Terms of Service

Welcome to BAST TEXTILES (the "Platform"), operated by a company registered in Hong Kong ("we", "us"). These Terms of Service (the "Terms") form an agreement between us and you (the registered business and its authorized users).

Please read these Terms carefully before registering, logging in or otherwise using the Platform. By clicking "register" or by actually using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by these Terms.

The Platform is an information-matching service for the bast-fiber textile industry (flax/linen, hemp, ramie, jute, kenaf, sisal, abaca, etc.), including product and demand listings, inquiries and quotations, on-site messaging, order workflow tooling, sample and inspection coordination, import/export agency matching, market price data and credit ratings.

The Platform provides information and workflow tools only. We are not a party to any sales, agency or inspection contract; we do not hold, collect or pay any purchase funds; we do not provide online payment settlement; and we make no warranty as to the quality, quantity or delivery of any goods. Transactions are negotiated, decided and borne by the business users themselves.

Registration is open to business users only. You must provide true, accurate and complete company and contact information at registration and keep it up to date. We may suspend or terminate accounts that contain false information.

The Platform uses tiered verification: basic features are available after email verification and profile completion (L1); a verification badge is granted after qualification documents are uploaded and approved (including automated review) (L2). A badge only indicates that we have sighted the relevant materials; it is not a guarantee of the company's creditworthiness, performance ability or legal compliance.

You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials. All actions taken through your account are deemed your own.

Regular registered users have both buyer and seller functions (dual role) and may switch between the Buyer Center and Seller Center in the dashboard.

Inspection bodies and trading agencies are independent service roles registered through dedicated channels and may only use their respective workspaces. Inspection bodies conduct inspections independently and are responsible for their reports; agencies independently undertake import/export mandates and charge their own service fees.

Inquiries and quotations: buyers may send inquiries on products and post sourcing demands; sellers may reply to inquiries and quote on demands. The parties communicate through on-site messaging.

Orders: once quantity and price are agreed, an order may be created. The seller proposes transaction terms (Incoterm, payment milestones, delivery address); once the buyer confirms, the terms are locked and cannot be changed unilaterally. Upon confirmation the Platform automatically generates a reference contract.

Payment and delivery: the Platform does not provide online payment. The buyer pays offline and uploads payment proof for the seller to confirm receipt; the seller ships with tracking details; the order completes automatically upon the buyer's confirmation of receipt.

Service levels (SLA): key milestones such as payment confirmation, shipment and receipt confirmation carry time limits; orders left unhandled beyond the time limit may be automatically cancelled with fault recorded.

Cancellation: one party applies and the other must confirm. Cancellations are classified as mutual (no fault), buyer's fault or seller's fault; fault determinations affect credit records, and serious or repeated breaches may lead to suspension or termination.

Inspection bodies and trading agencies on the Platform are independent third parties that quote, serve and bear responsibility independently. The Platform only provides matching and workflow tools and is not responsible for their service quality, report accuracy or performance.

Inspection reports are issued and sealed by the inspection body; any objection to a report should be raised directly with the issuing body.

Contract texts generated automatically or drafted with AI assistance (including smart contracts) are reference templates only, intended to assist the parties' offline execution. They do not constitute legal advice and do not replace a formally executed contract between the parties.

Where multilingual contract texts conflict or are ambiguous, the English version prevails.

Content generated by algorithms — including the AI assistant, image recognition, price indices and machine translation — is provided for reference only, and we do not warrant its accuracy, completeness or timeliness.

Registration and basic features are free. Membership benefits, prices and promotional offers are as published on the "Membership & Pricing" page. Prices in some regions are settled in local currency at the prevailing exchange rate.

Payments are currently confirmed manually: you pay as instructed on the page and upload proof, and we activate the corresponding benefits after verification. Membership fees, once received and activated, are in principle non-refundable; if benefits cannot be provided due to reasons attributable to the Platform, a pro-rata refund for the unused period will be made.

Points may only be spent on in-platform features and are neither redeemable for cash nor transferable. Points are cleared on a cycle: points of non-member accounts are cleared automatically every week, and points of member accounts every month (see the Points Center for details).

The Platform computes a credit score and grade (5A to A) for each user based on verification, transaction performance, reviews and response timeliness, and displays them to other users.

Reviews must be objective and truthful. Malicious down-voting, interested praise or credit manipulation will be removed upon verification and may affect account standing. Inspection bodies do not participate in mutual reviews, to avoid conflicts of interest.

Information you publish (products, demands, messages, etc.) must be true and lawful, must not infringe others' intellectual property or trade secrets, and must not contain illegal, fraudulent, pornographic, violent or blacklisted content. We may remove violating content and act against the related accounts.

You grant the Platform a worldwide, royalty-free right to use, reproduce, display and translate your published content for platform operation and promotion.

Prohibited: using bots or scrapers for bulk access or registration; interfering with the Platform's normal operation; bypassing established on-platform conversations to commit fraud; impersonating others; abusing reporting or support channels.

The Platform's logos, interface designs, program code and self-created content (including Knowledge Academy articles and compiled price data) are our intellectual property and may not be used without permission.

Rights in user-published content remain with the respective rights holders.

We collect and use account information, transaction workflow data and usage logs in accordance with our privacy policy, for providing the service, security control and experience improvement.

During the testing phase, company names and similar information are masked by default; users may opt to publish their full company name in "Privacy Settings". We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Cross-border data transfers necessary for the service (servers located in Hong Kong, China) are deemed accepted when you use the Platform.

The service is provided "as is". We give no express or implied warranty as to the creditworthiness, product quality or performance ability of any counterparty.

We are not liable for indirect, incidental or punitive damages arising from users' own acts, third-party services, network interruption, force majeure or platform maintenance. Our aggregate liability shall not exceed the total fees you actually paid to the Platform in the past 12 months.

For breaches of these Terms, we may, as appropriate, issue warnings, restrict specific features (such as publishing, inquiries or ordering), or suspend or terminate accounts, and we reserve the right to pursue legal remedies.

We may revise these Terms from time to time. Revisions will be published on the Platform with an effective date. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Disputes arising from these Terms or the service shall first be resolved through friendly consultation; failing which, they shall be referred to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) for arbitration under its rules in force at the time, seated in Hong Kong, in the English language.

These Terms are executed in Chinese and English. In case of any discrepancy, the English text prevails.

For any questions about these Terms, please contact: service@basttextiles.com.

Effective date: 12 August 2026.