The following is a round-up of apparel and footwear news from the world’s local media.

  • Seventeen of India’s cotton and man-made fibre textile mills have closed between June 2015 and May of this year. The closures were spread across eight states and according to Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay Tamta, the reasons for closure include financial problems due to inadequate working capital, insufficient cash flow, increase in cost of product, squeezed profit margin and stressed assets. Tamta added the ministry has no scheme for providing finance and technical support for the revival of closed mills. At present, there are 1,420 cotton/man-made fibre textile mills (non-SSI), including mills of the national textile corporation, operating in the country. THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA)

  • A ten-year-old boy who worked in a spinning mill in Bangladesh has died after fellow textile workers pumped air into his body, local media reports say. Police in Narayanganj say it is unclear why Sagar Barman was assaulted. Last year, a 13-year-old boy was killed in the same way in a vehicle workshop in another part of the country. Two men were sentenced to death over the case, which sparked large protests. BCC NEWS (ASIA)

  • About 80,000 tonnes of cotton are expected on the market in Zimbabwe this season. Merchants have started buying cotton at the common collection points with prices averaging 36 cents per kilogramme. Farmers have been complaining over the cotton producer prices, which they say are not viable. ALL AFRICA

  • The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the country’s government to immediately remove 4% customs duty and 5% sales tax on cotton imports to enable the spinning industry to function properly. It said exports of cotton yarn had fallen by almost 32% in the first 11 months of 2105-16 compared to the corresponding period of the last year. THE NATION

  • Five new denim factories are set to open in Bangladesh as demand for the product increases globally. Over the last five years, five denim factories came into operation, of which, four have already gone into production – Square, Nice, Thermax and Badsha. Bangladesh now has 30 denim factories. THE DAILY STAR

just-style has not checked these stories so cannot guarantee their accuracy.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData