Bluesign Technologies and Textile Exchange will host back-to-back sustainability conferences in October 2018 in Milan. The forums will focus on sustainable textile and apparel production. Industry leaders, including some of most recognised brands and retailers, will convene to discuss the most important sustainability challenges facing the textile sector.
The 5th Bluesign conference is hosted biannually by Bluesign technologies. The Switzerland-based service company provides the global Bluesign system that ensure materials used in textile and apparel manufacturing processes are safe for consumers, workers and the environment. The conference will take place October 18 and 19, 2018 in Milan. This year’s conference theme is ‘Traceability. Networkability. Transformability: Stitching the blue way together’.

From October 22 to 24, 2018, Textile Exchange, the global non-profit that promotes the adoption of preferred fibres and materials, integrity and standards, as well as responsible supply networks, will hold its annual textile sustainability conference. Its theme is ‘United by Action: Accelerating Sustainability in Textiles and Fashion’.

Simonetta Carbonaro, consumer psychologist as well as trade and consumer industry visionary, will open the Bluesign conference by highlighting the great challenge posed by transformation and why transparency matters in today’s society along with its connection to responsible industry. In addition, non-textile case studies will provide insights beyond the industry in an effort to gather new ideas while supporting common ones. Traceability and the need for transformation will also be addressed. A high-level discussion will explore finance in sustainability and additional topics important to a CEO’s agenda while proving the business case of sustainability to re-design today’s business models. The blue way will be presented as part of the transformation. Head of the ethical fashion initiative of the international trade centre, Simone Cipriani, will present a high-energy closing keynote speech on how ethical fashion can be achieved in the most challenging locations, according to a press release by Bluesign.

Featuring high-level discussions on the sustainable development goals, fibre, and materials, circularity, micro-plastics, water, and sustainability in the luxury sector, Textile Exchange’s conference is expected to attract more than 500 attendees from across the industry. The conference–designed for professionals in CSR, sourcing and supply chains, product and business development and design, education and advocacy, offers opportunities to learn about real sustainability solutions that drive change through the value chain and shape the industry’s future.

www.fibre2fashion.com

The third annual Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) show has opened its doors in Toronto with great fanfare and record attendance. The premier show for international apparel, textile, fashion, and fabric manufacturers is being held from August 20 to 22, 2018. Nearly 1,500 visitors on day one alone visited the vastly-expanded apparel and textile show.
With more than 500 booths from 17 different countries highlighting the exhibit area, the show was opened by a range of high profile VIPs who endorsed Canada as a sought-after trade partner for countries around the world.

For the first time, a Brand China exhibition, called Avenue ATS, was introduced at the show, highlighting the top, cutting-edge Chinese fashion brands trending in the country’s apparel sector. A new India Pavilion, which has brought an unprecedented 40 established, new and emerging businesses from India, presented the latest innovations in Indian apparel, textiles and accessories. A ‘Made in Ukraine’ showcase was also unveiled, displaying leading fashions from eight Ukrainian designers and manufacturers. Other new international showcases include trending displays from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vestex Guatamala and The Americas, according to a press release.

Day one highlights included an overflowing crowd at a panel on China’s changing role as a front-runner in the global textile and apparel supply chain, moderated by Clay Hickson of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) and featuring Cao Jiachang, Chinese Ambassador Lu Shayeand Wu Zhengping. The panel covered such topics as China’s commitment to free trade with Canada, incentives for Canadian brands to continue sourcing from China and future outlooks, advantages of further investment in sourcing, and the reality of Chinese reliability on quality control, infrastructure, and logistics.
Other sessions featured at the show focused on the US trade war and its effects on Canadian and American retailers, brands, and businesses. Bob Kirke discussed strategies for Canadians looking to adjust to new realities of international trade and how to strengthen relationships with global markets, including China, which represents more than 40 per cent of Canadian apparel imports. Julia Hughes spoke about the actions her organisation is taking to stop new tariffs on apparel and footwear from China. Both reinforced that a full-blown trade war between the US and its key trading partners will disrupt the global supply chain and impact trading volumes, with far-reaching repercussions for the Canadian and US industry.
Jeff Streader rounded the sessions by providing tips on succeeding in today’s digital world, including the impact of artificial intelligence and digital disruption on the global supply chain. The debut of the China Brand Show, which came to Canada for the first time as part of ATSC, adding categories such as accessories, giftware, home electronics, footwear, luggage, housewares, and general merchandise, also drew record crowds.
Day two of ATSC featured an insider’s look at how Canadian designers can best enter the North American Market, a fashion digital influencer’s panel, insight into a new era for sourcing from Bangladesh, and latest innovations in GMO testing for cotton. A spectacular fashion show spotlighting established and up-and-coming Canadian and international designers is also being held

www.fibre2fashion.com

When the one-nation-one-tax regime of GST was implemented in July last year, five petro-products – petrol, diesel, crude oil, natural gas, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) were kept out of its purview for the time being.
Petrol and diesel will not come under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the immediate future as neither the Central government nor any of the states is in favour on fears of heavy revenue loss, a top source said today.
When the one-nation-one-tax regime of GST was implemented in July last year, five petro-products – petrol, diesel, crude oil, natural gas, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) were kept out of its purview for the time being.
Though there have been talks in the industry and by some ministers, including by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, for the need to bring them under GST at the earliest to deal with volatility in prices, there is no immediate plans on the anvil to do so, the source, who wished not to be named, said.
The Union finance ministry, he said, has not mooted any proposal to bring petrol and diesel or even natural gas under GST but took up the issue at the last GST Council meeting on August 4 based on media reports.
“All states were opposed to the idea,” he said.
If the two fuels are put under GST, the Centre will have to let go Rs 20,000 crore input tax credit it currently pockets by keeping petrol, diesel, natural gas, jet fuel and crude oil out of the GST regime. States, on the other hand, want to keep a revenue tool in their hand to meet any contingency like the floods in Kerala, he said.
The Centre currently levies a total of Rs 19.48 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. On top of this, states levy Value Added Tax (VAT) – the lowest being in Andaman and Nicobar Islands where a 6 percent sales tax is charged on both the fuel.
Mumbai has the highest VAT of 39.12 percent on petrol, while Telangana levies highest VAT of 26 percent on diesel. Delhi charges a VAT of 27 percent on petrol and 17.24 percent on diesel.
The total tax incidence on petrol comes to 45-50 percent and on diesel, it is 35-40 percent.
Under GST, the total incidence of taxation on a particular good or a service has been kept at the same level as the sum total of central and state levies existing pre-July 1, 2017. This was done by fitting them into one of the four GST tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.
For petrol and diesel, the total incidence of present taxation is already beyond the peak rate and if the tax rate was to be kept at just 28 percent it will result in a big loss of revenue to both centre and states.
The source said there was no case for GST on CNG in near future as its sale is restricted in a few cities.
GST has been spoken of as a panacea for high fuel prices but there seems to be no consensus on bringing petro-products under the new regime in immediate future, he said.
After hitting an all-time high of Rs 78.43 a litre for petrol and Rs 69.31 for diesel on May 29, rates have marginally fallen during the subsequent days on softening in international oil prices and rupee strengthening against the US dollar. Petrol costs Rs 77.49 a litre and diesel Rs 69.04 in Delhi.
More importantly, GST being an ad valorem levy — charged as a percentage on ex-factory price — would have a cascading impact on retail prices whenever refinery gate prices are increased because of a rise benchmark international oil prices. The inverse would also be true.
The source justified high excise duty on the fuel saying the earning from the same is used to pay for unpaid oil subsidy bill left by the previous UPA government as well as fund developmental needs.
The Central government had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 a litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in nine installments between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
This led to its excise collections from petro goods more than doubling in last four years – from Rs 99,184 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,29,019 crore in 2017-18. States saw their VAT revenue from petro goods rise from Rs 1,37,157 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,84,091 crore in 2017-18.
GST subsumed more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT when it was implemented on July 1, 2017.
However, its implementation on five petro products – petrol, diesel, natural gas, crude oil and ATF was deferred. This resulted in the industry losing on revenue as they were not able to offset GST tax they paid on input from those paid on the sale of products like petrol, diesel and ATF.

www.moneycontrol.com

India is likely to export 7 million bales of cotton in 2018/19, down 30 percent from an earlier estimate, as scanty rainfall and an attack of pink bollworms are likely to squeeze crop yields, the head of a leading trade body told Reuters.
Lower shipments from the world’s biggest producer of the fiber amid rising demand from top consumer China could support global prices, which on Monday were trading near their lowest level in over four months.
A drop in planting area and the pest attack will limit overseas sales to 7 million bales in the marketing year starting on Oct. 1, down from 7.2 million bales in the current crop year, said Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India.
“In Gujarat and Maharashtra, rainfall was lower than normal. In some pockets, pink bollworm attacks have also been reported,” said Ganatra, who had forecast exports of 10 million bales in June.
India’s western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra account for more than half of the country’s total cotton production.
Some regions of these two states received as much as 22 percent less rainfall than normal, according to data compiled by India Meteorological Department.
Indian farmers have adopted genetically-modified seeds known as Bt cotton that are resistant to bollworms, but it hasn’t stopped the infestations.
Pink bollworms consume the fiber and seeds inside a cotton plant’s boll, or fruit, and yields fall.
Export demand for shipments in 2018/19 is robust but we could not sign deals due to uncertainty over crop size, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.
Local cotton prices will rally if production drops substantially and will make it difficult for us to fulfill commitments, the dealer said.
Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam are key buyers of Indian cotton.

www.reuters.com

Vice Chairman HP Handicraft and Handloom Corporation Sanjeev Katwal called on Development Commissioner Union Handicraft Ministry of Textiles Shri Shantmanu and urged for early approval and sanction of projects worth Rs. 2 crore submitted to the Ministry. He also discussed about preparing a project for making proper use of pine needles and training women and unemployed youth for utilising the needles for making toys and other items which would not only enhance their income but also help in preventing forest fires as most fire incidents take place due to pine needles.He said that the Chief Minister has also taken keen interest in this project in order to train and upgrade the skills of youth and craftsmen and added that the meeting was held today in order to expedite the projects sent to Government of India for approval. Shri Katwal informed that efforts were being made to set up bamboo industry at Dharampur Seoh in Mandi district and artisans and craftsmen were being trained to make bamboo items. He said that Union Government has released Rs. 1.05 crore and requested for speedy release of rest amount out of the total Rs. 2.10 crore for speedy implementation of project.Shri Gopal Sharma MD HP Handloom and Handicraft Corporation was also present in the meeting.

www.5dariyanews.com

The cargo terminal at the international airport is expecting a considerable change in its commodity profile soon, as the customs department has issued a notification which would encourage exporters to consign non-perishable commodities (general cargo). It has been receiving 99% of perishable commodities ever since it was declared as a cargo port in 2011.
Exporters here had been accusing customs authorities of discouraging and turning away non-perishable consignments and making them run from pillar to post on the same. They had been complaining that only perishable commodities will not help increase the volume of cargo being lifted from here after the much-awaited launch of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) facility. Following several representations received from exporters and importers from the Trichy International Airport, the commissioner of customs (preventive) has issued a notification by activating Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Since the notification has come into force, a number of exporters particularly from the neighbouring district like Karur (dealing textile and garment) and ancillary industries is Trichy will begin using Trichy cargo terminal.

The scheme is coming under foreign trade policy from which the government will provide a certain percentage of incentive to the exporter as well as the importer to encourage export. This will be applicable for certain commodities and certain foreign destinations. As per the new scheme, exporters will get 2 to 5% as incentive for perishable commodities from Agricultural and Processed food products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Whereas, non-perishable commodities would attract a maximum of 10% of incentive. This would encourage the exporters to consign non-perishables also, a senior official from cargo terminal in Trichy airport said.

“Drawback duty or change of import duty can be claimed if we consign commodities under the scheme. As of now, 99 per cent of commodities which are handled at Trichy International Airport is perishable like vegetables, fruits and flowers. The remaining one per cent alone constitute non-perishables. Hereafter this trend will change. This will pave way for the exporters, customs, Airport Authority to earn more revenue”, said a leading exporter in Trichy.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Textiles department have taken the initiative to engage the NSE with all industry associations and chamber bodies.
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) today signed an MoU with the MSME and textiles department of West Bengal government for supporting and facilitating alternate sources of funding through equity among the small and medium sector enterprises.
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Textiles department have taken the initiative to engage the NSE with all industry associations and chamber bodies, so that large number of SMEs in West Bengal can be encouraged to explore alternate sources of funding and help list them on emerge platform of NSE, a NSE statement said.
This initiative by is just the beginning of journey towards the objective of getting 100 SMEs from West Bengal, listed on NSE Emerge platform by 2020, it said.
NSE Emerge has a total of 168 SMEs, listed on the platform with total capital raise of Rs 2,597 crore. Currently, six companies from varied industries in the state are listed on NSE Emerge platform with total funds raised standing approximately at Rs 44 crore, it said.
Also, approximately 15 new companies from West Bengal plan to get listed on NSE Emerge platform over the next one year, the statement said.

www.moneycontrol.com

The due date of filing of GST summary sales returns in Form GSTR 3B for July has been extended to October 5 from August 20 for the flood affected areas.
Government today extended the last date for filing of GST returns for taxpayers registered in flood hit Kerala, Mahe (Puducherry) and Kodagu district of Karnataka.
The revenue department has also exempted basic customs duty and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on import/supply of goods for flood relief in Kerala.
The due date of filing of GST summary sales returns in Form GSTR 3B for July has been extended to October 5 from August 20 for the flood affected areas.
However, for other taxpayers, the date has been extended only till August 24. Taxpayers in these flood affected areas will be given time till October 10 for filing GSTR-3B for the month of August.
“In view of disruption caused due to severe floods in Kerala, Mahe (Puducherry) and Kodagu (Karnataka), the competent authority has extended the due dates for filing of (GSTR-3B and GSTR-1) by taxpayers” registered in these areas, an official statement said.
As regards Form GSTR-1 (sales return), taxpayers having turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore can now file their July-September quarter return up to November 15.
For others in the flood affected areas, the filing date for July GSTR 1 has been extended to October 5 and for the month of August to October 10.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said: “In light of the inconvenience faced by the people of Kerala due to the flood situation, the GST returns for the month of July can now be filed by October 5th, and the returns for the month of August can now be filed by October 10th”.
He also said that in order to facilitate filing of easy GST returns, the government has extended the due date of filing GSTR-3B return to August 24.
“We are committed to ensuring that GST is a Good and Simple Tax,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Goyal, who also hold railways portfolio, said Kerala is likely to get around Rs 200 crore from railways for rehabilitation works.
He has appealed to the national transporter’s 13 lakh employees across 16 zones to voluntarily donate a day’s salary for the cause.

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There is a popular saying: people living in glasshouses should not throw stones at others. But at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this adage has little meaning. For several years, India has been under pressure to reduce or limit its support to agriculture, keeping it within the confines of the de-minimis limit ascribed under what is called as the aggregate measure of support (AMS). While India is under tremendous pressure to reduce the minimum support price (MSP) it provides to farmers, the big boys of global trade — the US, the EU and Canada — continue to flout the norms with impunity.
Most developing countries, including India, cannot provide subsidy exceeding 10 per cent of the total value of production of a crop. For the sake of illustration, let’s take the value of wheat produced in the country at Rs 500 crore. In that case, the MSP given to farmers, which for some strange reason is counted as subsidy, cannot exceed 10 per cent of the total value. In other words, the MSP cannot exceed Rs 50 crore if the total value of wheat produced in the country is Rs 500 crore. The market support for procuring wheat and rice in the form of MSP falls in the category of product-specific support.
The US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, announced recently that it plans to drag India to the WTO for under-reporting its market support for wheat and rice, which appears to be over 60 and 70 per cent, respectively, as against the permissible limit of 10 per cent. The trade confrontation will further escalate when India’s latest policy decision to provide 150 per cent higher price over the cost of production for 23 crops for which MSP is announced every year is also questioned at the WTO.
At the heart of the controversy is the AMS entitlement under the WTO. The 10 per cent limit that was prescribed for developing countries was calculated keeping the average of 1986-88 global prices as the reference price.
Since then, farm input prices have quadrupled, as a result of which the MSP has also risen accordingly. For India, MSP is a crucial policy instrument of the public policy helping small and marginal farmers. It has implications for the livelihood security for India’s 600 million farmers.
Interestingly, while developing countries have a limit of 10 per cent, for the developed countries the AMS is capped at 5 per cent. This falls under what in trade parlance is called the Amber Box, which is considered to be trade-distorting.
As per a revised proposal made by China and India before the WTO, the two giants have explicitly stated that the rich counties enjoy 90 per cent of the global AMS entitlements amounting to nearly $160 billion. These subsidies are in addition to more than $200 billion farm subsidies that are provided under the Green Box, which cannot be questioned if it meets the criteria.
Anyway, based on the domestic support notifications that the developed countries have been providing, it becomes crystal clear that the US, the EU and Canada have themselves been providing a whopping product-specific support.
From the data presented, it is quite revelatory that while for some commodities/products, farmers in the developed countries are getting subsidies in excess of their value of production, in many cases the subsidies are twice the value of production.
Take the case of rice. While India is being questioned for its 60 per cent subsidy support, the US provides 82 per cent; and the EU subsidises rice growers to the tune of 66 per cent. In certain years, more than 90 per cent of the total product-specific subsidies in the US were concentrated only for milk and sugar. In the EU, over 64 per cent support for certain years was confined to just two products — butter and wheat.
In the US, some products for which support exceeds by 50 per cent are wool (215 per cent), mohair (141 per cent), rice (82 per cent), cotton (74 per cent), sugar (66 per cent), canola (61 per cent) and dry peas (57 per cent). In just seven out of the 20 years for which the data was compiled, more than 50 per cent of the product-specific support was confined to milk. In the case of the EU, some of the products with subsidies exceeding 50 per cent of the value of production are silkworms (167 per cent), tobacco (155 per cent), white sugar (120 per cent), cucumber (86 per cent), pears for processing (82 per cent), olive oil (76 per cent), butter (71 per cent), apples (68 per cent), skimmed milk powder (67 per cent), tomatoes for processing (61 per cent).
In Canada, milk, sheep meat and corn have continuously benefited from a very high level of subsidy. In the case of tobacco, the amount of subsidy was three times the value of production.
Isn’t it time for the US, the EU and Canada to first do away with $160 billion of product-specific support in agriculture? Even if it has come late, the joint proposal by China and India will help remove trade distortions which have allowed developed countries all these years to flood developing countries with cheaper imports.

www.tribuneindia.com

CRISIL-rated MSEs in men’s apparel had an average operating profit margin of 9.8 per cent – a good 200 bps more compared with those in kids’ and women’s apparel
Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in men’s readymade garment manufacturing have better financial metrics compared with their peers manufacturing women’s and kids’ garments, reveals a CRISIL SME Rating analysis of more than 100 rated MSEs in the sector.
CRISIL-rated MSEs in men’s apparel had an average operating profit margin of 9.8 per cent — a good 200 bps more compared with those in kids’ and women’s apparel, which logged 7.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively.
The trend also held in net profit margin, where these players logged 6.3 per cent, compared with 4.5 per cent for kids’ and 3.9 per cent for women’s apparel makers.
The higher profitability of men’s apparel manufacturers has also resulted in higher accretion to their reserves and consequently, lower reliance on debt funding.
Thus, men’s apparel manufacturers had a gearing of 1.1 times compared with 1.3 times for kids’ apparel and 1.9 times for women’s apparel MSEs.
MSEs see business prospects over ‘positive momentum’: CriSidEx index
Standardised designs in menswear and the limited requirement of incorporating pattern and embroidery into the apparel could be one reason for the lower cost of production of men’s apparel and therefore higher profit margins. CRISIL believes that adoption of zero-defect production combined with investment in brand development can help MSEs in women’s and kids’ apparel improve their profit margins.

www.business-standard.com