While Maasai warriors from Tanzania managed to run the London marathon in shoes made from car tyres, a new report shows that Westerners increasingly demand specialist footwear designed for specific sports, activities and occupations.

In the case of sports footwear, one of the main market drivers is the ability of the shoe to improve the performance of the wearer. In some sectors, such as football boots, this feature is regarded by companies such as Adidas and Nike as being more important than cost. Fabric manufacturers are therefore being encouraged to develop high performance products which continually push the boundaries in terms of weight, moisture management properties and grip.

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We are used to the idea of organic food, and even the organic cosmetic industry, but if that wasn’t enough to make us feel guilty- now we have to get used to organic and eco-friendly home textiles.

According to a new report the continued hype over organic foods in the US contributes to the increased focus on organic textiles, and predicts the market to grow 40% through to 2010, in the US market alone. This, they argue, will be achieved by an increasingly diverse product mix in eco-friendly home textiles. Also, the entry into the market by well-known brands such as Ralph Lauren Home, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Target will also have a positive impact.

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According to Fuld & Company, a Boston-based competitive intelligence (CI) consultancy, the USA’s top companies are likely to raise their budgets on information gathering and analysing over the next five years. Fuld’s predictions are based on data from the recent Global Benchmark Study of 141 corporations, which forecasts the amount that the top 1,000 companies will spend on CI will increase from a current $1 billion to at least $10 billion by 2012.

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Ethical Business; it seems to be all the rage these days. So it was no surprise when BAE publicised their intentions to join the ethical bandwagon signing none other than ex Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, as their paragon of integrity.

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