In a move that was sharply criticized by importers of textiles and apparel, the US Department of
Commerce (DOC) has invoked a safeguard mechanism on imports of cotton socks from Honduras. The move
will permit the United States to place a 5-percent tariff from now until the end of this year. The
safeguard tariffs will expire at the same time as the current quota on Chinese cotton socks.

Commerce Assistant Secretary of Textiles and Apparel Matt Priest said the action will give
US manufacturers time to adjust to increased import competition from its Central American trading
partners that participate in the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement. Priest
said US manufacturers have a long history of coproduction with Honduras, and that approximately
half of the socks imported from Honduras were knit in the United States prior to finishing and
packaging in Honduras. Honduras is the second-largest supplier of socks to the United States,
behind Pakistan but ahead of China.


Laura Jones, executive director of the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel,
blasted the DOC’s action, saying it will do nothing to help US textile manufacturers. “Safeguards
are a dangerous mechanism, especially in these regional arrangements,” Jones said. “It is
tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot, especially when the US is the one supplying the yarns
used to make the targeted products.” She said Honduran manufacturers are not threatening the United
States and that Pakistan and China are the “real winners.”

She warned that importers of textiles and apparel need “certainty” in their sourcing, and
that actions such as safeguards in connection with a regional FTA could encourage importers to seek
products elsewhere in countries that would not use US yarn.



May 6, 2008

Three major US-based textile industry trade shows — the American Textile Machinery Exhibition –
International (ATME–I)/Megatex, Techtextil North America (TTNA) and SPESA Expo — will colocate and
align with one another at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta for Textile &
Sewn Products Industry Week 2010, scheduled to take place May 18-20, 2010.

The three exhibitions will be held in adjacent halls at the GWCC, allowing attendees to take
in all three shows and their associated educational, networking and other special activities.

ATME–I, a quadrennial exhibition organized by Atlanta-based Mack Brooks Exhibitions Inc. and
sponsored by the Falls Church, Va.-based American Textile Machinery Association, moved to Atlanta
in 2006 from its long-time venue in Greenville. The show, touted by its organizers as the largest
of its kind in the Americas, features the full spectrum of textile machinery, technology and
services.

TTNA and its associated symposium, organized by Atlanta-based Messe Frankfurt USA, have been
held biennially in Atlanta since 2000, presenting a comprehensive, vertical array of nonwovens and
technical textiles machinery, technologies, services and end-products; in addition to a series of
seminars covering research and development, emerging technologies and applications, and other
topics of interest to the industry. The show will become an annual event beginning next year, with
an Atlanta venue in even-numbered years and a West Coast venue in odd-numbered years.

SPESA Expo, organized by the Raleigh, N.C.-based Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of
the Americas (SPESA), is a triennial exhibition and symposium focusing on equipment, technology and
services for the Western Hemisphere and global sewn products industry, encompassing apparel,
leather and footwear, home furnishings, upholstered furniture, technical textiles, and
transportation interiors. Held in Miami Beach, Fla., since 2004, the expo will move to Atlanta for
its next edition.

“The colocation of ATME–I/Megatex with Techtextil North America and SPESA Expo provides a
dynamic platform for the textile industry in the Americas,” said ATMA Chairman Jay White Jr.,
Morrison Textile Machinery Co. “We expect excellent customer attendance from the entire textile
processing and applications chain. This will be a very significant event for our industry with
numerous networking opportunities, educational seminars and business and technical workshops
alongside the trade shows themselves. Anyone who is in the textile business in the Americas should
recognize that this is a ‘must-attend’ event.”

May 6, 2008

Hackensack, N.J.-based upholstery and home decorating fabric manufacturer Weave Corp.’s Greenweave™
Post Consumer Polyester contract and residential uphostery fabric has received silver Cradle to
Cradle
^SM certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry LLC (MBDC), a
Charlottesville, Va.-based sustainable design and product development consultancy.

Under the Cradle to Cradle certification program, products are evaluated according to
established standards for environmental and human health as well as recyclability. Certification
levels include basic, silver, gold and platinum — with each successive level representing improved
compliance over the previous level in terms of achieving closed-loop circulation of materials, zero
use of harmful materials, use of renewable energy sources and responsible use of water in
manufacturing, among other criteria.

Weave Corp.’s Greenweave Post Consumer Polyester fabric — made using wind power, clean water
and safe dyes containing no heavy metals —  are woven with yarns made from 100-percent
post-consumer polyester from soda and water bottles and are themselves also 100-percent recyclable.

The Greenweave fabric line also includes 100-percent biodegradable fabrics made with organic
cotton, bamboo, linen, hemp and silk fibers.

May 6, 2008

The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has been one of
the prominent and influencing issues in the chemical world for many years. It is a European Union
regulation – 2006/1907, passed Dec. 18, 2006.

REACH covers the production and use of chemical substances. Its 849 pages took seven years to
pass. It has been described as the most complex legislation in the European Union’s history, and
the most important in 20 years. It is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and
will impact industries throughout the world.

Since coming into force in June 2007, REACH requires all chemicals of one metric ton or more
in volume that are manufactured in or imported into the European Union each year to be tested for
health and safety and to be registered with a new central European authority – the European
Chemicals Agency (ECA), Helsinki, Finland. REACH encourages manufacturers and importers of such
chemicals to preregister them during the six-month preregistration period from June 1, 2008, to
Dec. 1, 2008. This will allow companies much more time before they have to test and fully register
the chemicals.

Classification And Labeling

Classification and labeling involves an evaluation of the hazard of a substance or
preparation in accordance with Directive 67/548/EEC (substances) and 1999/45/EC (preparations) and
a communication of that hazard via the label. This evaluation must be made for any substance or
preparation manufactured within or imported into the European Union and placed on the market and
results in classification of the substance/preparation as dangerous for one or several end-points
concerning physical-chemical properties, health or environmental effects.

Risk Management

Classification and labeling is therefore a useful tool for the risk management of chemicals.
All marketed substances and preparations must be classified and labeled, irrespective of the
quantity placed on the market. The labeling is the first and often the only chemical hazard
information that reaches the user. In addition, the classification has a large number of downstream
consequences within the EU legislation. The classification and labeling work area provides
technical and scientific support to member state authorities and commission services (mainly DG
Environment – Chemicals) concerning the hazard classification and labeling of pesticides, biocides,
and new and existing chemicals.

Human Health Or The Environment

REACH also applies to all chemicals that are considered of very high concern to human health
or the environment. These are called SVHC (substances of very high concern). Their use in products
– articles, in REACH terminology – is regulated if they are in concentrations greater than 0.1
percent by weight of article or if they are intended to be released from the article, such as ink
in a pen. The most hazardous chemicals only can be used if authorized by the ECA. REACH applies to
all chemicals imported into or produced in the EU, in contrast to the US Toxic Substances Control
Act, which only applies to chemicals newly coming into use.

Who Is Responsible?

The ECA will manage the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of the REACH system.
ECA is also responsible for the Technical Committee on Classification and Labeling of Dangerous
Substances. The group discusses classification and labeling of substances of special concern, which
are then proposed for entry to the list of harmonized classifications of substances, which is
legally binding.

The published list of substances with a harmonized classification and labeling at present
contains approximately 2,700 existing and 1,100 new substance entries – covering approximately
8,000 substances in total. If a dangerous substance not yet listed is put on the market – as such
or contained in a preparation – manufacturers, importers and distributors have to self-classify
that substance.

Next Steps

The current classification and labeling directives will be replaced in the coming years by a
Regulation that implements the United Nations Globally Harmonized System (GHS). The aim of the
proposed regulation is to enable a judgment on a substance or mixture (preparation) with respect to
its hazardous properties and to provide a hazardous chemical with pertinent hazard labeling and
information on safety measures.

As with the current legislation, the proposed Regulation is intended to be primarily a
self-classification system for enterprises. It stipulates that after entry into force, the deadline
for substance reclassification is Nov. 30, 2010; and for mixtures, May 31, 2015. The current
directives on classification, labeling and packaging, i.e. Council Directive 67/48/EEC and
Directive 1999/45/EC, will be repealed on June 1, 2015.

May 6, 2008

Citing “the currently subdued business outlook for Asian spinning mills,” Switzerland-based Rieter
Group reports sales of textile machinery has declined — particularly in March and April 2008 —
following its record results posted in the fourth quarter  of 2007. The company’s Textile
Systems division posted more than 50-percent fewer  orders for machinery in the first four
months of 2008 compared with year-earlier orders.

Based on the expectation that there will be no significant improvement in the market over the
rest of the year, Rieter is forecasting “significantly lower” sales of textile machinery,
particularly in the second-half of 2008.

May 6, 2008

Albany International Corp., an Albany, N.Y.-based advanced textiles and materials processing
company, has agreed to sell its Albany Filtration Technologies (AFT) business to All Filtration
Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. for $45 million. The transaction, expected to close late this month
or early next month, includes Albany’s equity interest in Albany International Applied Technology
(Suzhou) Co. Ltd., China, and all other AFT business assets, located primarily in Australia but
also including assets in Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Affected employees will be offered
positions with All Filtration Technologies.

AFT manufactures filtration products for such industrial applications as power generation,
among other processes. The business generated net sales of $10.5 million in the first quarter (Q1)
of this year, a 47-percent increase over Q1 2007. According to Albany International President and
CEO Joe Morone, AFT, while profitable, is not as closely aligned with its core competencies as
other emerging businesses. He said sale proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditures planned
abroad and for provide general working capital.

Albany also announced it would consolidate its Gosford, Australia, press and fiber cement
operations, retaining the location as a center of technical excellence in needled felts for
applications including papermaking and fiber cement, among other applications. The company also
will close its West Gosford-based manufacturing operation for high-performance doors but will
continue its sales and service operations in Australia.

May 6, 2008

The Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Cary, N.C., is accepting nominations for
its Lifetime Technical Achievement Award and its Lifetime Service Award, with a deadline for
submissions set for June 20, 2008. The awards will be presented at the International Nonwovens
Technical Conference (INTC), which will be held in Houston Sept. 8-11, 2008.

The INDA Lifetime Service Award, inaugurated in 2007, will be presented to an individual who
has established a long service record both at INDA and in the nonwovens industry in general.
Nominees should be members of good standing in INDA, having at least 20 years of service in
nonwovens-related activities that have contributed substantially to the growth of INDA events and
the industry.

The INDA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award will be presented to an INDA member who has
spent at least 20 years in a nonwovens-related technical position in which he or she has
contributed to technical innovations, research and developments that have led to new nonwovens
products, equipment and processes.

A nomination form, sample bio and additional information are available at
www.inda.org/HallofFame/nominate.html.
Nominations should be submitted to Regina Spitzer
rspitzer@inda.org or fax (866) 847-7920.

For more information, contact INDA Technical Director Steve Ogle (919) 233-1210, Ext. 148;
sogle@inda.org.

Effective June 1, Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex LLC, Research Triangle Park, N.C., will increase
the price worldwide for nitrile butadiene latex used in glove manufacturing by 5 cents per dry
pound.

May 6, 2008

According to the cotton report of Germany-based Baumwollboerse Bremen, the world import demand for
cotton has expanded some 34 percent over the past six years, mainly because of growth in China,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey. In 2005-06, China unexpectedly imported a record 19.3 million
bales, but dropped back to 10.6 million the following year. Global cotton imports have trended up,
but China’s erratic imports and the changing global economic climate cause greater uncertainty in
today’s market.

Imports To Asia Went Up …

During the period 2001-02 through 2006-07, 17 countries raised their imports by 15.9 million
bales. China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey accounted for 86 percent of that growth. The reason
for that growth is obvious: These countries have large labor supplies that make them favorable to
expansion in textile processing with labor-intensive, low-wage jobs.

Cotton use in China and Bangladesh has nearly doubled in the past six years, whereas
Pakistan’s use is up nearly 50 percent and Turkey, close to 20 percent. Among the other 13
countries are Vietnam, Egypt, Iran and Brazil. Of these, Vietnam showed the most rapid growth in
imports as consumption almost doubled.

… And Imports To Europe Went Down

Over the same period, imports in 50 countries dropped by 8 million bales for a number of
reasons. In some European countries – including Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Poland
– imports dropped by 21 percent because cotton use has steadily declined. In Canada, Chile and
Venezuela, imports fell because of declining processing, but Mexico’s imports dropped off because
production expanded. Also in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, imports declined by 1.3 million bales. This
is another result of the ongoing move of the cotton processing to mainland China.

Increased Yield For India

Declining imports in India were caused by increased production. The Indian cotton production
for 2007-08 is forecast at a record high of 25 million bales, up 0.5 million or 2 percent from last
month and up 3.2 million or 15 percent from last year. The year-on-year increase is attributed to a
much higher sown area, a generally favorable monsoon rainfall, and a forecast record yield.

The area is estimated at a record 9.5 million hectares, unchanged from last month but up 0.3
million or 4 percent from last year. According to the US agricultural attaché in New Delhi, the
record area is the result of strong cotton prices and positive returns received by farmers in
2006-07. It is widely acknowledged by officials and other specialists that the strong upward trend
in India’s cotton yield in recent years is due largely to the increasing adoption of
insect-resistant Bt cotton. In 2006-07, the government of India approved 62 new Bt varieties for
commercial cultivation. In 2007-08, Bt cotton will likely account for more than 60 percent of the
total cotton area.

Given the year-on-year increase in Bt area, 2007-08 yield is forecast to reach a record 573
kilograms per hectare. The harvest of the 2007-08 crop is on the way, and another report from the
Cotton Corp. of India indicates that some 21.9 million bales had arrived at ginning facilities by
April 6. Compared with the same date last season, arrivals had reached 18.7 million bales, or 86
percent of final 2006-07 output.

April 29, 2008

Greenville-based Measured Solutions Inc. is celebrating its fifth year in business as a distributor
and provider of parts and service for quality control instruments and other measuring, inspection
and cleaning equipment used in processing both man-made and cotton fibers.

Since its founding in 2003 by Mark A. Reese,  Measured Solutions has served as the
exclusive representative in the United States and Canada for Germany-based Textechno GmbH & Co.
KG, Switzerland-based Rothschild-Instruments and Japan-based Keisokki Kogyo Co. Ltd. Other
companies have been added more recently. Reese’s relatiionships with Textechno, Rothschild and
Keisokki extend back an additional 20 years prior to the founding of Measured Solutions. 

Textechno has manufactured textile testing instruments since 1949
(See “
Innovation From Textechno,”
Textile World, March/April 2008). Rothschild, founded in 1958, offers a range
of electronic testing instruments. Keisokki has operated as an independent manufacturer of yarn
testers and clearers since the 1970s.

April 29, 2008