Cotton Contamination Survey 2022 by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) shows that the level of contamination of raw cotton by foreign matters and stickiness have decreased compared to 2019. At the same time the appearance of seed-coat fragments has remained the same. The survey reveals significant differences between cotton varieties.The Cotton Contamination Survey n°16/2022 covered 104 spinning mills located in 21 countries which evaluated 78 different cotton growths, ITM

Today, the European Commission has presented a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the European Union’s (EU) manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious climate targets.The plan builds on previous initiatives and relies on the strengths of the EU Sin

In 2022, cargo throughput of China’s busiest port, Ningbo Zhoushan, exceeded 1.25 billion tonnes. As per the port, its cargo throughput ranked first globally for a 14th consecutive year. Ningbo Zhoushan, which is located in the eastern province of Zhejiang, had a total of 300 sea routes by the end of 2022, 13 routes more as compared to the previous year.The port’s container throughput ranked third globally, with the throughput reaching 33.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2022.Fu

A resilient Asia will drive global economic growth in 2023, despite the prevailing headwinds of monetary tightening and weak global growth, according to London-based think tank Asia House's Annual Outlook. The region’s economic momentum will come from strength in domestic demand. Asia House economic readiness indices for this year indicate improvements in green finance and digital transformation.Declines in Japan (for green finance) and in India (for both) were the exceptions.Inflation has m

Heimtextil 2023in Frankfurt am Main, Germany ended on a high note with 44,000 buyers that took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the global market for home and contract textiles and gain a bundled overview of global textile innovations—from fibres, yarns, upholstery and decorative fabrics, functional textiles, outdoor fabrics, artificial leather, and wallpapers to bed and bathroom textiles, mattresses, sleep systems, curtains, and decorative cushions.The top ten exhibiting countries

Europe and Central Asia’s (ECA) gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to remain virtually flat in 2023, with growth of only 0.1 per cent, according to the ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report by World Bank. The worsening of the near-term outlook mainly reflects the impact from Russia’s cut-off of energy supplies to the European Union (EU) and additional monetary policy tightening in the euro area.Although much of the projected weakness in regional growth this year emanates from a further outpu

Exports of textiles and apparel from the United States went up by 11.15 per cent year-on-year in the first eleven months of this year. The value of exports stood at $23.036 billion during the period under review compared to $20.725 billion in the same period of 2021, according to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, US department of commerce.Category-wise, apparel exports increased by 22.72 per cent year-on-year to $6.809 billion, while the exports of yarn ($4.259 billion) and fabric ($

With a pandemic-driven surge finally over, monthly import cargo volume at the US’ major container ports has fallen below the 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) mark and should remain there through most of this spring, as per the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. US ports handled 1.78 million TEUs this November, the latest month for which final numbers are available.US’ imports were down 11.3 per cent from October and down 15.8 per cent from November 2021. It was

Switzerland-based OEKO-TEX Association is once again publishing updates to the applicable test criteria, limit values, and guidelines for its certifications in order to reinforce its credibility within the textile and leather industry and in the eyes of its customers. The new regulations have come into force in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, after a transition period.Other introductions include integration of the BHive app from GoBlu into STeP, which will enable certified production companies t

In November 2022, the calendar adjusted retail sales index decreased by 2.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the euro area and by 2.4 per cent YoY in the European Union (EU), as per Eurostat’s estimates. The seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.8 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in the euro area and by 0.9 per cent MoM in the EU.In October 2022, retail trade volume decreased by 1.5 per cent in the euro area and by 1.4 per cent in the EU, according to a report by Eurostat, the sta