Innovative technology turns Singtex into green spot for Taiwan textile

Lately "Energy-saving Carbon-reduction" has become the advanced countries' top agenda. Through the examination on the "carbon footprint", the carbon emission of any commercial product can be clearly visualized, which aids the enterprises to improve the production process and to meet the international green-purchase requirements.

This time the "green licensing" ceremony is held by the Small & Medium Enterprise Department (one branch of Department of Economics), of which the auditing process was entitled to Taiwan Green Production Fund and entrusted to International Testing Organizations stitch as SGS, TUV and others. SGS and TUV conducted the "carbon footprint enterprises including the 2010 Taiwan Quality-Goods Award winners Singtex.

Carbon footprint is calculated based on the amount of carbon emission produced in any products life cycle.

The advanced countries of the world have set up footprint examination as a major goal for reducing global warming. More and more world famous enterprises have plunged themselves into the carbon footprint exam of calculating, the enterprises are capable of excavating the inefficient point in the process of manufacturing. Thus, carbon reduction can be gradually achieved execution; cost reduction is possible in the manufacturing process, which eventfully benefits both the enterprises and the environment.

Read more on Innovative technology turns Singtex into green spot for Taiwan textile @ Fibre2fashion

Blackstone completes acquisition of Polymer Group

Scorpio Acquisition Corporation, an affiliate of Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P., has completed its previously announced acquisition of Polymer Group Inc. The transaction helps continue to position PGI as a leader in the nonwovens industry.

PGI's chief executive officer, Veronica (Ronee) M. Hagen, stated, "The sale to Blackstone is the culmination of our strategic review process and we believe that this transaction represents the best value alternative available to our stockholders.Blackstone is committed to supporting our strategy of continued growth and investment in proprietary capabilities in our markets around the globe. The leadership team and all of the employees of PGI are excited to begin the next chapter at PGI and to maintain our position as a global industry leader."

Anjan Mukherjee, a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, added, "Blackstone is excited to close on the acquisition of Polymer Group. We look forward to working with the management team to further enhance the company's already strong global position and reputation and to extend its reach into new products and markets."

Each holder of shares of PGI common stock will receive $15.32 in cash per share promptly following closing, which is equal to $18.23 per share minus the previously-announced per share amount of $2.91 that will be held in an escrow to cover liabilities, costs and expenses related to the application of the "personal holding company" rules of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to PGI and its subsidiaries.

Read more on Blackstone completes acquisition of Polymer Group @ Fibre2fashion

Sherwin-Williams to launch HGTV HOME fashion bedding collection

HGTV, the country’s leading home and lifestyle television network, will expand its collection of licensed products with the launch of the HGTV HOME brand and three new product lines in the paint, flooring and bedding categories. Sherwin-Williams will launch the exclusive HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams, a line of interior paint and painting supplies, available in 3,000 stores by June 2011.

Beginning this spring, Shaw Industries will launch the exclusive HGTV HOME-Flooring by Shaw in select retail outlets, and the HGTV HOME fashion bedding collection, in partnership with Victoria Classics, will become available at retail nationwide.

HGTV HOME products are designed to be both functional and stylish, providing consumers with the right blend of form and innovation. Rooted in great design and aligned with current marketplace trends, the products translate the rich content, educational and inspirational voice, and great style that consumers love about HGTV to home and lifestyle products.

The new product lines will showcase a variety of stylish and innovative offerings within the targeted categories. HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams features eight unique color collections, durable and low-odor paint, as well as smart tools designed to help consumers enjoy a perfect painting experience. HGTV HOME-Flooring by Shaw features carpet, hardwood, laminate and area rugs. The selection also will include green choices such as Shaw’s Anso nylon and Epic hardwood.

Read more on Sherwin-Williams to launch HGTV HOME fashion bedding collection @ Fibre2fashion

Gujarat - Investment hub for Technical Textiles

The Gujarat textile sector attracted investments amounting to around Rs 252 billion at the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Summit - 2011. In all 139 MoUs were inked at the 2011 summit out of which 34 MOU's are from the emerging Technical Textiles sector. The total investment in Textiles sector is expected to create employment opportunities for around 140,448 people.

The major portions of the investments were made in the Spinning sector, followed by Technical Textiles and rest was accounted for by textile parks, fabric processing and apparel sector. The total investment in technical textiles sector totaling to Rs 45.50 billion (USD 1 billion), which in turn will generate employment for around 12,340 people.

Among the major overseas investors is Finland-based Ahlstrom Fiber composites, a leader in medical textiles and which already has an operational Nonwovens plant in Mundra and is now planning to invest another Rs 400 million. Another Austrian investor is TenCate Geosynthetics Austria Gmbh, which is investing Rs 1 billion and will generate employment for around 100 people.

From amongst the domestic textile investors are Welspun India which is investing Rs 7 billion, Chiripal Poly Films Ltd is investing Rs 10 billion to produce BOPP and BOPET and similar expansion in both (film/yarn for application in technical textile) and Alok Industries is investing Rs 6 billion in expansion of existing capacities and processing for technical textiles.

Others include Narmada Thermal Power Ltd in a Polyester Film (BOPET) plant at a cost of Rs 4 billion; Sumilon Polyester Ltd is investing Rs 2.5 billion in a Pet Film and Metalised Polyester Film unit and GIT Textiles Manufacturing Limited is setting up a technical textiles weaving unit by investing Rs 1 billion.

Shubh Polyfilms Pvt Ltd is investing Rs 2.09 billion to produce BOPET Films, Modern Denim Ltd is investing Rs 1.98 billion to produce protective and sportswear fabrics and a technical textiles park is being setup by Hi Tech Technical Textile Park India at a cost of Rs 1 billion.



Read More about Gujarat - Investment hub for Technical Textiles @ Technicaltextile.net

Formal export of Chyangra pashmina begins

After the distribution of the collective trademark labels to the pashmina exporters, the pashmina entrepreneurs have now officially started exporting ´Chyangra Pashmina´.

Nepal Government gave a nod to bestow the Nepali Chayngra Pashmina with a trademark in October last year and thus made a way for extensive promotion of the country’s third most exportable handicraft product.

In the first stage, around 600 labels were distributed among five pashmina exporting firms including Everest Pashmina Knitting and Webbing Industry, Indecom Soie Pvt Ltd, Nepal Pashmina Udhyog, Everest Cashmere Industry and Sagarmatha Silk Industry.

Exporters may obtain those trademark labels if their products comply with the quality norms for exportable products.

Granting of this trade mark is looked upon to take the Nepali Chyangra to new heights of success. The initial five months of the current financial year 2010-11 saw the country’s pashmina exports falling by 8.3 percent to Rs 600 million.

The trademark has been registered in 38 countries and efforts are still going on to get it registered in eight more countries.

Original Sources: Formal export of Chyangra pashmina begins @ Fibre2fashion

Wellman’s Sensifil (recycled polyester) gets allergy approval

Enquiries to have bedding and textile products asthma & allergy friendly COMPONENT APPROVED exceeded all expectations at Heimtextil Frankfurt 2011.

"Heimtextil was the first time we had spoken publicly about this new initiative to third-party test and validate component products as asthma & allergy friendly" says Fraser Hodgson, Chief Operations Officer at Allergy Standards Limited. "Companies and Retailers involved in every step of the supply chain were interested to provide a credible point of differentiation in the growing area of validated product claims".

The first polyester fibre in the world component approved as asthma & allergy friendly, Sensifil by Wellman International, was launched at Heimtextil. Demand for additional fibres being validated for Health Conscious consumers, along with fabric and thread components appears extremely high.

"We recognise that not all staff and team members would have been able to meet with Allergy Standards staff for a variety of reasons, but we are keen that all our customers and potential clients should benefit from the success of this new initiative".

Read more on Wellman’s Sensifil (recycled polyester) gets allergy approval @ Fibre2fashion

Big & small textile investors line up at Vibrant Gujarat Summit

The textile industry in Gujarat attracted investments from the big and the small at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit held in Gandhinagar – Gujarat. From textile biggies like SKumars Nationwide and Nagreeka Exports to even small investors like cotton ginners who aspire to climb up the cotton value chain, by investing in small spinning units.

The Gujarat textile sector attracted investments amounting to around Rs 252 billion. In all 139 MoUs were inked at the 2011 summit. All this in turn is expected to create employment opportunities for around 140,448 people. The major portions of the investments were made in the spinning sector, followed by technical textiles and rest was accounted for by textile parks, fabric processing and apparel sector.

Fibre2fashion spoke exclusively to a few senior honchos from the textile and cotton ginning sector who had signed MoUs at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Among them was Mr Sunil Patwari, Managing Director – Nagreeka Exports. Nagreeka is one of the big ticket textile investors at the summit which is investing in excess of Rs 10 billion. Informing about its investments, Mr Patwari said, “We are setting up a 300,000 spindles spinning plant in North Gujarat at an investment of about Rs 12 billion and we are in the process of identifying and acquiring the land for the project”.

Giving details to fibre2fashion, Mr Anupam Dikshit – COO (Projects) at S Kumars Nationwide Ltd. said, “We are setting up a spinning and weaving plant to produce cotton, poly-viscose at Jhagadia near Bharuch, where we already have a cotton weaving plant at the same location in which we have invested around Rs 5 billion. The new investment envisaged is between Rs 4.5-5.0 billion and the plant will be up and running by end of 2011”.

Read more on Big & small textile investors line up at Vibrant Gujarat Summit @ Fibre2fashion

Fibre2fashion has unveiled new B2B Portal for Technical Textiles

Today’s dawn brings forth an exciting, spanking new, innovative and full of freshness B2B portal for the globally vibrant technical textiles sector. Fibre2fashion the worlds largest B2B textile, apparel and fashion website has unveiled www.technicaltextile.net which will introduce and provide an entire gamut of services to the initiated as well as the uninitiated into the fascinating world of technical textiles.

Technicaltextile.net would provide knowledge based information on a global perspective of an emerging sector, which is expected to dominate future trends and technologies in textiles. It will also deliver value-added global business services and in the process facilitate sourcing and marketing requirements.

A 24x7 platform, technicaltextile.net carries key information for suppliers, buyers, consultants, institutes and associations through news, articles, white papers, trade fairs & conferences happening around world. The portal would strive to disseminate quality and authentic information for the sustainable development of the technical textiles sector by providing information about key policy changes affecting domestic as well as international business.

Among the key services provided by the portal to the global technical textiles sector are -

• Sourcing help desk.

• A complete knowledge bank for the entire supply chain in technical textiles.

• Assistance in inking strategic alliances with companies.

• Connecting with Ministry of Textiles in India. .

• Branding & promotion solutions through online as well as print media in the target markets.

• In-house creation of product specific project reports.

• Online trade fairs.

• Strategic alliance with Textiles Intelligence to deliver key market reports for the industry.

Read more on Fibre2fashion has unveiled new B2B Portal for Technical Textiles @ Fibre2fashion

Kelli Ellis as official spokesperson for BedVoyage

BedVoyage, an eco-luxury collection of 100% bamboo bed sheets, duvet covers and towels has partnered with celebrity designer Kelli Ellis to be the official spokesperson for BedVoyage. She'll also be creating two new patterns: a classic diamond and an elegant stripe, which incorporate two new colors to the line.

Sharon Stuart, Founder and CEO of BedVoyage says, "We couldn't be more thrilled to partner with Kelli, she brings immense design experience to enhance the BedVoyage line and complete our bed ensemble. Kelli's fabulous personality, award winning talent, and her enthusiasm about our eco-friendly linens makes her the perfect fit for our team."

BedVoyage creates affordable luxury linens all made from 100% bamboo, a fabulous fabric for bedding as its naturally hypo-allergenic, moisture wicking, thermal regulating and odor resistant. An added benefit is that bamboo fabric looks and feels like silk, yet its machine washable and breathes much more than other natural fibers.

In the summer of 2009, BedVoyage launched its first product: a unique luxury travel sheet set with a patent-pending design. The sheet set was made to fit in the outside pocket of most luggage and accompany you on your travels so that you could rest easy knowing that you had luxurious and clean sheets for any accomodations. The sheet set made making the bed a snap, and quickly became a hit for home use as well. As the interest in bamboo linens grew BedVoyage increased its product line to include traditional linens, reversible duvet covers, travel size blankets and luxurious towels, all in beautiful colors with an embroidered logo.

"I am pleased to be the spokesperson for such an eco-friendly product. Bamboo is one of the world's most renewable resources and is grown without pesticides or fertilizers. When you hear the the words 'bamboo linens' you may think of scratchy, stiff fabric, yet it's so incredibly smooth that it rivals the highest thread count Pima cotton, and a full sheet set sells for under $200.00, that's an affordable luxury!" says Kelli Ellis.

Read more on Kelli Ellis as official spokesperson for BedVoyage @ Fibre2fashion

Worldwide textiles seek brand security

Applied DNA Sciences Inc, a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting technology and product authentication solutions, announced additional sales and continued growth in developing its global textile business. Expanding on its FiberTyping business, APDN is adding new customers and developing existing business, utilizing its proprietary SigNature DNA technologies for marking and authenticating genuine textile and apparel.

DNA Authenticating for Cotton Labels
Consumers rely on product labels to reflect the true content and authenticity of the product. This is especially true considering the cost increase of cotton. Recently, a report from the National Inflation Association announced that the cost of cotton has increased by 54% and this increase has been making its way to store shelves across the globe. Having a metric that can verify cotton quality and label compliance is a key benefit of FiberTyping. It should be of special utility to enable enforcement by FTC and US Customs, as well as retailers and brand owners to ensure compliance with textile labeling laws.

FiberTyping: Supply Chain Security
FiberTyping is a patent-pending genetic test that enables retailers, yarn manufacturers, and even cotton growers to verify whether the original cotton fiber was used to manufacture the cotton product. From raw fiber to yarn to greige fabric and ultimately, to finished fabrics, FiberTyping DNA testing can identify the exact cotton species (G.barbadense or G. hirsutum) in any cotton labeled product.

FiberTyping requests continue to be fulfilled for yarn manufacturers from India, Pakistan, China, and Supima, the promotional organization of the American Pima cotton growers. APDN is working within many textile sectors to add strong positioning in the overall supply chain. One large UK company, with over 700 retail outlets, has engaged APDN to test towels and bedding products to determine whether they contain 100% pima cotton, as labeled. This is but one example of how customers are using FiberTyping to better control their supply chain to ensure 100% accountability.

Read more on Worldwide textiles seek brand security @ Fibre2fashion

Organic cotton production up 15% despite recession in 2009-10

Bolstered by continued strong manufacturer demand even during the recessionary times, Organic Cotton continued its steady growth in 2009-2010, according to a the fifth annual Organic Farm and Fiber report by Textile Exchange (“the Exchange”), the leading global organic cotton and sustainable textiles non-profit organization formerly known as Organic Exchange.

According to the Exchange’s Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report, production of organic cotton rose 15 percent from 209,950 metric tons (MT) in 2008-09 to 241,276 MT (1.1 million bales) grown on 461,000 hectares (1.14 million acres) in 2009-2010. Organic cotton now represents 1.1 percent of global cotton production. Global organic cotton has witnessed a veritable explosion (539 percent increase) in production in the last five years since 2005-06, when only 37,000 MT were produced. The organization anticipates similar strong growth in this year.

With the addition of Tajikistan, organic cotton was grown by approximately 274,000 farmers in 23 countries in 2009-2010 versus 22 countries in 2008-09. India remained the top producing nation in 2009-10 for the third straight year, growing over 80 percent of the organic cotton produced globally and increasing its production of the fiber by 37 percent over 2009-2010. Syria moves from third into second place, and Turkey fell from second to third place. The remaining countries in descending order are: China, United States, Tanzania, Uganda, Peru, Egypt, Mali, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Israel, Benin, Paraguay, Greece, Tajikistan, Senegal, Nicaragua, South Africa, Brazil, and Zambia.

Read more on Organic cotton production up 15% despite recession in 2009-10 @ Fibre2fashion

INDIGO surfs a wave of decoration

A sporty and relaxed ambiance inspired by summer 2012 marks the next session of the Indigo Fashion Edition, taking place from 8 - 10 February at the Parc d'Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte.

As of 31 December 2010, with 154 studios from 14 countries registered, the number of exhibitors is up by nearly 3% over February 2010. Among them are 13 new studios: one German, one British, one Spanish, six French, one Irish, two Italian and one Japanese. At the same time Indigo has also registered an increase in stand surface of nearly 8%, a tangible sign demonstrating, on the one hand, the improved business of its regular exhibitors, and, on the other, the appeal of the Paris show to young talents.

Convinced of the importance of supporting the next generation of illustrators and designers, Indigo, as it does each February session, will open its doors to top international fashion universities and schools. There will be ten of them this year, coming from the United Kingdom (7), Austria (1), Denmark (1), and France (1). Their presence at Indigo allows the schools to showcase the creativity and know-how of their students, for whom this is often the first contact with the professional world. The participation of the winners of the Texprint competition at each September edition is the other component of Indigo's commitment to young and emerging talent.

This session, in line with the Pluriel Expert Trail dedicated to "Swimwear," Indigo is showcasing the approximately 30 studios which have made beachwear one of their specialities. They are proposing designs for a market whose development has been aided by segmented vacations and the extension of leisure time. The emergence of Cruise collections or pre-season collections - which no longer constitute a preview of summer trends but entirely separate collections - have lent a new élan to beachwear, once limited to the summer season.

Read more on INDIGO surfs a wave of decoration @ Fibre2fashion

Investments in Gujarat textile sector set to treble

Investments in the high employment generator; textile sector is expected to receive a boost from the Vibrant Gujarat Summit beginning tomorrow. Investment proposals already received and for the which Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have crossed the Rs 200 billion mark, up from Rs 84 billion in the previous summit in 2009.

The Gujarat government is mainly trying to attract investments in the technical textiles sector, which is still in its nascent stage in India. Two major multinational technical textile companies seem to have shown keen interest in setting up manufacturing operations in the state.

The other sector which is evincing interest is the spinning sector, in which the government has received around 40 proposals of the 125 odd investment proposals received. The technical textiles sector has attracted around 15 investors, with the rest accounted for by those in weaving, fabric processing and apparel manufacturing.

Amongst the major investors are big textile houses like, Alok Tex¬tiles, Welspun Group, S Kumar's Nationwide, SEL India, Chiripal group, Bhilwa¬ra Group, Jaydeep textiles, Nagarika Group, Mangal Textiles, Lux Hosiery, Filatex Group and many others. Amongst the global companies who are investing in the vertical of technical textiles are TenCate Geosynthetics and American Hygienics Corporation.

Original Source: Investments in Gujarat textile sector set to treble @ Fibre2fashion

Teijin Fibers develops stable pH level polyester

Teijin Fibers Limited in an announcement stated that it has come out with a new polyester fabric that is skin friendly. The company has developed this new fabric by maintaining an acidic pH level, comparable with the skin. The company further announced that this will be the first commercial polyester fabric of the world to provide pH control.

The company will put up the material for sale particularly for the spring and summer 2012 sportswear collections. The new fabric will also be sold for general garments as well as other uses.

The material will be displayed at two global sports trade shows in the coming days; one is the Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, USA to be organized from January 20 to 23, and the other is the ISPO in Munich, Germany that is likely to be held between February 6 and 9.

The company revealed that the slight acidic property of the fabric has been obtained by altering the polyester polymer so that it can sustain its pH level firmly even after frequent wash and wear. The fabric will also sustain the advanced properties of polyester like water absorption and rapid drying characteristics.

The new material is likely to fulfill the growing requirements of the customers for such textiles and clothing which have value-added features like skin friendliness, odour prevention, stain resistance and antibacterial property.

Read more on Teijin Fibers develops stable pH level polyester @ Fibre2fashion

CIRCOT showcases cotton technologies at fibre2fashion co-hosted meet

When a Government research institution, joins hand with the private sector to start playing the role of incubator of entrepreneurial projects, then businesses are definitely bound to go places and in the process benefiting all. Zonal Technology Management and Business Planning & Development unit at Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT), Mumbai in association with fiber2fashion organised a Business Development Programme for “Cotton Technologies” on January 7 at Ahmedabad.

The august gathering was made up from those from the cotton value chain as well as the packaging and particle board manufacturing sector and eminent speakers included experts and scientists from CIRCOT, CICR – Nagpur and CIAE – Bhopal.

In welcoming the delegates, Dr P R Roy, Director, fibre2fashion.com said, “In India, CIRCOT is a premier cotton research organization. Their pioneering research is indeed commendable and needs to be taken to the market place. During my visit to CIRCOT a few months ago, we discussed about the areas of research in cotton technology and products developed by the organisation and the ways and means to commercialize the same.

“Since Gujarat is perhaps one of the leading cotton producers in the country, the entrepreneurs in Gujarat could be interested in testing, incubating and commercializing the various cotton technologies developed by CIRCOT. Normally there is very little interest by the people in the R&D activities undertaken by premier institutes. However, that is now changing and now even the Gujarat government is taking interest in the Ahmedabad Textile Research Association (ATIRA), to ensure that there is an improvement in its functioning.

Read more on CIRCOT showcases cotton technologies at fibre2fashion co-hosted meet @ Fibre2fashion

SPINEXPO Shanghai to be held from March 8-10 2011

The 17th SPINEXPO Shanghai will be held grandly at the Pudong Expo Centre on March 8th-10th, 2011. The last edition of SPINEXPO Shanghai has attracted 165 textile mills and fibre manufacturers/promoters from 16 countries, welcomed 7,975 visitors. The oversea visitors representing 48% of the whole visitors recorded a significant increasing, which proved once again the leading position of SPINEXPO in international yarn & fibre exhibition sector and that SPINEXPO’s influence has been more and more far-reaching. The 17th SPINEXPO Shanghai will certainly offer an international creative platform for fibres, yarns, knitted fabrics & knitwear as always.

Transform starts from NEW
According to the description of organizer that a new visual identity to showcase the upcoming Spring/Summer 2012 collections: after eight years with the same identity, a revised new stand concept will host the collections of our exhibitors. Going ahead with the creative and innovative Trend Area “Looking to the Future”, our modern stand concept is neutral and dynamic based on luminescent white partitions and LED lighting, for a completely new scenography.

A new fascia will indicate the sector of the exhibiting company’s activity: spinning, knitting, machinery manufacturing, trading and so on. In the meanwhile, a new SPINEXPO team promotes in all parts of China and discovers newcomers in the textile sector, with a dialogue in a more accurate way with exhibitors and visitors. With the strengthening of China’s sophisticated consumer, it has become important to be closer to the market.

Furthermore, the new venue will start in September 2011, where all exhibitors, trends and marketing information will be reunited on one single floor of 14000 square meters.

Read more on SPINEXPO Shanghai to be held from March 8-10 2011 @ Fibre2fashion

ECHA receives 24,529 substances for classification & labeling

By 3 January 2011, European Chemicals Agency - ECHA received 3,114,835 notifications of 24,529 substances for the Classification and Labelling Inventory. By this deadline, industry had to notify the classification and labelling of all chemical substances that are hazardous or subject to registration under the REACH regulation and placed on the EU market.

Geert Dancet, Executive Director of ECHA, said This is a perfect start for the International Year of Chemistry. The Classification and Labelling Inventory, which will be publicly available later this year, will significantly improve safety by providing up-to-date information on all the hazardous substances that are on the EU market today.

The Classification, Labelling and Packaging regulation relates to chemical substances and mixtures. It introduces into the EU the criteria of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonised System for classifying and labelling chemicals. One of the aims of the CLP regulation is to improve the protection of human health and the environment by providing criteria for defining when a substance or mixture displays properties that lead to its classification as hazardous.

CLP applies to manufacturers, importers, users or distributors of chemical substances or mixtures. They must classify, label and package any substance or mixture, regardless of its annual tonnage, in accordance with the Regulation.

The largest number of the notifications, over 800 000, came from Germany. Over 500 000 notifications were submitted from the United Kingdom and nearly 300 000 from France. All together over 6 600 companies notified at least one substance.

Original Source: ECHA receives 24,529 substances for classification & labeling @ Fibre2fashion

Jan 24 to be observed as Philippine Tropical Fabrics Day

President Benigno C. Aquino III through Proclamation No. 86 has announced January 24, 2011 as the “Philippine Tropical Fabrics Day" and the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) and the Department of Science and Technology have been made responsible for the same.

Raising awareness and trying to boost the use of indigenous fibres and fabrics are the two main aims behind observing this day.

The President said that, as the use of tropical fabrics of Philippine unfurls eventually, this would generate awareness and a sense of honour amongst the citizens inspiring them to patronize the domestically produced textiles, which is likely to result in the growth of nationalism and extensive employment generation.

He made a mention of the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law of 2004 (Republic Act 9242), which stipulates use of at least three percent of tropical fabrics incorporating natural fibres which are either spun, produced, knitted or woven and finished in the country, for preparing the uniforms of the government officials and employees.

If the domestic tropical fabrics are used it could save around $547.8 million that is P23.977 billion in importing fibres, as there are around 1.3 million government officials and employees who require uniforms.

He also said that, the implementation of the RA 9242 is believed to give a boost to the use of natural fibres like banana, Philippine silk, pineapple and abaca. Such a drive is very much desired, he added.

Read more on Jan 24 to be observed as Philippine Tropical Fabrics Day @ Fibre2fashion

Messe Frankfurt home textile fair from April 2-4

To deliver more value and business opportunities, Messe Frankfurt will launch the third home textile trade show in China next year under its world renowned Heimtextil brand. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Spring Edition, co-organised with the Sub-Council of Textile Industry (CCPIT) and the China Home Textile Association (CHTA), will take place at the INTEX Shanghai and Shanghaimart from 2 – 4 April 2011.

To meet the growing demand for home textile products in China, the new show offers domestic suppliers and buyers of bedding products and decorative fabrics a professional platform to do business. Held in spring, a traditional sourcing period for bedding and upholstery fabrics, the event has already attracted over 190 exhibitors from the major bedding and upholstery manufacturing zones of Yuhang and Haining in China.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Spring Edition is the sister event of Intertextile Guangzhou Home Textile China and Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles. Ms Wendy Wen, Director, Trade Fairs, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd said: “The synergy effects of these three shows will deliver even more opportunities for suppliers and buyers to boost their business domestically and internationally.”

The next edition of Intertextile Guangzhou Home Textile China will take place in Guangzhou at the China Import and Export Fair Complex, from 18 – 21 March 2011. Held together with the largest furniture exhibition in Asia, the China international Furniture Fair and four other home related events, the show is regarded as southern China’s whole home platform. In 2010, 18,495 professional trade buyers sourced a wide variety of creatively designed textile products from 181 exhibitors from 6 countries and regions.

Read more on Messe Frankfurt home textile fair from April 2-4 @ Fibre2fashion