Search Results for: European Parliament

The UK Government has missed key opportunities to tackle fraud and strengthen its Economic Crime Bill (1), as it is debated and amended in parliament, campaign group Spotlight on Corruption has complained (2). It pointed to three “game changing” amendments to the bill passed in the upper House of Lords that it rejected through its majority in the House of Commons, starting with removing an SME (small-and-medium-sized enterprise) waiver from a planned ‘failure to prevent fraud offence’, leaving SMEs themselves more vulnerable to fraud: “Anti-fraud procedures to prevent companies committing fraud are largely similar to those that prevent them being victims to fraud,” said a Spotlight on Corruption note.…

Chinese textile companies are bringing digital textile printing into the realms of denim and yarn to replace unsustainable dyeing processes, industry observers have told Digital Textile.

‘Digital denim’ made using a computer and printer involves applying inkjet printing dyeing’ on cotton fabric to make the ‘digital denim’ fabric resembling different styles of jeans has become increasingly popular within China’s textile sector.…

Retail prices of manufactured dairy products in Poland are falling, while the costs of production and processing are rising. Market insiders say this is already pushing many small dairy farmers and manufacturers to the edge.

“Production costs for farmers and milk processors have increased dramatically,” said Agnieszka Maliszewska, director of the Polish Chamber of Milk (PIM – Polska Izba Mleka).…

This year, tens of thousands of workers have been laid off by footwear production factories in and around Ho Chi Minh City, the centre of Vietnam’s USD24 billion footwear export industry.

Fo example, Pou Yuen Vietnam, a Taiwanese supplier for global giants including Adidas and Reebok, let go 5,744 employees through June and July, following a round of layoffs impacting 2,358 workers in February. …

Portugal’s footwear industry is trying to maintain its near-shoring position as a western production hub, while attracting more business as a reliable alternative to Asian manufacturing hubs, investing in innovation, quality and sustainability.

Portugal comprises an important part of the remaining European footwear sector, which according to the World Footwear Yearbook 2023 produced just 2.7% of global output in 2022 (1).…

Climate change and generational attitude shifts are driving the increased adoption of resale, repair and reuse initiatives in the leisure, sports and outdoor section of the apparel industry as consumer stigma associated with buying secondhand items is replaced with concern about over-production and protecting finite production resources.…

Higher education leaders in Niger have raised concerns about how last week’s (July 26) military coup my home and already fragile higher education system in this Francophone Sahel country.

As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) considers force to restore the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in April 2021 in the country’s first peaceful transfer of power, students and academics have warned of potential disarray in Niger universities.…

A groundbreaking collaboration between Tunisia and China has yielded plans to develop a pioneering laboratory, solely dedicated to the realm of plasma physics, a key element of nuclear fusion research. The lab would be established in Tunisia’s prestigious National Engineering School of Tunis, within the University of Tunis – El Manar, in central Tunis, Tunisia’s capital.…

Sustainability is not only a marketing buzzword in the packaging sector, but also a legal and environmental necessity, even if it costs more, packaging experts have told Packaging Gateway. Notably, making recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is more expensive than virgin PET, and due to “limited availability and the high cost of recycled content,” PepsiCo used more virgin plastic than planned in 2022 according to its ESG [environmental, social and governance] 2022 report (1) released earlier this year (2023).…

China’s key government economic body has released restrictions on the use of iron oxide pigments and titanium dioxide, the most important white pigment used in the coatings industry. In July (2023), China’s National Development and Reform Commission and related departments issued an updated Notice on Issuing the Energy Efficiency Benchmark Levels and Baseline Levels in Key Industrial Fields, with 11 additional controls, including 11 key areas including titanium dioxide (TiO2).…