5th November 2020
Ethiopian security problems get far worse – just as its clothes exports start taking off
Ethiopia, after years of underperforming its ambitions, finally saw growth in its clothing exports in 2019, and was one of the very few countries to increase clothing exports further in...
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1st April 2018
Top 20 clothing exporters remain unchanged as world clothing trade falls
The volume of the $255 bn worth of clothing (measured in numbers of garments) imported in 2017 into the key developed countries (Japan, the US and EU - JUSEU) fell...
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7th February 2017
US 2016 apparel imports fall in spite of year-end spurt. Price falls accelerated
US apparel imports (in square metres) grew 3.4% in December 2016 over December 2015, though falls in the previous six months a 2016 annual fall of 1.1%. Average prices per square metre...
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13th October 2016
Ethiopia violence undermines ‘visionary’ sourcing strategies
The partial destruction by rioters last week of the Saygin Dima mill in Ethiopia perfectly illustrates the short-term superficiality of too many 'visionary' sourcing strategies. Since concern started to mount...
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5th November 2015
US September imports continue growth trend
US apparel imports in September, measured in square metres of apparel, grew 4.8%, bringing growth in the moving annual total (MAT) to September to 6.1%. As in most Septembers, China's...
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28th July 2015
Chinese apparel exports hit hard as Eurozone and Japanese apparel imports tumble
The US dollar value of Chinese apparel exports continued to fall in June. But, with exports to the UK and US remaining healthy, the fall seems mostly the result of...
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4th May 2015
Ethiopia: why neat plans don’t guarantee the jobs developing countries need
In my Sourcing Journal article on Ethiopia, I question the wisdom of elaborate "dirt to shirt" national garment and textile strategies. I believe such strategies all carry a common fallacy...
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15th April 2015
Ethiopians start the debate about a realistic ten-year apparel plan
Ethiopia has admitted its plans for apparel and textile exports have been unrealistic. Its revised project may be achievable - but the real costs to the Ethiopian people still seem...
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27th February 2015
Indian-owned factory “to start making denim in Ethiopia by May”
Kanoria Africa Textile, the Ethiopian subsidiary of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries, an Indian chemicals conglomerate, reportedly started yarn production in mid-February in preparation for producing denim by May in what our records indicate...
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24th January 2015
H&M stops cotton buying from Ethiopia’s Omo Valley
H&M announced on January 19 it was halting the use of cotton from Ethiopia's Omo Valley, after allegations of "landgrabbing" in the area. H&M's decision follows a similar decision a...
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21st January 2015
Rich country imports from Bangladesh continue slide in November as Vietnam looks 2014’s big success story
Rich country garment imports from Bangladesh fell year on year in November for the third time in four months, as Bangladesh's sales to the EU continued to fall - though...
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7th January 2015
Ethiopian unions welcome German buyers’ help in pushing garment wages up.
Following pressure from Germany's Tchibo, an Ethiopian labour union "won a 25-percent wage increase in a collective bargaining agreement" in 2014 from its then $33 a month wages at the...
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