Agriculture Reviews

Recent news articles reporting skin allergies caused by underwear has brought the issue of textile finishing chemicals to the forefront of not only the fashion industry, but the general media. Comfort in underwear has taken on a larger role to include the health of the wearer in what was once considered an unseen, unmentioned utilitarian item in everyone’s wardrobe.

In November 2008, reports circulated that US lingerie giant, Victoria’s Secret was being sued by dozens of women claiming painful rashes after wearing the Angel Secret Embrace Bra. Lawyers on their behalf, filed a law suit in May of 2008 and had laboratories test the bras. Tests detected formaldehyde, often used in the textile industry to make fabrics crease resistant. A judge will decide next year if the lawsuit can be brought against Victoria’s Secret and if a class action can proceed. While the results are not yet in for this particular case, it raises questions about the use of textile finishes in the textile industry as a whole, and the underwear industry specifically.

Textile finishing chemicals may seem to some as the answer to their wardrobe worries. Modern life dictates convenience, simpler lifestyles, less housework and antiseptic environments. With finishes claiming benefits of softening, easy care and durable press, repellent, soil release, flame retardant, non-slip, anti-static, anti-pilling, color fastness, ultraviolet protection, heat absorption and release, antimicrobial, insect resistant, mite repellant, and novel finishes such as anti-odor and fragrance, it is hard to argue initially against the use of such chemicals. Daiwa Chemical Industries Inc. for example, reports of successful agents (Prethermo C-25 and C-31) used to alter heat absorption and heat release to maintain a comfortable temperature for underwear, shirts and bedding. For those living in warmer climates this comes as good news.

However, the associated negative side effects of these chemicals are becoming apparent. Industrial guides, Government agencies and Science journals are investigating and reporting on health concerns of the use of textile finishers. Industrial guides such as Chemical Finishing of Textiles by Wolfgang D Schindler and Peter J Hauser (2004), and Textile Finishing Chemicals, An Industrial Guide by Ernest W Flick (1990) describe over 3,000 textile finishing chemicals compiled from 74 manufacturers and distributors of these chemicals, currently available for industrial use. Flick’s book provides a warning notice at the start of his book saying: “In some cases, textile finishing chemicals could be toxic and therefore due caution should be exercised.” It appears then that this 18 year old issue is not a new one.

Governmental agencies have stepped up to the plate to investigate and regulate acceptable limits of textile finishes. In August 2001, The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries in the United States issued a report entitled: Clothing Dermatitis and Clothing-Related Skin Conditions. As recently as July 2008, New Zealand issued a Government Product Safety Policy Statement on acceptable limits of formaldehyde in clothing and other textiles. Specific limits for clothes for infants under 2 years of age, for children and adults with sensitive skin, for clothing and textiles coming into direct contact with skin, and for clothing and textiles not in direct contact with skin are recommended due to the critical health effects. The Australian National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme identified these health effects as sensory irritation via inhalation exposure to formaldehyde gas, aerosol or mist; skin sensitization following dermal exposure to formaldehyde solutions; and carcinogenicity via inhalation exposure to formaldehyde gas or mist. Clearly there is a need to continue to regulate and consequently legislate the use of such textile finishes.

Science journals have also explored the impact of textile finishes. As early as 1985, Kathryn Hatch et al, published an article in the Wiley Interscience Journal entitled: Textile Chemical Finish Dermatitis. The article reported that: “Chemicals used on fabrics to improve 10 different performance characteristics have resulted in irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. The most significant problem is due to formaldehyde and N-methylol compounds to produce durable press fabrics.” Twenty three years later, today’s lawsuit against Victoria’s Secret focuses on precisely this same chemical and health effect.

Clearly the fashion industry’s suppliers and retailers need to take measures to assure themselves and their customers that their clothing and textiles meet recommended guidelines for chemical usage. In particular, the Underwear industry must take note because of the high levels of skin contact with their products. One company that has taken this step is Alenver Inc. a new competitor in the men’s and women’s underwear industry. Alenver’s collections are made from pure cotton from Peru – currently considered the producer of the world’s finest quality cotton. Peru is one of only 15 nations that produce organic cotton. Organic cotton is grown without toxic chemical fertilizers, insecticides or herbicides, has a low impact on the environment, replenishes and maintains soil fertility and builds biologically diverse agriculture. This is critical when considering conventional cotton is grown on an estimated 3% of the total cultivated area in the world but uses 25% of all insecticides used in agriculture. Today, Indian descendents of ancient Peruvian cultures still harvest, gin and spin cotton by hand which does not result in the scratchy impurities that industrial harvesting creates. Additionally, finish chemicals are not added to Alenver’s products making it a safer and healthier underwear choice.

Industry analysts will be watching for the outcome of the notable lawsuit against Victoria’s Secret and observing its effect on the underwear market. Suppliers and retailers would be wise to follow the recommended guidelines for safe textile production and follow the high road in natural underwear production taken by such new competitors as Alenver Inc.

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Elets – A platform for disseminating creative ideas on ICT

Elets Technomedia is a technology media and research company that focuses on ICT in government, education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development sectors. Our mandate is to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across our verticals through premier print publications, online portals and premier events, seminars, conferences and summits. Elets has created a name for itself as a technology media and research vendor of choice.

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To strengthen and facilitate knowledge sharing platforms engaging with partners across the globe through International conferences to provide cross-cultural grounding to stakeholders and participants To provide stakeholders with a platform to share models of best practice, knowledge and experience on a range of issues in the domain of ICT in Governance, Education, Health, security, Urban and Rural Development To mobilise the communities towards creating a digitally informed knowledge society based on shared understanding

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Elets provides an unmatched versatility for working with multiple partners and consultants to mutually share knowledge. With a vision to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across various verticals with focused reference to governance, education and health, we

a) bring niche monthly publications;

b) provide knowledge exchange fora and

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Tasmania is situated in the southern part of the Australian continent, considered a splendid getaway island that boasts of untouched wilderness, thousand-year-old trees, rugged coastlines, and rushing whitewater rivers. Tasmania is capable of producing high quality farm products. Its fertile soil, temperate climate and adequate water supply complemented by developed irrigation systems, all contribute to its progressive agricultural industry. In Tasmania, agriculture plays a major part in the economy as there are other industrial sectors that also rely in agriculture.

The government of Australia is oblivious to the fact that agriculture plays a key role in their economy and for this reason, the need to closely monitor and strengthen their irrigation systems in the face of calamities like drought and natural disasters is but imperative. One third of Tasmanias 68000 square kilometers land area is attributed to the agricultural industry which is why irrigation plays an integral part in its agricultural sector.

Statistics reveal that 14,000 gigaliters or 65% of the total water consumed are used for irrigation of agricultural land in Australia. It is alarming to note that this amount of water is not efficiently used the way it should be. Here lies the importance of an efficient irrigation system so that water can be conserved and utilized for the right purpose.

The sprinkler type or overhead irrigation is the one of the most commonly used irrigation systems in Tasmania. Water is sprayed over the crops by use of sprinklers or guns attached to an elevated structure. In a solid set sprinkler system, water is fed from a pump set and runs through a row of pipes or hard hoses. This kind of sprinkler is permanently installed at strategic locations of the farm area that need irrigation.

In a travelling irrigator system, the sprinkler is attached to a wheeled mechanism and has mobility to move across the farm area to perform its irrigation function. Another type of sprinkler irrigation system is the pivot irrigation device where pieces of pipes are connected to a framework of beams holding the pipes together. The sprinkler head moves in a circular motion and water is supplied into the pivot point at the center of the circle. Of all the sprinkler irrigation systems, the centre pivot irrigation is the most widely used by farmers in Tasmania.

A more traditional type of irrigator system is flood irrigation which is considerably the least expensive of all the irrigation systems. Here, water is allowed to flow on the crops directly to the farm bed. It does not require complicated machines to irrigate farms by this means. On the other hand, in furrow irrigation, shallow water canals are hollowed out between rows to catch the water that irrigate the crops.

The importance of an efficient irrigation system is crucial to the development of the agricultural industry in Tasmania. Since agriculture is highly reliant on abundant water supply, emphasis should be given on the proper irrigation agriculture practice by means of getting the appropriate irrigation equipment suitable to the needs of the agricultural lands in Tasmania.

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Elets – A platform for disseminating creative ideas on ICT

Elets Technomedia is a technology media and research company that focuses on ICT in government, education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development sectors. Our mandate is to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across our verticals through premier print publications, online portals and premier events, seminars, conferences and summits. Elets has created a name for itself as a technology media and research vendor of choice.

Strategies

To strengthen and facilitate knowledge sharing platforms engaging with partners across the globe through International conferences to provide cross-cultural grounding to stakeholders and participants To provide stakeholders with a platform to share models of best practice, knowledge and experience on a range of issues in the domain of ICT in Governance, Education, Health, security, Urban and Rural Development To mobilise the communities towards creating a digitally informed knowledge society based on shared understanding

Elets Focus Areas

Elets provides an unmatched versatility for working with multiple partners and consultants to mutually share knowledge. With a vision to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across various verticals with focused reference to governance, education and health, we

a) bring niche monthly publications;

b) provide knowledge exchange fora and

c) conduct research projects, primarily through Events & Conferences.

Travancore Federal Bank was the name of Federal Bank of India when it was established in the year 1931. It was inaugurated at Nedumpuram near Tiruvalla Kerala (Tiruvalla is situated south of Kottayam). It had 14 founders with Sri Oommen Varghese as the Chairman and Sri Oommen Chacko as its Manager. It functioned successfully for 10 years and then stopped all of a sudden due to health problems of the Manager Sri Oommen Chacko.

Then a Lawyer of Perumbavoor took the charge and managed it efficiently. The name of the Lawyer was K.P.Hormis. later in the year 1945 K.P. Hormis also became the Managing Director and shifted its Headquarters to Aluva. In the year 1947 the name of the bank was changed to Federal Bank. In the year 1970, it became a Scheduled Commercial Bank. After a series of mergers and acquisitions including banks at Chalakudy, Thrissur, Alleppey, Puthenpally, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kurundwad, Federal Bank became even bigger with larger financial turnovers.

It is one of the largest private sector banks and the prominent one amongst the old private group of Indian banks.

PRESENT STATUS:
Now the bank has its Headquarters at Aluva, near Kochi in Kerala. It is presently running 743 branches across 24 states in India. It now has 803 ATM’s across India. Of these 803 ATM’s there are 108 in Metro Centres, 224 in Urban Centres, 384 Semi-Urban and 87 in rural areas. There has been several high-profile sponsorships and other modes of advertisement including the title sponsorship of the popular Indian cricket franchisee Kochi Tuskers Kerala of the Indian Premier League or IPL. It is also the fourth largest bank right now in India in terms of capital base and is also listed in the London Stock Exchange in addition to the Indian stock markets Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS:

The Federal bank of India has received many awards during its long journey since 1931 till now. Some of them are:
1. The banking technology Excellence Award for the year 2010-2011.
2. The Excellence Award for Second best bank among traditional private sector banks in Kerala.
3. The Great Mind Challenging Award for implementing the most innovative solution in Business.
4. Ranked number one in Economic Times Intelligence Group Survey.

SERVICES OFFERED:
The bank renders the following services:
1. Savings Bank Account.
2. Current Account.
3. Loans.
4. Deposits.
5. Debit Cards.
6. Fund Transfer.
7. Inward Remittance.
8. Online Bill Collection.
9. Bank Guarantee.
10. cash Management.
11. Demat Accounts.
12. Federal Pure Gold.
13. Gift Accounts.
14. Mutual Fund.
15. Safe Deposit Lockers.
16. NRI Banking Services.
17. Merchant Banking.
18. ASBA.
19. Visa Bill payment.
20. Master Card Secure Code.
21. Verified By Visa (VBV).
22. Online Tax Payment.
23. Mobile Banking -FedMobile.
24. Internet banking -FedNet.
25. Corporate FedNet.

LOANS:
It also gives Loans for various purposes like: Business, Agriculture an Rural, Housing, Educational, Travel, Personal, Car, Medical and Home Loans.

WORKING HOURS:
The Bank runs from morning 9 to evening 4 from Monday to Saturday. Sunday is a holiday. The Bank is closed on Public holidays. the timings are different for its Abu Dhabi Branch which works from 9 AM to 5:30 PM and this branch also works on Sunday.