Britain’s open register of beneficial ownership was groundbreaking worldwide but its effectiveness as a bulwark against money laundering is being debated, even as both the European Union (EU) and the US move ahead at varying pace to replicate the system. The question of whether BO registers should be open or closed is one that is being discussed in countries around the world.…

THE CANADIAN auto parts sector is likely to suffer should the Trump administration go ahead with plans to impose escalating duties on Mexican exports to the USA to force Mexico to further restrict immigration into America.

With President Donald Trump yesterday (June 5) claiming talks with the Mexican government have been insufficiently productive, the US is poised to impose 5% duties on all imports from Mexico on June 10.…

Istanbul is gearing up for its second fashion week of 2021, with the expectation of repeating the success of previous virtual events that reached some 25 million viewers worldwide.

With a physical Mercedes-Benz Istanbul Fashion Week (IFW) not feasible in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers pivoted to a virtual event.…

THE TURKISH apparel sector is capitalising on sourcing diversification and changes in retailers’ orders in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Exports are up on last year, and the industry is laying the foundations for strong future demand as the sector expands.…

Oil-service provider Petrofac is to pay out a total GBP77 million (USD104.6 million) after pleading guilty to seven separate counts of failure to prevent bribery to win over GBP2.6 billion (USD3.5 billion) in Middle East contracts. In a case brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor October 4 sentenced the Jersey-based contractor in Southwark Crown Court to pay GBP47,197,640 (USD64,208,613) in fines, a GBP22,836,985 (USD31,066,704) confiscation order plus the SFO’s GBP7 million (USD9.5 million) costs.…

Food manufacturers across the European Union (EU) may pay more for their ingredients because of new EU rules requiring farmers to undertake additional work to get the same subsidies, while the cost of fuel and fertiliser is also rising.

“I think you will see that the industry will, at least initially, eat some of the price increases,” predicted Gunnar Kvistgaard, director of Denmark-based 1A Food Consulting.…

Growth in demand for and production of renewable diesel is set to disrupt the global liquid fuels sector, with major increases in refining capacity being developed now. Renewable diesel has major potential as a transitional alternative energy source, because, unlike standard biofuels, in its highest quality form, it is chemically identical to fossil fuel diesel. …

Sub-Saharan Africa has natural resources that aids the development of renewable energy, it has lots of sun, plentiful wind, and much potentially sustainable biomass. With the development of small-scale affordable renewable energy technologies, such systems have been promoted by major aid agencies keen to prevent deforestation and excessive reliance on fossil fuels, that – even where they are plentiful, have not usually led to widespread economic development.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published advice to chemical sectors on combining different sources of alternative data when assessing whether chemicals are skin sensitisers – of key importance to apparel makers. This is ECHA’s first guideline on using ‘in silico’ tools (using computer simulation, such as the QSAR Toolbox) to assess skin sensitisation, with the goal of delivering reliable data that avoids tests on animals.…

The European Union’s (EU) new classification and labelling requirements for the whitener titanium dioxide (TiO2) came into force on October 1 (2021). That means TiO2, which is used as a textile pigment and delustrant, notably for acrylic, nylon and spandex fabrics, must be classified as carcinogen if inhaled when supplied on its own or in mixtures, where the substance or mixture contains 1% or more of TiO2 particles of an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm.…