The following is a round-up of apparel and footwear news from the world's local media. just-style has not checked these stories so cannot guarantee their accuracy.

• Pakistan has been called on to use its political and diplomatic ties to boost its trade with Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) nations to support its domestic value-added textile industry. THe ECO is an intergovernmental regional organisation promoting economic, technical and cultural co-operation between Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The chairman of the Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCFA), Dr Shahzad Arshad, said that exports volumes are dropping, inflation and fiscal deficit are mounting in the Pakistani value-added textile industry. It is vital that the domestic texile industry find access to new markets, and ECO nations could play a part in this, he said. THE DAILY TIMES

• Australian lingerie manufacturer Pacific Brands is being sued by supplier PD Enterprise after cutting the volume of bras it orders from two factories. Hong Kong-based PD Enterprises alleges that in 2011, Pacific Brands' bra division Berlei cut orders to about a 20th of the previous year's volume. It also alleges that Pacific Brands has ordered less than the minimum amount of Jockey and Holeproof than set out in the contract. PD Enterprises alleges it had supply agreements to make garments for Pacific Brands under the Berlei, Holeproof and Jockey Brands since 2002, claiming that if Pacific Brands failed to order the agreed minimum number of manufacturing hours, it must pay 80% of the difference between the contractual minimum and the actual amount orders. SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.

• Thai industrial growth is forecast to contract by 1% in 2011 as due to the heavy flooding earlier in the year, but is likely to rebound by 3.5-4.5% due to the government's economic stimulus plans and increased spending to rehabilitate infrastructure and utilities. BANGKOK POST

• Turkey is set to see a rise in textile and ready-to-wear exports to the EU as measures to protect domestic manufacturers have begun to pay off. At the beginning of 2011, the country's government decided to impose anti-dumping duties on garment and fabric imports from a number of countries, suggesting that these products are so cheap that they pose a threat to Turkish producers. Textile exports to the EU increased by 5.6% in October, while exports from Turkey's three major rivals - China, Bangladesh and India declined by 23%, 26% and 13%, respectively. TODAY'S ZAMAN.

• Indian apparel retailers are set to reduce apparel prices as the price of raw materials come down. Anurag Rajpal, executive director of apparel brands at Spencer's Retail said that with cotton prices down 40-50% on their peak, retailers will be able to reduce their prices by 10-20%. Arvind MD and CEO J Suresh also expects prices to come down by 10% in the next fiscal year. DNA INDIA.