US President Barack Obama US President Barack Obama could soon decide to cut off trade benefits for Bangladesh, in a largely symbolic response to tragedies in Bangladesh's garment sector that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past eight months. The US Trade Representative’s office, with input from other government agencies, is completing its recommendations in preparation for a White House announcement by June 30. Even though the trade benefits affect less than 1% of Bangladeshi e

Workers are seen busy at a garment factory in Bangladesh An amendment to a defence authorisation bill has been moved in the United States House of Representatives requiring that Bangladesh-made garments sold at stores owned by US Department of Defence must come from factories that comply with fire and building safety accord. Two Democrats Congressmen George Miller who recently visited Bangladesh and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky piloted the amendment in the House of Representatives. “An am

Readymade Garment (RMG) exporters and different trade bodies have expressed deep concern over the present labour unrest in the sector and urged the government to take immediate steps to control the situation. The unrest is taking place in RMG factories located in the heart of the city in Eskaton; Malibag, Rampura, Mohakhali and Badda areas after Ashulia. The areas of labour unrest are extended demanding safe working place and enhancing wages despite different initiatives taken by the governme

It is called nanotechnology. It is changing the patterns of Philippines textiles. It was showcased by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in a “neo-ethnic” fashion show yesterday. “The science community boasts of a breakthrough research with the textile industry having finally spun functional and smart textile that is comfortable, breathable, surprisingly water-repellent and even anti-microbial,” said Dr. Rowena L. Guevara, Ex

Garment exporter Ambattur Clothing, which has a huge manufacturing base in Bangladesh, says the current disenchantment with the working conditions in some of the country’s garment factories has not impacted its business. The industry will clean itself up and bounce back in a year, according to Vijay Mahtaney, Managing Director of the Chennai-headquartered company. Recent accidents (a fire accident and a building collapse) at two garment factories in Bangladesh, which killed several people, hav

In the 39th Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Mukesh Ambani discussed his plans to increase their polyester production capacity from the current 2.5 million tons per year (tpy) to 4 million tpy. He further added that the company would invest Rs 1500 billion over the next three years spread across all its five business segments - exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and 4G. Reliance had set a stupendous fleet to become a

The US government on Wednesday lowered its forecast for cotton inventory in the United States for the upcoming season to below expectations due to a lower-than-expected crop as drought ravages Texas, the country's biggest producing state. In one of its most bullish monthly cotton reports in years, the US Department of Agriculture cut its forecast for the US carryover by 400,000 bales to 2.6 million 480-lb bales, lowered its crop forecast and increased its price forecasts for the upcoming 2013/14

A shortage of wool and a softer exchange rate have pushed wool prices up another notch at this week's North Island sale. The exporter, New Zealand Wool Services International, says there was strong demand for about 7,500 bales on offer. The drought, followed by wet weather that's disrupted shearing in the South Island, have reduced the anticipated amount of wool coming forward for auction. Prices picked up another one to four percent on last week. The next auction, at the end of June, wi

World industrial production growth slightly increased in the first quarter of 2013 after a continuous decline since the second quarter of 2010. Despite this break from a nearly three-year downward trend, the prospect of recovery remains fragile for the majority of industrialized and emerging industrial economies. The base of the current growth is limited to the United States and China only, the world’s leading manufacturers. While the sustained growth of industrialized economies has been jeopa

Prada Spring 2013 Campaign | Source: Prada Prada SpA, the Italian luxury-goods maker, fell the most in almost 12 months in Hong Kong trading after reporting first-quarter profit growth that decelerated to the slowest pace in at least a year. Prada dropped 6.6 percent, headed for the biggest drop since June 21, to HK$68.40 as of 10:01 a.m., compared with a 3.2 percent decline in the city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index. Net income rose 14 percent to 138.2 million euros ($184 million) in the thr