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TOP NEWS
The New Travel Goods Showcase is HERE!
TGA
The new issue of Travel Goods Showcase is live online, packed with new product info and industry news about retail strategies and trends. Click through for features like:
- Future Travel Gear, Today – Bags and accessories on the way to becoming future success stories, by solving travel problems today.
- Online Outreach in the Age of COVID-19 – How social media, Shopify and the Internet can keep cash registers ticking and customers checking in.
- Working Remotely – New items to help people travel safely and increase productivity conducting business from a distance.
Stay caught up with the travel goods industry’s latest and check back periodically for new developments. To advertise on the Travel Goods Showcase site, email Cathy Trecartin at cat@travel-goods.org.
Proposed MTB Legislation Could Offer Duty-Free Access for Dozens of Travel Goods Items
TGA
Last month, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) submitted its final report on miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) petitions it received under the 2016 American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act (AMCA) to Congress. The final report recommends a few dozen travel goods items in MTB legislation that Congress will consider this fall. If approved, the legislation would provide U.S. imports of certain travel goods, and hundreds of other products, temporary duty-free access, no matter the source country. TGA will actively push Congress for passage of the MTB legislation.
U.S. Travel Goods Industry Faces More California Prop 65 Notices; TGA Prop 65 Best Practices Guidance
TGA
Over the last few months, dozens of new California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) “60-day” notices have been issued alleging that brands and retailers sold totes (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5, Notice 6, Notice 7, Notice 8), luggage tags (Notice 1, Notice 2), crossbody bags (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5, Notice 6, Notice 7, Notice 8), passport/ID/card holders (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4), handbags (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5, Notice 6, Notice 7, Notice 8, Notice 9, Notice 10, Notice 11, Notice 12), wallets (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3), backpacks (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5, Notice 6, Notice 7), cosmetic/toiletry bags (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5, Notice 6, Notice 7, Notice 8, Notice 9, Notice 10, Notice 11, Notice 12, Notice 13, Notice 14), travel/garment cases/bags (Notice 1, Notice 2), phone/tablet cases/holders/sleeves/dry bags (Notice 1, Notice 2, Notice 3, Notice 4, Notice 5), fanny packs (Notice 1), and travel kits (Notice 1) in California that contained di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Bisphenol A (BPA), and/or diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in violation of a California law known as Proposition 65 (Prop 65). The notices serve as intent to bring lawsuits against those that made and sold these products. Check out TGA’s member-only California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Best Practices Guidance on the Prop 65 page on the TGA website at https://www.travel-goods.org. This member-only guidance details best practices in developing your company’s Prop 65 testing and warning label protocol, including recommendations on which warning label text to use, where to place the warning label text, and how to test for Prop 65 listed chemicals in your products. For more information on Prop 65, please contact TGA’s Nate Herman, nate@travel-goods.org, 202-853-9351.
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AC-AAFA-CFDA-TGA Suggest 7 Steps in Next U.S. Stimulus Bill
FIBRE2FASHION
The Accessories Council (AC), the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the Travel Goods Association (TGA) recently wrote to Congressional leadership outlining priorities for the industry in the next stimulus bill. They recommended seven provisions to keep the country open and keep Americans working. They suggested a Payment Protection Program (PPP) for an additional 16 weeks, with the same or expanded conditions, for those who received PPP loans and are eligible for forgiveness based on employee retention. READ MORE
Court of International Trade Receives Its First Complaint Against Section 301 China Tariffs
JD SUPRA
On September 10, 2020, HMTX Industries LLC, along with Halstead New England Corporation, and Metroflor Corporation (importers of vinyl tile) filed a complaint (Ct. No. 20-00177) at the Court of International Trade challenging both the substantive and procedural processes followed by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) when instituting Section 301 Tariffs on imports from China under List 3. The List 3 tariffs went into effect on September 24, 2018. This is the first challenge of its kind filed against the administration’s use of Section 301 Tariffs in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. READ MORE
Maersk First to Cancel GRI and Cut Transpacific Rates as China Wades in
THE LOAD STAR
Maersk has reportedly reduced its planned mid-September transpacific GRIs, thought to be due to China’s move to step in to reduce freight rates on the trade. Last week, Zest Shipping Media reported that Chinese authorities planned to interfere in pricing and capacity management on the transpacific as rates soared to record highs. READ MORE
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Travel Was Once Our Favorite Form of Self-Care. Here’s How to Get That Vacation High Now
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Chances are, you’ve had to cancel vacation plans in the last five months. You probably felt bummed about it – and guilty for mourning lost trips while the COVID-19 pandemic has caused others to lose much more. It turns out that disappointment about canceled trips goes beyond feeling sad. For many, travel – and anticipating travel – is a type of self-care. READ MORE
Why Passenger Jets Could Soon Be Flying in Formation
CNN
Birds are the undisputed masters of aerodynamics. No matter how many supercomputers and wind tunnels scientists throw at solving flight’s thorny calculations, they’ll never match the perfection of airborne avians. Their formations have also provided the inspiration for researchers at Airbus UpNext, the aircraft manufacturer’s future-flight demonstration and technology incubator. READ MORE
Marketers: Change How You Approach Social Media in the Post-COVID-19 World
THE NEXT WEB
No one really wins when a pandemic hits, but 2020 has been huge for social media. Entire populations have been encouraged or required to stay at home, concerned about infection risks, and feeling the need for connection even more than usual due to heightened uncertainty and anxiety. This opens up opportunities for marketers to enlarge their share of social attention, but only if you pay attention to the changing ways that consumers are using social media. You can’t just unpause your social and expect the same kind of response that you enjoyed pre-pandemic. Here’s what to do instead. READ MORE
4 Things Extroverts Can Learn from Introverts to Lead Through the Pandemic
FAST COMPANY
With most companies putting off coming back into the office until early 2021 at the earliest, and others like Twitter saying employees can work remotely forever, leaders who became reliant pre-COVID on their charisma to influence and inspire their employees are having to retool and rethink their leadership style. READ MORE
Rome’s Fiumicino Airport Awarded World’s First Five-Star Anti-COVID Award
CNN
Travelers eager to fly again may want to consider Italy as their next destination. Rome’s Fiumicino Airport has become the first airport in the world to earn “the COVID-19 5-Star Airport Rating” from Skytrax, an international airport industry ratings body. Though Skytrax is best known for its annual rankings of the world’s best airports, the global COVID-19 crisis prompted the organization to come up with a designation for airport hygiene. READ MORE
Americans Flocked to National Parks for Summer Vacations: New Skift Travel Tracker Survey
SKIFT
Summer vacation has been the main driver of travel growth since July. However, these are not typical summers vacations in any case. The new normal of vacationing this summer is characterized by staycations, day trips, and road trips. Destinations that are close to vacation-goers’ homes, and safe to travel to, all saw increases in visitations, including urban centers and beaches. Destinations that have gained the most visitation shares are national parks. In August, 22% of all trips taken by Americans were to national parks, thanks to the promise of isolated open spaces that parks have to offer. READ MORE
Woman Finds a Suitcase Full of Old Photos and Tracks Down the Family Members to Share Them
THE GOOD NEWS NETWORK
When a Washington woman stumbled upon stacks of family albums from her husband’s grandmother while cleaning the garage, she decided to find the other living relatives of the subjects in the photos. It’s a classic tale: photos pass on between generations telling the story of a family’s history. Then they end up untouched, gathering dust in a forgotten corner of the house until the next move or clean. Carol Richards nearly fell into that trap, but an old brown suitcase in the garage of her Mukilteo home caught her eye. READ MORE
TRENDING ARTICLES
Missed last week’s issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
- U.S. Travel Goods Imports Still Down in First 7 Months of 2020 While Trade Continues to Move Away from China (TGA)
- TAKE ACTION! Grassroots Campaign for COVID-19 Stimulus Relief (TGA)
- The Two Men Buying Your Favorite Retailers (THE NEW YORK TIMES)
- New Study Shows Where Americans Are Traveling This Fall (TRAVEL PULSE)
- Retail Is Having a Darwin Moment That Will Transform It Forever (FAST COMPANY)