Most companies using cotton do nearly nothing to improve environmental sustainability in its supply, environmental groups said on Tuesday, citing a report by an online green consumer site. Traditional farming of cotton, the second-biggest raw material for textile, makes heavy use of pesticides and water.Research by Rank a Brand showed 29 of the estimated 37 biggest cotton users scored red in the survey of policy, sourcing, use and traceability, the report commissioners the World Wildlife Fund, S

Pakistan's Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has raised customs duty from the existing 15 to 16 per cent on the import of 508 items. These include purified terephthalic acid (PTA)—a raw material for polyester—and fabrics of noil silk, and dyes. Items now subjected to 16 per cent duty include woven fabrics of other vegetable textile fibres, woven fabrics of paper yarn, and other fabrics containing 85 per cent or more by weight of silk or of silk waste other than noil silk and Meranti Bakau and p

The Liberian government has announced that it will set up the country's first modern textile centre in Kolahun, Lofa County valued at $231,000. The project is expected to be completed in nine months. The project, called Lofa Weaving Centre promotes the Ministry's inclusive growth agenda and support the advancement of local production by fostering SME participation in cotton industries in Liberia, the Daily Observer newspaper has reported. Ellen Pratt, Deputy Minister for Commerce and Indus

The ten-nation Asean region has become an important market for China's knitting industry, the China Knitting Industrial Association (CKIA) has said. In 2015, the export of knitted fabric to the Asean region amounted to nearly $4.84 billion, up 84.69 per cent over 2011, growing annually at average rate of 16.58 per cent, and accounting for 33.08 per cent of the total export of knitted fabric from China, Lin Guangxing, vice chairman of CKIA, said while presenting a review of achievements of the

Garment accessories manufactures on Monday demanded that the government should reduce the tax at source for exports to 0.60 per cent from the 1.50 per cent proposed in the budget for the financial year 2016-2017. They also demanded cut in corporate tax to 10 per cent from 20 per cent proposed in the budget. Leaders of Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association in a press conference at a city hotel also demanded cash incentives against the export o

Bangladesh Paduka Prostutkarok Samity, an association of the footwear manufacturers, on Monday demanded withdrawal of value-added tax on shoes and slippers made of rubber and plastic. At a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity in the capital, leaders of the BPPS said that the sector had been enjoying the VAT exemption for rubber- and plastic-made shoes and slippers priced up to Tk120 a pair. But finance minister AMA Muhith in his budget proposal placed in parliament on Thursday w

New Zealand's wool marketer, the New Zealand Merino Company, has signed $45 million deal to supply fine wool to Italian luxury fabric manufacturer Successori Reda over a five-year period. This is the longest-ever contract for the New Zealand MerinoCompany which markets the country's wool to customers on behalf of suppliers. The extended contract is expected to relieve farmers of boom-or-bust commodity volatility. Previously, NZ Merino's longest contract period covered three years, it said in

The Turkish ministries of economy and customs and trade have in recent years increased the number of inspections of imported textiles for presence of carcinogenic elements. Over the last five years, government officials have seized an estimated 141,000 products containing carcinogenic elements that might trigger cancer, Daily Sabah reported. In 2015 alone, around 14 billion imported textile, garment, shoe and leather products underwent carcinogen inspection, according to the Istanbul Read

In the proposed budget, corporate tax on the export-oriented readymade garment industry has been reduced to 20%. “As part of our continued support, I propose to reduce the tax rate of the RMG sector from 35% to 20%,” said Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his budget speech yesterday. However, the garment exporters’ demand was to cut the rate to the FY2014-15 level which was 10% as high corporate tax “discourages new investment.” “The proposed 20% rate is still high. We asked for 10% as hig

Yoweri Musevni, President of Uganda, stated that their country spends $888 million (Shs 2.991 trillion) on annual textile imports. He added that development of the domestic textile industry is needed in order to reduce the textile imports of the country. Hence, the President urged the government institutions in the country to buy Ugandan-made products to support the domestic industry and stated that they are of good quality as well as price competitive. Museveni added that the local manufa