July 1: The world’s ports operated as normal on Friday as a new container weighing rule that has roiled the shipping industry for months went into effect. Shippers had feared delays resulting from new procedures required by the rule, which requires exporters in over 170 countries to report the weight of shipping containers before they’re loaded onto vessels. The rule, adopted by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization as part of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, known as SOLAS, was aimed at preventing accidents at ports and at sea caused by overloaded containers. (Source: Wall Street Journal)

June 30: The State Department on Thursday shined the spotlight on five countries — Vietnam, Guatemala, Russia, Chile and Jordan — that it says use forced labor in garment manufacturing, while it singled out Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and others for using forced labor in cotton production..."The concern is how this will play out in other reports," [AAFA’s Nate Herman] said. "The [DOL] report is very broad and can brand whole industries as using child or forced labor..." (Source: Women’s Wear Daily - login required)

June 29: President Obama last week signed into law an overhaul to the Toxic Substances Control Act, requiring new testing and regulation of thousands of chemicals used in everything from cleaning products to paint thinners and clothing...The new law imposes a number of new responsibilities on the EPA — as well as on manufacturers and potentially any company that uses chemicals in its products — with relatively short deadlines to carry out these actions. (Source: Environmental Leader)

June 30: The American Apparel & Footwear Association today expressed deep disappointment with President Obama's decision to proclaim very limited duty-free treatment for travel goods (including luggage, handbags, backpacks, tote bags, etc.) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. (Source: AAFA Press Release)

July 1: The travel goods industry is preparing for battle over the Obama administration's June 30 decision not to extend duty-free preferences for travel goods to all members of the Generalized System of Preferences, a move that sources say came as a surprise and runs counter to every comment the White House received on the issue. (Source: Inside U.S. Trade, World Trade Online)

June 29: President Obama says he’ll keep working for a trans-Pacific trade deal that is stuck in the U.S. Congress and opposed by both of the candidates who are vying to succeed him...Obama says the pact is the right thing to do and "we’re going to keep working for it." (Source: Associated Press)

July 1: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding on Friday went public with a new drive to display its determination to stamp out fake goods, urging brands to help its anti-piracy campaign rather than trade rebukes on the issue... (Source: Reuters)

June 29: Last fall, Fortune published an article addressing the rise in copyright trolls in the fashion industry...Textile firms that hold copyrights in print designs (think: florals, paisleys, geometric designs, animal skin patterns, and the like), such as L.A. Printex, which alone has filed more than 700 copyright infringement cases over the past five years, have taken to filing infringement suits against retailers with increasing frequency. The trend has been likened by many to "legalized extortion." (Source: thefashionlaw.com) 

In Brief July 5: AAFA released the Market Monitor – 1st Quarter '16 for footwear, available to members here. The Q1 report for apparel will be available in August. June 30: AAFA applauded the recent downgrade of Uzbekistan in the annual Trafficking in Persons (J-TIP) report. See all of AAFA’s latest letters, comments, testimony here. June 23: AAFA conducted a member-only webinar revealing the summary results of our second annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) benchmarking survey. Members can access the webinar here. The full report will be available to members later this week. Get involved! AAFA members get the most out of membership when they participate in our events and committees. Committee members get important updates from AAFA’s top leadership and meet in person 2-3 times a year to address best practices and shared challenges. To join a committee, contact membership@aafaglobal.org. For committee descriptions click here.

Member Welcome: Haddad Brands
Haddad Brands is the global children's apparel and accessories licensing partner for some of the most iconic brands in the world, including: Nike, Levi's, Jordan, Converse, and Hurley.

Visit our events calendar for all webinars and industry events. Be sure to save the date for AAFA's Executive Summit: March 1-2, 2017.

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Other Industry Events

MAGIC/FN PLATFORM
August 16, 2016 | Las Vegas, NV

AAFA is pleased to present two sessions at MAGIC and FN PLATFORM 2016. Sessions will include "The Future of Footwear Policy: How Washington's Decisions Impact Sourcing and Selling in New Markets" and "Greening the Supply Chain," both on Tuesday, August 16.