Jute cultivation acreage marked a rise by 7 percent this fiscal compared to that of the previous fiscal, said officials at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) on Monday. Deputy Director of DAE’s Field Service Wing (FSW) Rafiqul Hasan told UNB that the acreage under jute cultivation this year hit 7.5 lakh hectares, which is about 99 percent of the targeted acreage of 7.57 lakh hectares earlier fixed by the department. This year’s jute acreage has touched the acreage mark of 7

Sri Rejeki Isman, an Indonesian textile and garment company that recently went public, is in talks to produce garments for Swedish clothing company Hennes & Mauritz as it pulls some of its production from Bangladesh. The Stockholm-based company, which will open its doors in Jakarta later this year, is among Bangladesh’s top buyers. After the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory killed more than 1,100 people in April, the company has reportedly been looking for different suppliers. Accord

Dark Matters – Karlie Kloss is back again for the fall 2013 campaign from Jean Paul Gaultier. The American model’s last turn for the brand was for the fall 2012 season. This time around, Karlie rocks a skin-tight, vixen-y and leather look in the black and white imagery lensed by Stephane Sednaoui. / Art direction by Babeth Djian Source: Fashion Gone Rogue.

Ferragamo Woman – Daria Werbowy returns as the face of Salvatore Ferragamo’s fall 2013 campaign. The leading model last appeared in the Italian brand’s autumn 2011 advertisements. For this turn, Daria poses for David Sims in luxe fur and leather looks that show off her long legs. Daria appears mostly fresh-faced with a slicked back coif and minimal styling in the elegant snaps. Source: Fashion Gone Rogue.

Polymer Group, Inc. (PGI) is to invest in a strategic site in Nanhai, China, which will enable the company to expand its manufacturing capacity for high-quality nonwoven products for the global hygiene and healthcare markets it serves. PGI's investment in a state-of-the-art facility in Nanhai will also increase its capacity to produce advanced chemical bond products for hygiene applications to meet the growing needs of customers in the region. The new Nanhai facility will replace one the

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has apprehended an increase in the cost of doing business and high inflation due to various budgetary measures introduced in the budget 2013-14, and said the textile industry cannot sustain further inflation. A spokesman for Aptma said that the federal budget 2013-14 has added another two percent as “Further Tax” on the supplies to unregistered persons, which will encourage reintroduction of fake registrations and flying invoices. Earl

After a long span of production decline and sluggish growth, the garment export sector here has rebounded to a more lucrative state. In the month of April, the sector grew by over 8% as compared to the previous year. Industry analysts have attributed this rise to the new international business now being diverted towards India, from various other, once-popular, South Asian garment hubs. "International business to the tune of $3 billion has been diverted to India, because the garment sector has e

Tesco, the world's No. 3 retailer, has stopped sourcing clothes from a factory in Bangladesh after discovering serious problems with the safety of a building, the company said on Saturday. The move follows a survey the British-based supermarket chain conducted in the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex in Dhaka in April that killed 1,129 people. "A structural survey of a site we source from in Bangladesh, owned by Liberty Fashions, has revealed serious problems with the saf

The government has earmarked Rs 7.5 billion in the budget 2013-14 against the demand of Rs 30 billion for the implementation of textile policy. The Ministry of Textile Industry had demanded the money for taking up various initiatives under the textile policy (2009-14). In the outgoing fiscal year (2012-13), the same amount - Rs 7.5 billion - was earmarked in the budget against the demand of Rs 30 billion. However, because of financial crisis, the Ministry has so far received just Rs 3 billion.

Vietnamese textile and garment companies have warned that they would have more redoubtable rivals as China may increase its investments in Vietnam once the Trans Pacific Partnership TPP is signed. A senior executive of Vinatex, the biggest Vietnamese textile and garment group, said China is always very “nimble-footed” in seeking investment opportunities. Meanwhile, they might have heard that Vietnam may enjoy the zero export tariff when exporting garments and textiles to the US, the biggest ex