The government of Sri Lanka has begun the process to seek re-entry into the European GSP+ program (Generalized System of Preferences). An eight member European Trade Working Group (TWG) held discussions with officials in Colombo this week aimed at resolving issues around bilateral trade and investment. The group also reviewed progress of the Doha Development

U.K.-based company Worn Again says it has partnered with global fashion brand H&M and lifestyle group Kering in a new effort aimed at eradicating clothing and textile waste. Worn Again says it hopes to work with H&M and Kering to deploy a new textile recycling technology that extracts polyester and cotton from used garments to

Major fashion brand Eileen Fisher says it will achieve 100% sustainability in its supply chain by 2020. The effort has been coined “Vision 2020” and will focus on all aspects of the company’s supply chain “from field to the factory to the landfill,” according to a company press release. The company has published a website

Thousands of workers at a Vietnamese shoe factory have entered the sixth day of a strike over a new social insurance law slated to take effect next year. The new law says that workers would receive a social insurance monthly allowance when they retire instead of getting a one-time payment if they resign from their

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh says that one of its factories, M/S Mega Chois Knitwear, has been deemed unsafe for production and occupancy and is urging the building’s occupants to leave immediately. An Accord inspection conducted on February 17 found several severe fire safety violations, including that the factory reportedly only

Human Rights Watch has released a new report accusing the government of Cambodia of not properly enforcing labor laws, which has come at the determent of the country’s thousands of garment workers. The report, titled “Work Faster or Get Out,” also spoke out against brand actions that reportedly hindered proper inspection of garment factories and

At least 4,000 employees at a factory belonging to the Yue Yuen company have gone on strike after factory managers announced their facility would be merging with another. Local witnesses say that the workers were demanding immediate payment of their housing allowances after they learned of the announcement, though company officials with Yue Yuen say

The government of the Maharashtra state has included a US$9.5 million subsidy for the state’s textile industry in its proposed 2015-16 budget. The funds would be put toward an interest subsidy of 5-7% on long-term loans given to textile production units as well as a 10% capital subsidy. Government leaders in the state have also

The government of Indonesia says that it is considering plans to factor productivity into its minimum wage policy in an effort to boost the skill of workers and avoid labor disputes. The proposal is currently being discussed with unions and other workers’ groups, though no time frame for implementation has been given. Indonesia’s minimum wage

The textile industry of Morocco could created up to 90,000 jobs by 2020 according to the terms of a new performance agreement signed by the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing. The agreement was signed in the framework of the 2014-2020 Industrial Action Plan, which also set a goal of US$464 million in exports for