Issue 364 March 18, 2016
logo

Welcome to the  WRAP Weekly Newsletter! Please enjoy it and thank you for being a loyal reader. 
The WRAP Up
Last week we certified 46 factories in 12 countries:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.


                                                                                                                                                      

Algeria
Algeria's Labour and Employment Minister says that the country's textile industry has a "great potential" for job creation. Speaking at a recent forum in the national capital of Algiers, Minister Mohamed El Ghazi said that the country has a skilled workforce and enough capacity to become a major engine of growth. ( Fibre2Fashion)

Bangladesh
The government of Bangladesh has announced that it is doubling the number of engineering firms to conduct the Detailed Engineering Assessments (DEA) as part of the ongoing safety remediation process. The move was announced after factory owners and government officials noted that the remediation process was taking longer than anticipated and that factory owners lacked some knowledge of the process. There are currently 13 engineering firms undertaking the remediation effort. ( Fibre2Fashion)

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety has now cut ties with 42 production facilities in the country after 11 additional facilities were suspended for lack of progress on remediation plans. Alliance representatives say that the facilities in question failed to actively engage in the remediation process and were unable to provide sufficient evidence that they had satisfactorily completed the recommended remediations. ( New Age BD)

Over 100,000 poor and marginalized people in Bangladesh will be equipped with job skills for the textile and garment industry thanks to a project led by a British aid group."Sudokkho," previously known as the Skills and Employment Programme in Bangladesh, is a joint effort with other European aid groups aimed at training disadvantaged populations in the country and giving them access to good jobs. The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh says that skill development is crucial if Bangladesh hopes to remain competitive on the global stage. ( Fibre2Fashion)

Germany
German apparel company Lidl was recently criticized by the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper for allegedly exploiting foreign workers to produce an affordable denim line. The article points to a recent ad in a British newspaper boasting high street quality jeans for a heavily discounted price when compared to other retailers. So far, the company has not responded to the report. ( The Guardian
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedInView our videos on YouTube
 
 Upcoming Events   

Upcoming Training

March 24
Dhaka, Bangladesh

April 6-7
Tirupur, India

April 12-13
Dongguan, China

April 14
Dongguan, China

April 15
Dongguan, China

India
The investigation into the death of a teenage girl working in a Tamil Nadu spinning mill is shining new light on the conditions facing workers there. The 17-year-old was found unconscious in her quarters at the mill on March 10 after failing to report for her shift. While the cause of her death remains under investigation, authorities have arrested another worker charged with suicide assistance.
( Reuters )  

Over 2,000 workers at an old textile mill have been on strike since March 9 calling for an end to what they say are arbitrary workforce reductions and harassment by mill managers. Workers at the 131 year old mill allege that managers strong-armed them into working without paying them and threatened a lock-out if they protested. Local labor leaders are urging the government to intervene and find a solution.

India's Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is praising a decision by European Union (E.U.) leaders to extend the Generalized System of Preferences trade program until 2019. The program allows Indian exports to the E.U. to enjoy a 20% tariff discount. India says that 36% of its apparel exports are destined for Europe.
( Fibre2Fashion )

India's Textile Ministry says it is working on bilateral trade agreements with Australia, Africa, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, which includes Russia along with several members of the former Soviet Union. The ministry says that this move is part of a larger goal for the country to double its textile exports within 10 years. India is also working on similar agreements with the United States and Europe.
( Fibre2Fashion )

The South India Garment Association (SIGA) is asking Members of Parliament (MPs) from Bangalore for their help in growing the region's garment industry. In a letter to the MPs, SIGA representatives noted that the rural areas outside of Bangalore offer significant opportunities for development, which in turn would create thousands of jobs in the area. The letter also cautioned against the effects of a new excise duty on garments over a certain price, saying that it would add to the adversity the sector is facing.
( Fibre2Fashion )
 
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz apparel manufacturers have been getting a boost from a U.S. economic development initiative, according to a press release from the U.S. embassy in Bishkek. USAID's Business Growth Initiative has been cooperating with apparel manufacturers in the country since 2014 to optimize production and marketing in an effort to help them grow exports to major retailers in Europe and members of the former Soviet Union.
( U.S. Embassy  /  Fibre2Fashion )
 
Nepal
A recent announcement about a new trade law has upset many garment entrepreneurs in Nepal. During a recent meeting with the Garment Association of Nepal (GAN) in Kathmandu, a top U.S. trade official informed the group that the new Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act does not extend trade benefits to garments produced in Nepal. ( Fibre2Fashion)
 
The Netherlands
The Dutch government has partnered with a broad coalition of industry organizations, trade unions, and civil society organizations in an effort to improve sustainability and working conditions within the global textile industry. The draft coalition agreement says that the group will focus on issues such as protection from discrimination, prevention of child labor, and protection from forced labor in countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Coalition members say they hope to finalize the agreement, including funding for the effort, by June.
( IDN News )
 
Pakistan
A liquidity crunch is hitting Pakistan's textile exports, according to the head of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). The group says that pending sales tax refunds are putting pressure on export-oriented production units in the country, which is dragging down the greater economy. While the APTMA has also praised the decision to move forward with the refunds, they are skeptical of the protracted timeline it will take to issue them. ( Fibre2Fashion)

The Commerce Minister of Pakistan says that the country will be eliminating the Value Added Tax (VAT) on textiles effective on July 1 in an effort to encourage growth in the textile sector. Speaking at a recent exhibition in Karachi, the minister noted that Pakistan has been exporting more textile and garment products lately that have also been fetching higher prices due to increased quality. ( Fibre2Fashion)

Uganda
Leaders in Uganda's textile industry say that the country still struggles to execute a viable value addition strategy. While provisions for a value added program were included in the 2009 National Textile Policy, implementation of that policy has been sluggish. Officials estimate that 90% of the country's cotton is exported unprocessed, leaving potentially US$150 million in export revenue on the table for the country.
( Fibre2Fashion )
 
United States
The National Retail Federation (NRF) says that U.S. consumers could spend upwards of US$3 billion on clothing during the upcoming Easter season, with many taking advantage of seasonal promotions. NRF analysis says that consumers will spend an average of US$146 on apparel this season, the highest level in 13 years and up from last year's level of US$140. Total spending on all goods this Easter season could top US$17.3 billion. (Just Style)
*NOTICE: This article requires a paid subscription

The United States should grant Bangladesh imports duty-free and quota-free access, according to Bangladesh's ambassador to the country. In a press release, the ambassador noted that none of the Asian Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, enjoy duty-free access to the U.S. market, even though LDCs in Africa do under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The statement came during a meeting with U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly about trade and development issues. (Fibre2Fashion / Bangladesh Embassy

A U.S.-based textile manufacturing automation company says that it is seeing high demand for its products in places like India, China, and Bangladesh. Representatives from SoftWear Automation say that while they expected demand for their technology to be high in the U.S., where the supply of competitive textile manufacturing labor has been dwindling for years, they were surprised to see a surge in demand from major textile hubs in Asia, where many U.S. companies had shifted their production due to a high supply of competitive labor. Further analysis of this trend shows that as with young workers in the United States, many young workers in Asia are seeking higher-skilled, higher educated jobs, leaving textile manufacturers with a smaller pool of labor. (Sourcing Journal*NOTICE: This article requires a subscription

U.S. hotel chain Marriott International says that it plans to provide "Made in the USA" towels in all of its nearly 3,000 U.S. properties. In a statement, the company's CEO praised the move saying they were proud to be the first hospitality company to make such a commitment and that Marriott's guests would take pride in knowing that the items they use in their hotel rooms were also supporting American jobs. It's estimated that this announcement will encompass 2.6 million bath towels and 4.9 million hand towels. (Fibre2Fashion)

U.S. imports of textiles and apparel fibre rose for a 3rd consecutive year in 2015 to reach over 15.7 billion raw fibre equivalent pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), while exports remained unchanged for the same period. USDA officials say that most of these imports consist of cotton and manmade fibre products, while demand from linen, wool, and silk remains relatively low. (Fibre2Fashion)

Vietnam
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a new partnership with VF Corp. and Target Corp. aimed at improving the efficiency of supplier facilities in Vietnam. The effort will include an assessment of 30 production facilities over the next 12 months to help them reduce costs and improve productivity while also contributing to the country's overall sustainability efforts. ( Fibre2Fashion)

A new Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is expected significantly increase apparel exports to the region which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Officials with Russia and Vietnam say that this new agreement could propel Vietnam's share of Russian apparel imports from 2% to 10% of an estimated US$13 billion in total imports. ( Fibre2Fashion)


About WRAP
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A., with regional offices in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong S.A.R., and representatives in India and Southeast Asia (Thailand and Vietnam), WRAP is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education.
To learn more about WRAP, please visit www.wrapcompliance.org.

Notice: The WRAP Weekly Newsletter is a collection of links to current news articles, relevant to social compliance. While most articles are freely available, some may require a paid subscription to access. WRAP is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Tel: 1.703.243.0970   Fax: 1.703.243.8247