Hope you can come out and join myself and Kenyatta Adams of the USPS
for a presentation on export success for e-commerce fashion sellers!
No registration is required. Seating is first come first served. Doors open at 5:45 pm. See you there!
Friday, September 5, 2014
EVENT CANCELED - TO BE RESCHEDULED Celebrate NY Fashion Week With This Free Event on Thurs. Sept. 11th 6 PM at 188 Madison Ave. (at 34th St - SIBL Library)
No registration is required. Seating is first come first served. Doors open at 5:45 pm. See you there!
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Country of Origin? How About City of Origin?
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has created a
"Brooklyn Made" designation available to businesses located in
Kings County, NY.
With the boost in popularity of the "Brooklyn" brand, this marking is in its most simplest form a protectionist measure against non-Brooklyn based companies seeking to capitalize on the borough’s growing popularity.
As discussed in this week's AM New York (photo above), factors
for attaining one of the three levels of the "Made in Brooklyn"
insignia offered by the Chamber are, not surprisingly, akin to some of those same
considerations US Customs looks at when it analyzes country of origin marking
and value claims on imported products.
Factors include the amount of raw materials obtained within the
territory (i.e. originating materials), level of manufacturing (think: substantial formation) and, the local labor used (i.e., overhead and labor, in value
considerations).
More on the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce can be found
here.
As an aside, manufacturing in Brooklyn has
been on an upward swing with the neighborhood Sunset Park rapidly emerging
as a manufacturing, artist and fashion destination as the waterfront
warehouses are being converted into mixed-use spaces that are supporting more than just manufacturing.
We will be watching closely as the
development of this cool Brooklyn neighborhood continues!
Questions/comments?
Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com
On Twitter @fashcompliance
Friday, August 22, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Washington DC Gets Ready to Discuss AGOA, Textiles From Africa, and More
On Friday August 1, 2014, the Civil Society of the AGOA
Forum will be hosting its own two-day meeting under the theme “AGOA:Re-Authorization beyond 2015.” Time is running out to register but you still
can here.
The purpose of this meeting is to come up with written
recommendations for presentation to the Ministerial Session of the African Growth
and Opportunity Act (AGOA) during the Africa Summit beginning August 5, 2014.
As described by the AGOA Civil Society Network, the AGOA
“is a trade mechanism that was passed by the US Government in 2000 to
encourage US-Africa trade. AGOA currently provides the 40 AGOA-eligible countries with:
- - Most liberal access to US markets for any
country or region without at free trade agreement
- - Reinforced Africa reform and
development efforts, and
- - Access to US credit and technical
expertise.”
Other posts related to AGOA and textiles can be found
here.
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa is likewise
hosting an event on August 5, 2014 entitled “AGOA CSO Session: 13th US-Africa Trade and Economic
Cooperation AGOA Forum. This event will
have a focus on human rights and democratic reform, among other topics. Tickets are free but registration is
required.
Questions or comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com
Keep up with me at www.fashioncompliance.com or:
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/FashionCompliance
On Twitter @fashcompliance
Thursday, July 24, 2014
CPSC Proposes Amending GCC Rules
Importers:
Did you know that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has proposed
to amend the existing rule on the General Certificate of Conformity (GCC)?
Amendments including the
requirement for the electronic filing of GCCs for regulated imported
consumer products with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the time of
filing the CBP entry, or the time of filing the entry and entry summary, are
just some of the proposed amendments.
Not keen on this idea? You are in luck!
The CPSC recently voted to hold a workshop and
seek additional public comments on aspects of its proposed rule on Certificates of Compliance, which the
Commission first published on May 13, 2013.
Interested parties are invited to participate in,
or attend the workshop, and to submit written comments.
The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
on Thursday, September 18, 2014 in the CPSC Hearing Room, 4th
Floor of the Bethesda Towers Building, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD
20814.
Registration is now open using the following
link, where you can also read the formal
notice by CPSC:
On Twitter @fashcompliance
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Is Your Scarf Flammable? Women’s Scarves Recalled Due to Flammability Hazard
DO YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE SCARVES?
If so, be advised that there’s been at least 1 report
of these scarves catching fire and they have now been
recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as they failed to meet the
federal flammability standard for wearing apparel and pose a risk
of burn injury to consumers.
Both the Julie Vos “Sierra” and “Anchor” style scarves have been recalled.
The scarves, which are under the brand, Julie Vos, are 100 percent modal fabric, which is a type of
rayon, and were sold in two prints, Anchor and Sierra. Anchor (on the left) was sold in three
colors, including blue, green and orange.
Sierra (on the right) was sold in four colors,
including raspberry/magenta, orange/peach, cream/gray and blue/purple. The
scarves measure 75 inches long by 45 inches wide and "Julie Vos" is printed on a tag
sewn into the back of the scarf.
Manufactured in India, these imported scarves have been
sold at specialty boutiques across the country and online at www.julievos.com from January 2014
through February 2014 for about $165.
Consumers
should immediately stop using the recalled scarves and contact Julie Vos to
arrange to return the scarves for a full refund. Julie Vos will provide a
pre-paid postage label for shipping.
More information on the product recall may be found
here: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2014/Womens-Scarves-Recalled-by-Julie-Vos/#remedy
Questions or comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com
Keep up with me at www.fashioncompliance.com or:
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/FashionCompliance
On Twitter @fashcompliance
Friday, June 20, 2014
US Postal Service is Grabbing Market Share Away From Express Couriers
This week I
joined the Postal Customer Council
for a presentation on the “International Misconceptions of the USPS,” which was
presented by my friend, Kenyatta Adams.
While I was
aware of changes USPS had been making in terms of increasing international
shipments, I was unaware that it has 48% of the U.S. export market and grew 17%
between 2011 and 2013.
What’s behind this? E-Commerce of course, and the increase in wearing apparel sales which typically make for the ideal small and lightweight package.
At the
pace the US Postal Service is moving, for small packages going outbound
(exports) and inbound (imports) – I’ll explain that in a moment – there will be
a lot of “moving and shaking” to keep an eye out for.
Imports have
become streamlined thanks to their “Global Direct Entry (GDE) – Inbound”
service. Working with private international
logistics providers, they can transport parcels from various foreign countries
providing all logistics and brokerage activities. The package is then handed off to USPS.
The caveat
of course, is that shipments involving a certification or other form, such as a
Fish and Wildlife declaration form (think, fur products, or a watch with a
mother-of-pearl dial) cannot be sent through this type of service, and not all
countries are yet a part of this GDE service.
But hey, it’s new and over time, more and more countries will be a part
of it. Currently, there are about 30
participating countries.
The top 3
highlights I learned about are:
1) USPS has
International Tracking (yes, they do!), having rolled out “E-DELCON” last year
2) All
returns are free for undeliverable packages in international shipping
3) Their
service “METROPOST” is a same-day-delivery service in Manhattan and Brooklyn,
USPS just has to receive it by 1 pm - this is great news for those of us in NYC!
With their
competitive pricing in the 1 ounce to 70 pound packaging niche, not to mention
their convenient flat rate envelopes and boxes, which I use, it is definitely
not the USPS that it once was.
Questions or comments?
On Twitter @fashcompliance
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