Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine June Issue 2018 | Page 49

SUSTAINABLE BD
Massive blaze engulfs garment factory in Pakistan
A massive fire erupted in a garment
factory in Karachi’s Federal B Area
recently.
The fire started on the second
storey of Lucky Textile Mills, which
is located in the industrial town
of Landhi in the eastern part of
Karachi.
While corroborating on the above,
Sajid Javed, who is the SHO at FB
Industrial Area, stated that at the
time of mishap, no workers were
present in the factory.
Though there were no reports of
human loss, goods and property
worth several millions were
destroyed in the fire.
An official from the local fire
department said that the fire which
According to Export
Processing Zone
Authority, the lack
of a proper fire
extinguishing system
in the area led to
increase in fire
incidents, lately.
started at 8 pm continued all
through the night.
The fire engines that were initially
sent to the place of mishap could
not control the fire. Soon, many
fire engines were sent to ensure
that the fire was doused. It is worth
noting that nearly 22 fire engines,
that included bowsers, put all
their efforts to bring the fire under
control.
This year itself, there were two
similar fire incidents. According
to Export Processing Zone
Authority, the lack of a proper fire
extinguishing system in the area
led to increase in fire incidents,
lately.
Fashion retailers H&M, GAP, Inditex dump mohair
post gruelling video
Mohair, silk-like fabric made
by rearing the Angora goat,
is now officially banned by a
slew of global fashion brands
permanently. The move is led by
GAP Inc. (that comprises of GAP,
Old Navy, Banana Republic and
Athleta) and is now being followed
by major groups like Inditex
(owner of six brands including
Zara and Pull&Bear). Arcadia
Group (owner of eight high street
brands like Topshop and Dorothy
Perkins) as well as the eight
labels under H&M which have also
pledged to be mohair-free by 2020.
This sudden move towards a more
ethical future is all because of a
video recently released by animal-
protection group ‘People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA)’. The clip revealed the
cruelty bested upon angora
goats and their offspring while
harvesting mohair. Shot in South
Africa earlier this year, the
country that exports over 50%
of the world’s mohair, the video
shows the brutalisation taking
place in 12 farms where workers
are dragging goats by their horns
and lifting them by their tails as
the animals wail loudly in pain.
PETA believes that such practices
are a violation of South Africa’s
Animals Protection Act, 1962 and
appropriate charges must be filed
against the offenders. The non-
profit institution further revealed
a gruelling data that reports the
death of over 40,000 goats because
of exposure to rain and cold wind
after shearing. Since shearers are
paid by volume and not their time,
conditions where time to market
is preferred over ethical practices
are commonplace. “Shoppers need
to check clothing labels carefully
and, if it says ‘mohair,’ leave it
on the rack,” strongly puts Anne
Brainard, Director of Corporate
Affairs, PETA. While we do
not know if any of the brands
that announced a ‘mohair-ban’
sourced from the farms covered in
PETA’s documentary but the ban
declarations are spreading fast
from fashion’s largest retailers.
Markedly, mohair is still on
shelves, it remains to be seen how
quickly it is wiped out by these
giants.
www.apparelresources.com | JUNE 2018 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
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