Search Results for: Bangladesh

BY MONICA DOBIE
WITH Sainsbury removing all plastic carrier bags from its checkouts for last Friday (April 27), handing out reusable paper bags made from 100% recyclable material, another nail is being hammered into the global reputation of this ubiquitous packaging.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, has signed a deal with the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies to help raise the social and environmental standards of the country’s clothing manufacture sector towards globally-recognised models. With Bangladesh fighting to maintain the competitiveness of its key 2.2 million employee clothing sector against Chinese competition, the IFC has concluded in a statement: “Compliance with global environmental and social standards is a critical issue.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH global trade ever increasing, and the power of brands to generate massive profits made starkly clear with every company report, the counterfeiting of goods is one of international organised crime’s major boom areas.

It is a serious problem for legitimate business, especially those based in developed countries with tough piracy controls, who are seeking to export to poorer countries where intellectual property crimes are a low priority.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INDIA has been branded a serious hotspot for counterfeit books, in a global European Commission survey of countries where product fakes are manufactured. The Commission’s directorate general (DG) for trade gathered information from companies, diplomatic missions and trade federations.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

CHINESE exporters have emerged as winners in an ugly spat between South Africa’s retail industry, the Pretoria government and local unions over quota limits on China-made clothes and textile imports.

Chinese exporters will now be able to sell a full range of clothes and textiles to South Africa until January 1, 2007, avoiding a quota system which was due to go into effect on September 28.…

BY STEVEN SWINDELLS, in Johannesburg

SOUTH African retailers have been warned by their government that they could be guilty of "treason" if they try to get around quotas placed on Chinese clothing and textile imports.

The bizarre and disconcerting warning from Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka came after leading retailers warned that an imminent cap on Chinese textile imports would force them to import alternative supplies from other foreign producers – including those in Vietnam, Bangladesh and eastern Europe – whose goods are cheaper than local manufacturers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE REIMPOSITION of quota limits last year on some Chinese textile products has driven official overseas sales down, according to European Commission figures. During the first quarter of 2006, China saw an overall decrease in exports to the EU of minus 12% in volume, although unit prices increased by 9%.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a research project aiming to document the effects of long-term, low exposure to toxic metals, such as mercury and lead, with the aim of influencing – probably tightening – future pollution controls.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a research project aiming to document the effects of long-term, low exposure to toxic metals, such as mercury and lead, to influence future pollution controls. Although many metals have been proven toxic in sufficient quantities, much less is known about the damage caused by trace elements in water, the atmosphere and soil.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

THEY may take a few years to come into effect, but binding international rules now under discussion, to cover ship recycling will "green" the dirty and unacceptable face of an unregulated industry notorious for environmental damage and appalling working conditions.…