Friday, May 18, 2007

This edition of the Hosiery Insider is sponsored by Wellman Inc.

THA’s 102nd Annual Convention Presentations: For those who attended THA’s Annual Convention last month, several of the speakers’ PowerPoint presentations will be available online on THA’s website. A login and password will be emailed to you early next week so you can access this part of the convention site.

Save the Date: Environmental Issues Seminar June 27th: 8:00 am to 5:30 pm
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. THA members will receive AAFA member discount to attend this program.

Highlights of the seminar will include:
• Training on the new AAFA Restricted Substances List
• Understanding the new European Chemical (REACH) registration requirements
• Information on how to approach California Proposition 65

Suggested attendees:
• Plant Managers & Supervisors
• Environmental, Health & Safety Staff
• Corporate Counsels
• Corporate Social Responsibility Staff
• Corporate R&D Staff

For more information contact Sally Kay at sally.kay@hosieryassociation.com or
Steve Lamar at slamar@apparelandfootwear.org.

Chapter News

AL Chapter Luncheon: The next AL Chapter Luncheon will be held on Thursday, June 21 at the Western Sizzlin’ in Fort Payne. THA President and CEO Sally Kay will be providing an overall industry update as well as reviewing new member benefits. For additional information, contact Tim Shugart at tshugart@wyshugart.com.

AL Chapter Golf Tournament: AL Chapter’s Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament will be held Thursday, October 4 at Terrapin Hills in Fort Payne, AL. For further information, please contact Jody Goggans at jgoggans@prewettmills.com.

CHA Chapter Golf Tournament: The CHA Chapter of THA will again be holding a golf tournament at Rock Barn Country Club in Conover, NC. The date is set for Thursday, June 14. Details on this event and how to register will soon be available.

CHA Chapter Supplier Luncheons: The next supplier luncheon has been tentatively scheduled for Thursday, August 23.

Hosiery News-More Frequent, More Flexible. You spoke and we listened. According to the recent membership survey, we will issue Hosiery News monthly and in electronic format only. Beginning May 30, the new version will be distributed via email in coordination with Hosiery Insider. This new format affords readers more flexibility in obtaining the information they need on a timelier basis and advertisers can quantify the broader exposure they receive through monthly reports. Additionally, THA is focused on cost efficient and eco-environmentally ways of conducting business. As we work to verify our distribution database is accurate, please contact Vicki Camp (email: vicki.camp@hosieryassociation.com) to ensure that you, your company representatives and customers are receiving each of these communications tools.

 

Launches First Store in Charlotte–North Carolina-based HUE® is set to open its first free-standing store, HUE Studio, in Charlotte, NC. The 2200 square foot retail store brings together all of HUE’s fashionable legwear, intimates, and accessories. Synonymous with color and a playful spirit, HUE Studio will offer everything from footless fishnets to stylish sleepwear. In addition to HUE’s legwear and sleepwear, the store will carry loungewear, footwear, streetwear (leggings and skirts), handbags, jewelry, eyewear and hair accessories, making HUE Studio the ultimate destination for Fun, Fresh Fashion!

The Perfect Pull: Revolutionary Hosiery Grip Gloves: Trend experts tout the bare leg is passé and increasing hosiery sales support it. More good news for the legwear industry, a brand new product that enables hosiery to glide more freely and comfortably onto the leg and reduce the amount of stress placed on the product. Perfect for women who may have arthritis, MS or are in the advanced stages of pregnancy. For those Interested in learning more, contact THA at 704.365.0913 or email at info@hosieryassociation.com.

NC State Researchers Produce Fibers that Mimic Human Muscle: Two researchers at North Carolina State University have found that certain strands of fibers that resemble human muscle can exhibit muscle-like capabilities when electrical currents are applied, paving the way for advancements and potential applications in several different fields including robotics, “smart textiles,” prosthetics and biomedicine. Scientists have demonstrated previously that certain plastics known as electroactive polymers can expand and contract when a current is applied, but Drs. Tushar Ghosh, an NC State textiles professor, and John Muth, associate professor of engineering, have shown for the first time that plastic tube structures in the shape of human muscle strands can be manipulated with electricity.

Inaugural Americas Competitiveness Forum Announced
US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez will host the inaugural Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF) on June 11–12, 2007, in Atlanta. The ACF will provide a venue for government ministers from the Western Hemisphere to come together with leaders from the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations, to explore cutting edge ideas and best practices in several key areas of competitiveness.

The ACF’s main tracks are:

• sparking and sustaining innovation
• creating solutions in education and workforce development
• designing successful global supply chain strategies
• fostering small business development and growth

For more information, visit the website, http://trade.gov/competitiveness/ACF/index.asp

ASAPSHOW – Why Exhibit at ASAP? ASAP gives the apparel companies the best chance to meet top US retailers and brands who are seeking alternative sourcing options. ASAP’s reputation in the apparel industry boasts the highest number of attendees, and a diverse number of countries. ASAP receives the most endorsements from overseas governments and works directly with them to organize their respective country pavilions that represent the “Best of…” each country and buyers know this. The next show will take place on August 26-29 at the Venetian Grand Ball Room in Las Vegas, NV. For additional information, go to www.asapshow.com or email info@asapshow.com.

RADICISPANDEX Corp. Unveiled Winning Student Designs For 2007 “Stretch To The Future” Design Competition With The Fashion School Of Kent State University - CARMEN MARC VALVO FETED AS HONOREE DESIGNER JUDGE: On May 8, RADICISPANDEX CORPORATION held a reception to unveil the top three winning designs of its eighth annual “Stretch to the Future” Design Competition, held for the first time in partnership with The Fashion School of Kent State University. The event, staged at the Italian Trade Commission on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, also gathered fashion and textile industry professionals to honor designer Carmen Marc Valvo, who served as this year’s Stretch to the Future honoree judge, and announced RadiciSpandex’s donation of $5,000 to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, a colon cancer awareness and fundraising program for which Mr. Valvo, a colon cancer survivor, is a celebrity ambassador. (Full press release available on THA’s website.)

On May 3, DAK Americas LLC located in Charlotte, NC Announced: Due to an increase in global polyester raw material cost, DAK Americas will increase prices for all polyester staple fiber products. Effective June 1, 2007, DAK Americas will increase polyester staple fiber prices by $0.04 per pound. DAK is committed to the polyester staple fiber business and will continue to supply quality products, innovation and service to our customers.

Activewear Key to Tefron’s Year: Seamless intimate apparel and performance activewear maker Tefron Ltd., Israel, has reported a slight fall in its first quarter revenues compared to the corresponding period a year ago. For first three months of 2007, the company recorded revenues of $48.8 million, down by 1.2% on the $49.9 million reported in the first quarter of 2006.The company blames the fall on an anticipated reduction in sales of activewear during the first half of 2007, although this was partly offset by an increase in sales of swimwear and intimate apparel products. First quarter gross margin was 19.1%, compared with a gross margin 24.3% in the first quarter of 2006. Operating income fell from $7.5M. in the first quarter of 2006 to $5.0M. in 2007.

Hanesbrands Closing Three Sewing Plants: Hanesbrands Inc. is to close operations at three sewing and assembly operations in Itabo, Dominican Republic, as part of its strategy to reduce costs and improve competitiveness. Production in Itabo will cease by September 2007 with the loss of approximately 1,400 jobs. The company is consolidating sewing production into fewer facilities that are aligned with textile fabric production and can operate more efficiently as larger operations. In the past two years, Hanesbrands has added newer, lower-cost textile production in the Dominican Republic and Central America and is aligning its sewing operations around those fabric production facilities. In addition to the sewing operations in Itabo and the new Dos Rios textile manufacturing plant in Bonao, Hanesbrands has six other sewing and intimate apparel assembly operations in the Dominican Republic.


 

Port Congestion Should Prompt Companies to Rethink Sourcing, Report Says- A new report states that increasing congestion at ports in the U.S. and Europe should prompt companies with international supply chains to rethink their sourcing decisions. The report, published by the Boston Consulting Group, asserts that congestion could increase transportation, logistics and other expenses enough to offset the lower production costs associated with sourcing overseas. Companies could be forced to respond by taking steps previously deemed too expensive, the report states, such as shortening supply chains by relocating manufacturing operations closer to U.S. and European retail markets.

Michigan Democrats Propose Initiative to Revitalize Domestic Manufacturing
Michigan Democrats laid out this week what they called a comprehensive agenda aimed at revitalizing the domestic manufacturing industry. According to a press release, the American Manufacturing Initiative would bring together government, private industry and academia in an effort to turn around the U.S. manufacturing sector. The initiative focuses on six areas: manufacturing incentives, trade policies, healthcare support, advanced vehicle development, fuel conservation and biofuels, and Department of Defense initiatives.

CITA Makes Affirmative DR-CAFTA Short Supply Determination on Stretch Fabrics
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined under DR-CAFTA that certain two-way stretch woven fabric of polyester/rayon/spandex, classified under HTSUS 5407.90.20 and 5407.93.20, cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. As a result, effective today, CITA has added the subject fabrics to the list in DR-CAFTA Annex 3.25 in unrestricted quantities. CITA will also provide duty- and quota-free treatment for apparel made in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic from the subject fabrics.

House Kills Buy America For Homeland Security Procurement
The House of Representatives recently refused to enact a Buy America provision in the homeland security procurement legislation. Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., had offered an amendment that would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from procuring items directly related to national security unless the item was 100-percent domestically produced. The bill as passed by the House does require domestic production of uniforms, protective gear badges and identification cards; however, it only requires uniforms to be sewn in the United States. The fabric and yarn can come from anywhere in the world. Hayes said he would attempt to get the Senate to adopt something along the lines of the Berry Amendment for Defense Department procurement that requires the department to purchase totally US-made goods if they are available. The Berry Amendment is designed to promote a strong domestic base for manufacturing textiles and apparel and other items.

U.S. Chamber Launches U.S.-UAE Business Council
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently launched the U.S.-UAE Business Council, a collaboration of leading companies in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates that are committed to expanding commercial relations between the two countries. The creation of the council could indicate a renewed interest from the business community in resuming talks on a bilateral free trade agreement. Those negotiations were put on hold in 2006 following disagreements over investment, and the two countries opted instead to discuss strengthening trade ties under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.

Textile and Apparel Groups Want Quick Approval of Peru and Colombia FTAs
A group of 12 organizations representing all aspects of the textile and apparel supply chain, including fiber producers, yarn spinners, knitters, weavers, dyers, equipment suppliers, apparel manufacturers, importers and retailers, recently sent letters to President Bush and members of Congress expressing hope that the U.S. free trade agreements with Colombia and Peru can be approved and enacted into law by June 30. That is the date on which benefits for those two countries under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act are currently scheduled to expire. Those benefits could be extended until Dec. 31 if certain criteria are met, including congressional passage of legislation implementing the FTAs before the end of June.

Congress, Bush Administration Announce Trade Policy Agreement
Congressional leaders and Bush administration officials recently announced the conclusion of a trade policy agreement after months of negotiation. The deal includes provisions on labor, the environment, intellectual property rights, port security, investment, government procurement and other issues. It has been seen as a necessary step for the White House to move its trade priorities forward after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in last November’s elections.

The most immediate effect of the agreement will be to allow free trade agreements with Peru and Panama to move forward. Less certain is how the agreement will affect prospects for congressional approval of FTAs with Colombia and Korea. The deal certainly clears some key obstacles from the path of those two agreements, but observers say lawmakers are likely to push for additional concessions in the areas of labor rights for Colombia and trade in beef and automobiles for Korea. Also unclear is what effect the agreement may have on efforts to extend trade promotion authority.

ITC Seeks Input for 2005/2006 CBERA Report
The ITC is seeking comments by June 8 concerning the matters to be addressed in its 2005/2006 report on the impact of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act on U.S. industries and consumers and beneficiary countries. The ITC expects to submit this report by Sept. 30.

U.S.-China Commission Hearing to Discuss Government Control of Key Industries
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a public hearing May 24-26 in Washington, D.C. The hearing will address the Chinese government's control of key industries, the effect on the U.S. and the world economy, and whether such control violates the principles of the WTO. The commission is mandated by Congress to investigate the qualitative and quantitative nature of the transfer of U.S. production activities to China, including the relocation of high technology, manufacturing, and research and development facilities; the impact of such transfers on U.S. national security, economic security and employment; and the adequacy of U.S. export control laws.


 

The contents printed in this document are informational in nature. They are gathered from various industry sources and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or actions of THA.

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