Manufacturing

China's textiles industry has posted stable revenue growth in the first half of this year, the country's official news agency has reported quoting official data.

An American company has been slapped a $157,683.37 penalty for deceiving consumers about the country of origin of their products.

Utah-based Lions Not Sheep and its owner Sean Whalen have been fined $211,335 by the US Federal Trade Commission for replacing the original tags with 'Made in USA' labels.

The big picture is that China, once a dominant player, is under pressure and buyers are desperately looking to diversify risks. India has suddenly become important as it is the only other place with a large vertically integrated textile chain, but does not have the huge capacities. Sarbajit Ghose, Managing Director of Laguna Clothing, does some hard talk as he takes a 360-degree view of how sourcing works.

The apparel sourcing experience in India is entirely a function of the kind of product one is procuring, and knowing where to get it from. A mismatch can lead to a total washout of the order, while knowledge and experience could totally alter that exercise.

Annual report by Kearney on the extent of reshoring shows little change over the previous year but predicts that a redefinition of reshoring will soon create dramatic change, with companies combining reshoring and nearshoring to create a best cost—rather than a lowest cost—supply chain.