United States

The U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that certain imported goods must comply with more stringent country of origin labeling standards after several shipments of jeans in 2010 were found to be in violation of labeling rules. The shipments in question were imported from China in September and October of 2010 and reportedly failed to include appropriate language to indicate where they were made. U.S. law states that goods must be clearly marked with a phrase like “made in” or “product of” to indicate the country of origin.(STR Trade)
 
U.S. President Barack Obama has announced a new public-private initiative to boost textile manufacturing in the United States. The initiative includes a competition launched by the U.S. Department of Defense for domestic manufacturers, universities, and non-profit groups to form a new manufacturing hub focused on new forms of fiber and textile technologies. The initiative will also focus on strengthening the U.S. domestic supply chain by encouraging investment and job creation in small businesses.(Washington Times) / (Whitehouse.gov)
 
Fairtrade International has released a draft of a proposed new standard for the textile value chain. In a press release, the group said that the goal of the new standard would be to reach “often-overlooked” workers along the supply chain so that they too can benefit from the Fairtrade label. Fairtrade has set up a survey to receive public input about the new standard that will be open until May 8.(Fibre2Fashion) / (Fairtrade)