Vereniging Textielindustrie Nederland – VTN

Postbus 428
NL – 3700 AK Zeist
Netherlands
Tel: 00/31/30/2320900
Fax: 00/31/30/2320999
E-mail: wintermans@modint.nl
Web: www.textielnet.nl

Latvian Textile and Clothing Association – LATVIA

Elizabetes iela 2-420
LV– 1010 Riga
Latvia
Tel: 00/371/29488338
Fax: 00/371/67039745
E-mail: stragu@latnet.lv

Lithuanian Apparel and Textile Industry Association – LATIA

Lietuvos aprangos ir tekstiles imoniu asociacija
Saltoniskiu 29/3
LT – 08105 Vilnius
Lithuania
Tel: 00/370/5/2790.131
Fax: 00/370/5/2721.127
E-mail: latia@latia.lt
Web: www.latia.lt

Irish Clothing & Textiles Alliance – ICATA

Confederation House – 84/86 Lower Baggot Street
IE – Dublin 2
Ireland
Tel: 00/353/1/605.1529 – 605.1560
Fax : 00/353/1/638.1529 – 638.1560
E-mail: sean.beary@ibec.ie
Web: www.ibec.ie/icata

Federazione Tessile Moda – SMI

Viale Sarca N.223 -
IT – 20126 Milano
Italy
Tel: 00/39/02/641191
Fax : 00/39/02/6610.3667 – 6610.3670
E-mail: info@sistemamodaitalia.it
Web: www.sistemamodaitalia.it

Hellenic Fashion Industry Association (SEPEE)

18a Ermou st.
GR – 54624 Thessaloniki
Greece
Tel. : 00/30/2310/257.075
Fax. : 00/30/2310/257.076
E-mail : info@greekfashion.gr
Web : www.greekfashion.gr

Association of Hungarian Light Industry – AHLI

Magyar Könnyuipari Szövetség.
Jokai u.2.
HU – 1061 Budapest
Hungary
Tel: 00/36/1/2692799
Fax: 00/36/1/3172907
E-mail: mksz2@axelero.hu

Gesamtverband der deutschen Textil- und Modeindustrie – GTMI

Frankfurter Strasse 10-14 – Postfach 53 40
DE – 65728 Eschborn
Germany
Tel: 00/49/6196/9660
Fax : 00/49/6196/42170
E-mail: info@textil-mode.de
Web: www.textil-mode.de

Union des Industries Textiles – UIT

37-39 rue de Neuilly – B.P. 121
FR – 92110 Clichy Cédex
France
Tel: 00/33/1/4756.3100
Fax : 00/33/1/4730.2528
E-mail: uit@textile.fr
Web: www.textile.fr

Union Française des Industries de l’Habillement – UFIH

8 rue Montesquieu
FR – 75001 Paris
France
Tel: 00/33/1/4455.6660
Fax: 00/33/1/4455.6666
E-mail: secretariatufih@lamodefrancaise.org
Web: www.lamodefrancaise.org

Estonian Clothing and Textile Association – ECTA

Tartu mtn 63 -
EE – 10115 Tallinn
Estonia
Tel: 00/372/6/115.567
Fax : 00/372/6/115.568
E-mail: info@textile.ee
Web: www.textile.ee

Federation of Finnish Textile and Clothing Industries – FINATEX

Eteläranta 10 -
FI – 00130 Helsinki
Finland
Tel: 00/358/10/830.1400
Fax : 00/358/9/653.305
E-mail: veli-matti.kankaanpaa@finatex.fi
Web: www.finatex.fi

Asociace Textilniho Odevniho Kozedelneho prumyslu – ATOK

Tèsnov 5
CZ – 110 01 Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: 00/420/224/805.341
Fax: 00/420/224/805.339
E-mail: atok@atok.cz
Web: www.atok.cz

Federation of Danish Textile and Clothing

Birk Centerpark 38 – P.O. Box 507
DK – 7400 Herning
Denmark
Tel: 00/45/97/117.200
Fax : 00/45/97/117.215
E-mail: info@textile.dk
Web: www.textile.dk

Bulgarian Association of Textile and Clothing – BATEC

Sq. Macedonia Sq1, et. 9
BG – 1000 Sofia
Bulgarian
Tel. : 00/359/2/9877016
Fax: 00/359/2/4010663
E-mail: batek@abv.bg

CREAMODA – Belgian fashion

Leliegaarde 22
BE – 1731 Zellik
Belgium
Tel: 02/238.10.11
Fax: 02/238.10.10
E-mail: info@creamoda.be
Web: www.creamoda.be

Fachverband der Bekleidungsindustrie Österreichs – FBO

Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63
AT – 1045 Wien
Austria
Tel: 00/43/5/90.900.4903
Fax : 00/43/5/90.900.4908
E-mail: office@fashion-industry.at
Web: www.fashion-industry.at

Fédération Belge de l’Industrie Textile, du Bois et de l’Ameublement – FEDUSTRIA

Allée Hof-ter-Vleestdreef 5, b1
BE – 1070 Bruxelles
Belgium
Tel: 02/528.58.11
Fax : 02/528.58.09
E-mail: info@fedustria.be
Web: www.fedustria.be

Brazilian Clothing Association

04507-010, São Paolo (São Paulo)
BRAZIL (BRASIL)
Tel: +55 (11) 3887 4500
Fax: +55 (11) 3885 5638
Web: www.abravest.org.br
E-mail: abravest@uol.com.br
subjects: Apparel, Fashion, Fabric, Textile

Fachverband der Textilindustrie Österreichs – FTO

Rudolfsplatz 12 -
AT – 1010 Wien
Austria
Tel: 00/43/1/5333.726
Fax : 00/43/1/5333.726.40
E-mail: textil@textilindustrie.at
Web: www.textilindustrie.at

China National Garment Association (CNGA)

China
Tel: 86 10 85229073
Fax: 86 10 85229461
E-mail: contact@cnga.org.cn
Web: www.cnga.org.cn

Proile: Founded in 1991, China National Garment Association (CNGA) is a self-disciplining, nonprofit and nationwide intermediary organization of China’s garment industry. In line with the principle of promoting the development of China’s garment industry, CNGA provides garment-related services for government, industry and society.

Secretariat comprises Administration Department, Membership Department, Industry Department, Information Department, Exhibition Department, Liaison Department and Training & Co-ordinating Department. Additionally there are eight commissions, namely, Men’s Wear, Women’s Wear, Children’s Wear, Downwear and Related Products, Casual Wear, Accessories, Garment Auxiliary Material and Underwear. Other special entities like National Apparel Standardization Technical Committee, Research Institute of Industrial Economy and Beijing Fashion-Expo Co., Ltd. are also set up.

CNGA has over 1400 major members, which cover most of original apparel brands in China. Furthermore well-known apparel cities and townships in China are also appointed as Director Unit and drive the development of industry bases together with CNGA. CNGA’s service has covered thousands of companies.

CNGA takes on boosting the industry as its responsibility and commits itself to industrial structure adjustment and innovative growth pattern. On the basis of incubating, assisting and promoting China’s original apparel brands, CNGA enhances the communication and coordination with upstream and downstream industries, enterprises and governments, accelerates cooperation with international institutes and strives to create a favorable atmosphere for the development of Chinese apparel enterprises.

Bulgarian Association of Apparel and Textile Producers and Exporters (BAATPE)

1057 Sofia
36 Dragan Tsankov Blvd.
World Trade Center INTERPRED, 3rd floor, office 304
Bulgaria
Tel: +359 2 969 31 61, 969 31 66
Fax: +359 2 969 31 81
E-mail:association@bgtextiles.org
Web: www.bgtextiles.org

Profile: Industry Background
The apparel and textile industry represent nearly 25% of Bulgaria’s foreign exports.
The value of these exports exceeded 1.8 billion Euros in 2004.
There are over 2,000 companies that specialize in the production of apparel in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria boasts a tradition of high quality, reliability and competitive prices.

Presently, Bulgaria is Europe’s most resilient market for the production of apparel. For the first six months of 2005, when compared to the same period one year earlier, only China and India posted higher rates of growth in the value of apparel exports (measured in Euros), ranking Bulgaria 3rd in the world and first in Europe. During this same period, production of clothing from the EU-25 was down 9.3% from the same period just one year earlier. These trends demonstrate that Bulgaria is the least affected market in Europe by the abolishment of import quotas from Asian markets, which took effect at the start of 2005.

The APPAREL EXPORTERS ASSOCIATION 200 GFP

7-2, East Tower, World Trade Centre, Echelon Square,
Colombo 01, Sri Lanka
Phone: 94 11 2 346 370
Fax: 94 11 2 346 376
E-mail: 200gfp@garments.lk
Website: www.garments.lk
Category: Readymade Garments, Apparels

Profile: The APPAREL EXPORTERS ASSOCIATION 200 GFP was established in 1993, and its membership comprises of enterprises, partnerships, sole proprietorships & limited liability companies, carrying on the business of manufacturing and exporting of garments from Sri Lanka.

The Primary Objectives of the Association, concisely, are as follows
The promotion, fostering & protection of the rights & privileges of its members.
The establishment, maintenance & conduct of a forum to resolve matters & affairs
affecting its membership & their rights, particularly in the Garments industry.
Representing its members before government departments, institutions &
statutory bodies.

The policy of this Association briefly and in a nutshell is to propagate and promote the
interests of its members in the Garment trade.

Our regular News Bulletins and circulars relays the latest news to the members and in addition you could reap a whole host of other benefits too by becoming a member of our association by being able to advertise your industry requirements such as buying/selling/renting machinery, finding sub contract export orders etc.

Sri Lanka Garments Buying Offices Association

No. 1, Anderson Road (Off Dickmens Road),
Colombo 05, Sri Lanka
Phone: (011)-2553057 / 5354948-51
Fax: (011)-5354951
E-mail: info@garmentslanka.com
Web: www.garmentslanka.com
Category: Apparels, Garments

Profile: The Sri Lanka Garment Buying Offices Association was formed in 1993 with the primary objective of promoting and fostering the growth of the Garment Industry in Sri Lanka. The members of the Sri Lanka Garment Buying Offices Association represent international prestigious brand names and are responsible for the generation of approximately 70% of Sri Lanka’s exports of Textiles and Apparels. Our membership represents all major global importers and retailers from the USA, EU, Australia and Japan.

A majority of the Association’s membership has been carrying out operations in Sri Lanka for more than 8 to 13 years marketing the country and its merchandise effectively. The Association is also a strong lobby for the industry.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association : BGMEA

Dhaka (Dacca), Dhaka
BANGLADESH
Tel: 880 (2) 811 5597
Fax: 880 (2) 811 3951
E-mail: info@bgmea.com
Website: www.bgmea.com
Category: Apparels, Readymade Garments, Fashion

Profile: The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is the only recognized trade body that represents all the export oriented garment manufacturers and exporters of the country.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is the officially recognized apex apparel export trade body of 4,490 apparel manufacturing units.

The RMG sector earned over US$ 9 billion in 2006. The BGMEA helps to drive commerce by increasing sales of Bangladeshi-produced garments and pursues excellence in the Bangladeshi readymade garments (RMG) sector through its activities and programmers, including establishing and nurturing relationships with foreign buyers, businesses and trade associations, organizations, chambers, and research organizations.

The BGMEA also acts as a pressure group to protect the interests of the RMG sector and acts as a facilitator of trade negotiations with global trade bodies such as the WTO, ILO, and UNCTAD

Small Apparel Brands On A Roll

Small brands that are mushrooming in small cities are now attracting the attention of private players. Brands such as Liverpool Retail India's Barcelona, Vir Retail's John Hill and Nahar Group's Cotton County that sell outfits at less than one-third the price of national brands are opening stores faster than the cautious national brands.

These brands have a price range of Rs150 to 600 and work on low margins and fast stock turnover. Their marketing efforts are mostly localised and they woo new consumers into the organised sector through discounted offers like 'buy one, get three.'

Mr Baqar Naqvi, associate vice-president for retail and consumer goods at Technopak, says: "Several regional brands are challenging the might of big players within the value segment where a significant proportion of Indian demand exists. Many of them will soon grow into national players and capture share from established brands."

Mr Sachin Sahni, vice-president of the Rs 200 crore Cotton County brand which has 600 stores, said: "Franchisees are also keen on partnering the discount model as the scale enables us to take back unsold stock and deploy it in markets where it would sell."

News Source: http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=188&yr=2010

End to Chinese brand export subsidies

The Chinese government has agreed to end a range of subsidies that help boost sales of Chinese-branded merchandise around the world -- including apparel and textiles -- rather than face a fight with the United States at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The office of US Trade Representative said the deal marks the end of "numerous subsidies we identified as prohibited under WTO rules." The agreement between Washington and Beijing brings to a close legal action begun by the United States at the WTO last December.

In its case, the United States said it had identified more than 90 official measures "providing what appeared to be WTO-inconsistent financial support." These included cash grant rewards for exporting, preferential loans for exporters, research and development funding to develop new products for export, and payments to lower the cost of export credit insurance.

The subsidies, the United States said, were tied to exports, "giving an unfair competitive advantage to Chinese products and denying US manufacturers the chance to compete fairly with them."

Key to the case were three central government initiatives promoting famous Chinese brand merchandise -- the Famous Export Brand initiative, the China World Top Brand initiative and the China Name Brand Products initiative.

But the United States also identified several other subsidy programmes that appeared to benefit Chinese exports -- including textiles -- regardless of whether they were famous brands. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said: "The termination of the subsidies will level the playing field for American workers in a wide range of manufacturing and export sectors."

News Source: AEPC India

Textile Sector Faces Technological Obsolescence

Recent years have witnessed a drastic growth in the hosiery, and readymade garment production in the Indian textile sector. However, the textile sector is largely unorganised and dispersed.

Due to this, the industry is suffering from technological obsolescence and sub-sectors need up-to-date machinery for production of fabric, yarn, and ready-made garments, according to fibre2fashion.

India has taken several steps to boost the industrial growth in the textile sector. Initiatives such as Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS), Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), excise and import duty liberalisation of textiles and textile machinery are shots in the arm of the textile industry.

They have not only provided much required fillip for igniting growth but also have leveraged the growth of textile engineering industry which includes manufacture of complete machinery, accessories and parts.

Though the machinery industry is growing in a reasonable speed, some of the sector specific machines still have not been able to match the quality and productivity standards of the world-class machines.

News Source: http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=183&yr=2010

Clusters To Help UP Weavers To Compete Globally

The union ministry for textiles is all set to launch its cluster development scheme across five districts of Uttar Pradesh to impart training to weavers so that they can compete on international platform.

The programme is expected to offer a boost to handloom weavers of the region. Six to eight clusters will be formed in each of the five districts, including Barabanki, Varanasi, Bijnore, Azamgarh and Amroha with each cluster comprising of 300 to 500 weavers.

Designers from leading institutes such as National Institute of Design (NID) will impart training to the weavers to improve designs, while marketing entrepreneurs will offer them knowledge on market trends. This training will start after identifying the clusters, by the ministry’s office of development commissioner for handlooms.

Deputy director (processing) at the office of development commissioner for handlooms A.K. Shukla said that there are more than a dozen districts in the state where various handloom products are weaved.

But products manufactured here don’t witness demand in the international market as the weavers are still recreating old designs without bringing any improvement into it, in spite of having abundant manpower and raw material.

News Source: http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=184&yr=2010

Dyeing Units Strike Gives Jitters To Exporters

The continuing strike by the dyeing unit owners in Tirupur is giving jitters to the clothing exporting sector in the south India based textile and garment hub. At a time when the order position of most of the garment exporters seems to be improving, this strike could put a spanner in the works and dampen their spirits.

The dyeing units have struck work in support of their demand that the state and the central government share the cost of treating effluents discharged by these units. Dyeing process is a very important process within the value-chain of the textile and clothing sector and a disruption could cause delay in dispatching apparel export orders.

Tirupur is well-known for its cotton knitwear, the orders for which are processed during the current period. If the situation persists, these exporters could lose out on these orders.

There is also a possibility that the production process beginning from knitting could grind to a halt as inventories keep piling up at various stages of the value-chain. Around 600 dyeing and processing units have taken part in the strike, which together provide direct jobs to 50,000 to 60,000 people and indirectly to as many.

The other big worry for these units is that most of the workers have migrated to their home towns. As and when the strike gets over, it will take many more days to normalise operations.

News Source: http://www.aepcindia.com/national.asp?id=179&yr=2010