Bemz, the Swedish company that allows customers to personalize their IKEA sofas and chairs announced the addition of "Loose Fit – Urban" 100% washed linen slipcovers to the successful Loose Fit range. The "Loose Fit – Urban" style will be available as slipcovers on the Bemz website for the Karlanda, Karlstad, Klippan, Henriksdal, Nils, Klappsta and Kivik furniture ranges beginning early 2012.
The Urban look is characterized by an edgier, more metropolitan influence in contrast to its kinder rural counterpart, the "Loose Fit – Country Style". Bemz's new slipcovers take their cues from the latest in interior design trends: subdued and elegant with a sophisticated, slightly looser fit. The seams are purposely apparent, with every aspect of the cover cut and sewn by hand using extreme precision and care.
"The Loose Fit collection allows our customers to transform an IKEA sofa using both color and form in an exciting way," says Lesley Pennington, CEO and founder of Bemz. "It will be great to see how the Bemz fans adopt this new urban look and make it their own."
The Loose fit collection, now consisting of the Urban and the popular Country styles, are manufactured using exclusive Rosendal Pure Washed linen from Belgium, a country with a centuries-old tradition of flax cultivation and processing.
The fabric is pre-washed to give it that soft, vintage-like, wrinkled look. The slipcovers are available in a variety of colors: Absolute White, Soft White, Unbleached, Medium Grey, Brown, Sage and Lavender. With the latest additions, there are over 180 fabrics to choose from on the Bemz website.
Read entire post Bemz launches "Loose Fit - Urban', a new style of unique, contemporary slipcovers for IKEA furniture @ Fibre2fashion
The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has claimed that working capital of the country’s textile exporters’ worth about PKR 25 billion is blocked under several duty drawback schemes, which is affecting the country’s exports and is also causing a negative effect on the nation’s economy.
After the end of quota system in textile trade, exporters were provided with research and development facilities in order to help them enhance their exports. However, the facility was suspended after a couple of years in 2008, following which some refund claims are still lying unpaid, which is causing the exporters to suffer financial crisis and is also hampering their business flow as their working capital remains blocked.
Meanwhile, with a view to help the textile exporters, the present Government introduced another drawback of local taxes and levies (DLTL) scheme under its Textile Policy in 2009. The scheme met with positive response from the side of exporters and the country’s overall exports surged above US$ 24 billion, while textile exports jumped above US$ 13 billion.
However, the drawback facility as promised under the scheme was not honoured fully and just 14.67 percent of the claims submitted by the exporters have been paid till now, due to which considerable amount of working capital of the exporters is still blocked with the Government.
Read entire post Unpaid drawback claims affects Pakistani textile exporters @ Fibre2fashion
Australian Wool Industries Secretariat Inc (AWIS) releases wool sale report for the week ending 25th November 11.
The Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Regional Indicators finished 0.7% lower, on average, at sales in Newcastle, Melbourne and Fremantle this week when the US exchange rate fell by 3.7%.
It was another market that finished in a different manner to the way it started. All Regional Indicators were down in both currencies on their first days of selling, with the fall in A¢ partly buffered by the fall in the US exchange rate. The situation reversed on Thursday, when demand was strong from the start, and the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) rose by 2¢ in US¢ and by 18¢ in A¢.
The fall on Tuesday was not unexpected, given the general global financial concerns and the soft finish the previous week. However, the upturn on Thursday surprised most people, as the global economic outlook was unchanged on Wednesday night. There were trade reports of inquiry from China and Italy on Wednesday night.
Read entire post Soft trading in Aussie wool market @ Fibre2fashion
A handloom and handicrafts expo showcasing exquisite silk and cotton handloom items manually prepared by artisans of various States is going on in Gangtok, the capital of Indian State of Sikkim.
The Special Handloom Expo 2011, organized by Sikkim Handloom and Handicrafts Corporation Ltd., under the aegis of Development Commissioner (Handloom), Ministry of Textiles Government of India, would run till December 10.
Handloom artisans from seven States including Bihar, Nagaland, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Sikkim and West Bengal are showcasing their products at 40 stalls set up at the expo.
Besides, there is also a theme pavilion exhibiting traditional wears of various ethnic communities of the State like Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha. The pavilion also showcases the handloom, Lukuni and Angora weaves.
Read entire post Silk & cotton items on display at Sikkim Handloom Expo @ Fibre2fashion
Japan-based, JX Nippon Oil & Energy which operates a naphtha cracker plant, has planned a maintenance turnaround at the cracker in the third quarter of 2012.
This was informed to fibre2fashion by a company offical who added that, currently the plant located in Kawasaki is operating at normal capacity rates.
The cracker will be taken off-stream on August 12, 2012 and will remain shutdown till October 1, 2012.
The naphtha cracker has a production capacity of 460,000 mt / year
Read more about JX Nippon Kawasaki cracker to go offstream in Aug ‘12 @ Fibre2fashion
With a view to stimulate expansion of the country’s textile sector, Sri Lankan Government has decided to withdraw customs duty on yarn from January 2012.
The Government has also resolved to end Value Added Tax (VAT) on import of machinery required in textile manufacturing to enhance the country’s production capacity and boost export potential.
Releasing the Government’s new Budget Plan for 2012 in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a series of new fiscal policies and taxation measures with the objective of boosting exports and strengthening the country’s economy.
The measures include devaluation of Sri Lanka’s national currency by three percent in order to increase the nation’s global competitiveness and boost export volumes.
Read entire post Sri Lankan govt to remove customs duty on yarn @ Fibre2fashion
Beaulieu of America, the nation’s 3rd largest carpet mill and largest sole carpet producer, has announced additional changes as it prepares for 2012. Ralph Boe, president and CEO announced that Jeff Meadows, Chief Marketing Officer and James Lesslie, Chief Operations Officer have left the company effective immediately.
Both executives have left to pursue other interests, according to Boe. “Change is something that is inevitable,” observed Boe. “so like any company, we must adjust, do what’s necessary and move on. We thank them for their valued service and leadership to Beaulieu and wish them both very well.”
Mr. Boe acknowledges that this latest announcement follows stories about three facility closings in the last several weeks that has put the spotlight on Beaulieu. “It’s very important that people don’t read anything into all these recent events,” advised Boe. “These moves were necessary to adjust capacity with the market demand. Beaulieu now enters 2012 well positioned. We announced securing a $230 million loan refinance in October and we’re showing strong performance in several areas.”
As evidence, the company points to its new HealthyTouch and CCA Global Resista Refresh lines placed into almost 6,000 dealers with the highest rate of sales for any launch in Beaulieu’s history. Additionally, Beaulieu’s STAINMASTER with Magic Fresh odor reducer is out-performing its previous STAINMASTER collection 2 to 1. On the commercial side, Beaulieu is also seeing growth with both its Nexterra-backed modular tiles and Aqua in hospitality.
Read entire post Beaulieu Preparing Itself for Strength in 2012 @ Fibre2fashion
