Alexandria, VA — December 19, 2019 — TRSA hosted its Second Annual Marketing & Sales Summit on Dec. 4-5 in Tampa. Key topics discussed by the linen, uniform and facility services industry’s marketing and sales professionals included customer growth and retention, social media and digital opportunities, employee hiring and retention, emotional intelligence, and more.

The summit kicked off on Dec. 5 in Tampa, FL, with a presentation by CITY Clean and Simple executives Chriss Carsello and Emily Hauber. Their presentation, titled “Marketing, Sales and the Digital Age,” touched on the ways that CITY is using digital channels, including social media, videos and more, to communicate to customers and prospects, as well as increase sales opportunities for the business based in Oelwein, IA.

Keynote presenter Joel Landi, a consultant, performance coach and bestselling author, highlighted the importance of harnessing your emotional intelligence in order to achieve success both personally and professionally.

Other presentations, panels and workshops at the Summit included:

• The Importance of Marketing Environmental Sustainability
• Great Ideas Swap: Stories from the Trenches
• Processing Innovation: Developing Internal SOPs to Align with New Products
• Strategic Partnership: Serving Your Customer’s Customer
• Closing Panel: State of the Markets

Following the conclusion of the panel presentation, summit attendees visited nearby Busch Gardens Tampa to network and explore the park’s many offerings against the backdrop of stunning holiday décor.

Attendees were pleased with the overall content and energy that the event inspired. “I enjoyed the interactions of all the individuals in the breakouts, networking times, and other sessions. It was a unique blend of an audience, vendors and operators, and a difference of presentations that meshed extremely well,” said Kasey Wahl, director of sales and marketing, WSI.

Additionally, the TRSA Marketing & Sales Committee held their year-end meeting on Dec. 4 to look back at their accomplishments in 2019 and discuss initiatives moving forward into 2020. The following TRSA members attended that meeting:

• Andy Feldman, Committee Chair, Omni Solutions
• Chriss Carsello, CITY Clean and Simple
• Charles Crowell, Milliken & Co.
• Tyler Fowler, M+A Matting
• Lauren Glass, M+A MattingJacob Gurtler, Gurtler Industries Inc.

Will Hacker, Landau Uniforms Inc.

Emily Hauber, CITY Clean and Simple

Mark Lewis, Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply Inc.

Alan Maness, Milliken & Co.

Jerry Martin, Prudential Overall Supply

Kristi Sanders, Positek RFID

Kris Smith, Health Mats

Kasey Wahl, WSI

Jon Witschy, Spindle

The following Marketing & Sales Committee members collaborated on the content for the 2nd Annual Marketing & Sales Summit: Andy Feldman, Omni Solutions; Karen Harrington, Gojo Industries; Jerry Martin, Prudential Overall Supply; Kris Smith, Health Mats; and Amanda Steffen, Ecolab.

TRSA committees are open to all TRSA members. The next Marketing & Sales Committee meeting will be held on March 25, 2020, at the TRSA 10th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., and is open to all interested TRSA members.

Posted December 19, 2019

Source: TRSA

WASHINGTON — December 19, 2019 — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber though finished sewn products, issued the following statement regarding the expected passage today of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Passage of the USMCA in the House today will mark a significant step forward in advancing the trade deal through Congress and we urge the Senate to pass it swiftly,” said NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas. “Mexico and Canada are the two largest export markets for the U.S. textile industry, totaling nearly $12 billion last year, and several provisions in USMCA will help producers expand and build new business in the critical Western Hemisphere supply chain.”

NCTO worked with the administration during negotiations on USMCA and successfully lobbied for several provisions and improvements that were subsequently incorporated in the trade deal that will close loopholes and strengthen U.S. Customs enforcement.

“We expect U.S. textile companies to export more to the region and invest more in the U.S. when USMCA is implemented,” Glas said. “Textile executives from North Carolina to New York have said they will seek to take advantage of the modifications in the trade deal and build new business in areas such as pocketing and sewing thread, as a result of stronger rules of origin and Customs enforcement.”

The USMCA updates and modifies the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and makes significant improvements, including:

• Creation of a separate chapter for textiles and apparel rules of origin with strong customs enforcement language.
• Stronger rules of origin for sewing thread, pocketing, narrow elastics and certain coated fabrics.  Under the current NAFTA, these items can be sourced from outside the region – USMCA fixes this loophole and ensures these secondary components are originating to the region.
• Fixes the Kissell Amendment Buy American loophole, ensuring that a significant amount the Department of Homeland Security spends annually on clothing and textiles for the Transportation Security Administration is spent on domestically produced products.

This release follows NCTO’s previous endorsement of the deal reached between House Democrats and the administration last week.

NCTO is a Washington-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.

• U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.
• The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.
• U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.
• Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.

Posted December 19, 2019

Source: The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — December 18, 2019 — TRSA has commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to build a market opportunity assessment for the linen, uniform and facility services industry across 13 countries in six regions to explore market demands and forecast market, service and product opportunities. Based on evidence-driven research, interviews with industry experts and demand sector outlooks, EIU will premiere results at the World Textile Services Congress (WTSC) June 18-19, 2020, in Frankfurt, Germany, immediately prior to the Texcare International trade show.

“This first-ever global textile services market opportunity assessment will highlight opportunities and challenges across market sectors and geographic regions,” said TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci. “The results will be discussed, released and available for purchase at discounted rates to World Textile Services Congress (WTSC) participants before subsequent release internationally.”

Countries to be profiled across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North and South America including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States. Sectors to be covered are healthcare, hotels, construction, energy (oil and gas) and manufacturing.

Key questions to be answered:

• Where will demand for linen, uniform and facility services come from over the next five years?
• Which countries will present the greatest opportunities or challenges?
• How large are the demand sectors and which are the fastest growing?
• How will megatrends such as sustainability and digitization impact the industry and how will this differ across countries?

The research will address opportunities for linen supply, industrial laundry and facility services and include profiles of 10 public companies in the industry, using growth-related and financial-performance-based indicators.

Interviews with nearly 30 industry experts provide EIU with insights into operating conditions, market trends, customers and competition providing contest around market opportunity and future growth potential, based on the links between the demand sectors and the industry.

“Across the sectors, EIU will identify the main drivers for demand for the industry’s services in the next five years,” said TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci. “The study will portray corporate dynamics from consolidation and fragmentation of ownership to challenges and opportunities of managing everyday operations.”

“EIU’s understanding of the complexity and nuance of international markets will yield unmatched expert commentary, interpretation and forecasting on how our industry and its trajectory will be shaped by macroeconomic and demographic forces,” he added.

Posted December 18, 2019

Source: TRSA

NEW YORK CITY — December 17, 2019 — To mark its official launch this December, the Conscious Fashion Campaign (CFC) commits to actively support the upcoming Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development. CFC plans to engage the leading fashion industry events to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Founded by social impact entrepreneur Kerry Bannigan, who hopes to minimize the funding gap of 2.4 trillion dollars for the SDGs, CFC was created to overcome the divide between leaders from the fashion industry and the SDGs. The initiative, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), champions fashion as an influential industry to address the world’s most pressing issues by driving change through advocacy, education and the engagement of industry stakeholders to create a sustainable future for all.

“Following a one-year pilot phase to discover what the fashion industry understood about the SDGs and what else could be implemented, the CFC immersed itself into the retail event sector, and specifically trade shows to connect with brands and retailers at the beginning of the buying cycle,” said CFC Founder Bannigan. “With partnerships in the USA, UK, France, Germany, The Netherlands and China with names including Coterie, Project and Magic, Neonyt, Pure London, Who’s Next Paris, and Kingpins, we have already introduced the SDGs to over 96,000 retailers and buyers representing 87 countries.”

During the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York this September, CFC co-hosted a reception at the SDG Media Zone with Lenzing Group, Avery Dennison and Phaze, revealing its one-year pilot program findings, and spearheading a conversation on sustainable fashion driving tomorrow’s economy, which included Eileen Fisher, INC and World Bank Group Connect4Climate.

Industry impact commitments shared at the event included: Lenzing Group pledging to become the first carbon neutral fibre producer in the world; Eileen Fisher committing to circular design with RENEW — taking back over 1.2 million pieces since 2009; and the Avery Dennison Corporation joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 Network as part of the company’s support of a global transition to a circular economy.

Commenting on its official launch and future action, Bannigan added: “I am delighted to officially launch CFC, which aims to actively engage in the upcoming Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development, which will be launched in early 2020. 2020 is the year of implementation, but also continued education. Our aim is to help businesses learn and integrate the SDGs into their business models, to develop meaningful multi-stakeholder partnerships and initiatives which secure a future where no one is left behind. The potential for change when you engage the fashion industry is enormous. If we work together to shape the future of fashion, we will create dynamic impact, lasting change and deliver on our core mission to make the SDGs a reality.”

As the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all, the SDGs address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The fashion industry heavily impacts on most, if not all of these challenges.

Lucie Brigham, Chief of Office, United Nations Office for Partnerships said in response to the launch of CFC: “Our Office is proud to collaborate with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and support our shared vision in impacting positive change within the fashion industry. Working hand in hand, I believe we can tap into the resources and expertise of leaders within the fashion industry to make the SDGs a success. With a Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development imminent, the time is now to be creative and innovative. We need to leverage solutions; scale success stories and catalyse commitment to sustainable business models that support the SDG, and ultimately, secure a future, for people and planet, that we can be proud of.”

Posted December 17, 2019

Source: The Conscious Fashion Campaign