Gastonia, N.C.-based Parkdale Mills Inc. will close its plant in Rockford, Ala., in January 2008
and move that plant’s production, which comprises cotton yarns for bottomweight applications, to
other company facilities. According to John Nims, who heads the company’s manufacturing and
personnel operations, the market served by the Rockford facility has been shrinking and is
projected to continue to contract, and power costs at the plant are higher than at other Parkdale
plants.

The Rockford facility is one of three — the others being a plant in nearby Alexander City,
Ala., and another in Graniteville, S.C. — Parkdale purchased last year from Avondale Mills Inc.
after the Monroe, Ga.-based textile manufacturer went out of business
(See “Parkdale To Purchase Three Avondale Plants,”
www.TextileWorld.com,
June 30, 2006). Nims said Parkdale made considerable investments in its newly acquired plants,
but those investments at Rockdale were not balanced by sustained demand and could not negate the
higher operational costs.

Nims said the approximately 80 employees impacted by the shutdown are being offered positions
at other Parkdale facilities, including its Alexander City plant, where the company has frozen
hiring in anticipation of adding displaced Rockford employees. That plant produces combed cotton
for export and currently employs 120 workers.

December 4, 2007

An affiliate of Performance Fibers Holdings Inc. — a Richmond, Va.-based affiliate of Sun Capital
Partners Inc. and manufacturer of engineered fabrics, high-tenacity polyester fibers, sewing thread
fibers and advanced materials — recently signed an agreement with Wichita, Kan.-based Invista
whereby Performance Fibers will acquire the North American tire cord and polyester industrial
filament businesses of Invista S.á.r.l. and its affiliates.

The acquisition, expected to become final in the next several months, includes manufacturing
facilities in Winnsboro, S.C., and Salisbury and Shelly, N.C.; as well as industrial nylon 6,
industrial polyester and tire cord fabric-producing assets currently operating at an Invista
facility in Querétaro, Mexico.

The deal will enable Performance Fibers to add nylon 6 fibers and fabrics to its product
line, and expand its core polyester offerings with additional industrial polyester sewing thread
fibers.

“This planned acquisition will enable us to offer a broader range of fibers and fabrics in
the Americas and provide customers in this region with a local supply source, while strengthening
our global product portfolio and enhancing our research and development capabilities,” said Greg
Rogowski, president and CEO, Performance Fibers. “It is consistent with our strategic growth plan
to focus on key segments and emphasizes our ongoing commitment to business in North America.”

The company, which has worked with Sun Capital to expand through strategic acquisitions,
purchased Invista Resins and Fibers GmbH’s Germany-based polyester yarn business in August 2006.

December 4, 2007

Fall River, Mass.-based Victor Innovative Textiles LLC — created in September through Canada-based
parent company Victor Innovatex Inc.’s purchase of Quaker Fabric Corp. assets — is debuting new
fabric lines at the Showtime™ Fabric Market being held this week in High Point, N.C.

The Whitaker collection is an upscale line of fabrics that include a mix of rayon, cotton
chenille, soft bouclé and spun yarns, offered in one-of-a-kind designs and sophisticated textures.
Colors range from soft neutrals to vibrant palettes.

The Terrazzo indoor/outdoor performance fabrics consist of a mix of chenille and soft bouclé
yarns made from solution-dyed outdoor-grade acrylic. Colors include Kiwi, Mango, Pina Colada and
Surf.

“We are very excited to be displaying at our first Showtime Fabric Market,” said Alain Duval,
president and CEO, Victor Innovative Textiles. “Our new manufacturing facility in the United States
allows us to capitalize on our legacy of innovation and bring compelling fabric solutions to the
home furnishings market.”

December 4, 2007

Cotton Incorporated, Cary, N.C., and Cotton Council International, Washington, recently sponsored
the Cotton Incorporated Global Denim Event 2007 at the Regent Shanghai hotel in Shanghai. More than
200 guests, including textile company and denim brand representatives from companies in the United
States, South America, China, Germany and Italy, attended the event.

“Cotton Incorporated has been hosting international cotton denim events since the mid-1980s,”
said J. Berrye Worsham, president and CEO, Cotton Incorporated. “This year, Cotton Incorporated has
partnered with Cotton Council International to create this important global event. By expanding
this event internationally, we recognize the ever-changing and expanding landscape of textile
partners.”

Xu Wenying, president, China Cotton Textile Association, and Dr. Li Yi, a professor at Hong
Kong Polytechnic University, kicked off the event with a discussion titled “Expanding Your Denim
Business,” in which other members of the denim textile and apparel industries shared their views on
the development of the denim market. Additional presentation topics included insights into key
denim markets around the world, denim innovations, sustainability strategies related to denim’s
environmental footprint and global market perspectives.

The World of Denim exhibition presented denim innovations and technologies including Cotton
Incorporated’s Storm Denim™ — a technology that combines wind-resistance and water repellency with
cotton’s breathability — and Stay True Cotton™ — a technology that helps indigo-tinted and dyed
denim retain its original color longer.



December 4, 2007

Preliminary findings in tests conducted by Philadelphia University’s recently established Institute
for Textile and Apparel Product Safety (ITAPS) indicate the presence of hazardous chemicals in
samples of imported children’s apparel and car seats.

Elevated levels of formaldehyde, used to provide permanent press attributes, were found in
blouses and khaki pants; while brominated resins — used to provide flame retardancy to consumer
products such as car seats, mattresses and others — were found in high levels in the car seats.

“Although we are still in the preliminary stages of testing, we are concerned that the levels
of formaldehyde and brominated flame retardants we are starting to find are known to have health
consequences, especially for children,” said Dr. David Brookstein, ITAPS director.

ITAPS was established to conduct research and develop testing and evaluation protocols to use
in determining the presence of potentially toxic chemicals and identifying specific chemicals and
their levels of use in imported apparel and other textile products.

According to the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, global imports
of textiles and apparel into the United States totaled more than $93 billion in the year ending
July 31, 2007.



December 4, 2007

The Burlington Labs division of Burlington WorldWide (BWW) — a business unit of Greensboro,
N.C.-based International Textile Group Inc. (ITG) — has announced the debut of BWW’s Easy WOOL™
washable 100-percent worsted wool fabric line targeted for trousers and suitings.

According to Pete Baumann, vice president of merchandising, Easy Wool fabrics retain their
look, shape and feel through 25 washings and dryings; and the hand improves after each washing. In
addition, he said, the fabrics provide an environmentally responsible and economical alternative to
wool fabrics that must be dry cleaned using harsh chemicals; and they are preferable to superwash
wools from a sustainability standpoint because the wool does not go through a descaling process,
which requires the use of chlorine.

“The technology involves a combination of yarn formation, fabric construction and
nanotechnology,” Baumann said. “The nanotechnology is part of the finishing process, which will
allow the fabric to stay within 3.5-percent maximum shrinkage after 25 washes, and most of the
fabrics perform well under that — shrinking no more than 3 or even 2.5 percent.”

Easy Wool, which is included in BWW’s Easy Care Collection of washable wools, joins Cocona™
wool with activated carbon derived from coconut shells and Invisible Barrier™ stain-repellent
fabrics in the company’s portfolio of innovative wool fabrics. BWW manufactures the new line at its
plant in Mexico and expects also to transfer the technology to ITG’s sister company, OCM India —a
cquired earlier this year by ITG owner, WL Ross & Co. LLC, New York City — for production for
the Spring 2009 season.



December 4, 2007

West Conshohocken, Pa.-based ASTM International’s Subcommittee F23.70 on Radiological Hazards —
part of ASTM International Committee F23 on Protective Clothing — is developing a new inspection
standard targeted to healthcare workers who inspect radiation protection garments.

ASTM International Standard WK15823, Practice for the Fluoroscopic Inspection of Radiation
Protection Garments, will provide healthcare workers, radiation safety officers and managers
responsible for inspection programs with a specific method — including acceptance or rejection
criteria — for inspecting these types of garments.

The subcommittee has formed a task group to help develop the new standard, and is
specifically looking for the involvement of radiological healthcare professionals. For more
information, contact Gary Glenn, Golden Gate Medical Supplies LLC, (415) 234-6217;
goldengatemedical@gmail.com.

December 4, 2007

Beginning in April 2008, the technical center at Austria-based SML Maschinengesellschaft mbH will
make a new sleeve touch co-extrusion line available to customers for conducting trials for a wide
range of products and applications using their own raw materials.

The pilot plant will feature a five-layer feedblock attached to three extruders, resulting in
an output of 425 kilograms per hour (kg/hr) for polypropylene, 380 kg/hr for polycarbonate and 600
kg/hr for amorphous polyethylene/polyethylene terephthalate glycol; and 1,050-millimeter-wide
rollers on downstream equipment. It also can be fitted with a sleeve touch system, coating module,
calender roller or airknife. The addition of a haul off unit will enable in-line lamination.

The line can achieve speeds of up to 100 meters per minute for production of thin sheet or
coating applications by utilizing the fully automatic winder series 1100, including robot bobbin
handling. It also can produce part bobbins using friction winding shafts.

Additional features include: a degassing extruder, which eliminates the need for preliminary
granulate drying; and high-temperature calendering rollers to enable the manufacture of
polycarbonate and cyclic olefin copolymer sheet for optical applications.

December 4, 2007

Australian Wool Services Ltd. (AWS) held its final annual general meeting last week, following the
sale in October of its Woolmark Co. assets and related brands, trademarks and licensing businesses
to Australian Wool Innovation.

Company shareholders voted to re-elect Board of Directors Chairman Barry Walker and Deputy
Chairman John Patten. They also elected Dr. Ian Hilton to the board, and voted to change AWS’s name
to Graziers’ Investment Co. Ltd.

Graziers’ will operate as a funds management business, maintaining the International Wool
Secretariat Pension Fund, the Andar textile machinery business in New Zealand and property in
India. Walker, Patten, Hilton and Director Philip Attard will manage the new company, which will be
run by a small secretariat in Melbourne, Australia.

December 4, 2007