A wide-ranging group of industries, including textile and apparel manufacturers, is mounting an
effort to bring about changes in a new consumer product safety law, which they feel is resulting in
chaos in the marketplace.

The recently enacted Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, designed to address problems
with unsafe toys, has been interpreted to cover products ranging from toys and other products used
by children to include textiles and clothing. Kevin Burke, president and CEO of the American
Apparel and Footwear Association, says that while his members support the “good intentions” of the
legislation, its coverage and deadlines are a threat to the apparel industry. He charges that the
legislation has “unrealistic timelines, rigid statutory language, no-risk-based safety approaches
and unclear guidance for the Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC].”

Burke has outlined four key issues that he believes need to be addressed including:

•    elimination of retroactive application of product safety standards;

•    the need for the commission to move quickly to make pending
determinations on textiles and other products that do not contain lead, and for Congress to grant
the CPSC authority to make “commonsense determinations” to ease the testing burden;

•    the need for CPSC and Congress need to accredit more testing agencies and
revise testing mandates that currently are redundant and costly; and

•    the need to delay effective dates for the new standards and requirements
until full regulations are developed and guidelines published.

Burke says that at this time, manufacturers and retailers are having to develop their own
guidelines and guessing as to what the regulations actually are.

Following a recent Washington rally of interested parties and members of Congress, Rep. Joe
Barton, R-Texas, and 16 co-sponsors introduced legislation designed to address these issues. Among
other things, it would establish third-party testing requirements and make the rules covering lead
in products prospective rather than retroactive. It would exclude products for which there clearly
is no problem with lead content, which textile and apparel manufacturers contend is the case with
their products. It also would grant CPSC authority to waive tracking and labeling of products that
are not considered dangerous.

April 14, 2009

The Department of Commerce’s (DOC’s) US Commercial Services Unit has chosen Textile and Sewn
Products Industry Week 2010 — featuring the co-located ATME-I/Megatex, SPESA Expo and Techtextil
North America trade shows — to participate in its International Buyers Program (IBP). The event is
one of only 35 trade events in 2010 selected for IBP.

Exhibitors and attendees of Textile and Sewn Products Industry Week, to be held May 18-20,
2010, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, will have expanded opportunities to meet and
network with international buyers, sales representatives and strategic partners. In addition,
exhibitors’ products and services will be promoted through the Export Interest Directory.
Exhibitors also will have access to international industry-specific trade leads, as well as export
counseling, marketing analysis and matchmaking services.

The US Commercial Services Unit — the trade promotion arm of the DOC’s International Trade
Administration — runs IBP to assist US companies in finding international business opportunities by
recruiting more than 125,000 foreign buyers, trade representatives and distributors worldwide to 35
US trade shows per year.

April 14, 2009

Westfield, N.J.-based QuestaWeb Inc., a provider of Web-based integrated global trade management
(GTM) solutions, has been certified on the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) for the US Customs and
Border Protection’s (CBP) new Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). QuestaWeb is the first vendor
to receive ACE ABI certification, which enables the company to transmit and receive data on
imported merchandise through a direct electronic interface with CBP.

Currently, only customs brokers and importers using QuestaWeb’s TradeMasterQW GTM solution
can benefit from the new compliance system’s benefits, which include improved organized entry
summary filing and response guides; ability to query and electronically override Census warnings; a
new entry summary status notification messaging process; and two-way communication capabilities
between the filer and CBP.

“QuestaWeb is committed to maintaining its position as a leader in the global trade
management field,” said Leon Turetsky, CEO, QuestaWeb. “We were among the first companies to obtain
ABI certification, so it is not at all surprising that we would be the first to achieve ACE ABI
certification. While the testing process was demanding, certification brings untold business
benefits to our customers and was well worth the effort. By being on the leading edge of GTM
technology, QuestaWeb continues to a deliver distinct business advantage to its customers.”

April 14, 2009

Delano, Minn.-based chemical manufacturer EasiWay Systems Inc. has added a one-step screen
wash/emulsion reclaimer to its product line. EasiStrip Supra™ One Step Ink Cleaner and Emulsion
Remover is a low-odor, nonflammable, biodegradable, non-hazardous product that, according to
EasiWay, exceeds the performance and efficiency of existing one-step reclaimers in dip tanks and
automatic machinery, and in manual textile screen reclaimation. The company also reports that Supra
is less expensive and easier to use than similar conventional products. Supra is packaged in
quarts, gallons, 5-gallon pails and 55-gallon drums, and is designed to be mixed with water in a
dip tank in a ratio of 1 part chemical to 6 parts water.

April 14, 2009

Wilmington, Del.-based Optimer Brands has completed testing and certification of non-museled wool
sources for use in its Dri-release® wool yarns featuring FreshGuard® moisture-management and
odor-eliminating technology. Museling — an invasive and reportedly painful procedure performed on
merino sheep in parts of Australia to prevent insect infestations — has become a subject of public
debate concerning humane practices in raising sheep.

 

“A lot of wool is purchased through co-ops or comes from various origins that cannot be
certified,” said Karen Deniz, director of marketing, Dri-release. “Though limited so far, we have
been able to identify the chain of sourcing through our spinners in order to offer the alternative
of non-museled wool.”

In other company news, Luxemburg-based Chemservice S.A. — an independent regulatory affairs
service — has certified Optimer’s Dri-release with FreshGuard to be compliant with Registration,
Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), a European community regulation
covering chemicals and their safe use.

“We knew Dri-release and FreshGuard were safe, but wanted to go the extra mile and have it
checked so our customers that market in the European Union could be assured of REACH compliance,”
Deniz said.

April 14, 2009

According to the Organic Cotton Market Report 2007-2008 released by Lubbock, Texas-based non-profit
organization Organic Exchange (OE), global retail sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile
products reached an estimated $3.2 billion in 2008, a 63-percent increase over the $1.9-billion
market in 2007. Organic production is based on a farming system that maintains and replenishes soil
fertility without using toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers or genetically modified
seeds.

The top 10 organic cotton-using brands and retailers globally were: Bentonville, Ark.-based
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; Belgium-based C&A; Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc.; England-based
H&M; Spain-based Zara; New York City-based Anvil Knitwear Inc.; Switzerland-based Coop Group;
San Francisco-based Pottery Barn; Renton, Wash.-based Greensource Organic; and Germany-based Hess
Natur.

Despite the current economic downturn, most brands and retailers selling organic cotton
products are continuing their sustainability measures, with plans to expand product lines 24
percent and 33 percent in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to create an estimated $4 billion market in
2009 and a $5.3 billion market in 2010.

“It is a sign of the times that despite ominous financial forecasts, brands and retailers
are standing fast to their commitment to making their product lines more sustainable by ever
increasing their use of organic cotton and other organic fibers such as wool, linen, and silk,”
said LaRhea Pepper, senior director, OE.

According to OE’s Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report 2008, the amount of organic cotton
grown by farmers globally in 2007/08 increased by 152 percent. The organization also noted that
during 2008, certified organic cotton fiber suppliers increased by 95 percent – compared with
annual growth rates of 45 percent in 2006 and 53 percent in 2007.



April 7, 2009