Intl design schools come to India

Mumbai: Its not just the season of rain… but high design as well. If haute couture is your cup of tea, then your cuppa is already piping hot. Indian fashion students never had it this good. International design schools from all over are making a bee-line to India to set up their branches here. Schools such as the Raffles Design Institute and ModArt have already established their branches here. What is it that lures such institutes to set up their schools here?

A four-year course in Raffles will set you back by about Rs 12-15 lakh while a 3-year course in ModArt will cost you about Rs 10 lakh.

The schools are also planning major expansion. Raffles, for instance, is planning to invest $100 million in the next two years for expansion in India.

India’s $400 million fashion industry desperately needs new talent, and the state-run National Institute of Fashion Technology churns out only 1,000 students a year. The new institutes can fill a lot of the demand.

Fashion Trace jewellery from mine to store

New York: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is introducing a line of gold and silver jewellery that can be traced from the mine to store shelves as the retailer looks to sell more jewellery sourced from mines and manufacturers that meet its environmental and human rights standards.

Wal-Mart said the Love, Earth line, which includes a $69.84 sterling silver necklace and $48 hoop earrings, will be sold in its US discount stores, Sam's Club warehouses and online. A customer who buys the jewellery can log on to a website to see where their particular piece of jewellery was mined and learn about the suppliers' environmental programs.

"It's the first time ever that we, or any major mass retailer, have been able to provide customers with a way to trace the path of their product from the mine it was actually mined from to the shelf," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Raddohl.

Under Chief Executive Lee Scott, Wal-Mart has set goals of one day using only renewable energy and creating zero waste, and has challenged its suppliers to follow in its footsteps.

Last year, it released a report outlining the progress made in meeting the goals, and included a section on sourcing more sustainable products, like jewellery.