The East African Community (EAC) recently declared Fridays as ‘Afrika Mashariki Fashion Day’ during which East Africans will wear attires manufactured in the region. It further declared the first week of September an ‘Afrika Mashariki Fashion Week’, to be observed annually as a trade fair and exhibition of EAC-designed textiles and garments.
Its 36th extra-ordinary sectoral council on trade, industry, finance and investment (SCTIFI) urged cotton-producing EAC partner states to set up national cotton lint buffer stock mechanisms to ensure year-round availability of locally-produced cotton lint to spinning mills, according to an EAC press release.The East African Community (EAC) recently declared Fridays as 'Afrika Mashariki Fashion Day' during which East Africans will wear attires manufactured in the region. It further declared the first week of September an 'Afrika Mashariki Fashion Week', to be observed annually as a trade fair and exhibition of EAC-designed textiles and garments.#
The ministerial session of the 36th SCTIFI, which was chaired by Rwanda’s minister for trade and industry Soraya M Hakuziyaremye, approved the final draft cotton, textile and apparels (CTA) strategy and the Implementation road map.
The SCTIFI directed the standards committee to assess and advise on feasibility of the pre-shipment verification of conformity (PVoC) of all imports of textiles and readymade garments (RMG) into the region as a measure to control illicit imports of used textiles and garments.
The meeting also approved the draft leather and leather products sector strategy and the its implementation road map.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)