Eighty per cent of small and medium-scale enterprises (SME) could be forced to shut down if the Government's proposed minimum wage policy of between RM800 to RM1,000 is implemented across the board. The SMI Association of Malaysia said SMEs were mostly labour-intensive and based on the nature of their operations, they would not be in the position to absorb the cost spike. The effects of such ruling would be harder on the SMEs if implemented on a blanket basis, national vice-president Micha

Workers’ unions as well as the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) need to reach a compromise over the wage debate, Vong Sovann, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Social Affairs’ Strike Resolution Committee has said. The official, who is supervising the wage negotiations, said the existing minimum wage of US$ 61 per month is very less and the garment workers are seeking a hike in wages, which however is not acceptable to factory owners, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

The domestic textile industry will be greeted with opportunities and orders in the near future. Saigon 3 Garment Company factory According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export quota in the first quarter of 2013 reached $1.05 billion, a 28.4pct increase compared to the same period last year. Most textile firms already have a lot of orders. The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) said Vietnam is on a priority list with many foreign importers. Even though the

Germany is keen to collaborate with Gujarat in manufacturing automotive fabrics, medical textiles, sport textiles, agro textiles, and protective textiles. Four technical textile firms from the European nation were in Ahmedabad on Thursday to express interest in participating in Gujarat's technical textiles story. The German companies such as Eurotextiles GmbH and Co. KG, Nextrusion GmbH, SR Webatex GmbH, Ploucquet GmbH are interested in partnership with textile industries in Gujarat for technol

For Fall Winter 2013, Creative Directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli designed a collection inspired by the paintings of Flemish masters and recognize their undeniable connections with our contemporary world: a glorification of everyday life; serene yet with a sense of detail and a taste for color. Silhouettes are sleek and seemingly severe: small and curved like a vase or straight, they reveal the legs, graze the knee and touch the ankle Fragile sensuality is subtly expresse

Tom Dixon dives into uncharted waters in an unprecedented collaboration with sportswear company adidas, to be revealed this April at MOST at Salone del Mobile, in Milan. Premiering new typologies of bags and apparel, the base of the collection comprises two travel bag typologies – the hard and the soft – an experiment in capsule thinking in which luggage unclasps, unzips and unfolds to reveal multiple layers. Inside, the bags reveal a complete kit of parts for our week long stay in Italy –

Awards ceremonies are the one night of the year when celebrities go all out with fantastic designer dresses and the Brit Awards, which were held in the UK last week, were no exception. Music’s finest didn’t let the freezing British weather dampen their spirits and everyone looked stunning as they made their way down the red carpet. Jessie J, Taylor Swift and Ashley Roberts hit all the right notes on the red carpet and with dresses from Missguidedau.com, you can get their look for less with th

Apparel brands from Marches Region of Italy are seeking enhanced cooperation with Dalian Piemont Garment Park. A delegation comprising of four representatives from the Marches Region paid a visit to the clothing R&D centre of Dalian Piemont Garment Park earlier this week, chinadaily.com reported. The R&D centre, spread over an area of 8,000 sq m with around 6,400 sq m of constructed area, will undertake independent research and development of Piemont apparels. The centre will co

True to their motto, all Brentano fabrics strive to strike the perfect balance of beauty + performance, and with their spring 2013 Symphonic collection, Brentano introduces high-performance textiles that are suitable for contract, healthcare, and institutional environments that also offer dynamic patterns, fresh colors, and a residential hand. Woven from 100% high energy-dyed polyester, Polka is a small-scale, geometric pattern that is well-priced, bleach cleanable, and has both a Nano-Tex an

Australia is set to become the world's second-biggest exporter of raw cotton, trailing only the US, after last year's record harvest and another good crop expected next month. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences predicts Australia will export an unprecedented 1.1 million tonnes of cotton in 2012-13, 11 per cent more than in 2011-12. But cotton production this season will not exceed last year's record crop, falling by 21 per cent from last year's 1.2 millio