WICHITA, Kan. — October 12, 2011 — In line with the CORDURA® brand team’s commitment to developing
innovative and protective fabrics for the workwear industry, a new range of Cordura NYCO fabrics
from Malaysian based Penfabric, part of the Japanese Toray Group of companies, will be introduced
to the European workwear market at the A+A show in Dusseldorf, Germany – Hall 10 Stand A11.

The innovative range includes four fabrics, each in an intimate blend of 75 percent cotton,
25 percent high strength INVISTA T420 nylon 6,6. The fibres are intimately blended in both the warp
and weft direction and available in twill and canvas constructions in weights of 325gr/m2 and
380gr/m2.

“The workwear market has traditionally been serviced by polyester/cotton fabrics,” said Cindy
McNaull, global Cordura brand and marketing director. “The new Cordura NYCO fabric workwear
portfolio from Penfabric offers our brand’s renowned long-lasting durability without compromising
comfort and is the latest example of our commitment to innovation in the workwear market.”

Comfortably durable Cordura NYCO fabrics are suitable for a wide range of garment types
including trousers, jackets, coveralls and bib and braces. The fabrics are particularly valuable
for harsh working conditions especially in areas where high stress is imparted on the garment. Such
conditions are commonly found in industries such as construction and supporting trades, plant and
vehicle maintenance, heavy engineering, butchery and transportation.

The Cordura NYCO fabric workwear range has high levels of abrasion resistance. Independent
laboratory testing demonstrates that 325 gr/m2 and 380 gr/m2 Cordura NYCO fabrics based on 25
perent/75 percent cotton INVISTA T420 nylon 6,6 blends can reach levels of 250,000 rubs under the
Martindale woolen abrasion test method with 12 kPa (ISO – 12947-2). As a result, the garments in
use will not wear away easily, which can lead to fewer holes, less rips and less costly and
unsightly repairs.

The Cordura NYCO fabric range has a higher percentage of cotton fibre than the established
polyester/cotton fabrics with similar weights and constructions, and thus a high degree of
absorption. The fabrics are more cotton-like and less synthetic in touch, which helps to add to the
comfort requirement, which is so important in today’s working environments. The canvas fabrics
offer a modern and popular appearance in line with casual apparel garments.

The Cordura brand team has collaborated with its key authorised mills to develop Cordura NYCO
fabrics that meet the stringent workwear fabric standards as devised by the European Textile
Service Association (ETSA). These standards demand high levels of performance when considering
characteristics such as shrinkage, pilling and colourfastness in addition to fabric durability when
garments are washed at high temperature. To learn more about INVISTA’s Cordura NYCO fabric
portfolio, as well as information on the comprehensive range of Cordura brand workwear fabrics and
authorized fabric producers, please visit www.cordura.com.

Posted October 18, 2011

Source: Invista

Switzerland-based specialty chemicals manufacturer Clariant now offers Pekoflam®, a durable
high-performance bicomponent flame-retardant (FR) system for textiles that is free of Oeko-Tex®
restricted substances and can be processed using existing equipment

“The Pekoflam process is based on a synergistic application of phosphorus and nitrogen,”
said Thomas Winkler, head of Clariant’s Textile Chemicals business unit. “When we were examining
the methods currently in use for creating fire retardant textiles as part of our innovation
program, we knew we had to move away from traditional methods and get rid of any formaldehyde
emissions. Balancing our innovation parameters of cost effectiveness, safety and sustainability,
while at the same time providing a viable, commercial solution for our partners in the global
textile industry, has taken some three years of research and development where the final solution
was jointly developed utilizing an external research & development partnership.”

Pekoflam ECO/SYN is targeted to cotton and cotton-rich fabrics. The company reports that the
bicomponent system, which includes ecological and economic Pekoflam ECO and synergistic Pekoflam
SYN, has a minimal impact on fabric strength, is washfast in domestic laundering, performs well in
industrial applications and can be processed using finishing equipment with high-temperature curing
and a suitable wash range.

For man-made fibers including upholstery and carpet applications, Clariant has developed
Pekoflam HFC, a powder FR coating technology that replaces halogen-based compounds with organic
phosphinate compounds. Advantages over halogenated finishes include reduced smoke emissions. In
addition, compared with other phosphorus-based powder FR coatings, Pekoflam HFC offers improved
binder compatibility and reduced impact on rheological behavior, Clariant reports.

October 18, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —October 11, 2011 — GE announced today an alliance with Burlington Worldwide to
bring air permeable and bi-component waterproof fabrics to the European workwear market.

The alliance will allow customer brands to use a wide range of Burlington substrates combined
with GE membranes to create unique apparel, footwear and accessories for the workwear market, which
includes the construction, railway and postal industries. Each new top-of-the-line fabric is
designed to meet EN471, the European technical standard for high-visibility warning clothing, as
well as EN343, the technical standard for waterproofness and breathability in clothing.

The collaboration is part of GE’s strategy for its eVent® fabrics waterproof breathable
product line, which gives customers the flexibility to pair proven GE membranes with a range of
laminates and fabrics.

“The European market for workwear has grown substantially, and our customers are demanding an
alternative to what’s already on the market,” said Peter Cook, EU sales manager, Burlington
Worldwide. “We already supply fabrics to GE for lamination, so when Burlington moved into
high-visibility fabrics, it was logical to collaborate in this way. And the flexibility we have
working with GE will allow us to move into other sectors as well.”

Burlington is well-known in the workwear industry for expertise in creating fabrics suitable
for many personal protective equipment (PPE) applications. Combined with GE’s technical innovations
in membranes and textiles, the fabrics developed by the two companies will bring new options to the
workwear space.

“With the ability to offer both air permeable and bi-component technology, GE gives customers
the flexibility they need to create great products for demanding applications,” said Chad Kelly,
global product manager for eVent fabrics at GE. “Burlington has a great reputation in the workwear
space, and I’m excited about the great products that we have collectively developed and the
differentiation our alliance will bring to the marketplace.”

Both companies are debuting products from their collaboration at upcoming trade fairs across
Europe. GE will be exhibiting at Milipol 2011 (Stand 1K072 in the U.S. International Pavilion) in
Paris, from 18-21 October. Burlington will be exhibiting at A+A 2011 (Hall 10, Stand F09) in
Düsseldorf, Germany, also from 18-21 October. Not only can visitors see a sampling of new fabrics
and garments, but they also can preview the many other options each company provides in the
professional workwear space.

Posted October 18, 2011

Source: GE

The Netherlands — October, 17, 2011 — TenCate Protective Fabrics has signed an agreement with Samil
Spinning Co. Ltd. in Seoul, Korea, to become a TenCate Defender™ M partner. The partners have the
objective of expanding the TenCate Defender M product portfolio in the South Korean military and
police market.

 

As the world’s leading supplier of protective fabrics, TenCate is pleased to have entered
into partnership with Samil Spinning. Samil is currently providing non-FR fabrics to the South
Korean military and there is high interest in expanding their offering to include TenCate Defender
M with its inherently FR properties and worldwide reputation as the FR choice for military
applications.

 

Vertical Integration

Samil operates state-of-the-art spinning operations as well as dyeing and finishing
facilities and will, in some cases, licensed manufacture fabric from start to finish in South
Korea. TenCate Defender M is ideal for the Korean Military as well as civilian police forces.
Efforts will be focused on the manufacture, sales and marketing of TenCate Defender M in the South
Korean market. TenCate Defender M manufactured in South Korea will be sold and used there and will
not reach the US market.

 

Samil Spinning, an established partner with Lenzing Fibers, is well positioned to make
TenCate Defender M with Lenzing FR® fiber as its primary component. The alliance is a valuable
opportunity for growth in the South Korean market and is one that will ensure continuity of quality
and protective performance of TenCate Defender M.

Posted October 18, 2011

Source: Royal Ten Cate

WASHINGTON — October 12, 2011 — U.S. Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today
reintroduced their bipartisan bill to crack down on fraud and illegal trade practices that damage
the American textiles industry. The Textile Enforcement and Security Act (TESA) will beef up
enforcement and oversight on the trade of textiles and apparels. Textiles and apparels, which have
both suffered from increases in illegal trafficking and duty evasion, have the highest fraud
ranking of any industrial products in the United States.

“With North Carolina’s unemployment rate at an unacceptably high 10.4 percent, I refuse to
allow one of my state’s biggest industries to be handicapped by an inability to enforce proper
trade rules,” said Hagan, co-chair of the Senate Textile Caucus. “Thousands of North Carolinians
are employed by the textiles sector, and they produce some of the best products in the world. This
bipartisan bill ensures our country has the resources needed to fight the fraud that undermines
North Carolina textile mills. I look forward to working with Senator Graham and all of my
colleagues to pass this pro-jobs bill as soon as possible.”

“I’m proud to join Senator Hagan on a new and improved Textile Enforcement and Security Act,”
said Graham. “This common sense bill will add significant protection for textile workers by
strengthening existing customs enforcement mechanisms and creating new tools to combat fraud. We
owe it to the hard working men and women of the textile industry to protect their product against
those who seek to take advantage of lax enforcement. This bill does exactly that, and I look
forward to seeing its provisions become law.”

The U.S. textile industry is the world’s third largest textile exporter, and it relies on
proper customs enforcement to protect American businesses and jobs. Close to three quarters of the
industry’s $19 billion in exports last year went to countries where the U.S. has a trade agreement
in place. But the industry has seen a sharp increase in illegal trafficking as well as duty evasion
in many of these countries through undervaluation, mislabeling and the use of phony companies
posing as U.S. companies. It is estimated that up to $1 billion in revenue is lost each year due to
this type of customs fraud.

Specifically, the Textile Enforcement and Security Act will:

· Establish an electronic verification program that tracks yarn and fabric imports in
countries operating under free trade agreements;

· Increase the number of textile and apparel verification specialists at the 15 largest U.S.
ports that process textile and apparel imports;

· Increase textile staff at the Customs and Border Protection Agency headquarters and
retarget them toward trade preference verifications. Headquarters staff has been significantly
reduced over the last five years.

· Require the publication of a list of fraudulent actors in this field.

· Creates a centralized database for new importers and allows the Customs and Border
Protection Agency to adjust bond requirements for high risk importers of textile and apparel goods.



Posted on October 18, 2011

Source: Kay Hagan, U.S. Senator for North Carolina

WASHINGTON — October 13, 2011 — Earlier this week, Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Senator Lindsey
(R-SC) reintroduced the Textile Enforcement and Security Act (TESA), S.1683, in the Senate. The
TESA legislation seeks to increase U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement activities as
well as trade facilitation through improved targeting, increased resources, and enhanced authority.

“We greatly appreciate Senator Hagan and Senator Graham for reintroducing this important
piece of legislation,” said Cass Johnson, President, and National Council of Textile Organizations.
“The integrity and enforcement of our trade preference programs, including free trade agreements,
is a pivotal issue for our industry which has seen illegal activity increase dramatically over the
last five years,” added Johnson.

“Over the last year, our industry has been opening plants and adding jobs throughout the
Southeast. However, the increasing levels of trade fraud occurring puts those jobs at risk and our
businesses in jeopardy. We applaud Senators Hagan and Graham for taking the first step and we call
on the Senate to address this issue which dramatically impacts our manufacturing base in the United
States,” said Bill Jasper, Chairman & CEO, Unifi, Inc. (Chairman, NCTO).

NCTO reports that the schemes that illegal exporters use to commit textile fraud are exactly
the same as those use to evade countervailing duties and dumping orders. These schemes have also
been the focus of House and Senate hearings during the last year. Goods are illegally transshipped,
undervalued or mislabeled. Often times phony companies will reinvent themselves as ‘new’ companies
to avoid being caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Customs efforts on textile fraud have been plagued by a lack of resources, declining staffing
and increasing sophistication of fraudulent schemes. While Customs finds an average non-compliance
rate of 40 percent in overseas factories it visits, Customs issued only 43 penalties for textile
fraud last year out of five million shipments. According to some estimates, up to one billion
dollars in federal revenue is lost through the fraudulent schemes used to evade textile duties.

The TESA legislation addresses many of the industry’s key concerns by providing U.S. Customs
with expanded authority to better target these goods, while also giving them additional tools and
resources to increase their commercial enforcement efforts and reduce the prevalence of fraud that
is occurring and damaging the U.S. textile industry sector.

The House version, H.R. 2754, was introduced in August 2011 by Congressmen Larry Kissell
(D-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), and Walter Jones (R-NC). The House version currently has 19
co-sponsors.

Posted on October 18, 2011

Source: NCTO

WASHINGTON — October 11, 2011 — National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay travels
to China this week for a four-day trade mission intended to strengthen the U.S. retail industry’s
ties with fellow retailers, manufacturers, other businesses, and both U.S. and Chinese government
officials. Following on the heels of a recent trip to Germany, this trip is one of a series of NRF
visits to other nations to position U.S. retailers for growth around the world.

“China is integral to the success of the U.S. retail industry,” Shay said. “High quality,
high value merchandise produced by Chinese factories is key to U.S. retailers’ ability to supply
American families with the products they need and want at prices they can afford. But China is also
a nation in transition and, as a rapidly growing economy, it represents a huge new market where
U.S. retailers and brands hope to expand as they grow beyond U.S. borders. This trip is intended to
build upon the already strong ties retailers have in China and to identify opportunities that will
be mutually beneficial as the economies of both our nations grow and evolve.”

Shay is scheduled to meet with officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to address
U.S.-imposed trade barriers that drive up the cost of merchandise, Chinese rules that restrict U.S.
retailers’ ability to open stores there, delays in processing visas for Chinese citizens traveling
to the United States to shop or for business, and legislation pending in Congress that would
pressure China to let its currency float more freely against the U.S. dollar.

While in Beijing, Shay will meet with officials of the Chinese Chain Store and Franchise
Association and the China Commerce Association for General Merchandise before traveling to
Guangzhou for the 110th annual China Import and Export Fair.  There, more than 350,000
international retailers, buyers and exhibitors come together each year to discuss economic and
cultural exchange, foreign trade and investment. Shay, who will be accompanied by NRF Senior Vice
President for Government Relations David French, will also meet with Chinese journalists throughout
the trip.




NRF Supports Free Trade


“Washington has been quick to respond to political pressure by imposing restrictions on trade
with China, but the truth is that these restrictions do little if anything to protect or create
U.S. jobs,” Shay said. “Most of the merchandise retailers import from China simply isn’t made in
the United States at affordable prices or in commercial quantities anymore. Trade barriers that
keep our industry from sourcing goods in China mean that the trade simply shifts to other foreign
countries. U.S. policymakers need to see China as a market and a valuable trading partner, not the
enemy.”

NRF strongly opposes legislation being debated in the Senate this week that would use
countervailing duty and antidumping mechanisms to pressure China to revalue its currency. NRF has
warned that the legislation would likely violate World Trade Organization rules, leading to
retaliation against U.S. exports and putting the jobs of workers at American companies that do
business with China at risk. NRF believes the yuan should be allowed to float, but supports
multilateral and diplomatic negotiations as the best approach.

NRF supports legislation sponsored by Representative Joe Heck, R-Nev., that would require the
State Department to reduce the time for processing visa applications to 12 days. Chinese citizens
currently wait 120 days or more for a visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulates,
discouraging tourists who want to visit the United States to shop and causing difficulties for U.S.
retailers that need to bring management from their stores in China to the United States for
training.

Trip is Part of ‘Retail Means Jobs’ Campaign


Shay’s visit to China is a key element of the “Retail Means Jobs” campaign NRF launched last
month to bolster the economy and job creation. In addition to China issues, NRF’s trade agenda
under the campaign includes an international push to highlight the importance of retail to the
global economy, approval of pending Free Trade Agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea,
and renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences.

China is the leading supplier of imported merchandise for U.S. retailers, providing about
$300 billion in goods each year, accounting for 80 percent of Chinese exports. But with Chinese
wages and the value of the yuan growing, China is becoming more expensive as a source of
merchandise and more attractive as a market. Chinese wages have risen 40 percent in the past year
because of a shortage of skilled workers, while the value of the yuan has risen 30 percent since
2005 and 7 percent since July 2010.

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF’s
global membership includes retailers of all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as
chain restaurants and industry partners from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad.
In the United States, NRF represents an industry that includes more than 3.6 million establishments
and which directly and indirectly accounts for 42 million jobs – one in four U.S. jobs. The total
U.S. GDP impact of retail is $2.5 trillion annually, and retail is a daily barometer of the health
of the nation’s economy.

Posted on October 18, 2011

Source: NRF