Australian fashion group halts trade with Burma

by Salai Pi Pi
Monday, 12 October 2009 19:50

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Australia’s Speciality Fashion Group, which owns fashion brands including Millers, Katies and four others has announced a halt to trading with companies in Burma given its appalling human right records.

Speciality Fashion Group was among eight firms named last month in a report by the Burma Campaign Australia, which says the companies are providing millions of dollars to the military regime that rules the Southeast Asian nation.

Zetty Brake, spokesperson for Burma Campaign Australia on Monday told Mizzima that they were notified by the Speciality Fashion Group in early October that it had decided not to continue sourcing products from Burma and stop dealing with companies that are trading in Burma.

“We made a group decision to cease trading with Burma due to the continued repression of the Burmese people and the ongoing presence of military rule,” Howard Herman, Secretary of Speciality Fashion Group, said in a statement released through the BCA.

Speciality Fashion Group owns popular fashion brands such as Millers, Crossroads, Katies, Autograph, City Chic and Queenspark and has 843 stores across Australia with annual sales of up to US $560.6 million.

Zetty said the Speciality Fashion Group mainly imports women’s dresses from Burma.

The BCA last month compiled a report listing the names of Australian companies including Jetstar airline and Twinza Oil Company that have business interests in Burma and urged them to stop trading saying the revenue props up the Burmese military regime.

Zetty said, investments by Australian companies is estimated to fund around US $ 2.8 billion annually to the Burmese regime in revenue, which enables the regime to fund 727 soldiers each year.

While welcoming the Australian fashion group’s decision to stop trading with Burma, BCA called on other Australian Companies to stop investments.

“We support the withdrawal from Burma and encourage all other Australian companies to take responsibility for their involvement in Burma and helping the Burmese military,” Zetty told Mizzima on Monday.

Despite Speciality Fashion Group shedding its business deals in Burma, Zetty said, seven other Australian companies are still investing and doing business in the country.

The BCA in its report last month said, Australian companies such as Andaman Teak Supplies Pty Ltd, Chevron, Gecko’s Adventure, Jetstar, Lonely Planet, Millers, Sri Asia Tourism and Twinza Oil have business interests in Burma and are propping up the military junta.

In September the Campaign urged Jetstar airlines, which has a partnership with Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Airways International (MAI), which operates four flights per week from Singapore to Rangoon, to withdraw from Burma.

The BCA said Jetstar airline’s tax payment to the department of civil aviation under the Burmese Ministry of Transport is estimated to be over US $ 170,000 per year.