Winston-Salem, N.C.-based apparel manufacturer Hanesbrands Inc. has agreed to acquire Lenexa,
Kan.-based GearCo. Inc., also known as Gear For Sports — a seller of embellished licensed logo
apparel to college bookstores under several brand names including Hanesbrands’ Champion label —
for $55 million. The purchase is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“This acquisition will create great value and immediately add to our growth momentum,” said
Richard A. Noll, chairman and CEO, Hanesbrands. “We have significant growth synergies in both the
collegiate bookstore channel and our existing retail channels and can take advantage of our
low-cost global supply chain. This acquisition is an excellent way to leverage the growth platform
we have just built and create value for our shareholders.”

The acquisition is part of Hanesbrands’ strategy to create stronger branded businesses in its
Outerwear Segment. Following its purchase of Gear For Sports, 20 to 25 percent of the company’s
Outerwear Segment sales will be graphic apparel.

“Gear For Sports is a graphic apparel powerhouse with a phenomenal team,” said William J.
Nitakis, president and COO, Hanesbrands. “Together we have tremendous opportunities to expand,
drive growth and take market share.”

Gear For Sports’ senior management will continue to run the company, and the administrative,
operational, production and sales structure will remain the same, with the business continuing to
operate out of its Lenexa office.

August 17, 2010

The Haiti Apparel Center (HAC) officially opened last week in the SONAPI industrial park in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to provide professional training for workers in the country’s garment
industry. The center, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is located
in a 6,000-square-meter facility made available by the Government of Haiti and refurbished and
operated by Silver Spring, Md.-based international development organization CHF International, and
has implemented a six-week training program developed by Cary, N.C.-based Textile/Clothing
Technology Corp. ([TC]
²).

HAC will train more than 2,000 workers annually for positions ranging from sewing machine
operators to mechanics to quality-control supervisors, providing skilled workers to an industry
that had been shrinking even prior to the January 2010 earthquake that devastated the country. In
addition, senior managers, factory owners and business leaders may attend executive seminars
offered by the center. According to [TC]
², the professional training program was initiated in the summer of 2009 for the
training of sewing machine operators. USAID reports that more than 50 operators and 13 operator
trainers have completed the program to date.

According to USAID, the center will help Haiti take full advantage of the Haitian Economic
Lift Program (HELP) Act, under which the country’s exports, including apparel, have expanded access
to U.S. markets. HELP also provides support for the rebuilding of Haiti’s apparel industry —
including building renovations, machinery replacement and professional training — which will cost
an estimated $38 million, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

“The apparel center promotes economic recovery and long-term growth and helps Haiti tap into
the tremendous potential of the garment industry,” said Paul Weisenfeld, coordinator of USAID’s
Haiti Task Team. “It will provide opportunities to improve the lives of thousands by increasing job
skills and enabling Haitians to earn more. In the last 30 years, the number of skilled garment
workers in Haiti has dramatically declined, but we hope to reverse that trend.”

August 17, 2010

Portland, Ore.- and Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NAT) — a
developer of technology to process bast fibers including industrial hemp for use in a range of
applications — has signed a 10-month sublease of a Kingstree, S.C., facility that it will use as a
pilot scale-up flax fiber facility to perform decortication of CRAiLAR® Organic Fibers. The
40,000-square-foot facility — originally set up to process flax fiber under a U.S. Department of
Agriculture initiative — is located near 300 acres of land dedicated to fiber-flax cultivation,
where NAT will conduct fiber-flax-growing trials starting in October.

“Having a facility in the USA that we operate and manage for the dry process or decortication
of our Crailar Organic Fibers brings the entire patented Crailar process together under NAT
control, enabling us to manage our process entirely,” said Ken Barker, CEO, NAT. “As well, the
opportunity to conduct full scale flax trials furthers our vision of utilizing a variety of bast
fibers as the foundation for Crailar and its multiple principal uses.”

August 17, 2010

WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, PA — August 2010 — After completing an update of ASTM D123, Terminology
Relating to Textiles, members of ASTM Subcommittee D13.92 on Terminology decided that the
information contained in the annexes was sufficiently important to merit being in a separate
standard. The new standard, ASTM D7641, Guide for Textile Fibers, has now been published, and it
provides a comprehensive guide to a large variety of fibers used to manufacture many textile
products. Subcommittee D13.92 on Terminology is under the jurisdiction of ASTM International
Committee D13 on Textiles.

“ASTM D7641 is intended to be a useful resource for designers, buyers, test laboratories,
educators, students and regulators,” says Vincent Diaz, Atlantic Thread and Supply Co., and a D13
member. Diaz notes the following information is typical of what can be found in ASTM D7641:

–  Bear grass is a hard leaf fiber grown in the southwest United States and Mexico.

–  Pineapple fiber is a fine leaf fiber grown in the Philippines.

–  Fox hair can be used to make soft brushes.

–  PLA is a manufactured fiber that is derived from naturally occurring sugars.

“This new standard is a valuable reference that can help readers improve their understanding
about the relationship between commercial names, fiber identification and the geographical regions
of fiber origins,” says Diaz.

To purchase ASTM standards, visit
www.astm.org and search by the standard designation number, or
contact ASTM Customer Relations (phone: 610-832-9585;
service@astm.org).  ASTM International welcomes and
encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an
ASTM member, visit
www.astm.org/JOIN.

Posted on August 17, 2010

Press Release Courtesy of ASTM International

NEW SOUTH Wales, Australia — August 13, 2010 — The unique Sheep to Shelf ® (S2S) traceability
programme offered by The Merino Company (TMC) since 2006, provides complete transparency and
traceability and guarantees the integrity of the fibre throughout the entire supply chain.

Working directly with its Wool Pool Participants, and closely monitoring and managing each
step in the supply chain, TMC provides its global customers with fully certified, transparent and
traceable, quality merino yarn, fabric or garment solutions from Sheep to Shelf ® – traceable right
back to the very farms where the fibre is grown.

Phoebe Croyle, Marketing Manager of TMC said “Whether our customers require certified ceased
or non-mulesed wool, EU Eco-label compliant wool, wool that has been produced on a property which
has implemented a Farm Management Plan or Environmental Management System, or something different
altogether, we can provide complete traceability and certification for each movement of the wool;
from the fibre source, through each manufacturing step, right through to the finished product”.

“Our commitment to maintaining integrity throughout the supply chain, provides our customers
with quality assurance, and provides reassurance to our wool growers that their efforts to
differentiate their wool are recognised and valued right to the end consumer. Such high levels of
transparency and traceability are only possible through the TMC Pools system and our unique
relationships with our wool growers”, continued Ms Croyle.

Details of TMC’s wool growers are recorded, together with their on-farm practices,
certifications, and any additional information required about their properties. TMC then works with
quality driven supply chain partners across the globe including topmakers, spinners, and fabric and
garment manufacturers to provide customers with differentiated natural fibre, textile and apparel
solutions from Sheep to Shelf. Each supply chain partner provides complete transparency and the
necessary certifications which are input into the TMC traceability process.

Taking traceability one step further, TMC can also provide customers with customised web
based traceability programmes, tracing products from Sheep to Shelf. Depending on a customer’s
needs, TMC can engineer a programme designed to their style and specification and once complete,
the programme is then integrated into their website.

One of TMC’s first customers to adopt the Sheep to Shelf® traceability programme was INSTYLE,
a leading Sydney interiors textile designer and manufacturer.

Tracy Mak, INSTYLE’s Environmental Manager, said “INSTYLE works closely with TMC, who manage
the early stages of our supply chain. TMC ensure that our EthEco® wool comes from
holistically-managed farms that have ceased mulesing and that the fibre, yarn and final products
meet our LIFE Textiles® specifications. Working with TMC provides assurance for us, as the whole
system is traceable, and also provides our customer’s assurance through our ‘FARM TO FABRIC’ web
based traceability programme”.

Posted on August 17, 2010

Press Release Courtesy of The Merino Company

Legislation giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection expanded authority and funding to combat
textile import fraud has been introduced in the Senate. It is a companion measure to the Textile
Enforcement and Security Act that is pending in the House with 25 co-sponsors.

As the bill was introduced by Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., David
Hastings, chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations, said the measure “will send a
clear message that the U.S. government will not allow fraudulent activity on imported textile and
apparel goods to continue.”

The House and Senate bills include provisions that would establish an electronic verification
system for textile and apparel imports; allow the Department of Homeland Security to use fines and
penalties to help pay for investigations and training, increase the staff at high-volume ports for
textiles and apparel, and establish a program to ensure that resident agents are held accountable
for products imported under their name.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection currently collects more than $25 billion in duties
annually, and more than 42 percent of the duties are collected on textile and apparel imports. In
spite of this, textile manufacturers contend that many imports are entering this country
undervalued for customs purposes, and there continues to be a problem with illegal transshipments,
particularly through countries with which the United States has preferential trade agreements.

August 10, 2010

The Rupp Report had the chance to talk to Paul Hulme, president of Huntsman Textile Effects,
Singapore. In a short period of time, Huntsman Textile Effects has become one of the global players
in textile dyestuffs and chemistry. Huntsman today has more than 11,000 employees and operates from
multiple locations worldwide. The company had 2009 revenues of approximately $8 billion.

Paul Hulme, an Englishman, is a chartered accountant with a business studies degree from the
University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Prior to leading Huntsman Textile Effects, he was
president of Materials & Effects. Paul Hulme is a dedicated golfer and squash player. He and
his wife, Julie, have two daughters.

Growing Markets

The current market situation as seen by Hulme is that globally, the textiles market continues
to grow, which makes it a very interesting and exciting market for Huntsman. “Clearly, this growth
is driven from Asia, so since acquiring the Textile Effects business, we have worked hard to adapt
our structure in order to serve our markets and our customers better,” he said. “Of course, the
financial crisis affected demand in all markets, but there are clear signs that demand is
increasing again. Even before the crisis, there was ongoing consolidation within the dye and
chemical supply base. Large competitors struggled or even went bankrupt. We have taken some tough
measures to bring our business to where it is today, and now we are ready to take on the
opportunities the market presents.”

Hulme

Get Out Of The Crisis

“As a supplier to many key markets, all divisions of Huntsman Corp. were affected by the
crisis,” Hulme continued. “However, thanks to a strong balance sheet and adjusting quickly to the
market, we are now emerging stronger than before. As an integral part of the corporation, Textile
Effects plays its part in making Huntsman a successful corporation. The textiles market is very
interesting for us due to the growth rate expected in the coming years. Our strategic business
units of Apparel and Home Textiles (AHT) and Specialty Textiles (ST) are aligned to our selected
markets to respond to challenges arising from the ongoing market development.”

He went on to say: “As we have a global manufacturing footprint, our aim is to utilize our
strengths to meet customer needs and better serve our selected markets. Sophisticated synthesized
products are generally made in one location in order to optimize processing and guarantee quality
and, of course, safety standards. Less complex products may then be made in multiple locations to
be capable of increased flexibility but still to the same global standards of quality and safety.”



Information Exchange

“Listening to the customer’s needs is central to our strategy, and drives not only the supply
and distribution activities, but, possibly more importantly, our innovation focus,” Hulme said.
“Our aim is to be quick, flexible and responsive to the dynamic market that our customers are
facing, which should form the basis for a long-lasting business relationship. Leaving the economic
turmoil of the past 18 months, being close to our customers is more important than ever before.
Globally, we have already conducted customer events in our key markets this year to inform them
about our innovations and, of course, listen to their concerns.”

Research And Development

According to Hulme, innovation is a strong tradition of the Textile Effects business and is a
key element in Huntsman’s strategy. The company holds approximately 1,100 patents and introduced
more than 30 new products to the market last year. This year, Hulme said, Huntsman will exceed that
number.

“The key priority is focusing on what the market needs whilst anticipating future trends,” he
said. “For example, there is a huge focus in the textile industry today on sustainability in terms
of reducing environmental impact. We are very well-placed to meet this requirement, but, of course,
the work started some years ago, and our research and technology teams are already working on the
next generation of products to meet tomorrow’s needs.”

New Products In The Pipeline

This year, Huntsman will launch more than 30 new products. Hulme says the focus in 2010 is to
help the textile industry meet the increasing demand for products and processes with lower
environmental impact. “We have some developments particularly in the areas of stain management to
keep apparel cleaner for longer and reduce the need for laundering and reactive dyes for cotton to
help reduce the amount of water and energy during processing,” he explained.

Market Position

Asked abut Huntsman Textile Effects’ position in the markets, Hulme said: “We are well-placed
to take advantage of the current focus on sustainability, and we have some very exciting
developments over the coming months that will allow a quantum leap in processing of cotton. We are
pleased with our achievements, but, of course, have clear targets [regarding] how we want to grow
our business. Our customers expect innovative solutions to the market demands. To deliver these, we
need to have the capability to develop the required products and processes. As mentioned above, we
have around 1,100 patents and launch many new products each year. However, we go further by
supporting our customers within their own operations to optimize the ways in which our products are
used, which we do via our regional technical resource teams.”

Outlook

 “It is clear that the world’s focus is very heavily on environmental matters, which is
definitely a big change from 10 years ago,” Hulme said. “This helps a company like Huntsman, as
many of our investments in technology over recent years have been geared towards delivering
sustainable products and processes. Some trends will clearly continue, such as the growth in
manufacturing in Asia and the focus on sustainability. Pressure will remain on costs, and lead
times will continue to shorten, meaning the success of supply chain systems will be critical. There
is likely to be ongoing consolidation and more cooperation and even joint ventures with people
sharing technologies across different end markets.”

Hulme is convinced that the image of Huntsman in the textile world is very positive. “I
believe that partners and customers can trust in Huntsman as their sustainable partner in our
selected markets,” he explained. “The feedback from our customers is positive when it comes to
innovation, quality and technical service. We will continue to strengthen these areas whilst also
working on areas where we need to improve. We are pleased with our achievements, but we have to
constantly review our position and adjust to the needs of the markets.”

To keep its market position, Hulme says it is essential for Huntsman to “keep innovating to
meet the needs of our customers.”



August 10, 2010