Tag Archives: Suppliers

Should the US government track the working conditions at its apparel suppliers ?

An article in the New York Times titled “Buying Overseas Clothing, US Flouts its own advice” (December 22, 2013) describes the $1.5 billion in clothing purchased by the US government and working conditions at its suppliers. Contracts for clothing for … Continue reading

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Apparel factory fire in Prato, Italy

An article in the New York Times titled “Deadly Factory Fire Bares Racial Tensions in Italy” (December 8, 2013), describes a fire at an apparel factory in Prato that killed seven Chinese employees. The factory had windows that were blocked … Continue reading

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Making apparel in the USA and retail prices

An article in the New York Times titled “That ‘Made in the USA’ Premium (December 1,2013) describes the growth in US manufacturing of higher end apparel but the continued difficulty in domestic production of lower cost items. It cites production … Continue reading

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Traditional vs transparent Pharmacy Benefit Management companies

An article in Fortune magazine titled “Painful Prescription” (October 28,2013) describes a traditional pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), Express Scripts and a transparent PBM, Envision Pharmaceutical Services. Transparent PBMs charge a fixed fee for processing prescriptions while traditional PBMs make money … Continue reading

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The EU regulation harmonization and the story of lawnmower decibel limits

An article in the Financial Times titled “Why Europe needs cross-border lawnmower regulations” (October 16, 2013) describes a law setting the maximum noise level generated by lawn mowers. The limits were in response to German laws demanding lower decibel levels … Continue reading

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The Nike vs New Balance disagreement regarding import tariffs for Shoes made in Vietnam

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Nike, new balance highlight thorny issues in trade talks” (October 7, 2013), describes the disagreement between Nike and New balance regarding the 10% US tariff on shoes made in Vietnam. The tariff … Continue reading

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Walmart ‘s Made in the USA goal and impact

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Pitching to Walmart – Made in the USA” (October 7,2013) describes plans by Walmart to increase their US sourcing by $5 billion each year. But the company wants to hold customer prices, … Continue reading

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Understanding and fixing the 244% inflation for onion prices in India

An article in the Financial Express titled “Dousing the vegetable fire” (October 11, 2013) describes the 244% price rise between between August 2012 and 2013. The authors highlight that 50% of the onion production in India is in two states … Continue reading

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Should Lumber Liquidators be responsible for its Chinese supplier’s wood sources

An article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Lumber Liquidators’ Offices Raided) (Sept 28, 2013 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303342104579101042712448428.html) describes a Federal government raid on Lumber Liquidators’ offices to find evidence of use of Mongolian oak and Korean pine logged illegally in Russia. … Continue reading

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Resurgence of US textile manufacturing – an automation driven solution

An article in the New York Times on September 19, 2013 (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/us-textile-factories-return.html?_r=0) describes a textile plant, Parkdale Mills, that makes 2.5 millions pounds of yarn using 140 workers now, compared to 2000 workers in 1980. The new plant uses automation, … Continue reading

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