In the apparel industry, Jaipur is a place well-known across the country. But what many may not know about the Pink City is that a company by the name of High Street Fashions is engaged in manufacturing and exporting socks, elbow cap, knee cap, wrist band and head band, leggings and wrist/head band.

Using innovative designs and material, the company plans to increase its socks and leggings production capacity. Raj Kumar Sethia, CEO of this ISO 9001: 2008, EMS 14001:2004, OSHAS 18001: 2007-certified company told Apparel Resources, “Our present capacity is 5 lakh pieces per month, and we are trying to increase our capacity to 7.5 lakh pieces per month. Business is good, and we are expecting 25 to 30 per cent growth this year.” He also said that his company is the only one in Jaipur that offers leggings made from organic fabric.

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India’s number one garment exporter Shahi Exports, which fulfills all compliance standards and has 51 state-of-the-art manufacturing set-ups across India, witnessed a fire at its Noida factory on Wednesday afternoon.

While there have been no casualties, the fire did cause some damage to apparels that were ready to be shipped.

Although, no details were available at the moment, eye-witnesses told Apparel Resources, “The fire started from a cylinder blast in the canteen, and soon spread throughout the factory. Finished apparels for two shipments caught fire.” They added that very few people were present in the canteen, which is located on the top floor of the building. Hence, there have been no casualties.

The factory, located in Noida Sector 59, has around 700 stitching machines.

It took several fire tenders and over an hour to control the fire,

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Owing to space constraints at its old unit, Pacific Garments has recently shifted to a new facility within Noida. This new plant, covering around 30,000 sq ft area, has accommodated all its processes in-house.

It will also become GOTS-certified very soon, and is looking to get other compliances as well.

The company is mainly into manufacturing for the Japanese market, as well as to a small level for Australia, France and Spain. Pacific Garments will also enter kids garments very soon.

Rakesh Gupta, Director-Marketing, Pacific Garments, says, “My mother, Madhushree Gupta, who is the MD of the company, has always been the biggest motivation for all these initiatives. She guides all the staff with her visionary approach. Business is growing; we are following all structures of compliance. At the new unit, we have tried to create a better and a more

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Despite six rounds of talks on wage revision for garment workers in and around Tirupur district (Tamil Nadu, India), the impasse is still on, with the meeting between factory owners and trade unions on Thursday failing to arrive at a conclusion.

It has been decided that another round of discussions will be held between the two parties on March 30.

At the meeting, speaking on behalf of the manufacturers, the Joint Committee of six associations of knitwear garment manufacturers, including Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) and South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association, had reiterated its offer of 18 per cent hike in the first year, and three per cent in the second, third and fourth years, respectively. However, representatives of eight major trade unions had demanded a higher raise — 50 per cent hike in the first year, 20 per cent in

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Tirupur Exporters’ Association is going to organize a one-day seminar on “Emerging Needs of Certificate of Compliances (CoC) on March 30.

The seminar will be presided over by C Govindarajan, who has a vast experience in personnel and HR department, 20 years’ experience in textile and garment industries and over 13 years of experience in auditing.

The topic of the seminar is related mainly to the needs of exporters, brands and retailers, who struggle with the compliance issue more often based on local laws, Health & Safety Compliances (Electrical safety, building safety), environment etc.

Both TEA and non-TEA members can participate in the event, with participation fee of Rs 1,374 (TEA members) and 1,718 (non-TEA members) respectively.

Tirupur Exporters Association or TEA, established in 1990, is an Association exclusively for exporters of cotton knitwear, who have production facilities in Tirupur. TEA has grown into a strong body of knitwear exporters.

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“Shahi has given me and my family a life. When all doors closed on me and my family, it was Shahi who shed a ray of hope on us. We are thankful to Shahi.”

These were the words of a young Indian migrant worker, employed with Shahi Exports - the biggest garment exporter in India and also the largest employer in the garment industry, employing almost 100,000-large workforce. There are more than 4,000 such women working in this company, where they believe their life has changed for the better, with easy access to decent facilities.

Also Read - Shahi Exports to invest Rs. 36 crore in Orissa; lays foundation stone of new facility

For those, who once lived in huts, kuchcha houses or bamboo ones back in their native home, walked on paths that were far from being called

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Several South Korean garment manufacturers operating in Myanmar are reportedly defied the established labour laws by not adhering to the overtime rules.

According to a report released on March 25 by Action Labor Rights, an advocacy group in Myanmar, almost 30 per cent of factories wholly or jointly run by Korean firms regularly violate labour law, including a 16-hour weekly limit on overtime.

Out of the 1,200 employees working in 39 factories who were interviewed for the purpose of the report, 62 per cent reported not being able to refuse work beyond the legal time limit, while 63 per cent said they did not earn enough to have a decent life. In addition, 15 per cent workers said they had worked extra hours without compensation. Meanwhile, 30 per cent of the workers claimed that they received payslips written only in Korean or

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Ludhiana-based Davinder Sandhu Impex is moving forward in multiple directions, with its focus now shifting to domestic as well as the US markets.

Currently, manufacturing 40,000 pieces a day, the company is aiming to double its production within the next 2 years.

Company MD Davinder Singh, who was recently honored with the CNBC Award for his company’s excellence in the export category, said, “Middle East remains our main market, but grow we must explore the domestic segment as well, where we are dealing with a few good firms. Now our focus is more on domestic and US market. As US is a good market, we will also develop our team there; we hope to start with shipping of containers in the current year.”

Also Read - Paramount Clothing bringing ‘X factor’ to Ludhiana

Davinder Sandhu Impex, offering Tees, winter wear, pullovers, etc, is a professionally managed

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Ten more RMG suppliers in Bangladesh have faced Accord’s fury for failing to make sufficient progress in remediation work to ensure safe working environment for the workers.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh - a platform of European brands and retailers - has cut ties with the firms - Assersion Design, Bonded Fashion Ltd, Camlet Fashions Ltd, Denier Fashion, Foptex (Pvt) Ltd, Glare Fashion Ltd, Green Life Knittex Ltd, Mark Mode Ltd, Silver Style & Design Ltd and Sung Kwang Sweaters Ltd. The Accord has issued a complete and detailed statement regarding the termination of Accord signatory companies’ business relations with these suppliers, all of which were inspected for fire, electrical and structural safety measures by the Accord recently.

“After many attempts by the Accord staff, the factories failed to cooperate with the Accord and submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and Detailed Engineering Assessment

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Vanduta Khurana, President of Delhi-based Daks India, which currently employs a workforce of 2,000 and produces 10 lakh textile products annually, including apparel and home textile, was invited to be the keynote speaker at the World Communication Forum, Davos, making the textile community of India proud.

Addressing the forum on the subject Social Media Offline, she introduced N2-X, the company’s brand, constructed as a tool of expression. The product, in fact, is a bag, the canvas of which is the ‘media’ and the exchangeable badges, or as the company calls them, ‘stamps’, is the content. The product could have several manifestations…It could be a simple school bag, Bow & Arrow case, an iPad, a smartphone cover etc.

“The product is the world’s first mobile re-configurable surface, which can take the shape of whatever the user wants it to be. It is already available at the Ali Virgin Stores

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The long-standing wage issue for Tirupur Garment workers has finally reached its fruition, with a four-year wage agreement being signed between Tirupur Employers’ Association (garment/knitwear units at Tirupur) and the trade unions on April 5. The agreement came into effect on April 1 2016, and will remain so till March 31, 2020.

In this regard, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) President A Sakthivel said that a host of discussions have been held between senior officials and the presidents of the employees’ association and representatives of eight trade unions, apart from the respective labour sub-committee members from all associations.

After consulting with joint committee chairman S Duraisamy and the presidents and members of other associations, a four-year wage pact was proposed, which was eventually accepted by the unions.

Also Read - TEA reiterates demand for withdrawal of amendment in EPFO Scheme

According

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It may be too early to gauge Nepal’s potential as a sourcing destination for Indian apparel exporters in its totality, but it should come as no surprise that some Indian companies have already started exploring this market, looking for prospects here.

Taking a closer look at the recent developments in Nepal, which currently exports garments worth US$50 million, would reveal several changes that goes in the favour of traders looking for business with this Himalayan country.

The Nepal Government is planning to develop a Garment Processing Zone (GPZ) within the Simara SEZ of Bara district, aiming to lure foreign direct investment. The US House of Representatives recently passed a Bill, allowing duty-free access to Nepalese readymade garments until 2025. Moreover, the country’s Ministry of Commerce is also pushing all agencies to work collectively for the promotion of exports, and for the setting up of an ‘export

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With thousands of workers, mostly women, from 10 different units of Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) at Atchyuthapuram, Visakhapatnam, going on strike since April 15, delivery of garments are feared to have been affected.

The protesting workers have been demanding pay hike and continuity in Provident Fund, sources said. In view of these agitations, additional police forces have been deployed in the area.

Meanwhile, the development commissioner of Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone has called for a conciliation meeting between the management and workers, which has been slated for April 21.

Several units operate under Quantum Clothing, Ocean India, Seeds Intimate Apparel, Pioneer Elastics and Shore to Shore in BIAC. The delivery schedules of these companies are expected to be affected due to the ongoing strike. The park has an annual turnover of around of Rs 1,500 crore.

According to the media reports, Brandix

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Working with clients like TESCO, Primark, and having the right to manufacture, distribute and market products under the ‘Crocodile’ brand in India, Tirupur-based SP Apparels has succeeded in getting clearance from SEBI (Securities and Exchanges Board of India) for its Rs 215-crore IPO (initial public offer).

It had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the regulatory body in December 2015. The company proposes to list its shares on BSE and NSE.

Established in 1989, the company currently has a full-time employee strength of 8,499 in its garments section. It mostly offers childrenswear. While it has a total outstanding debt of Rs 252 crore (as on November 30, 2015), it claimed that its revenue stood at Rs 129 crore as of Q1FY16. Its net profit during the same period was Rs 7.09 crore. It has exported approximately 29.15 million pieces of

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Brandix Group, Sri Lanka’s largest exporter of branded apparel, has, for the second consecutive year, been ranked as the country’s most-valued exporter in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country's leading brands.

Recently released in the special edition of the LMD magazine, the report ranked export and multinational brands in areas of apparel, tea, IT, manufacturing, food and printing and looked at attributes like corporate vision; reputation and image; leadership and people; and degree of innovation and quality consciousness.

In the 2016 rankings, Brandix has scored higher than the top-ranked conglomerate brands and highest-placed multinational brands.

In December 2015, Brandix’s contribution to the country’s exports was recognised at the highest level, with eight Presidential Export Awards. Of these eight awards, six were in relation to the entire export industry, including the apparel sector.

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Full-fledged operations kicked off at all 14 units of Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) at Atchyuthapuram area of Visakhapatnam city in Andhra Pradesh (India) on Monday.

The 10-day-long strike came to an end at BIAC, following unified efforts of the local administration and the company management to end the impasse.

Confirming the news to Apparel Resources, a Company employee said, “Of the 14, nine units had started working on Wednesday (April 20 ), while the remaining five began operations today (Monday, April 25).”
Deliveries have been effected, but companies are trying to manage it, said another employee on condition of anonymity.

Although no final decision has been taken on wage hike, thousands of workers, mostly women, from all 14 units of the BIAC were on strike, demanding pay hike and continuity in Provident Fund.

The corporate head office in Sri Lanka is expected to take a

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A garment factory general manager lands himself in trouble for offering bribe to a US Department of Labor recently for closing an investigation into wage violations.

The person in question, 42-year-old Howard Quoc Trinh, who is the general manager of Seven-Bros Enterprises in La Puente city of Los Angeles county (California, US), was brought to a federal court last week, where he was convicted on two counts of bribery by the jury, following deliberations of less than an hour. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison. US District Judge Christina A Snyder presided over the trial.

According to a US Department of Justice statement, the evidence presented in court found him guilty of offering $10,000 to a labour official, investigating a case of violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets standards for minimum wage and overtime pay, at the factory last year.

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Howrah-based Ashoka Exports, known for its specialisation in jute and cotton bags, had doubled its capacity, and is looking to enhance it further.

Now, the company has a capacity of producing more than 2 lakh bags a month. “Nowadays, a lot of big stores prefer eco-friendly and durable bags (one that can be used for at least a year), since they also attract customers. This aspect also works as a cost-effective option. Printing on bags works as a branding/advertisement aspect for brands,” says Akash Saraogi of the company, who believes that jute as well as cotton and blend fibres are equally in demand at present, and the overall demand of bags will only grow further.

The company, which has experience of working with M&S, Walmart, Tesco and many such buyers, is also working to improve its machinery, so it can reduce lead time.

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Canada-based branded apparel supplier, Gildan Activewear has witnessed an increase of 12.9 per cent in its net earnings to US $ 63.2 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal, ended April 3, 2016, as against US $ 56 million in the same period last year. The company attributes surge in earnings to cost savings in production because of its continuous investments in vertical manufacturing, including its yarn spinning initiative, and lower input and raw material costs.

However, Gildan noted a drop of 6.7 per cent in net sales in the reporting quarter to US $ 593.3 million versus US $ 636.2 million in the corresponding period last fiscal. Its adjusted net earnings zoomed 20 per cent to US $ 69 million as against US $ 57.5 million in the prior quarter. Diluted earnings per share stood at US $

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Noida-based young export house Accessories By Nupur (ABN) is on a success route, with its crystal-clear strategy and positive attitude, an uncommon quality in most mid-level Indian exporters.

Company founder Nupur Batra Kukreja, who has an M Phil in Textile Clothing and is also teaching at NIFT, told Apparel Resources that she is planning to further explore the Dubai market and will approach top luxury brands of the world as things are moving according to plan. For instance, her SA 8,000 certified factory in Noida is running smoothly, with happy buyers lining up for her products and service.

Furthermore, she plans to spread her reach in the domestic retail as well, especially with her brand Ananya already doing well in two stores in Hong Kong and one in Bangkok.

Also Read - Accessories By Nupur to become SA 8000; also adding home

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