September 1, 2011
Issue #296 The
McPete Sez Lingerie Newsletter & Women's
Wear Journal 2/24
Intimate Apparel Sleepwear-Daywear-Foundations-Loungewear-Hosiery-
Lingerie-Swimwear-Dancewear-Clubwear
Ready-to-Wear
Earthquakes and Hurricanes
Oh My! Mother Nature gave us an August we won't easily forget.
Last week started off with earthquakes in two unusual locations, Colorado and Virginia. A
magnitude of 5.3 hit Colorado at 11:46PM local time on Monday, August 22. Then on Tuesday
another one hit Virginia at 1:51PM with a magnitude of 5.8.
The weekend brought Hurricane Irene which bashed the East Coast, knocked out power, destroyed homes and businesses. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were affected, and to the families
of those forty-five people who lost their lives.
Some 6.7 million east coast people lost power during the storm, at as of yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, August 31),
1.8 million are still without.
Standard & Poor is projecting a national toll of $20 billion in damages from Hurricane Irene.
Now we are watching Hurricane Katia...
There are a number of ways to help the victims of Hurricane Irene; donate
to The Red Cross, The Salvation Army or to local food banks on the east
coast. The following are all photos from towns in New Jersey.
There are many towns all over the east coast that look just like these
homes, businesses and main streets. Brick NJ
Jackson NJ
ShopRite at Lodi, NJ
Longhill Twp, Morris County, NJ
Main Street, Hightstown, NJ
Route 18, New Brunswick - walking down the median
in the middle of the highway
Parsippany, NJ
Parsippany, NJ
Route 80, Parsippany, NJ
Seaside, NJ (during the storm) Post Office in Whippany, NJ
The Red Cross offers a number of ways people can make financial donations. They include: Online – Just visit redcross.org
or click their link on the left column of this page
By phone – Call 1-800-733-2767
By text – Text Redcross to 90999 to donate $10, which will be charged to your cell phone account
By mail – Send checks made out to the American Red Cross to P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013.
Volunteers are also needed.. Information is available on the agency’s website. To Donate to the Salvation Army Online – salvationarmyusa.org
By phone – 1-800-725-2769
By text – Text the word Storm to 80888 to make a donation
By mail – Send checks made out to The Salvation Army Disaster Relief, PO BOX 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301. Designate “2011 Hurricane Season” on all checks.
23/24
Vietnam to Raise Minimum
Wage Apparel firms fear a rise in the minimum wage will lead some
foreign investors to move out of Vietnam Vietnam's textile, garment and footwear industries are likely
to be hardest hit by a government decision to increase minimum wages by up to one-third on October 1.
Wages are being raised to help workers cope with surging levels of inflation - and to reduce the likelihood of strikes.
According to plans announced by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the new pay levels will vary depending on whether they
apply to rural or urban areas.
For businesses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the new minimum wage will rise to VND2m (US$97) a month. This compares to
VND1.55m (US$75) for foreign owned firms and VND1.35m (US$66) for Vietnamese firms.
The move brings forward a pay rise that had been planned to start January 1, 2012, with the new wages now running from
October 1, 2011 until December 31, 2012. It also means there will be no further wage adjustment next year.
According to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, the new minimum wage brings Vietnam in line with
Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines.
"In the first six months 2011, there were 34 strikes in Hanoi capital and most of them are related to the minimum wage,"
said Mr. Ngo Chi Hung, manager of the Hanoi Industrial Parks and Exporting Processing Zones board. "Raising the minimum
wage is necessary to prevent increasing strikes."
However, the labor-intensive textile, garment and footwear industries will be hurt by the wage rise - and are calling for
a delay to the decision, according to Mrs. Dang Phuong Dung,
secretary general of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.
"Rising wages in Vietnam will seriously affect the garment and footwear industries, which have high levels of manpower,"
Chris Kim, deputy general director of Korean owned Mirae Fiber JSC, said. "They mean Vietnam will lose competitive power
compared to other countries."
The last two years have seen a number of companies move to Vietnam from China and Indonesia to take advantage of lower
salaries here.
"But now the Vietnamese garment industry faces a number of difficulties," Kim explains. These include a shortage of
locally-sourced raw materials, higher wages than Myanmar and Bangladesh, and a fear that some foreign investors will now
have second thoughts about Vietnam.
"If the Vietnam government increases wages, no textile and garment and footwear company can survive in Vietnam,"
Mr. Kim warns.
In the first seven months of 2011, Vietnam's textile and garment exports have risen by 30% on the same period last
year, to reach US$7.6bn.
Fashion Photo
Amy
is wearing Vidal Ramayo If
you would like more information about Fashion Photo
or would to be included in the McPete Sez Fashion
Photo
contact
Jerome at jerome@studiotime.us
20/24Watch
Tia Lyn's NY Fashion Show with beautiful models of ALL SIZES!
Pakistan Dealing With
Gas Cuts
Pakistan's largest gas supplier, Sui Northern Gas Pipe Lines Limited (SNGPL), is to cut gas supplies to the textile and
clothing industry for 20 days starting from August 29.
Unveiling the gas load management plan, SNGPL managing director Arif Hameed said the gas fields will remain closed
until September 17, for annual maintenance work, resulting in a 30% drop in gas supplies during the period.
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) claims all textile plants in the northern part of the country will be
forced to close during the period of the gas cut, leading to the lay-off of 1m workers and an immediate loss of US$1.3bn
in textile exports.
APTMA chairman Gohar Ejaz adds that the suspension plan is contrary to a decision by authorities that gas supplies would
be suspended for just two days a week.
The gas cuts will affect textile plants in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtokhaw and Azad Kashmir, where over 75% of Pakistan's
textile industry is located. Around 80% of these firms runs on self-generated electricity from gas-based power systems.
22/24 CLICK HERE to
watch Risque's Video on YouTube Sourcing Directory to
Boost DR-CAFTA A new sourcing directory has been launched to help boost the
textile and apparel trade in the United States and the six trading partners who make up the Dominican Republic-Central
America-United States Free Trade Agreement.
The online tool made its debut this week at the annual MAGIC textile trade show, and is designed to help textile and
apparel manufacturers in the region to reach the retailers, brands, and importers that source the multi-billion dollar
apparel industry.
The DR-CAFTA Sourcing Directory includes detailed information about apparel and textile producers in the countries that make
up the trade pact: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua. Users can also find
producers outside the region that could fill orders of short supply materials as allowed under DR-CAFTA rules.
Easy-to-search company listings include a profile of each supplier, along with details of product transit times,
services available and whether or not they are carried out in-house (like design, CAD, sample making, dyeing, embroidery,
stone washing, label printing). There is also information on minimum runs.
While it is free to post a company profile in the directory, the entry has to be validated by the national trade
association for each country. And there is a charge for a listing by short supply or extra-regional vendors.
Small and medium sized companies are especially encouraged to use the tool to gain better exposure to potential customers at
all points of the regional textiles and apparel supply chain.
The overall aim, though, is to build better connections between textile buyers and manufacturers, which in turn could
drive additional investment in the region – and ultimately attract increased sourcing of textiles and apparel to the
western hemisphere.
In 2010, the United States exported $2.4bn in yarn and fabric to trading partners under the DR-CAFTA. These inputs were then
used to make apparel that was subsequently exported back to the US, with shipments worth more than $7bn in 2010.
The DR-CAFTA Sourcing Directory is part of a long-term collaboration between the Inter-American Development Bank, the
US Trade Representative, and the governments of CAFTA-DR member countries.
Its launch comes as President Obama seeks to strengthen trade that supports US jobs. Recently there has also been renewed
interest in sourcing textile production in the Americas. http://www.drcaftasourcing.com/ 3/6
The International Lingerie
Show Runway Video
Video by NANDOVISION
Don't miss the next International Lingerie Show
held September 19-21 at the Rio Hotel, Las Vegas.
ILS Fashion Show on Monday, September 19.
For more information go to www.spectrade.com
Uniqlo Expands Recycling
Casual clothing retailer Uniqlo is to expand its product recycling scheme to its US, UK and French stores as of
September 1.
The Fast Retailing-owned retailer used Uniqlo products donated by customers to its shops in the US, to distribute to refugee
and internally displaced person camps through the co-operation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In the
UK and France they will be distributed to homeless people by Centrepoint in the UK and Samu Social in France.
The Japanese company began its Fleece Recycling Campaign in Japan in September 2001 as part of its corporate social
responsibility activities. In 2006, the project was expanded to include all Uniqlo products. It is now looking to expand
the scheme globally, following its launch in South Korea in March 2011.
Fast Retailing initially planned to recycle the clothing for industrial use, but most of the items it received from
customers were still wearable, so it shifted its focus from recycling to reuse and began donating the clothes to refugee
and IDP camps around the world.
It has collected more than 11.5m articles of clothing since the program's launch in 2006.
1/3
Working Conditions in
Cambodian Factories
Although working conditions in Cambodian garment factories are
continuing to improve, there are still persisting worries over discrimination, overtime, and occupational health and safety,
a new report says.
A survey of 186 factories by the International Labor Organization's 'Better Factories Cambodia' initiative not only
believes the sector's challenges will be "difficult" to resolve - but also suggests the number of strikes also remains
a concern.
The '26th Synthesis Report on Working Conditions in Cambodia's Garment Sector,' assesses compliance with Cambodian
labor law and international labor standards in exporting garment factories between November 1, 2010 and April 30, 2011.
Monitors found no evidence of forced labor and no workers were confirmed to be below the legal working age of 15.
Compliance with minimum wage requirements for regular workers is still high at 97%, although this is down slightly from 99%
in the previous report. In factories employing casual workers, the level of compliance with minimum wage payments fell to 79%
from 89%.
The report also found that 76% of the factories monitored have at least one union, up 3% from the last report. And the
percentage of factories that discriminated against workers is at 13%, up from 8% last time.
In addition, compliance with maternity leave payments rose by 18% to 73%, while compliance with paid sick leave dropped by
2% to 77%. Furthermore, 97% of factories provide 18 days of annual leave per year, either as time off or cash
compensation.
The number of employers who provided sufficient personal protective equipment dropped by 2%, while 8% fewer workers had
properly functioning needle guards on their sewing machines.
And compliance with limits on the frequency and duration of overtime dropped by 1% and 2%, respectively, while compliance
with voluntary overtime requirements fell by 1%, to 89%.
Indeed, overtime and occupational safety and health requirements make up seven of the top ten non-compliance
issues, reflecting the persistent challenges employers face in addressing these issues.
Other changes that could be cause for concern include a rise in the percentage of factories that discriminated against
workers (up to 13% from 8% in the last report).
There was also a rise in the number of monitored factories where strikes took place - up to 21% of the factories from
13%. However, a general strike for higher wages that took place in September 2010 accounts for some of this increase.
"As the industry is recovering from the financial crisis and adding workers, it is important to continue to pay attention
to improvement in working condition in worker management relations and productivity," the ILO said.
According to the data from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC), 286 registered exporting garment factories in Cambodia employed
324,476 workers from January to June 2011.
Twenty-six new garment investments were approved in the first half of the year and, based on MoC data, garment exports rose
by 32% compared with the same period of 2010.
Better Factories Cambodia monitors and reports on working conditions in Cambodian garment factories according to
national and international standards, and helps factories to improve working conditions and productivity.
To view a full copy of the '26th Synthesis Report on Working Conditions in Cambodia's Garment
Sector' click on the link. http://www.betterfactories.org/content/documents/1/26th%20Synt
hesis%20Report%20%28Eng%29.pdf
Van de Velde
Acquires Majority Stake
in Rigby & Peller Dutch lingerie manufacturer Van de Velde has announced that it
has acquired a majority stake in lingerie retailer Rigby & Peller.
Van de Velde said on August 16, that it paid GBP8m (US$13.2m) for an 87% stake in the company. The Kenton family, which
previously owned the company, will retain a minority stake in the business and will "have a role in carrying it forward",
said Van de Velde.
The retailer, which has held a royal warrant for over 50 years was founded in in 1939 and was bought by June and Harold
Kenton in 1982.
Van de Velde said it intends to reinforce the Rigby & Peller brand and grow the business both in the UK and
internationally.
Commenting on the sale, June Kenton said: "It was important for us to choose a company that shared the same values and
vision as Rigby & Peller. Our staff and customers rely on us to deliver high standards in product and service. It is a
privilege to sell the majority stake to Van de Velde, who like us, are a family-oriented company and appreciate the value of
heritage whilst looking to the future for growth and success. Our entire team at Rigby & Peller are looking forward to
working with them."
June and her son David Kenton will remain on the company's board of directors. Anniversary
Gift
Bill forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was mad. She told him "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 6 seconds or less AND IT BETTER BE THERE
!"
The next morning when his wife woke up, she looked out the window to find a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the
driveway.
She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.
Bill has been missing since Friday...
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