Gildan To Restructure US Sock, Canadian Textile Distribution Operations

In an effort to remain
cost-competitive in the global marketplace, Gildan Activewear Inc., Montreal, reports it soon will
close and downsize textile and hosiery facilities in Canada and the United States, resulting in the
loss of approximately 540 jobs. The company plans to shift production capacity to its offshore
facilities in Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

During the next three to four months, the company will close and downsize its sock
production operations in Mount Airy, N.C., and Hillsville, Va., impacting approximately 335
employees in total. In December 2006, Gildan will shutter its Canadian textile manufacturing plant
in Valleyfield, Quebec, resulting in downsizing at its knitting facility in Montreal, Quebec. Those
actions will affect approximately 155 and 50 employees at the Valleyfield and Montreal locations,
respectively.

In addition, the closure of a Montreal distribution center at the end of October 2006 will
result in the elimination of six jobs. The company will outsource distribution operations in Canada
to a third-party logistics partner.

Gildan has pledged to “make every effort to alleviate the impact of this transition for the
employees whose positions are eliminated.”

The branded basic apparel manufacturer and marketer’s recent offshore investments include
the expansion of its manufacturing complex in Honduras, including the addition of a large-scale
athletic sock facility; as well as the establishment of a new textile plant in the Dominican
Republic. The company recently reduced production and cut more than 60 jobs at plants in Quebec and
Bombay, N.Y., as part of a strategy to grow large-scale basic T-shirt production in the Dominican
Republic and Honduras.

October 3, 2006

Congress Defers Trade Bill Action

An omnibus trade bill strongly
opposed by US textile manufacturers was pulled from the House of Representatives calendar last week
as Congress took a recess until after the November elections. It is uncertain at this time if the
bill will be offered again when Congress returns for a brief session November 13.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee, covered a number of trade issues affecting textile trade. It would extend until 2008
special treatment of textile and apparel imports from sub-Saharan African nations; it would grant a
liberal tariff preference level (TPL) to imports from Haiti, using a value-added approach — which
textile manufacturers contend is unenforceable and would give a tax credit to US companies
investing in facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Textile-state members of the House played a key role in getting the bill removed from the
calendar, as the procedure for considering it would have required a two-thirds majority vote. In
view of the opposition by textile state members, the leadership did not believe it had sufficient
votes to win passage.

Cass Johnson, president of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations,
whose members are strongly opposed to the bill, says the TPLs will benefit China at the expense of
the countries that have preferential trade agreements with the United States.

October 3, 2006

Wellman Announces Restructuring Plans

Wellman Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., has
announced plans to restructure its US fiber operations in an effort to improve its operating
results, and reduce overall debt and working capital. As part of the restructuring, the company
will close its fiber production operations in Johnsonville, S.C., and consolidate all US fiber
production operations at its Darlington, S.C.-based Palmetto plant, which has an annual polyester
fiber production capacity of 500 million pounds. Wellman also plans to sell its Material Recycling
Division, a converter of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and production equipment
for its specialty coarse-denier Wellstrand® fiber. The restructuring will result in the loss of
some 300 jobs out of a total 550 positions in Johnsonville, according to Wellman spokesman Michael
Bermish, who added that the company will continue to produce nylon engineering resins in
Johnsonville.

The restructuring is expected to be complete by the end of 2006.

“Consolidating our US fiber production is expected to increase operating income and reduce
working capital,” said Thomas M. Duff, chairman and CEO. “We will be able to operate one fiber
facility at close to full capacity rather than operating two underutilized facilities. This will
allow us to lower our overall costs and remain more competitive in our domestic fiber operations.”

Wellman also is exploring strategic alternatives for its European fiber and PET resin
businesses, according to Duff. “We are reviewing the performance of these businesses and exploring
strategic alternatives with the goal of improving our overall corporate value,” he said.

October 3, 2006

ATHM Plans Exhibit Revamp

The American Textile History Museum
(ATHM), Lowell, Mass., has unveiled plans for the redesign of its “Textiles in America” core
exhibition. The revamped exhibition will include an introductory video and interactive-enhanced
exhibits spanning textile history from pre-industrial to 21st century state-of-the-industry
developments.

Pre-industrial exhibits will include fiber processing, early tool and machinery
demonstrations, a flock of sheep, a cotton field and a general store. Visitors will be able to pet
the sheep, walk through the cotton field and observe the bartering system used to trade goods in
the store.

A technology room in the industrial area will include demonstrations of spinning, knitting
and weaving machinery; and a 1920s- to ‘30s-era tenement house display will show the home life of
mill workers during that time.

New fibers and textiles will be featured in the section depicting the 20th and 21st century
textile industry. Applications illustrated will include apparel, automotive, fire-protective,
geotextiles, home furnishing, industrial, medical, military, space and sports, among others.
Visitors will be able to compare a contemporary lightweight parachute with the heavier parachutes
of the World War II era. Also on display will be a cross-section of an automobile showing all the
various textiles used today in its manufacture.

Construction of the new exhibits is expected to begin in mid-2007. The museum has invited
the public to submit exhibit ideas by e-mail to designideas@athm.org.

October 3, 2006

Senators Back Off On Punitive Chinese Tariffs

Sens. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and
Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., who have been sponsoring legislation that would impose a 27.5-percent
tariff on Chinese imports, have backed off that proposal and say they will seek a less punitive
course of action next year. They took the action in order to give the Bush administration time to
negotiate problems related to China’s currency exchange rate and other trade issues. Many US
manufacturers, including those of textiles, say China’s refusal to raise the value of its yuan
against the dollar amounts to an unfair trade subsidy that is forcing plants to close and wiping
out hundreds of thousands of jobs.

While the senators did not say specifically what approach their new legislation would take,
it is likely to be something along the lines of legislation already introduced in the House and
Senate. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., has introduced a bill that would make manipulation of currency
actionable under US countervailing duty and anti-dumping laws. The bill is similar to one
introduced in the House by Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

The Washington-based American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) has endorsed
those bills, saying they would be a good start toward correcting what the coalition sees as a
number of problems with Chinese trade. “US manufacturing has lost nearly 3 million jobs since 2001,
and currency manipulation is one of the chief reasons why,” said AMTAC Executive Director Auggie
Tantillo. “This legislation gives some industries the right to use US trade law remedies to fight
back.”

With Congress in recess until after the November elections and planning to return for a
lame-duck session following the elections primarily to deal with appropriations, action on the
currency issue will be put off until next year.

October 3, 2006

Vietnam Trade Measure Clears Hurdle

Sens. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., have dropped their opposition to
legislation granting Vietnam permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) in exchange for a commitment
that the US government will use its anti-dumping trade laws to protect the interests of US
manufacturers. The senators had placed a hold on Senate consideration of the legislation in an
effort to ensure that textile manufacturers would not be harmed when quotas are removed from
Vietnamese imports as a result of PNTR.

The senators praised Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and US Trade Representative Susan C.
Schwab for making a commitment for the US government to self-initiate anti-dumping actions against
market-disrupting imports. That commitment is particularly significant because the government in
the past has ruled that US textile manufacturers do not have standing in cases involving apparel
imports. As a result, textile manufacturers had been hampered in their efforts to combat a flood of
Chinese apparel imports, which they say is disrupting the market. So, while the commitment was made
in connection with the Vietnam legislation, they believe it could be applied to China as well.

“The North Carolina textile industry has good reason to be concerned about the PNTR for a
communist country that heavily subsidizes its textile and apparel sector,” Dole said. “I am pleased
that we were able to work with the textile industry and the administration to come up with a
procedure that will allow our industry to defend itself against unfair and harmful trade
practices.” Graham added that the changes will help the textile industry compete and will provide
some protection from unfair trade practices by Vietnam, which he said could have as much of an
impact on the textile industry as Chinese trade.

Cass Johnson, president of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations,
said the action provides the US textile industry with a potent line of defense against unfairly
traded imports of apparel from Vietnam. He said the action establishes an important precedent and
could provide the US industry with a potent weapon in dealing with what the industry says are
unfair trade practices by China as well as Vietnam.

Johnson conceded PNTR for Vietnam would have passed both houses of Congress by the end of the
year by large majorities, and while his organization is still is opposed to it, the governments
commitments will be helpful down the road.

On the other hand, Laura E. Jones, executive director of the New York City-based US
Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, lashed out at the agreement, charging that US
textile manufacturers have been provided an end-run around US trade rules. Criticizing what she
called a secret deal between the senators and administration trade officials, Jones said the United
States has “pulled the rug out from under Vietnam.” She warned that if Vietnam is not shipping
apparel, its number-one export to the United States, “it is not going to be able to afford our
agriculture products and insurance.”



October 3, 2006

Clariant Institutes Global Price Increase

Saying price adjustments were needed
in light of escalating raw material, energy and logistics costs, specialty chemical producer
Clariant International Ltd., Switzerland, will raise the prices of all its product lines and
services by 4 to 6 percent. The company will contact its customers individually about specific
details of the global price increase.

October 3, 2006

Trade Bill Is A Major Concern For Textiles

In a move that is strongly opposed by US textile manufacturers, the chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee has introduced legislation that will make major changes in the textile provisions
of two trade agreements and also promote investments in African facilities by US companies. Rep.
Bill Thomas, R-Calif., will seek quick approval of the bill during the waning days of the current
Congress, under suspension of the House rules.

The Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) said the bill is a
job-destroying trade package, and it urged textile-state members of Congress to protest against the
action with the House leadership.

The bill would create a tariff preference level (TPL) with Haiti that would permit imports
from other countries using a value-added approach. Under that approach, if 50 percent of value
added to products is done in Haiti or any other free trade agreement (FTA) country, the goods may
enter duty-free. The value-added TPL would begin at 221million square meter equivalents (SMEs) and
would grow to 537 SMEs in five years.

NCTO contends value-added TPLs are unenforceable and the US government would have to rely on
an honor code, which it says invites massive fraud and primarily encourages China to transship.The
Thomas bill also extends until September 2008 the current provision in the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) that allows duty-free access for AGOA apparel made with fabric from anywhere
in the world up to a limit of 3.5 percent of all US apparel imports. In addition, it adds a new
rule of origin that would require 50-percent African content, which would grow to 60 percent by
2015, when AGOA is due to expire. The bill also would provide a US tax credit for US corporations
investing in sub-Saharan Africa.

NCTO President Cass Johnson said the Thomas bill would primarily benefit China and undercut
the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade
Agreement, and Caribbean Basin Trade Preference Agreement and other FTAs. For the first time, the
legislation would allow duty-free access for yarn and fabric from Africa.

September 26, 2006

North Carolina Textile Investments To Provide 113 New Jobs

Two investments totaling more than $15 million promise to provide 113 new jobs in North Carolina’s
textile sector over the next three years.

P&A Industrial Fabrications LLC, a new company formed by former Collins and Aikman Corp.
employees Claude Pruitt and Jack Adams to acquire some of that Troy, Mich.-based company’s
industrial woven business following the closure of its automotive fabric division in Roxboro, N.C.,
will invest more than $2.8 million and hire 65 workers to manufacture paint-roller fabric. A One
North Carolina Fund grant of $70,000 provided an incentive for the business to stay in Roxboro.

“This was a big endeavor for the two of us to put together, but it was made possible with our
faith and the help of a number of people who wanted the project to stay here in Roxboro,” Adams
said. “We chose to stay in North Carolina because of the well-trained workforce already in place in
Roxboro as well as the state and local grants and other incentives.”

Colfax, N.C.-based Global Textile Alliance Inc. (GTA), formed in 2001 to develop and market
upholstery and mattress ticking products under the GTA brand, will invest $12.3 million to open a
state-of-the-art textile plant in Reidsville, N.C., to manufacture mattress ticking. The investment
will add 48 new employees to the companys existing workforce of 52 people employed in North
Carolina. GTA has been awarded a $100,000 One North Carolina Fund grant to assist in the expansion.

GTA will move its mattress ticking operation from mills in China and Indonesia, thereby
eliminating the costs associated with duties and tariffs, and the need to comply with fabric
quotas.

“As a company, we are very excited about our current expansion plans,” said Steven M. Graven,
chief operating officer and executive vice president, GTA. “The state of North Carolina along with
the Rockingham County Partnership for Economic and Tourism Development have been great to work
with, and we are committed to bringing stable and exciting employment to the area.

September 26, 2006

DuPont To Undergo $100 Million-Plus Nomex Expansion

As part of a high-performance fibers
investment strategy, DuPont, Wilmington, Del., reports it will invest more than $100 million in a
three-part global capacity expansion of DuPont™ Nomex®, a flame-resistant, high-temperature fiber
used in applications including fire, industrial, and military safety gear and accessories; and
electrical insulation paper. The company expects to roll out the expansion in phases in the latter
part of 2006.

The expansion projects for Nomex ingredients and fiber include: DuPont Chemical Solutions’
construction of a new Asturias, Spain-based facility for the production of isophthaloyl chloride, a
key Nomex ingredient; and the addition of new equipment at the existing Nomex plant in Asturias,
which will boost manufacturing capacity by more than 30 percent. DuPont, in conjunction with its
joint venture DuPont Teijin Advanced Papers, also plans to double Nomex paper production capacity
in Japan.

According to William J. Harvey, vice president and general manager, DuPont Advanced Fiber
Systems, Nomex in the past three years has experienced strong growth, buoyed by demand in a variety
of market segments including protective apparel, electrical insulation and high-performance
materials. “This expansion program represents an important step in growing the Nomex business and
delivering the innovation and service that customers expect from DuPont.”

The new Asturias plant also will enable additional ingredient production for DuPont Kevlar®
and comes on the heels of several investments in that high-performance, high-strength fiber over
the last few years.

“As demonstrated by our Kevlar expansions and today’s Nomex announcement, we continue to
aggressively invest in our high-performance fibers business,” Harvey said. “With our two-pronged
strategy of investing in current products while actively pursuing next-generation breakthroughs, we
will ensure that DuPont remains a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of high-performance
fibers for many years to come.”

In other company news, DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers will raise the prices of
all grades of DuPont Elvanol® polyvinyl alcohol by 7 cents per pound. The price increase goes into
effect Oct. 16, 2006, or as contracts permit.



September 26, 2006

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