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North Group Finance has entered into a definitive amalgamation agreement with Peekaboo Beans Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of North Group ‘Subco,’ recently to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Peekaboo Beans. Pursuant to the Amalgamation Agreement, Subco has agreed to amalgamate with Peekaboo Beans, with the amalgamated company becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of North Group, and all outstanding common shares of Peekaboo Beans will be exchanged for common shares of North Group on a one-for-one basis.
North Group intends to effect a consolidation of the outstanding North Group Shares on or before the closing of the Transaction at a ratio of one (1) post-consolidation North Group Share for every three (3) pre-consolidation North Group Shares, in connection with the Transaction. Presently, North Group has 2,935,175 issued and outstanding North Group Shares. Accordingly, the total number of North Group Shares issued and outstanding following the consolidation is expected to be 978,392. North Group is expected to issue an aggregate of 7,188,346 North Group Shares to the holders of Peekaboo Shares, post-consolidation, upon closing of the Transaction, assuming the completion of the maximum amount of the Concurrent Financing, defined below. The Transaction is arm's length and shall constitute a Reverse Takeover of North Group under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The name of the resulting issuer will be ‘Peekaboo Beans Inc.’ and it will be classified as an ‘apparel’ company, according to the company sources.
Founded in 2006 by Mrs. Traci Costa, Peekaboo Beans is a children's lifestyle apparel brand that creates high-quality, ethically manufactured children playwear
Global Apparels, a Malaysian-owned readymade garment factory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, plans to shut down.Reasons include fierce regional competition, lack of orders and a year of losses.
The factory will close down completely by October 2016. It says it will not be able to pay its workers if it continues to operate beyond that and shutting down is the only option.
Productivity issues have been the foremost concern for a lot of readymade garment factories in Cambodia, as strong competitor countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh are showcasing higher productivity at lower costs. In addition labor unrest crops up now and then. It’s possible that many such companies will find the going unviable and wind up. This is a development that needs urgent attention. Efficiency is often measured in terms of how fast output can be scaled up. In the race to hike output many companies find themselves outmanoeuvred.
Global Apparels was incorporated in October 2003, built on a land of 80,000 sq. ft. The company, which manufactures knits and woven apparels, has a monthly production capacity of six lakh pieces. It currently employs approximately 2,000 employees and primarily exports to the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Levi Strauss & Co. has launched an annual fellowship program for socially and environmentally conscious entrepreneurs who see design and sustainability as inextricably linked and are working to create a more sustainable apparel industry.
The program is called LS&Co. Collaboratory. It will bring together innovators, designers and bold thinkers who are working to advance sustainability in the apparel industry. The fellows will have the opportunity to work at LS&Co.’s Eureka Innovation Lab and tap into the company’s deep network of people and resources to bring their aspirations to life. In addition to the workshop, fellows may receive up to 50,000 dollars in funding to implement their solutions.
The aim is to help foster the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs and build an apparel industry that restores the environment and protects vital resources.
The program is open to leaders of profit and not-for-profit organizations. It hopes to set the stage for a new generation of sustainably-minded apparel leaders who will define the new industry standard.
The Collaboratory curriculum was developed in partnership with the Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization that aims to foster leadership based on enduring values and provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.
Several years back, the environmental group Greenpeace International had launched a major investigation into pollution in the textile industry, which helped publicise the widespread use of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) in dyeing and treating apparel prior to sale. Greenpeace went beyond just publishing its findings; the group called on the European Commission to act.
The 2015 EU ban on NPEs falls into a broader EU scheme regulating chemicals, known as Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). Previous REACH rules already barred NPE use in manufacturing within EU boundaries, but failed to restrict the chemicals’ presence in imported goods. After the Greenpeace report emphasized this gap, Sweden used the REACH framework in 2013 to propose expanding the NPE ban to cover imported textiles. The approval process took another two years. After evaluation and endorsement by two committees, a public consolation period, market surveys, and the unanimous vote by EU member states that Greenpeace celebrated in the summer, the broader NPE ban was formalized earlier this year.
Under the revised REACH regulations that recently took effect, companies that sell textiles in the European Union have five years to eradicate NPEs from their products and supply chains. After the grace period expires in 2021, the regulations will prohibit the sale of clothing, accessories, or home textiles containing more than trace amounts of NPEs (.01 per cent by weight). The rule exempts second-hand textiles and those manufactured using recycled materials.
Economic indicators in the German clothing sector are negative, but the textile segment has developed sustainably. Exports to Russia declined in the first quarter of 2016. While the textile sector showed an increase of 4.2 per cent in the first three months of 2016, clothing dropped 6.3 per cent and in March the sector declined 9.3 per cent.
While the number of employees in the textile industry increased in March by 1.9 per cent, the number in the clothing industry decreased by 2.5 per cent.
Working hours increased in the textile sector in the first three months by 2.4 per cent but declined in clothing by 1.7 per cent. Order logs in the clothing sector inched up eight per cent in March against the same month in 2015 and in the textile sector by 8.1 per cent.
Imports of the two segments fell by 0.6 per cent and the trade surplus of both segments decreased by 0.7 per cent in March on a year-to-year basis. Raw material imports declined by 4.9 per cent against 2015.
only the sentiment index and orders on log are nurturing hopes for a change in the clothing sector.
Textile exports fell in the first quarter of 2016 by 0.9 per cent and clothing exports by 1.2 per cent.
Federal Trade Fair for Apparel & Textile, Moscow is scheduled from September 20th – 23, 2016.
The fair has established itself as an important Textile Fair in Russia, which attracts a large number of buyers of textile products from Russia including entire CIS region and other major textile importing countries across the world. The Fair is regularly visited by textile/clothing manufacturers, large scale retailers, wholesalers, chain stores, departmental stores, buying houses, leading agents including Fashion Designers.
The exhibition will be visited by leading Russian and other CIS countries textile buyers/importers/agents. Participation in this Exhibition will provide member-companies an excellent opportunity to establish trade-contacts with prospective Russian customers, and enhance their Exports to this market and entire CIS region.
Organised at the All-Russian Exhibition Center (V.V.C) Moscow, the fair will cover all types of yarn, fabrics, made-ups, home textiles, and garments.
In recent years, trends have been slowly shifting from disposable fashion to sustainable clothing. Organizations have been working to increase awareness about the environmental impacts of apparel development, including energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, waste production as well as labor issues.
Using recycled products contributes greatly to creating sustainable clothing. For example, recycled polyester can be created from used drinking bottles and fabrics can be made from recycled yarn. Companies are using these recycling techniques. Other companies use fabric waste generated from the production process to create their collections, calling this process up cycling rather than recycling.
In the late 1990s, the fast fashion trend boomed. Globalization allowed for production to be sent to developing nations where labor and production were cheap and abundant, but the sustainability of the clothing decreased. Brands began putting out up to 18 lines a year as opposed to the traditional two and the rate at which people were purchasing clothing dramatically increased as well as the amount of clothes that end up in landfills.
Fast fashion is a lot like fast food: the garments are cheap, quickly produced, and may be fulfilling for a short amount of time, but eventually take their toll on the environment around us, the way fast food takes a toll on the body.
Toray Chemical has succeeded in developing micro-scale hollow fibers that can replace fillers such as goose feather for winter jackets. Toray is a South Korea-based textiles maker. The micro-scale hollow fiber is made by combining two types of polyester polymers and has a spiral shaped fiber structure, or three-dimensional crimp, making it possible to enclose more air to retain heat better.
The company has developed a new product by maximising the advantages of natural fabrics and fixing the weakness through high-level textile processing technology.
The special fiber is soft and light in weight. It can be widely used to make fillers for various products from winter outdoor sports jackets to beddings such as comforters and pillows. Also, the micro-scale hollow fiber has a tendency to restore its original shape that increases its ability to maintain heat.
The fiber is expected to replace the goose and duck feathers commonly used as fillers for beddings and winter jackets. This is in deference to growing voices on protecting animals. Also it is considered eco-friendly as it is possible to recycle the products made of the special fiber back as raw materials. Fabrics with micro-scale hollow fiber withstand wear and tear better and entangle less when machine-washed.
For the first time in more than a decade, the China Brand Show will be exhibiting at the semiannual gift and home show LAMKT, United States, July 22 to 25, 2016.
The China Brand Show features more than 100 of China's top brands in a number of sectors ranging from textiles and clothing to electronics and other consumer products. Spanning more than 3,500 square feet, China Brand joins LAMKT's comprehensive selection of American-made and global styles, artisan designs and top lines showcased in the show’s Gifts, Boardwalk, World Style, Makers’ Market, Personal Style, Vintage, Jewelry, Cash & Carry and new LA Value sections.
The China Brand selection takes LAMKT’s offerings to yet another level and gives buyers the opportunity to meet face-to-face with senior representatives from many of China's top brands and discover even more new and different product resources.
This year represents the 14th consecutive year the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China has held the China Brand show in the United States. The exhibition is designed to promote Chinese brands and products and enhance Sino-US trade and economic relations.
LAMKT’s selection has always been known for its global flavor, right from its popular World Style category to the Kentia Collective.
The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) group is launching an online portal that will assess whether a chemical formulation complies with its manufacturing restricted substances list (MRSL). The ZDHC chemical registry will include a list of chemical products and an MRSL conformity assessment for each chemical formulation.
It will also provide textile manufacturers with documentation showing the extent to which a chemical product conforms with the ZDHC MRSL and other chemical accreditations.
It is due to be launched in August.
The open, flexible data portal will help brands, suppliers and chemical companies assess a chemical’s compliance. Without this type of portal, each textile manufacturer would need to assess every product from each of their chemical suppliers against the ZDHC MRSL to ensure conformity.
The first step sees a chemical company register as a producer, manufacturer, or supplier of chemical formulations. The user can then register its formulations. To be listed and visible on the registry, a formulation must have a safety data sheet (SDS).
Once listed, the chemical company can apply for the formulation to be assessed for conformity with ZDHC’s MRSL.
The assessment, which includes the use of criteria from accreditation companies such as bluesign technologies, will attribute the formulation with a confidence level.
ZDHC will be working with chemical companies worldwide to include their product lists in the chemical registry.
