The KwaZulu-Natal provincial office of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has criticized owners of clothing enterprises for threatening to layoff over 14,000 workers. COSATU Provincial Secretary Zet Luzipo said employers could not threaten to layoff workers before wage negotiations have begun, The New Age reported. Jobs of more than 14,000 workers in KwaZulu-Natal clothing sector have been put on stake and they could be laid off by the end of the week, as 450 garment manufactu

MANGO, Spain’s most international fashion brand, presented its Spring/Summer 2013 collections at the DHUB building in Barcelona, at a catwalk hosted by Isak Andic, the company Chairman, as part of 080 Barcelona Fashion. The most famous faces in Spanish society attended the event, such as María García de la Rasilla, the President of the Catalan Regional Government, Artur Mas, Ana García Si?eriz, Jaime de Marichalar, Carla Royo-Villanova and her sister Vega, Boris Izaguirre, Olivia de Borbón, D

Nike Japan has introduced new 2013 home and away football kits for 2012 league champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the Urawa Red Diamonds and the Kashima Antlers. The kits are made from innovative, environmentally friendly materials and feature unique design details tailored to each team. As in previous versions, the kits are built from fabric made from recycled polyester. And for the first time, the kits’ lining features ATOM fabric – a lightweight, double-layered material made from organic cotton

China’s apparel sector needs to decrease its carbon emissions and develop a circular economy in lines with the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan, experts said at a round-table conference. The 12th Plan focuses on development of circular economy that emphasizes on building strategies for circular flow of materials and energy for monetary as well as environmental benefits. In other words, it means circulation of emissions from one business to another to maximize energy efficiency. Several busine

Summit Wool Spinners, New Zealand's largest independent wool spinner, has a conditional sale agreement with Canterbury Spinners, a subsidiary of Godfrey Hirst. The unions representing workers at the plant say Summit is the second-largest employer in Oamaru and has been part of the North Otago town for 130 years. The sale is targeted for the end of February and is expected to affect 192 workers. The unfavourable exchange rate and less local demand for wool carpets are cited as factors behin

New Zealand Wool Services International Limited’s General Manager, Mr John Dawson reports that the 19,700 bales on offer from this week’s combined North and South Island auction saw an 80 percent clearance with generally lower price levels for most categories. The weighted indicator for the main trading currencies weakened 0.96 percent compared to the last sale on 24th January however this favourable factor had limited impact on local prices. Mr Dawson advises that Mid Micron Fleece were firm

Inditex has reached an agreement to purchase the Zara franchise operated by the Stockmann Group in Finland. With this acquisition Inditex will begin to directly manage the operations of the four stores in the Zara Finland chain. The process is in line with Inditex’s standard management formula in the immense majority of countries where the company has a sales presence. The franchise’s staff will also be incorporated into the Inditex Group with the acquisition of Zara Finland, with the sam

Exporters of readymade garments are now shifting their focus from the developed markets to the domestic market, as well as other rapidly developing markets in Asia. In the American market, though demand in the festive season rose 15-20 per cent compared to the previous festive season, post-festive orders weakened. The divergent trends discouraged Indian readymade garment manufacturers from adopting a long-term business strategy for that market. From the European Union (EU), too, orders during

Garment workers need to improve their skills to meet the demand of factories in Cambodia. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post In its first year of operation, the Human to Human recruitment agency experienced how challenging the recruitment of factory workers can be. The agency provides a skilled work force, and offers a higher salary and free training – but still needs more workers. Human to Human is a private company that “acts social” by providing training for workers and deals wit