ROSEVILLE, Minn. — April 19, 2011 —  At a time when the U.S. is facing record unemployment, a
group of specialty fabrics manufacturers is engaging in everything short of a bake sale in
Washington, D.C. to draw attention to the latest fight for some of the last jobs still standing.

Their most recent free trade versus fair trade confrontation involves the Korea-U.S. Free
Trade Agreement (commonly known as KORUS) and the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute
(USIFI), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International, which represents nearly
2,000 member companies. USIFI is currently leading an educational campaign on the Hill to keep the
specialty fabrics industry’s U.S. factories open and save jobs which will be bartered away with the
terms of the KORUS agreement. Currently specialty fabrics represent a world market estimated at
$123 billion in 2010, $29 billion of that in the U.S.

Congressman Larry Kissell (NC-08), one of the specialty fabrics industry’s allies in
Washington, D.C., spoke with the USIFI group about putting a stop to KORUS. “No one feels the
effects of our nation’s trade policies more directly than American manufacturers, especially these
leaders of our textile industry,” said Kissell. “For far too long, bad trade deals and misguided
Washington policies have ravaged our economy, shipping jobs overseas and furthering our mounting
trade deficits.”

Specialty fabrics are a segment of the domestic textile manufacturing base that has not only
survived decades of bad trade policies and relentless import pressures but which now thrives. Also
known as industrial textiles or technical textiles, specialty fabrics keep first responders safe in
fire-resistant protection suits and anti-ballistic vests. The high-tech flexible materials also
protect the environment: They provide containment of toxic wastes, ensure quality drinking water
and prevent shoreline erosion. In addition, these multi-layered composite products are used in new
pavement technology to rebuild our nation’s vulnerable infrastructure, as well as in the
lightweight, ultra-strong fabrics deployed in life-saving airbags, and the shade provided in
playground structures that keep our children away from the harmful rays of the sun.

A group of 24 USIFI members met with Congressman Kissell and more than 45 other Congressional
offices on the Hill over several days to highlight the effects of U.S. trade policies on specialty
fabrics and on American manufacturing overall. These business and plant owners are doing the cold
call grunt work that is necessary to make the voice of the manufacturers (or “job providers”) heard
inside the Beltway. That voice is saying: “Stop signing free trade agreements that close our plants
and cause the loss of even more jobs.”

Kissell is unique in his keen understanding of what’s at stake: “No brand is better than Made
in the USA, and I will work to defeat any trade deal that offshores American jobs and hinders our
ability to better export our top-of-the-line goods. The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement uses the
same flawed model of CAFTA and NAFTA, and simply isn’t right for the people of my district. I was
glad to hear directly from these industry leaders on what will best help them increase their
exports and create more American jobs.” 

Said Rich Lippert, a member of the group from Glen Raven Technical Fabrics, LLC: “Working
with USIFI to meet with the elected officials has helped our company convey the importance of
defeating the Free Trade Agreement. Ultimately KORUS is not ‘free’ and if passed as written, will
mean the loss of jobs, not the creation of jobs.”

The USIFI group’s secondary message to Congressional leaders concerned the erosion of parts
of the Berry Amendment. Work is being done to ensure that language will be inserted into the law
which defines components of military spec tents. This effort is similar to the 2006 Berry Amendment
change in which the military uniform industry succeeded in spelling out non-textile uniform
components, requiring that these components, too, be domestically sourced.

Several USIFI members had never come to Washington D.C. to advocate for issues, but most of
the group was familiar with the process. USIFI designated “rovers” (experienced Hill people) to
help the newcomers, and according to Ehmke Manufacturing CEO Bob Rosania, “USIFI’s Lobby Days gave
us the unique experience of interacting directly with the Members of Congress whose votes have a
direct impact on our industry and businesses.”

USIFI member companies also joined representatives from the American Manufacturing Trade
Action Coalition (AMTAC) for a meeting to discuss the pending legislation important to the textile
and manufacturing industries, including both groups’ opposition of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade
Agreement; as well as their support of H.R. 679, the Berry Amendment Extension Act, which Kissell
reintroduced in January. The bill would permanently require the Department of Homeland Security and
all of its agencies to purchase and procure textiles made entirely in America.

“We were happy to start the day off by meeting with Congressman Kissell, a champion of U.S.
manufacturing, especially on issues that impact the U.S. textile industry,” said Auggie Tantillo,
Executive Director of AMTAC. “He is leading the fight in Congress to stop these bad trade deals
from devastating our manufacturing sector, and understands the importance of protecting American
workers. This Korean Free Trade Agreement will further jeopardize jobs and harm American companies,
and we’ll continue to do all we can to stop this unfair deal.”

USIFI’s Executive Director Ruth Stephens stresses the important impact her group’s
face-to-face meetings have: “It continues to be apparent that USIFI is a strong voice for the
industrial fabrics industry in Washington and that more can be done to educate and update the
government about this market segment. USIFI encourages its member companies to meet regularly with
their congressional representation. Legislators are willing to listen and are very approachable.”

USIFI has also engaged in a petition-signing drive to alert legislators to the negative
impact of KORUS and Representatives Howard Coble and Larry Kissell have circulated a letter to
their colleagues in Congress.

Jean Lineberger, General Manager, Brawer Technical Yarns, explained why she was participating
in USIFI’s march up the Hill: “A genuine life lesson is that we should all always take a stand on
issues that are important to us. Being a part of Lobby Days was the best possible way to
proactively show support for our industry, U.S. manufacturing, and engaging in the political
process.”

Graniteville Specialty Fabrics President James Egan says that the specialty fabrics industry
has been a victim of Washington’s trade negotiations because of a lack of awareness and
understanding of what the American industrial fabrics and technical textiles companies manufacture.
“The specialty textile industry can compete with anyone provided we have a level playing field. It
is our responsibility as leaders of the industry to educate, communicate, and fight,” Egan said.

With luck Congress and the White House will get the message and read the fine print before
signing off on the KORUS trade agreement before more U.S. specialty fabrics industry jobs are
bartered away in yet another zero sum game in the name of free trade.

Posted on April 26, 2011

ARLINGTON, Va. — April 20, 2011 — WRAP announces to exhibit at Texprocess, a leading international
trade fair for the garment-manufacturing and textile-processing industry, in Frankfurt, Germany,
May 24-27, 2011. The international market leaders will present the latest machines, plant,
processes and services for the garment and textile processing industry at the event. 

WRAP will attend Texprocess as the world’s largest facility-based social and environmental
compliance certification and training program. The WRAP booth will be located in the Hall 6.0A at
the stand 66 in the Sourcing area. WRAP President and CEO Steve Jesseph, Compliance Certification
Manager Hong Mei, and Compliance Coordinator Anthony P. de Lima will represent the organization at
the exhibition. 

On May 26, WRAP President and CEO Steve Jesseph will also give a presentation titled
“Creating a Sustainable Supply Chain” at the Texprocess Forum. The Texprocess Forum will consist of
a series of presentations given by industry leaders with expertise in sourcing, sustainability and
social standards. As more and more buyers and consumers are interested in socially and
environmentally compliant products, it is necessary for manufacturers to understand the importance
of sustainable supply chain in the global context.

Posted on April 20, 2011

Source: WRAP

For quite a long time, China has been accused of being one of the biggest polluters of the earth.
Even so, many Western countries haven’t cared enough about the environment. However, the situation
in China is critical; the country is still one of the top polluters in the world, and it ranks
first in the production of carbon emissions.

But attitudes have changed among the leaders in China. They’ve recognized that taking care of
the environment and the natural resources is first of all necessary for survival: The drinking
water supply is diminishing, the air is polluted, and energy costs are soaring.

The 12th Five-year Plan

Addressing the participants at the National People’s Congress last month in Beijing, China’s
President Hu Jintao mentioned the need to further strengthen the activities for a better
environment. Apart from other targets, Hu said, “China will make great efforts to participate in
global economic governance and regional cooperation.”

But even more important in this context was his comment related to the environment: “In the
next five years,” Hu said, “China will make great efforts to build a resource-conserving and
environment-friendly society. We will further implement the basic state policy of resource
conservation and environment protection, raise energy efficiency, cut the intensity of greenhouse
gas emissions, develop a circular economy, promote wider application of low-carbon technologies,
and actively respond to climate change. By doing so, we hope to balance economic and social
development with population, resources and the environment, and embark on a path of sustainable
development.”

Further to this statement, the Chinese government is committed to increasing green
technology. Premier Wen Jiabao stated openly in his annual address to the National People’s
Congress that China “will actively promote changes in the way energy is produced and used and raise
energy efficiency” by implementing the cleanest use of traditional energy sources but also by
developing clean energy.

Green Development

China’s five-year plan for economic and social development also calls for green development.
This is a clear sign that the country plans to be a world leader in this sector. A senior adviser
on climate and energy for the Natural Resources Defense Council in China said that the language of
the five-year plan is clear, requiring the Chinese people to improve their energy efficiency and
establish so-called “green development goals.”

Success for Andritz Perfojet

INDEX 2011, which took place April 12-15 at the Geneva Palexpo Exhibition & Congress
Centre in Switzerland, was organized under the slogan “Innovation and Sustainability.” In a few
words, one can say that the show was a success for visitors, but even more for the exhibitors. Many
exhibitors reported high numbers of highly qualified visitors. And among the visitors were people
from all over the world, including China.

The readers of the Rupp Report know that France-based Rieter Perfojet was acquired by the
Austrian holding company Andritz and is now named Andritz Perfojet S.a.s. And the close
collaboration with its sister company Andritz Küsters is starting to be successful: At INDEX, the
management from Andritz Perfojet announced sales of the largest spunlaced machinery ever built: a
660-centimeter-wide SPUNjet® system, sold to the BG Group from Shanghai for its BG Filter business.
For years, spunlace technology was used mainly for lightweight, 20-to-80-grams-per-square-meter
(g/m2) nonwovens. BG Group Board Chairman Liu Shuping told the Rupp Report that the main end
products to be manufactured are geotextiles, roofing substrates and filtration with a fabric weight
ranging from 200 to 300 g/m2.

This is no surprise. The BG Group is a large group of companies focusing on environmental
protection in general and on the research of solid, air and liquid separation in particular; but
also on air control and liquid filtration material including its production. The group has focused
on these targets now for more than 20 years, and its annual production totals more than 30 million
square meters, which makes it the largest manufacturer for filtration material and nonwovens in
China.

Combine Economy And Ecology

And what are the main reasons Liu gives for following this strategy? “We combine economy and
ecology for the benefit of the country and our company.” This is exactly in line with what China’s
President Hu Jintao said in his welcome address at the National People’s Congress: the need to
further strengthen activities to promote a better environment. What a good start for Andritz
Perfojet and the BG Group.

April 19, 2011

Singapore-based Huntsman Textile Effects has introduced the TERASIL® FF range of fluorescent
disperse dyes. Terasil Flavine 10GFF, Red GFF and Red 3BFF are designed to be used for personal
protective equipment and workwear, for which they fulfill EN 471 and ANSI/ISEA107-2010 safety
requirements; or to be combined with Terasil brilliant disperse dyes to achieve luminous fashion
shades for high-visibility sports and leisure wear, for which they meet the EN 1150 standard for
high visibility. Huntsman reports the Terasil FF dyes exhibit high lightfastness and washfastness
and are compatible with effects including stain- and moisture-management, flame-retardant,
antistatic, comfort with softness, and easy-care.

April 19, 2011

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co. reports that during 2010, its use of EcoLon® material for
cylinder head covers in automobiles has kept more than 4.1 million pounds of carpet from being sent
to landfills and has reduced oil consumption by more than 430,000 gallons. EcoLon is a nylon resin
made from 100-percent post-consumer recycled carpet and manufactured by Wellman Engineering Resins
(WellmanER), Johnsonville, S.C.

WellmanER grinds used nylon carpeting into fiber and recaptures the material through a
patented, proprietary process to create EcoLon. Dana Holding Corp. — a Maumee, Ohio-based supplier
to global automotive, commercial, and off-highway vehicle customers — then molds it into cylinder
head covers using an injection-molding process. According to Ford, the cover, which is used in the
company’s Escape, Fusion, Mustang and F-150 vehicles, is the first automotive product of its kind
manufactured from post-consumer recycled nylon.

“We didn’t have to make compromises for this application,” said Roy Ford, Ford engine sealing
supervisor. “With a fixed raw material cost that delivers cost savings compared to oil, along with
the green benefit, this application adds to the ways Ford is minimizing our impact on the
environment.”

Ford recently has begun using more non-metal recycled and biobased materials in its vehicles,
including soy foam seat cushions, recycled resins for underbody systems, recycled yarns in seat
covers, recycled denim for sound-dampening material, and natural-fiber plastic for interior
components.

April 19, 2011