lululemon athletica inc. Names Sun Choe Chief Product Officer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — September 18, 2018 — lululemon athletica inc., today announced the promotion of Sun Choe to the role of chief product officer. Choe joined lululemon in 2016 as senior vice president of Global Merchandising and subsequently assumed expanded responsibilities for all product functions on an interim basis.

Calvin McDonald, CEO of lululemon, said, “Sun has a proven track record leading world class product teams and her leadership has helped fuel our current success. I’m confident this is just the beginning of what Sun and her team will create for our guests.”

“I’m excited to continue the great work of our talented teams across design and merchandising as we extend our industry shaping product innovation,” said Choe.

Prior to joining lululemon, Choe served as Chief Global Product Merchant at Marc Jacobs and also served in senior merchandising roles at successful brands, including Urban Outfitters, West Elm, and Madewell.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: lululemon athletica inc.

Neiman Marcus Group Announces Changes To The Senior Executive Team

DALLAS — September 18, 2018 — Neiman Marcus Group announces changes to the senior executive team, a first step in building high performing teams and creating a culture of innovation.

Carrie Tharp and Adam Orvos have both expanded oversight to deliver Geoffroy van Raemdonck’s strategy to transform the business and position Neiman Marcus Group to create a new, engaging, luxury retail experience for global customers. These two promotions, alongside the addition earlier this month of Darcy Penick as president, Bergdorf Goodman, complement the existing senior executive team.

“I believe in attracting top talent and fostering a culture of innovation. These key promotions, new hires, and team refinements ensure that Neiman Marcus Group is in the best position to lead in digital and data excellence, drive growth, and deliver on our goals to continue to elevate the company as one of the world’s most prestigious luxury retailers in the world,” said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO, Neiman Marcus Group.

Carrie Tharp, who joined the company as senior vice president, chief marketing officer in September 2016 has been promoted to executive vice president, chief digital officer. She will oversee the evolution of data and digital analytical tools to enhance omni-channel experiences, with an emphasis on customer engagement. The new organization will combine customer data capabilities with channel experience innovation to create enhanced customer intimacy and engagement to drive business growth.

With this evolution, Carrie’s team expands to include Lindy Rawlinson, senior vice president, Customer Experience and eCommerce, and a key new hire, Stefanie Tsen, who will join Neiman Marcus Group on October 1, 2018 as senior vice president, Omni-Channel Customer Experiences. Stefanie brings an incredible background in building and driving world-class customer experiences, hailing from Sephora, where she was most recently the vice president of Omni Channel Experience and Louis Vuitton, where she was last vice president, Country Manager, Canada.

Adam Orvos, who started at Neiman Marcus Group in April as Chief Financial Officer, is promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. In this expanded role, Adam will ensure operational excellence and deliberate performance management through oversight of functional areas that lead the success of the company’s strategy including Information Technology and Cyber Security, Supply Chain and Operations, and Legal. As a member of his team, Tracy Preston, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, will also expand her responsibility as Chief Compliance Officer.

Darcy Penick, President, Bergdorf Goodman, who returned to Neiman Marcus Group earlier this month from ShopBop where she was most recently Chief Executive Officer, brings a track record of accelerating digital transformation. In her role, Darcy leads the Bergdorf Goodman brand, including its online enterprise and two Manhattan based flagship locations, with a focus on digital transformation.

Innovative merchandising continues to be a key pillar of the company’s strategic plan, and to that end, Jim Gold, President and Chief Merchandising Officer, is reorganizing his team. Melissa Lowenkron joins Neiman Marcus from Bergdorf Goodman as General Merchandise Manager of Accessories, including Ladies Shoes, Handbags, Designer Jewelry, and Precious Jewels. In this role, she sets the stage for important future category growth, with a focus on profitability, holistic category management, and renewed brand partnerships. Lisa Kazor joins this effort by broadening her leadership as General Merchandise Manager of all of Women’s Apparel. Russ Patrick continues as General Merchandise Manager of Men’s, Children’s, and Home; and Beauty reports directly to Jim.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: Neiman Marcus Group LTD LLC

Wrangler® Is First To Adopt Dry Indigo® Denim

GREENSBORO, N.C. — September 18, 2018 — Wrangler® today confirmed an agreement for denim fabric to be produced later this year with a new foam-dyeing process that will eliminate 99 percent of the water typically used in indigo-dyeing. Wrangler is the first brand to embrace the innovative technology, which is expected to transform the denim industry.

“While we have been able to reduce 3 billion liters of water in product finishing during the past 10 years, we know that more needs to be done across the entire supply chain,” said Wrangler President Tom Waldron. “Foam technology reduces water consumption and pollution further upstream, helping our fabric suppliers to dramatically minimize the impacts of making denim fabric blue.”

Recognizing the potential of this breakthrough, Wrangler and the Walmart Foundation provided Texas Tech University with early-stage funding for development of the foam-dying process. The iconic denim brand helped introduce fabric mills to the latest technology and now will incorporate the first foam-dyed denim into a line of jeans launching in 2019.

“We invested in the development of this innovation, because we believe it can drastically change the denim industry for the better,” Waldron said. “We’re grateful to have an industry-leading partner in Royo, with whom we are taking this revolutionary step towards more sustainable denim.”

Tejidos Royo, a Spanish fabric mill with a reputation for prioritizing environmental performance, will be the first to integrate the foam-dye process, which it calls Dry Indigo®. Royo is scheduled to receive the foam-dye equipment in October and expects to begin supplying Wrangler with denim before the end of the year.

“We’re excited Wrangler is dedicating an entire line of jeans to this innovation,” said Tejidos Royo Sales Director Jose Royo. “Our Dry Indigo process nearly erases the environmental impact of denim dyeing and represents the next generation of denim production.”

The first line of foam-dyed jeans will be Wrangler’s most recent action to minimize environmental impact and save precious resources. Among the brand’s demonstrated sustainability activities are the ongoing work in U.S. sustainable cotton and a commitment to reduce water usage by five billion liters by 2020. According to Royo, applying indigo dye to raw denim with foam instead of water will eliminate the need for the tens of millions of gallons of water typically consumed by conventional wet-dye systems.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: Wrangler

Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Accelerates Development Of New Recombinant Spider Silk Fiber

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — September 18, 2018 — Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., the developer of spider silk-based fibers, announces today that it has implemented two major advancements in the development of next generation recombinant spider silk fibers.

These advancements are the result of new equipment and recently employed protocols at the company’s R&D headquarters, based in Michigan. These new approaches build on the existing protocols, but allow the company to increase processing efficiency significantly. The company expects to see higher throughput as this approach should result in shorter times to generate new transgenics. What previously took an entire day to complete can now be done in a matter of minutes.

The company expects that, with these new methods, it will be able to drastically accelerate the pace of development for next generation recombinant spider silk fibers and technologies, but does not affect the opening of the company’s aggressive production operations through its Vietnamese subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles. The company expects to provide an update on its progress at Prodigy Textiles in the near future.

“As we continue to make significant progress commercializing and scaling production of our existing recombinant spider silk offerings, our research team, led by Dr. Trevor Kane, remains focused on the creation of the next evolution of high performance spider silk materials,” said COO Jon Rice. “The new processes and equipment implemented today play a key role in that work, allowing for major increases in throughput and what we expect to be faster development cycles.”

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc.

EPA Approves Public Health Labeling And Marketing Claims For Applied Silver’s Pathogen Killing Antimicrobial Laundry Additive For Textiles

HAYWARD, Calif. — September 18, 2018 — Applied Silver Inc. today announced that the company has received federal approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make public health claims for its patented SilvaClean® product in healthcare and sports medicine industries.  This is the first time EPA has approved public health claims for a residual antimicrobial laundry additive and agrees that SilvaClean is an efficacious addition to Healthcare and Sports Infection Control programs. “This is a transformative moment for healthcare professionals, patients, and their families who worry about the spread in infections in all healthcare settings,” said Dr. Priya Balachandran, microbiology/infectious disease expert and vice president at Applied Silver.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 25 admitted patients get healthcare-associated infections (HAI); HAIs are a significant and growing concern among infectious disease experts, healthcare workers and facility executives; and hospitals and sports programs spend billions of dollars annually to address this problem.

EPA approved the public health claims for SilvaClean based on third party Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) data demonstrating a 99.9 percent kill of key pathogens Staphylococcus aureus (at six hours) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (at three hours). These data were supported by multi-year clinical studies in collaboration with a Stanford University scientist confirming that textiles are routinely re-contaminated with microbes during storage, handling and use, even after undergoing a certified hygienically clean laundry process. The study further demonstrated that by regularly laundering those textiles with SilvaClean, microbes, including Staphylococcus were significantly reduced before, during and after patient use.

“Infection control programs that include SilvaClean along with standard practices such as hand hygiene and hard surface cleaning have been demonstrated to have reduced HAI rates in clinical settings”, added Dr. Balachandran.

SilvaClean Infuses Silver Ions into Fabrics Killing Microbes and Providing Lasting (Residual) Protection

SilvaClean is a smart technology system that infuses textiles with pure silver ions during the laundry rinse cycle, where they bond with fabrics to residually kill pathogens, mold and mildew, eliminating odors, helping to remove stains and reducing static. SilvaClean is a patented, EPA approved laundry additive product enabled by an Internet of Things (IoT) dispensing system that leaves fabrics with residual antimicrobial properties even after laundering (e.g. in storage, during handling and in use).

“Silver is enormously effective and can be used in all health-conscious environments,” said Dr. Balachandran.  “The application is incredibly easy and cost-effective for hospitals and professional sports teams to implement because it can integrate with their existing laundry and inventory processes. In this way, SilvaClean provides an automated infection control strategy for any launderable soft surfaces.”

“The commercial applications of the SilvaClean product are deep and broad,” expanded Dr. Balachandran.  “We believe SilvaClean will help the healthcare industry dramatically reduce the human and financial cost of HAI management.”  She continued, “SilvaClean can also help sports teams and their medical programs provide safer locker rooms and environments for their athletes, keeping them in the game. In addition, we’re confident that the hospitality industry, hotels, and restaurants, in particular, will welcome cleaner, healthier environments for their patrons.  And with aging populations and environmentally conscious consumers, we also see SilvaClean providing a real point of differentiation in both the consumer laundry additive and appliance industries.”

The Company, which will soon close Series B funding, has also secured a key go-to-market partnership with a leading medical supplies company, according to Applied Silver’s Executive Chairwoman Elizabeth Hutt Pollard.  Ms. Hutt Pollard also noted that the technology is currently in evaluation with professional sports teams.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: Applied Silver Inc.

OUTLOOK™ Plus Latin America To Return To Brazil In May 2019 Global Nonwovens Associations Present Third Edition

BRUSSELS, Belgium/CARY, N.C. — September 18, 2018 — Hosted by INDA and EDANA, OUTLOOK™ Plus Latin America will return to Brazil for the third edition May 7-9, 2019.

The conference will examine the economic outlook, market statistics and the latest products and trends for the hygiene, personal care, and medical market sectors. The event, to be held at the Sheraton Sao Paulo WTC Hotel, and will also feature a tabletop exhibition with local and international companies showcasing products and services. For the first time, this edition of OPLA will also cover developments in nonwoven filter media, an important and growing sector in Latin America.

The program will feature an in-depth look at the latest developments in nonwovens for the Latin American and global absorbent hygiene and personal care products markets, including expert local insight on the political and economic environment, growth trends and the potential for nonwovens in this region. Simultaneous translation in English, Portuguese, and Spanish will be provided during the conference.

“OUTLOOK™ Latin America is now firmly established as a must-attend event for ambitious companies with an interest in the region, and EDANA is proud to once again provide a platform for innovation and business to flourish” said Pierre Wiertz, general manager of EDANA. “We are delighted to again partner with INDA in supporting our member companies and local businesses to showcase their expertise and explore opportunities for growth”

“As INDA continues to provide industry leadership in The Americas, we are pleased to again align with EDANA in organizing a conference focused on the key developing markets in South America that use nonwoven engineered materials,” said Dave Rousse, president of INDA.

The inaugural event was held in Sao Paulo in March 2015 and attracted more than 250 attendees with participants declaring the gathering a success for their businesses and the wider industry in the region. It was followed by an even more successful edition in 2017, confirming, OUTLOOK™ is a unique “must-attend” event for nonwoven professionals in the region.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: INDA and EDANA

ZIMMER AUSTRIA Presents The New COLARIS.12-2200 Small Production Printer During SGIA Expo

KUFSTEIN, Austria — September 18, 2018 — Running live production on booth!

Featuring the COLARIS.12-2200 Small Production Pigment Inkjet Digital Printer for textiles, carpets, mats and piece goods. The COLARIS.12-2200 is also suitable for acid, disperse, reactive and VAT inks. ZIMMER AUSTRIA offers a wide range of pre- and post-processing systems and equipment like steamer, washer, hot air dryer, infrared fixation.

With the new pigment printing solution, Zimmer Austria completes the portfolio of its available ink classes. With pigment inks, very good light fastness, even in the home textiles market, e.g. for curtains, or decorative articles are achieved. At the same time, outdoor applications are possible, from sun protection to tarpaulins. With the pigment inks (4 or 6 colours) on the Colaris, reliable printing results with brilliant colors, as well as excellent light, friction and wash resistance are delivered.

To cover all application areas and all ink classes, Zimmer Austria uses various circulating inkjet print heads from the Fujifilm Dimatix StarFire™ SG1024 family for its Colaris range. This is particularly important for the pigment, disperse or vat ink classes to ensure reliable production operation. The Colaris models range from compact sample machines up to a 4.2 meter (14 foot) wide system. All models are available in a variety of configurations between four and twelve colors, with a choice between reactive, acid, disperse, pigment or vat inks. Maintenance is easy and print heads are repairable.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: ZIMMER AUSTRIA

NCTO Applauds IPR Enforcement Efforts Renews Request For Added Tariffs On Chinese Textile And Apparel End Items

WASHINGTON — September 18, 2018 — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) applauds the Trump administration’s September 17 Section 301 tariff announcement as necessary to resolve longstanding trade inequities with China. NCTO, however, strongly believes that the administration’s continued focus on added tariffs on upstream textile inputs while thus far refusing to impose tariffs on finished Chinese textile home furnishing and apparel is flawed.

“The Trump administration is right to confront China’s unfair trade practices.  Section 301 tariffs show the world that countries which serially abuse U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR) will be held accountable,” said NCTO President and CEO Auggie Tantillo.

“NCTO also thanks the Trump administration for removing various items from the latest retaliation list, including rayon fiber and certain dyes and chemicals.  The U.S. textile industry requested the exclusion of these products because they are not available domestically and China is the only significant source of supply,” Tantillo continued.

“Had U.S. textile manufacturers been forced to pay higher duties on the excluded items, it would raise costs for manufacturers making goods that must compete with like Chinese products,” Tantillo added.

“Despite yesterday’s announcement, the U.S. textile industry remains of the belief that the administration’s strategy to impose Section 301 tariffs on inputs is not the most effective approach to penalize China for its rampant abuses of intellectual property rights in our sector,” Tantillo said.

“Added tariffs on finished Chinese textile home furnishings and apparel is the most effective sanction the United States could impose on China because like products from the NAFTA and CAFTA regions using U.S.-made textile inputs immediately become more competitive, thereby incentivizing the reshoring textile manufacturing jobs,” Tantillo explained as he referred to NCTO’s public comments filed on May 11 requesting Section 301 tariffs on Chinese textile and apparel end products.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-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 550,500 in 2017.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $77.9 billion in 2017.
  • U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $28.6 billion in 2017.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.4 billion in 2016, the last year for which data is available.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

Jorge Salazar Appointed General Manager Of Unifi Central America

GREENSBORO, N.C. — September 18, 2018 — Unifi Inc. today announced the appointment of Jorge Salazar as general manager of Unifi Central America Ltda. de CV (UCA).

“Jorge brings an extensive background in operations and sales management to Unifi, where he will lead in driving impact and high-quality results to our daily processes,” said Tom Caudle, president and COO, Unifi. “His invaluable background supervising logistics and customer service, coupled with his extensive experience in Central America, will drive our strategic development in the region.”

Salazar has a demonstrated history of managing operations within the textiles industry. Prior to joining Unifi, he served as the director for CS Central America, a global polyester and nylon yarn producer, where he oversaw the start-up of operations in 2006, and subsequently led the business.

“Unifi’s global presence brings innovation, consistency and flexibility to every major textile-producing region on an international scale. Central America is no exception to Unifi’s tradition of quality, sustainable manufacturing. I look forward to working with Unifi’s leadership to build upon the team’s operational plans for the region,” said Jorge Salazar.

UCA began operating in 2010. Located in the Free Zone, American Industrial Park in El Salvador, the CAFTA-compliant facility’s innovative supply chain provides rapid response and delivery throughout the region. Through UCA, Unifi’s offerings in Central America include key products, such as REPREVE® recycled polyester and Tru-Technologies, Unifi’s performance fibers

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: Unifi, Inc.

INVISTA Launches New Wolf Gray CORDURA® Truelock™ Fiber For Lot-To-Lot Color Consistency In Military, Tactical, And Law Enforcement Applications

WICHITA, Kan. — September 10, 2018 — INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand announces its latest innovation in solution-dyed nylon (SDN) 6,6 fiber technology with mill partner MMI Textiles, a premier supplier and one-stop shop supplying fabric, webbing and elastics in the textile marketplace for more than 21 years. MMI Textiles is the exclusive North American provider of fabrics and webbing made with the new Wolf Gray CORDURA TrueLock™ fiber, now through December 2018.

Cordura TrueLock fiber is created from Invista nylon 6,6 multi-filament fiber that is solution dyed, locking the color in at the molten polymer extrusion level to create deep, durable color throughout the entire fiber structure. Color consistency is crucial when pairing fabric with other materials such as webbing and elastic to create uniform garments and gear.

“Gray is one of the most commonly used colors in military/tactical applications, but was previously one of the most difficult to match, with several varying proprietary versions of ‘Wolf Gray’ on the market,” said Nick Rivera, director of operations at MMI Textiles. “One of our customers — TyrTactical — was having challenges matching webbings and fabric and came to us for a solution. We then turned to Cordura brand.”

“After examining six different shades of gray together, we worked hand-in-hand to create our latest innovative Cordura TrueLock fiber offering,” said Allen Mortimer, North American regional manager and product manager at Cordura brand. “The Wolf Gray shade of Cordura Truelock fiber offers color that is uniform across the components of gear and apparel, and durable enough to stay true after exposure to the elements and intense military missions.”

The color achieved with Cordura TrueLock fiber has inherent Near-Infrared (NIR) capabilities, is abrasion and UV-fade resistant and does not bleed or crock. With color-fastness locked in at the fiber level, excellent shade consistency lot-to-lot and across multiple textile components (such as fabric and webbing), UV strength stability, and long-lasting vibrancy are made possible.

The process of color encapsulation used in Cordura TrueLock fiber also offers several environmental benefits such as reduced water and energy consumption*, and reduced dye and chemical usage in textile processing.

The announcement is a major milestone for Invista’s Camden, S.C., facility, which expanded last year to increase U.S. capacity of high-tenacity, specialty fibers for Cordura fabrics. The Camden investment has accelerated progress in the development of new SDN capabilities — which complement the facility’s existing high tenacity nylon 6,6 filament fiber manufacturing processes.

In addition to Wolf Gray, solution-dyed Cordura TrueLock fiber is available in Desert Sand, Tan, Coyote, Ranger Green, Camo Green and Black. Plans currently being put into action at Camden include expansion of the Cordura TrueLock filament product line to introduce additional standard colors and deniers, as well as the flexibility to work to smaller minimum order quantities and custom colorways.

“Throughout our 50-year journey, we’ve worked to establish a foundation built on durable and long-lasting fiber technologies, including our legacy of solution dyed, high-performance nylon 6,6 offerings,” said Cindy McNaull, global Cordura brand and marketing director. “The launch of our latest Wolf Gray Cordura TrueLock fiber is a testament to the strength of supply chain collaboration — a joint effort between an end-user, gear manufacturer, fabric supplier and fiber business.”

Tyr-Tactical gear in Wolf Gray is currently being put to the test by the Phoenix, Ariz., SWAT Team.

Posted September 18, 2018

Source: INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand

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