As the International Press Institute brought top media players from the international world to Kenya, local designers took the opportunity to give the best of Kenya. The catwalk was at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi. The models, truly Kenyan, the clothes, with a hint of ethnic hue, but polished on the edges to give them an international look. Among the top local designers was Sue Muraya. Her designs are, as she says, for the "modern African woman comfortable in her identity and still very fashiona

The textiles sector has incurred huge losses following the WTO elimination of quotas consequent to the winding up of the Multifibre Agreement in December last year.The MFA, negotiated under the WTO agreements prescribed quotas of textile products originating from several countries and entering the US and European Market. Until December 31 last year, growth in the sector was driven by the existence of the MFA which gave Kenyan producers a 20% preference in addition to duty advantage ranging from

The rising market competition seen after the cancellation of the Multi-Fiber Agreement on global textile quotas in early 2005 has prompted Taiwan's garment makers to strenuously adjust manufacturing structure and enhance operating efficiency. Among the leading garment manufacturers on the island, Makalot Industrial Co., Tainan Enterprise Co., and Nan-Woei Industrial Co. have enjoyed better performances after successfully reshaping their global operations. In order to streamline production facili

As the future of Viet Nam? garment exports darkens, Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen sent a letter this week to enterprises to inform them about the situation and to propose solutions. "The country? clothing export turnover in the first five months of the year has dropped dramatically, particularly in the European and US markets. The poor performance stemmed from our low competitiveness in the context of the WTO removing the quota system for its members," Tuyen stated. With only US$1.7 bill

Mirco Bertocchi isn't waiting to see the outcome of China's tensions with the United States and Europe over surging textile exports. He's too busy selling Italian-made weaving looms to Chinese mills. "If you cry, you don't solve the problem," Bertocchi, a sales manager for Panter Textile Machinery in Gandino, near Milan, Italy, said Friday at the annual Shangtex trade show. About 1,300 companies from the United States, Europe, Japan and elsewhere were displaying looms, knitting machines an

LANXESS is exhibiting its range of textile processing chemicals (TPC) at Shanghaitex in Shanghai from June 3-7, 2005. The exhibit will focus on BAYPROTECT stainblockers for carpets and floorcoverings, BAYSCENT for aromatherapy finishing of fabrics and TASTEX, a softener and function carrier for finishes based on cosmetic substances. LANXESS TPC products are used in the pretreatment and finishing of textiles as well asin dyeing and textile printing."For our customers we develop solutions that giv

Washington reimposed a very surprising quota on combed cotton yarn imports from China. Shipments of Chinese yarns did not more surge than imports from other origins in the first quarter this year, especially when compared with Pakistani and Indian yarns. Prices of Chinese yarns were not dramatically lowered when compared with other products, in addition. The United States strangely reimposed a limit on imports of combed cotton yarns from China in category 301. If surging shipments from China m

Tucked away in Bristol, Va., in the southwestern corner of the state on the Virginia/Tennessee state line, Universal Fiber Systems LLC (UFS) has been producing fibers and yarns for carpet, upholstery, automotive, industrial and other textile applications since it was founded in 1969 as CaMac. The company claims it was one of the first to introduce solution-dyed nylon 6 to the market, and also among the first to develop solution-dyed bulk continuous filament (BCF) nylon. Other solution-dyed produ

Germany-based DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG has invested $55 million to establish a new dye facility in China.The facility ?the company? third in that country ?will be located northwest of Shanghai in Nanjing. It will manufacture dyes for man-made and cellulosic fibers, and will create 400 jobs. Production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2006.The official groundbreaking ceremony was attended by representatives from the regional government and the Nanjing Chemical a

New varieties of super resistant and fast growing genetically modified (GM) cotton will be tested in six Mpumalanga and Limpopo towns.The field trials ?near Groblersdal, Malelane, Marble Hall, White River and Schoemanskloof in Mpumalanga and Musina in Limpopo ?will be the third carried out in South Africa by multinational agricultural biotechnology company, Monsanto.Monsanto spokesperson Magda du Toit said on Tuesday the field trials are part of a larger programme to develop commercial grade cot