Textile and garment exports from Sri Lanka jumped by 20.5% year-on-year between January and March to reach US$1.264 billion, according to the country’s central bank. March posted exceptional growth for this period with earnings of US$457 million representing 32.6% growth year-on-year. Imports of textiles and textile articles also went up 40% year-on-year during this period.

Prosecutors in France say that they have opened a preliminary probe into the Auchan supermarket chain over whether or not they mislead consumers about social conditions in their overseas factories. The probe was initiated after 3 activist groups in France claimed that they found articles of Auchan-branded clothing in the rubble of the Rana Plaza

WASH United, a global NGO working to improve global sanitation and personal hygiene, has introduced Menstrual Hygiene Day. The event, which is slated to take place on May 28 each year, is intended to raise awareness about health and hygienic issues surrounding women’s menstrual cycles and push to reduce the taboo and stigma surrounding it

Exports of textile and apparel from Pakistan grew by 6.5% year-on-year in the first 10 months of FY2013-14 to reach US$11.43 billion, according to the Bureau of Statistics. Knitwear sales grew by 10.7% during this period while cotton cloth exports grew by 5.5%. Export sales of machinery also showed impressive growth during this period at

Santosh Gangwar has been appointed as India’s new Textiles Minister. Mr. Gangwar was formerly a member of India’s Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, having served from 1989 to 2009. He has also served as Science and Technology Minister and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He replaces Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, who resigned last

Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister says that global garment buyers have begun to regain confidence in the country as a sourcing destination in light of the changes that have been made since the Rana Plaza disaster last year. Speaking during a recent conference in Dhaka, the minister also expressed hope that the U.S. would restore GSP (Generalized

U.S. President Barack Obama has instructed the negotiating team working on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to take into account any potential negative effects on the existing DR-CAFTA agreement with the Dominican Republic. The move comes in response to a letter sent to Mr. Obama last year by Dominican President Danilo Medina who noted that

Textile and garment exports from Sri Lanka grew by 23.4% year-on-year in January to reach US$412 million, according to the country’s Central Bank. Europe and the United States represent the largest market for Sri Lankan exports at 85%, though sales to other markets grew by 38% during this period as well. Imports into Sri Lanka

Global fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) says that increasing wages for workers in Asian garment factories is a tough proposition because it would eat into their profits. Following news that the company had fallen short of its first-quarter profit forecasts, the company said that weak consumer demand and stiff global competition make it harder

Exports of textiles and apparel from Taiwan dropped by 1.54% in 2013, according to the Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF), to reach US$12.545 billion. China and Vietnam were the top destinations for Taiwanese apparel, while the European Union and United States also represented a large market for the island’s exports. (Fibre2Fashion)