
Joseph Cao of Louisiana, Eni Faleomavaega, a non-voting Congressional delegate from American Samoa, and Mike Honda from California after their tour of Vietnam touched the shores of Cambodia.
Cambodian officials have also requested the US for a cancellation of a US $300 million in debt accrued during the Lon Nol period. Reacting to the request, Honda said, “It is possible to deal with the request by the three of us in Congress.”
The textile industry has been among those severely hit by the global economic crisis. In line with that fact, the industry ended last year with a contraction of 25 percent.
The industry’s total export for the year was worth $77 million, according to the Antalya Textile Exporters Union. Despite the general downward trend in the industry, its exports to Russia rose 169 percent last year when compared to the previous year.
The industry’s exports to Russia skyrocketed in 2009, making the country Turkey’s sixth-largest customer, said Azize Kalkavan, chairwoman of the Antalya Textile Exporters Union. In terms of overall trade volume, Russia ranked 15th among countries importing from Turkey. Turkish textile companies’ exports to Russia totaled to $4 million in 2009, said Kalkavan.
Germany kept its lead as Turkey’s biggest textile importer in 2009, she said. Germany’s textile imports from Turkey amounted to almost $19 million last year, Kalkavan added. France was the runner up in the list of countries Turkish textile companies exported to the most. France’s textile exports from Turkey totaled $8.5 million. France was followed by the United Kingdom with $7.5 million.
Regarding possible reasons for the increase in Turkey’s textile exports to Russia, Mehmet Gevenci, 54-year-old textile exporter, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that the Russian market had shown great improvement in the last few years, which reflects not only on its textile industry but on many other industries as well.
“This is basically related to the increase in the income level of the Russian people. The country seems to have healed the wounds opened by the bad experiences in the past, and now it is a prospering time for them,” Gevenci said.
Behind the success of Turkey’s textile sector are the reasonable prices, said Gevenci. Turkish companies produce high-quality products at affordable prices, he added. That is an advantage the country has compared to European countries that have raw material shortage and high production costs.
“China may threaten the sector”
Ali R?za Ermi?, a 38-year-old textile exporter, said although Turkey’s textile industry has a sound position in many European markets and the Russian market, other countries might threaten this position, especially China, which manages to have even lower production costs.
“China’s main cut in production cost is provided by low personnel expenses. Many Chinese workers are not qualified, so employing them costs almost nothing,” said Ermi?. On the contrary, Turkey’s textile industry is on its way to unionization, which effectively helps set the standards at a workplace and in establishing salary policies.
Although the textile industry contracted 25 percent in 2009, that figure was still much lower compared to the contraction experienced in other industries, said Kalkavan.
“Despite the negative data, the textile industry’s share in Turkey’s total exports rose to 5.7 percent in 2009 from 5.3 percent,” she said. The industry’s target was to implement exports worth $106 million this year, said Kalkavan.
Fashion chain Republic reported "record breaking" trading over Christmas with like-for-like sales up 11 per cent in the eight weeks to January 4.
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The Leeds-based company, which sells a mixture of branded and own-brand clothing, said total sales for the period climbed 23.6 per cent to £51.2m.
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Internet sales also showed strong growth, rising by 38.8 per cent over the eight week period.
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On a two-year basis, sales rose 46.6 per cent and like-for-like sales increased by 16.7 per cent.
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Margins were also ahead and Republic said its sale would end this Sunday, a week earlier than last year.
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Republic said that full year sales to January 31 would finish at in excess of £200m and EBITDA would be in excess of £30m.
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Chief executive Tim Whitworth said: "Without doubt, our Christmas trading performance capped another successful and record-breaking year for Republic."
Singapore-based footwear brand Charles & Keith has taken efforts to expand into new markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe via a partnership with DBS Bank.
"It may be unexpected, but then I've never gone by the book," says Charles Wong, co-founder and Managing Director of Charles & Keith. Together with his brother Keith Wong, Charles made the bold decision to transform his mother's shoe shop in Ang Mo Kio into a regional empire selling 3.3 million pairs of shoes annually around the world.
