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Have Apparel Sizes Changed? - As if it weren’t difficult enough to outfit an audience in clothing, you must contend with inconsistent apparel sizing. From Wearables magazine. January, 2011.

Have Apparel Sizes Changed? from "Wearables University"
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
January 2011

As if it weren’t difficult enough to outfit an audience in clothing, you must contend with inconsistent apparel sizing. This is due in no small measure to a phenomenon known as vanity sizing, or size inflation. This trick of retail apparel has simply moved the needle over, so to speak, so that what previously might have been a size medium is likely to be labeled a small in many brands.

As an example of changing sizes, just look at the measurements from a 1950s dress pattern in a size 12. Its measurements for bust (30 inches), waist (25 inches) and hip (33 inches) are actually quite trim. Todays’ size 12, as defined by U.S. Standard Clothing Sizes, allows for a fuller frame: bust, 37½ inches; waist, 30 inches; and hip, 41 inches.

A professor of merchandising at the University of North Texas, Tammy Lamb Kinley, Ph.D., has studied trends in clothing sizes and their effects on consumer behavior and self-esteem. One of her most recent studies, published in the March 2010 Family And Consumer Sciences Journal, asked participants to achieve fit in pants that either “ran small” or “ran large.” She writes in her abstract: “Smaller sizes were found to have a positive effect on body image, particularly for younger women. Larger subjects felt more positive about their bodies when they achieved fit in a smaller size.”

Good thing then, that earlier research by Kinley had found waist sizes in pants varied greatly depending on brand. In 2003, she studied vanity sizing, a practice in which designers place a label with a smaller size on a larger garment. When comparing more than 1,000 types and brands of women’s pants, she learned that the differences of the actual clothing size to the label could be as large as 13 inches. This means, for example, that the measurements for a size 10 in one brand might translate to a size 8 in another, particularly in women’s clothing.

Therefore it’s always important to examine the size charts of the brands you select for clients’ apparel programs. “Supplier catalogs should all have size scales which match body sizes with the size of a garment – no different than any retail catalog that comes to your house,” says Taraynn Lloyd, marketing director for Edwards Garment (asi/51752). “At Edwards each style is assigned a size scale, and as long as the individual reviews the size scale and orders accordingly, then the apparel should fit. For those distributors selling an image apparel program where individuals are uncertain of their body measurements, a ‘fit line’ is always a nice option.”

What is a fit line? It’s when a distributor comes in with a number of garments in various sizes for the end-wearers to try on, to see if an individual should go up and down a size. Says Lloyd, “Distributors should work with suppliers to see if a fit line is an option.”

Tailoring Talk: 10 Terms To Know - Ten terms you should know in the industry. From Wearables magazine. January, 2011.
Tailoring Talk: 10 Terms To Know, from "Wearables University"
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
January 2011
- Baste uses a long running stitch to temporarily join fabric together. A basting stitch is easily removed.
- Dart is a narrowed tuck sewn in place to create shape in the garment, particularly around convex parts of the body.
- Drape refers to how cloth folds or hangs.
- Face refers to the “right” or “front” side of a fabric.
- Fuse joins two fabrics together using a material or chemical treatment that will adhere when heated, such as a fusible web or interfacing. It may be used to provide reinforcement in certain parts of a garment, such as a collar.
- Hem is where the cut edge of a cloth is completely enclosed by twice folding it then sewing the fold down. For example, the hem of a pant runs along the bottom of the leg.■ Made to measure refers to apparel that has been sewn to fit an individual’s measurements.
- Seam allowance is the area between the edge of the fabric and the line where stitches are sewn.
- Selvedge is a self-finished edge of a fabric, usually bound so that it does not fray.
- Taper narrows certain aspects of a garment, such as reducing the width of a pant leg from the knee to the ankle.

Tropical Hues for Hot Looks - Whether you’re outfitting a program of resort wear during the chilly winter months or planning ahead for summer promotions, the hot colors of the tropics is the way to go. From Wearables magazine. January, 2011.

Tropical Hues for Hot Looks, from "Wearables University"
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
January 2011

Whether you’re outfitting a program of resort wear during the chilly winter months or planning ahead for summer promotions, the hot colors of the tropics is the way to go. “Tropical colors are ideal for any promotion where you want to attract attention,” says Cindy Sims, promotions manager for Heritage Sportswear (asi/60582). “Vacation spots and beach settings where souvenir tees are popular, gravitate to tropical hues. They are a great backdrop for logos and make a tan look amazing.”

So how do you arrive at a tropical color palette? Think of the elements that make the tropics special: Consider the vibrant green of the palms and the citrus pop of lime, lemon and tangerine. Look to sultry flowers in hot hibiscus pinks and deep reds. Try out the mellow blues of the water and sky in turquoise and aqua, with orange-accented sunsets.

For examples of how to pair tropical colors for you next promotion, visit www.colorschemer.com/schemes/tags/tropical. There you’ll find a series of palettes inspired by paradise. Colorways range from themes like “lime and salmon,” with its citrus and coral hues, to “tropical breeze,” inspired by marine blue and serene aqua with pale melon accents.

Innovative Fabrics for 2011 - With the New Year comes new garments, which oftentimes include exciting new fabrications. From Wearables magazine. January, 2011.

Innovative Fabrics for 2011, from "Wearables University"
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
January 2011

With the New Year comes new garments, which oftentimes include exciting new fabrications. Look for textile enhancements that add function and flexibility to a wardrobe.

“We have a very innovative fabric that we call Flex Fleece,” says Jessica Strain, sales/marketing administrator for Dri Duck Traders (asi/50835). The 100% polyester Flex Fleece has an anti-pill finish, four-way stretch and is breathable and-wind resistant. “Bonded fleece has been in the market place for years,” Strain says, “but until the fall of 2009, it was not a common fabric in the workwear market. Dri Duck created a heavyweight bonded fleece with styling that appealed to the workwear market.” After a successful run with a Flex Fleece vest last year, Dri Duck has rolled out more styles for 2011.

Strain explains the variety of applications that are perfect for Flex Fleece workwear. Within the automotive industry, for example, “the four-way stretch capabilities of Flex Fleece allow the wearer ease of mobility while working in tight spaces,” she says. “For construction, Flex Fleece is wind-resistant and breathable, making it the perfect fit for someone who works in the outdoor element.”

It’s not uncommon for fabric innovations to take time to transfer over to the promotional apparel marketplace. Uniforms are frequently one of the first arenas to embrace fabric advances. DOW XLA, for example, is one of the more recent textile applications to make headway. This olefin-based stretch fiber can be blended with fibers like cotton or wool to enhance the way clothes look, last, feel and move. The fiber is so unique that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission granted XLA a new generic classification, “Lastol.” For a listing of garment makers and textile sources in the U.S. that offer DOW XLA applications, visit www.dow.com/xla/sourcing/index.html.

What’s New With Cotton?

Imagine an electrically conductive cotton fabric. What might its uses be? Cotton Incorporated has announced that a team of researchers at the Textiles Nanotechnology Center at Cornell University has created a way to coat cotton fabric with electrically conductive nano-particles, allowing garments to, among other things, power personal electronics.

There have been many other cotton fabric advances in recent years that are very likely to make their way into promotional apparel sooner rather than later. Consider 100% Cotton Stretch, created via a “slack mercerization” process that occurs during weaving of the textile. And on the heels of Storm Cotton and Storm Denim, which offer water-repellent benefits in all-cotton fabrication, there’s now a Storm Cotton Fleece. Like its predecessors, Storm Cotton for fleece provides water repellency combined with the breathability intrinsic to cotton.

Find the Right Fit - If it doesn’t fit, they won’t wear it – that’s the bottom line. From Advantages magazine. December, 2010.

Find the Right Fit
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
December 2010

If it doesn’t fit, they won’t wear it – that’s the bottom line. So we asked apparel pros for their best advice on outfitting any audience, because as we know, one size does not fit all.

Mitch Emoff, executive vice president of Goldner Associates Inc. (asi/209800), recalls an apparel program that didn’t fit the demographic. The sale was to a large manufacturing company. The actual buyer was a petite, fashion-forward younger woman who insisted on no multi-button plackets and wanted highly tapered garments for ladies. This fit her image of fashion pieces.

“The problem, however, is that the audience was all blue collar and at this time, V-neck polos with highly tapered cuts did not work at all for the women in this demographic,” he says.

“Anyone need an inventory of ladies’ polos with a Johnny collar?”

Demographics: Who Are They?

Selecting the right apparel begins with knowing who will wear the garment, and you can’t get this information just from one source, as Emoff’s anecdote illustrates. “The audience is everything for apparel, even more so than when selling hard goods,” he says. “Apparel is literally an extension of the person wearing it, and therefore makes a statement about who they are. If you ‘miss’ the audience with an apparel promotion, it can be the difference between items being actively worn and sitting in the back of someone’s closet.”

Emoff recommends salespeople dissect the demographics of the targeted group based on more than just size. Think: gender, profession, age and geography/climate. Psychographic factors also matter: edgy vs. traditional, formal vs. casual, active vs. relaxed, etc.

Margaret Crow, director of marketing at S & S Activewear (asi/84358), puts it in practical terms: “For example, are you outfitting a corporate office, student group, landscaping company or a restaurant? For these different audiences, you may need professional-looking wovens, trendy T-shirts or stain-resistant sport shirts.”

Also decide how important trends are to the audience. “Fashion trends are important because your customer should want their employees to feel confident and comfortable in what they are wearing. If it’s stylish, it feels good. People who feel confident naturally work better. In addition, if you’re outfitting a group for an event in a trendy shirt, they’re more likely to wear the shirt later in their daily lives, and that means more promotion for the company,” Crow says.

Such results are easier to achieve than ever before. “The promotional products industry has substantially closed the gap between what’s hot in retail and the promotional products world,” Emoff says. “With brands like Nike, Hilfiger and Callaway (including this year’s retail styles, not just last year’s), there is no reason to set up a promotional program that lags behind in fashion. This makes assessing demographics all the more important, as there are some customers who want to emphasize value and/or the promotional content more than fashion or name brand.”

Color choice is based on audience perspective, too. When it comes to choosing the right colors to represent or motivate an audience, decide whose preferences matter most – your client’s or the recipients’. “Start with corporate colors or colors that the business wants to convey,” says Taraynn Lloyd, director of marketing at Edwards Garment (asi/51752). “If it’s a restaurant, make sure you bring in a woven shirt or polo and apron all in the same color of their brand. For example, one of our distributors who works with their local Applebee’s restaurant has sold Edwards easy-care red-and-black twill shirts and waist aprons. Each of the shirts sports the Applebee’s logo.”

In the Applebee’s example, clearly the client’s preference for corporate branding dictated the color choice. But in cases where color doesn’t have to match a logo or corporate guidelines, consider audience demographics. Youth markets, for example, prefer trendier, brighter colors. However, verify that fashion-forward colors will remain in stock. “You may have to reorder later in the season and you want the new shirts to match,” Crow says. “Plus, you want to make sure that it’s a color the manufacturer is committed to in the years to come.”

Just as age affects color choice, it also sways styling. “Older clients are asking for different garments than the younger ones,” says Donald Singer, CEO of Executive Apparel (asi/53418). “For instance, let’s look at a ladies’ pant. An older woman might be happier with a higher rise – that is, the distance between the lowest part of the fly and the top of the waistband. It is just roomier. On the other hand, a high rise is poison to a younger buyer, who generally wants a lower- or mid-rise pant.”

Fit: It’s a Fact – Size Matters

Singer’s point brings us to proper fit. Achieving the best fit possible is the second area key to outfitting an audience. Fit is determined by two factors. First, you’ve got to consider the cut of the garment. Cut refers to things like tailored vs. loose, portly vs. slim, petite vs. tall, etc. Each variation takes body types into account, as a single style may not work for everyone in an audience. “Take a men’s suit coat for instance,” Singer says. “Let’s say it has been designed for a younger guy, one that has a youthful, athletic shape. This garment will constrict an older fellow with a bit of a paunch developing.”

Singer’s remedy is research. “A good question to ask or issue to observe when looking at the actual workplace or institution is whether the workers are larger or smaller in general,” he says. “This allows the well-informed salesperson to assign a better garment choice for the general population. For instance, we find that a cardigan blazer like our #2059 meets the needs of a larger woman, whereas a slightly more tapered style like our #2000 might appeal to smaller ladies. It’s just a slight difference in preference, but it might help you to lock in the final sale.”

Aside from cut, you must also choose size, which is the second factor affecting proper fit. “Size range is key for uniform programs,” Crow says. “This will vary by program, but be sure to note if the style you’re looking at has a range of at least S-3XL, and options for both men and women. It’s a great advantage if you can find several options that will work for different sizes.”

Extensive size options can make up for a lack of petite or tall choices. “It’s harder to find tall and petite sizes now,” Crow says. “Most people just order larger sizes to compensate for the tall requirements. Another trick in outfitting a group is to offer styles for both men and women. This increases your size range and some women will prefer to order men’s sizes. In addition, you can offer different products such as wovens, sport shirts, sweaters and jackets so that different-size people can get what works for them best.”

Of course the best fit possible comes when you match individuals with their exact garment size. “Supplier catalogs should all have size scales, which match body sizes with the size of a garment – no different than any retail catalog that comes to your house,” Lloyd says. “For distributors selling an image apparel program where individuals are uncertain of their body measurements, a ‘fit line’ is always a nice option. A fit line is where the distributor comes in with a number of garments in various sizes for the individuals to try on. This way they can determine if that size is right for them or if they should go up or down a size.”

When you don’t have audience access, you may have to rely on a traditional size mix. “The old rule of thumb was a mix-per-dozen based on the following breakdown for men: two M, four L, four XL, and two XXL (and one S, three M, four L, three XL and one XXL for women). Sizes were adjusted for the demographic of the group, such as larger sizes for a manufacturing facility,” Emoff says.

A more up-to-date approach leverages existing technology. “Most distributors can now put up a Web page for direct ordering during a short window of time, where the recipients can go see an image of the items with size scales, and then they can choose their size,” Emoff explains. “At the end of the order window, the website should be able to produce a spreadsheet of the orders that tally up the totals and are the basis for the order that is placed. Even for customers who do not want the individuals to complete an actual order online, the site can be used as a survey tool to get a sampling of what sizes are preferred, which takes the guesswork out of the equation.”

Performance: Let’s Talk Climate Change

Finally, you’ll need to consider how a garment must perform for the audience. This relates to environment: geography, season or workplace. “Climate is a big factor in determining which garment to recommend to your client,” Singer says. “An experienced manufacturer should be able to cover most situations. The hardest areas for us to cover with tailored clothing are hot environments, where the end-user resists wearing a woven shirt and a blazer. We spent years developing a fabric, which we call Easywear, for this situation. This is a special combination of fabric and construction, light in weight, that the end-user will find more effortless to wear in a hot environment.”

Correct performance also relates to activity. What will the audience be doing when they’re wearing the garments? This knowledge leads you to evaluate how well a fabric will wash and wear over time. Will the apparel be covered in mud or grease or blood, therefore requiring industrial laundering? Activity determines whether there’s a need for safety features, such as fire-resistant treatments or high-visibility applications. It also takes into account issues like abrasion and fabric durability. “Let’s say the end-user is sitting at a counter all day handing out tickets, for instance, at a movie theater,” Singer says. “When he leans over to grab the ticket and hand back change, he rubs against the surface of the counter. If the distributor doesn’t notice that, it has a potential to cause problems with that account at some point in the future.”

Choose garments based on environment and activity and you’ll pick the correct performance features for the audience. When the garment performs well, the end-users and the client will be grateful. Outfitting an audience properly is all about positive impressions. You’ll make everyone happy when you factor in demographics, fit needs and performance requirements.

Tonia Cook Kimbrough is a freelance writer and editor based in FL.

Wearables Workshop - Advantages asked distributors to name their biggest, burning questions about selling wearables. Then we got the answers from the experts. Here’s how they weighed in on your top 10 dilemmas. From Advantages magazine. December, 2010.
Wearables Workshop
By Shane Dale
December 2010

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Advantages asked distributors to name their biggest, burning questions about selling wearables. Then we got the answers from the experts. Here’s how they weighed in on your top 10 dilemmas.

Wearables are number-one when it comes to best-sellers in the ad specialties industry. Shirts in particular are tops, so to speak, with almost one-quarter of distributors reporting this category as the biggest revenue generator, according to the most recent Counselor State of the Industry study.

Yes, you’re selling a lot of apparel, so we asked hundreds of distributors for their most pressing questions about apparel programs, buyer concerns and quality issues. The response was overwhelming, but we whittled it down to those most frequently asked.

We’ve compiled insights and advice from industry pros who work with wearables on a daily basis. Chances are, your dilemma has been solved in our “Wearables Workshop” – bringing you that much closer to sewing up more apparel deals.

I need a decorator that makes custom designs. How can I find one and be certain that the company is reliable and high-quality?

Gina Barreca, marketing director for Vantage Apparel (asi/93390), says trade publications are an excellent starting place for finding apparel sources. “Many maintain online supplier databases or buyer’s guides that are searchable by product category, services offered and specialty areas, such as big-and-tall sizing, private labeling, decoration or custom manufacturing,” she says. “Your apparel supplier representatives also have extensive knowledge of what’s available in the industry and can often steer you in the right direction if they don’t have what you’re looking for.”

Once you find a potential decorator, Jerilee Auclair, owner of Black Eagle Designs, says ordering a small design to ensure its quality is worth the investment. “It’s how I do it when I’m searching for a new digitizer: I send in a real order, give them the specs needed and see what I get back,” she says.

Auclair adds that she never looks for a new digitizer when she’s pressed for an order. “I like to get all my ducks in a row first, so put the time and bucks into finding someone qualified – someone who is a good match, work wise and personality wise.”

It’s also advisable to ask to see references and a portfolio, says Geri Finio, embroidery artist for Studio 187. “Speak to your decorator via phone or over coffee so you can determine if your design ideas are compatible,” she says. “Ask about the accomplishments and knowledge of the design team: artist, digitizer, embroiderer, screen printer, etc.”

The Bottom Line: Check industry buyer’s guides. Ask for decorator referrals and ask to see portfolios.

How can I go about finding quality, made-in-America apparel?

A lot of distributors struggle with this, but Joyce Jagger, The Embroidery Coach, says finding USA-made apparel is as simple as asking your supplier partners if their content is American-made, and entering the right keywords into a Google search. “Do a search on the Internet for specific made-in-America products wholesale,” she says. “I found several products through this type of search.”

The trick to finding American-made apparel, according to Andy Shuman, general manager of Rockland Embroidery Inc. (asi/734150), is that where you need to look depends upon what you’re looking for. “Many of the industry’s large wholesalers offer brands such as Bayside and American Apparel (asi/35297),” he says. “These brands will do a great job of fulfilling your need for basics, such as sweats, polos and tees in several colors and styles. There are also a few suppliers offering custom products, from basics to wovens to jackets. In these instances, you may face larger minimum requirements, turn times and costs, but will have the option of customizing your own piece.”

The Bottom Line: Ask for referrals. Search ESP and the Internet for USA-made. Get samples to test quality.

How can I find big-and-tall apparel sizes, and how do I know that one company’s “small” isn’t another company’s “medium”?

Barreca says Vantage provides a size chart to help buyers determine which size will fit best. “Garment specifications can also be requested if you are interested in comparing the actual garment measurements between two different brands or products,” she says. “Sizing comparisons are particularly important at the larger end of the size scale, where up-charges are typically applied to sizes 2XL and above. Purchasing a brand with a generous cut could decrease your overall order costs, as you’ll need to buy less in the sizes with up-charges.”

Andrew Sequeira, co-owner of Sparkle Plenty Designs (asi/88444), says he’s run into a couple situations in which his distributor partners had questions about what constituted a small, medium and large apparel item. “What we do is, anytime someone requests a shirt for an order, we ask them if they’re looking for a slim fit vs. a relaxed fit,” he says. “Once I get that information, I send them a couple different styles of shirts, along with the facts that come with the shirts. So, I can tell them, ‘With this, you know the small vs. medium vs. large shirts – here’s the chest size and here’s the length of the shirt.’ It’s not as good as having a sample in hand, but it’s a good way to know what you’re doing, size-wise.”

The Bottom Line: See our article on outfitting any audience on page 88. Ask your suppliers for sizing charts and samples.

How can I keep my apparel costs down for the end-user?

Some distributors are finding that it’s hard to compete with Walmart, Kohl’s and other big retail stores in terms of the cost of wearables, and Finio recognizes the problem. “Costs are rising, and it is what it is,” she says. “I suggest my customers purchase smaller quantities. Do you really need 100 shirts? Honestly, no one really needs high quantities of clothing. Days of over-buying and over-stocking are gone – ‘recycle and reuse’ is the motto now. Reminding consumers what actual labor costs are in relation to the cost of living in our own neighborhoods, and how supporting local businesses and craftspeople will establish jobs for so many talented individuals right here where we live, really helps to raise the bar to a higher level of understanding.”

With that, Finio says distributors must focus on quality and personal customer service rather than price. “Offer a service with fine craftsmanship and don’t worry about the mass-production chain stores,” she says. “Spend time improving your skills and preserving the arts of embroidery, screen printing, digital printing and stitchery.”

Barreca says program-oriented distributors will look for the value-added services that a vendor can offer to make up for price differences. “Knowing the services offered by potential vendors, and aligning yourself with those that can best help your business, will result in increased sales and better margins,” she says.

The Bottom Line: Don’t over-stock. Remind buyers where the costs are going. Look to your suppliers for value-added services that can make up for the price difference.

How can I find quality but reasonably-priced silk screeners and embroiderers?

The best way to find a quality screener and embroiderer is to order samples and examine their work, Jagger says. “Talking to other embroiderers may help you to expedite this search,” she says.

Try to talk to other embroiderers face-to-face. The easiest way to do that is to go to a local chamber of commerce meeting to see if any decorators happen to be members, according to Pat Baldes, owner of Personalization Solutions Inc.

But when it comes to cost, Finio says distributors must understand decorators’ costs for labor, materials and machine maintenance. “By asking for reasonable, do you really mean cheap?” she says. “Changing the mindset from sweatshop to skilled workmanship is the key to filling your requirements successfully and building a real business for yourself.”

Auclair agrees that “quality” and “cheap” are two words that just don’t go together in the apparel-decorating world. “Pay someone fairly and you’ll get good, strong work. If you try to low-ball, you’ll get low-ball work,” she says.

The Bottom Line: Order samples and test decoration quality. Change your mindset (and your clients’) from sweatshop to skilled workmanship. Point out the value of higher quality.

How can I handle customers who want to see wearable samples before they buy, and how do I deal with customers who don’t want to return those samples (or pay to return them)?

Auclair warns that this can “break the bank” for some distributors if they aren’t careful. “If a client wants to see a sample, and you don’t have one on hand, you need to work up a form that indicates they need to pay the restocking fee if you plan to send it back,” she says. “Do not begin to even have customers who don’t want to return a sample. They have to pay for the sample before it leaves your shop, period. Set the ground rules before you open your doors. It’s not your job to supply samples to everyone.”

Sequeira sees it the same way. “Our policy is to tell people that if they want a sample of a shirt, they have to give me credit card information,” he says. “Whatever my shirt cost is and what the shipping cost is, that’s what I charge them.”

Sequeira says this shouldn’t be a big deal to the customer – and if it is, run the other way. “If you have someone who says, ‘I don’t want to pay for the sample shirt,’ that’s not somebody I want to do business with,” he says. “Either they’re going to pay for the sample, or I’m probably not going to pursue them.”

The Bottom Line: Establish ground rules and get credit card information from the start.

How can I find a reliable decorator who does short runs of apparel (20 items or less)?

Most decorators that service the promotional product industry will have minimums between 12 and 24 pieces, and allow distributors to do smaller runs for additional charges, Barreca says. For example, Vantage’s minimums are as follows:
- Embroidery: Variable run charges that allow just one piece to be embroidered.
- Sequin embroidery, laser etching and digital printing: 12 pieces with an LTM policy that allows for smaller orders.
- Laser appliqué: 24 pieces with an LTM policy that allows for smaller orders.
- Screen printing: 24 pieces.
For other decorators, Sequeira says the only way to learn about their minimums is to call. “Do the legwork and call people to find out if they would do a short run,” he says. “Use the ratings systems on ESP to find out what the suppliers’ ratings are, or call them. If I can’t find the answer, Google is where I go.”

The Bottom Line: Many decorators offer low minimum quantities – just ask.

What is the most cost-effective way for me to set up a corporate apparel store?

Jagger recommends creating an online store. “It will have fewer expenses and can create more exposure,” she says. “Set up a blog and a Facebook fan page and network throughout your local area. Let everyone know that you have created your corporate apparel store online.”

Finio says distributors must stay within their budget and keep their overhead as low as possible when creating a corporate apparel store – but that’s just the beginning. “Create a structured business plan and build the necessary team of skilled artists who can produce the product you want to offer,” she says. “Make sure you have a good attorney and accountant to handle the corporate finances and bylaws. Decide if you’re going to be a dial-up decorator or a hands-on decorator, and create your business plan accordingly.”

The Bottom Line: Stay on budget and keep overhead low. Hire experts and create a business plan.

Where can I get apparel that doesn’t look so plain without buying name brands that break the bank?

Shuman says it’s difficult to determine when name brands may be the best choice, and it’s ultimately a budgetary decision on the part of your customer more than a function of appearance or quality. “Today, many of the industry’s private-label brands are directly comparable, and sometimes superior quality to retail or name brands,” he says. “If you can upsell your customer out of the basics, you’ll find very affordable options in brands such as Port Authority, Ultra Club, Harriton and Devon & Jones – all readily available through the industry’s largest wholesalers.”

Styles through these companies offer everything from basic pieces to color coordinates, stripes and contrasting tipping, according to Shuman. “They also offer all of the fabric options available in retail brands,” he says.

The Bottom Line: More suppliers are offering private-label apparel that has all the looks and quality of brand-name retail apparel.

I’m having a tough time keeping my shelves stocked with enough apparel inventory. How do I avoid this problem and keep from having so many back orders?

The simple answer is to extend delivery time by a day or so, Jagger says. “In this current environment, you do not have to stock much inventory. There are enough suppliers located all over the country that can ship out the same day, allowing you to have inventory within one to three days. It’s not wise to have so much money tied up in inventory when it’s not necessary.”

And while there probably isn’t much that distributors can do to increase the amount of inventory available to them in any specific SKU, they can always offer similar alternatives, Shuman says. “This is easier to accomplish with basic items such as sweats, tees and polos,” he says, “but if you have a backup style available, you will eliminate many of your backorder situations.”

Shuman says distributors can also consider private labeling. “Again, many brands have styles and colors that cross very closely,” he says. “With a simple cut-and-sew label program, you can diminish backorder problems significantly by making the brand your own.”

The Bottom Line: Don’t over-stock. Have alternative styles in mind.

Shane Dale is a freelance writer based in AZ.

7 Hot Trends for 2011 - For the top looks in apparel, think purple, performance fabrics and clean styles. Read on to learn what’s up in the world of wearables. From Advantages magazine. December 2010.

7 Hot Trends for 2011
By Jennifer Vishnevsky
December 2010

For the top looks in apparel, think purple, performance fabrics and clean styles. Read on to learn what’s up in the world of wearables.

There’s a lot going on in the apparel field, including changes in color, fabrics, fashions, textures and decorating techniques. One factor that can’t be ignored is the cost of cotton. Cotton prices have skyrocketed to their highest level since the Civil War, mostly due to high demand in Asia and disappointing crops in several countries.

However, according to the Advantages Promotional Products Usage Survey, 53% of buyers say that shirts are the most effective products, so it’s more important than ever to stay educated about apparel. Here are some of the key trends to note as we head into the first quarter of the new year.

1. Jewel Tones

If you’re looking to add value and class to your promotional campaign, invest in deep jewel tones. Rich tones, such as amethyst purple, ruby red and sapphire blue, have a bold, lush quality. It is ideal to pair jewel tones with neutrals, particularly black and white.

Purple is leading the pack now. “Purple has been huge over the last year. Bright lavenders are an extremely hot color at retail right now. Bright jewel tones continue to be popular both in retail and in corporate apparel,” says Joanna Whitling, merchandising buyer at GatewayCDI (asi/202515). “Some of the shades of purple are starting to become a little more muted, like lilac and eggplant.”

Lauren Cocco, merchandiser and decoration specialist with Vantage Apparel (asi/93390), sees that purple is a more popular jewel tone among women. She suggests that blue jewel tones, like sapphire, work well for men and women alike.

Sales Tip

Pitch jewel tones to your corporate clients. They can be paired neatly with navy, black or brown, some of the traditional colors that are suggested for executives. Of note: The color purple, currently one of the most popular jewel tones, represents leadership, good judgment and trustworthiness. For your clients who are focused on retail, they can trust you to find a great selection of jewel tones in designer brands.

2. Distressed/Military

There’s no denying it: Burnout is still hot. “Blends used in burnout and other washed tees are very trendy. They may look vintage, but they feel super-soft and comfortable,” says Janine Toner, marketing coordinator for Broder Bros. (asi/42090). “The distressed look that comes from pigment-dyed and burnout tees is all the rage, especially with younger audiences. Plaids, military-inspired garments and sheer tanks and tops – which are perfect for layering – are also really fashionable right now.” Aside from being trendy, distressed wear also looks and feels comfortable.

Toner notes that distressed fabrics are mostly used in T-shirts, tanks and hoodies. Military caps and camo T-shirts, hoodies, hats and outerwear are the most common military-inspired garments. Military jackets for women offer a great alternative to the basic blazer. “We’re continuing to see a military influence in wearables – bold lines, strong shoulders and epaulettes,” says Amber Lee, marketing coordinator for CSE (asi/155807). “Jackets and shirts that have the military detailing will continue into spring.” A key element in pulling off the look is to counteract the masculine feel with a feminine touch, ideally with leggings or skirts.

The burnout style is a leading look for fashion tees. To achieve the look, T-shirts are chemically distressed so that portions of the material are so thin that they’re almost see-through. The sheer feel of the tee matches up with a big trend in apparel nowadays – layering lightweight tees. “The burnout process is interesting and it’s great for layering, which continues to be a strong trend,” says Cocco. In addition, she points out that using natural appliqué fabrics like cotton twill give a piece a distressed, vintage feel. “Applique is still a trend in lettering and patch-type looks. It’s a great way to add interest and dimension to a design,” she says.

Sales Tip

Vintage, distressed styles like burnout tees work great with various decorating techniques, including rhinestones and allover prints. Think young when you pitch the burnout and distressed look. Reach out to nightclubs and schools to tap into a younger market.

3. Performance Fabrics

At a time when people have enough on their plates, it comes as no surprise that performance and worry-free fabrics are becoming more and more in demand.

Most notably, fabrics that resist wrinkling, staining and fading are popular –especially for sport shirts and wovens. On the texture side, smooth cotton and stretch fabric blends are more durable and resist stains and wrinkles. “With such hectic work schedules, people prefer clothing that is easy to take care of, as well as fashionable,” says Toner. “These fabrics help customers with the daily maintenance of their clothing, as most people don’t have time to iron their clothes on a daily basis or worry about how their clothing will hold up after a couple of washes. There is also a significant cost savings with cutting down on trips to the dry cleaner, which can really add up.”

Performance fabrics in outerwear continue to be popular and fashion-forward, namely in soft-shell jackets. “The biggest thing is that they are incredibly functional. If you get the right style, it’s affordable and lightweight,” says Mike O’Connell, owner of Moko Loko Merchandising (asi/466637) . Whitling echoes the functionality of performance fabrics. She has seen an increase in their popularity among her corporate clients, due to moisture-wicking and UV-blocking capabilities. “The trend started with polo shirts and specialized golf apparel, but has now moved into more traditional categories like outerwear, T-shirts and headwear,” she says.

Also, the popularity of performance fabrics has a lot to do with lifestyle. “Customers want to feel comfortable. Being active is becoming a lifestyle, so they want to wear polo shirts that wick, don’t show perspiration and have UV protection,” Cocco says.

Sales Tip

Make sure to point out how the attributes of performance apparel will help your clients in their lives. These items will appeal to modern-day men and women, so target working professionals. Think also about young adults who are just out of college. “You’re seeing performance wear for the corporate jobs in the younger generation. They see those items in their college stores, so they look to wear them for work,” says Whitling.

4. Simple, Clean Lines

Maybe we can blame (or thank) Jon Gosselin, but it’s time to bid farewell to the era of Ed Hardy. Apparel is moving away from overly embellished and into more subtle, sensible looks. “Full-neon colored shirts seem to be on their way out. We’re seeing more neutral shirts. There may also be a trend of cleaner-looking tipped polos,” says Toner.

No one can deny that simple is in. “I see basic styling as being important right now. You’re seeing the male button-down with one pocket,” says David Bebon, CEO of DBEBZ Apparel.

Lee notes that there’s a lot less bling. “We’re seeing a focus on fresh, clean looks. In the past, there’s been so much embellishment, detailing, grommeting and foiling. Moving into 2011, we’re seeing less of that at retail. There are more muted colors and more clean, classic lines,” she says.

The same goes for screen printing. While allover prints are still popular, they will be toned down a bit. “You’ll see a subtle background design and a hint of color. They won’t be as bold and vibrant as we have previously seen,” says Cocco.

Sales Tip

When you’re developing a campaign that involves some simple, basic shirts, make sure to emphasize how you’re in tune with the world around you. Since your clients are retail shoppers, make a note of how the fashion world is shifting to a simpler style. You’ll be able to show your clients that you’re on top of your game.

5. Specialty Inks

Decorators are looking into the appeal of conservative color prints. “Going into 2011, less is more,” says Mary Strapason, director of sales and marketing for Apple Imprints Apparel (asi/36553). “The focus has always been on getting the most colors on the shirt. Now, it’s more about using specialty inks.”

One popular screen-printing ink creates a 3-D imprint; it’s best used on heavier T-shirts and fleece, not sheer tees. By using newer inks, Strapason points out that decorators can print from the base of the shirt. “It’s more fashion-forward. You can use color-changing inks, glow-in-the-dark inks and more. The more specialty inks that are used, the more value there is for the apparel,” she says.

Sales Tip

Funky inks are very appealing to the music industry, so think about highlighting the unique qualities of these inks in your next event, bar or concert campaign. Aside from being a great platform for a logo, the apparel’s value will increase with the exclusive inks.

6. Laser Etching

One of the ways that the subtle look in apparel is being achieved is through laser etching. In this method, a logo is displayed via a laser burning off the top layer on polyester pieces. “Leaving a dimensional look is a great way to add value to an item,” says Cocco.

Laser etching gives some variety in terms of logo placement, whether it’s vertical, over seams, on hems or on pockets. “Laser etching works best on most synthetic fibers, microfiber polyester knits, performance polos and polyester camp shirts,” she says. “It’s most popular on fleece because it gives a layer of dimension and actually burns the surface fabric.”

Sales Tip

Since laser etching is perfect for fleece, think about using it for winter promotions, whether it’s for a sporty educational campaign or a holiday fundraiser. When you’re pitching to a client, make sure to think creatively regarding logo placement. Instead of displaying a typical horizontal message across the chest, steal the spotlight with a dimensional vertical logo.

7. Tonal Embroidery

Tonal, color-on-color embroidery is one of the hottest ways to display a logo. Like in the past, the left chest is popular for logo placement, but more logos are showing up on back yokes. “Embroidery is going more tonal. It’s cool, hot and design-forward. You can get a French blue shirt with French blue embroidery. You can get a tone on tone, color on color, sold on solid. They are matching and blending with the garment,” says Bebon.

O’Connell echoes this decorating advice. “As far as logos go, you should be tonal. Black on black or black on gray,” he says.

Sales Tip

Since tonal embroidery is very sleek and crisp, think about selling this look on a uniform. In addition to schools, there are plenty of industries where employees are required to wear uniforms, such as hospitality and health care. Make the most of your supplier’s resources to create a really unique look.

Jennifer Vishnevsky is a staff writer for Advantages.

Hot off the Runway

Mariana Leung, founder and editor of MSFabulous.com, reports on fashion from around the world. “In North America, I saw a lot of clean, crisp looks at the spring 2011 shows,” she says.
Designers Cynthia Rowley and Vivienne Tam both showed ladylike jackets and cardigans ending just below the waist. They were paired with simple A-line skirts that hit above the knee.

Rebecca Minkoff also had a polished, clean aesthetic, but used knits instead of wovens to accomplish the look. Another option for casual chic came in the form of crisp, tailored pants. Christian Siriano from Project Runway created simple, polished looks for daytime in white and tan.

In fabrics, Leung saw eyelet, crochet and cotton lace fabrics on the runway. For spring/summer, another hot fabric is bamboo. “Bamboo knits have a wonderful hand, and bamboo is cooler in the summer than cotton,” says Holli Gibson, designer for LamanBlu. For fall/winter, Gibson points to cotton and bamboo knits, recycled poly/cotton, faux fur, alpaca wool and velvet.

For her spring 2011 L.A.M.B. runway show, singer/designer Gwen Stefani showcased rocker chic with more color than ever before, including the popular jewel tones used in other lines. Other notable trends from her show: bold prints and playful plaids.

They’ve Got You Covered - With global branding on its mind, Stormtech seeks to raise the standard in performance. From Wearables magazine. January, 2011.

They’ve Got You Covered
By Andraya Vantrease
January 2011

With global branding on its mind, Stormtech seeks to raise the standard in performance.

Contrary to popular belief, the sales for Stormtech Performance Apparel (asi/89864) are showing that customers are still willing to pay the extra buck for a high-quality item and a well-known brand. Steve Dewar, vice president of sales and marketing for Stormtech, has taught distributors to present the company’s products to their customers as a brand, rather than a commodity, in order to produce lucrative results.

Wearables: How did your company get started?
Steve Dewar: Stormtech was started in 1977 by the current owner, Blake Annable. He began designing and manufacturing sports equipment and apparel for the Canadian marketplace, and as time passed, technology improved and trends emerged in waterproof and breathable fabrics. Blake began manufacturing and producing these garments, and he broke into the promotional products market in the 1980s.

Wearables: What does Stormtech specialize in?
SD: We specialize in high-end products: waterproof, breathable, moisture-wicking apparel and accessories. We offer performance outerwear and accessories for the corporate and retail markets, athletic apparel to service the teamwear market and casual products to service the golf and resort markets. The main thing that we focus on more than anything is the high-end nature of the goods. We’ve been doing outerwear for quite some time now and the technical aspect of our outerwear continues to grow. We delved into the teamwear market around 2004, and now we’re introducing high-end teamwear products such as jerseys, shorts and moisture-wicking socks.

Wearables: What current apparel trends are you seeing?
SD: In apparel, the bar is continuously being raised. This winter and spring it’s about versatility and climatewear that performs: wind/waterproof shells, cool dry fabrics, stain-resistant fabrics, pockets for the latest technology likes iPhones and iPods, and system jackets that accommodate all seasons. Other trends include a lot of zippers, linings and hoods that allow the jacket to be changed from a winter style to a spring style. Performance shells, especially the soft shell, are popular now.

Wearables: Have people changed the way they wear and use these jackets?
SD: People used to go up the mountain with cotton T-shirts, and as soon as they started to exercise, sweat would hit their body. Then as soon as they got on the chair lift, they’d be freezing cold. People are a lot more into the breathable, layering aspect of these garments now. They’re starting to get that if they’re going to go for a run, why not wear something that’s going to breathe?

Wearables: What challenges does the company face and how do you overcome them?
SD: Keeping ahead of all the trends is a challenge. Since we specialize in high-end products, we are continually pushing the envelope in terms of designs and innovation for our goods. Especially in a down market, we’re coming out with high-end pieces and most people think that wouldn’t be the route to go, but it’s working very well for us. We’ve got a full-time product-development research team that is constantly researching, and the owner is a product guru, so his effort is focused on making sure the products are innovative. Another challenge is the competition with off-price products. Obviously a lot of our competitors are selling off-price goods, and that’s difficult for us to compete with; I would say that we don’t meet that head-on because we’re not going to take a $100 jacket and discount it to that type of level.

Wearables: Where do you see the company in five years? Ten years?
SD: In the next five years, we would like to see ourselves firmly planted in the U.S. and European markets in the promotional products business. A longer-term strategy: We are very focused on promoting ourselves as a brand and positioning it. We’ve got strategies to open up more retail locations, as well. We’ve recently expanded into China with 25 retail locations and before next fall, we’d like to double that.

Andraya Vantrease is an editorial intern for Wearables.

The American Dream - With inventory troubles and more overseas, U.S. manufacturers continue to find success at home. From Wearables magazine. Nov-Dec, 2010.
The American Dream
By Daniel Walsh
Nov-Dec, 2010

With inventory troubles and more overseas, U.S. manufacturers continue to find success at home.

They say the U.S. apparel industry is dying a slow death, and in the past it’s been hard to argue. The clothing tags of your favorite shirts tell the story. Made in China, made in Vietnam, made in Honduras, made in Bangladesh. But made in the USA? Not so much. No country on Earth imports more clothes than the U.S. More than 90% of apparel sold in the U.S. is made elsewhere, with China alone accounting for 35% of that, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Apparel and Footwear Association. It’s too expensive to produce here in the U.S., they say. People want cheap clothes, they say. Fashion trends come and go so quickly that quality supposedly doesn’t matter – price does. The high tariffs are gone now, thanks to the free trade deals of the 1990s. China is the new manufacturing king. And so it goes.

But a funny thing may have happened on the way to the funeral of the domestic apparel industry. To appropriate Mark Twain’s comment, reports of its death may have been exaggerated. While total apparel employment in the U.S. hit a 10-year low last October, the hemorrhaging of jobs also grinded to the lowest annual decrease in the past decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. What’s more, average wages have risen above $15 for the first time in at least five years.

It’s too early to tell whether the numbers reflect a self-contained industry stabilization or just a temporary bump in response to President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. But with China’s so-called “labor shortage” contributing in part to inventory shortages, higher import costs and longer shipping times overseas, American apparel manufacturers are emerging as a viable and stable alternative for buyers who say they’re seeing more competitive prices and available inventory. “The price gap has narrowed,” says Abdul Rashid, chief operating officer of AST Sportswear (asi/30244), an Anaheim, CA-based clothing manufacturer. “There’s a shortage of product in the marketplace. So it has created more of a demand for made-in-the-USA.”

This isn’t merely an apparel industry phenomenon, either. Companies like General Electric and Caterpillar have passed on China for new factories and instead moved to open them in the U.S. A May survey by MFG.com found 31% of North American manufacturers are researching production moves back to or closer to the home continent.

Much like free trade agreements set in motion the offshore movement in the 1990s, another key moment may have arrived. Is this when the U.S. apparel industry gets back on top of the game?

This isn’t the story of the poor souls who got left behind. Rather, it’s the story of those opportunistic few who saw a market gap and chose to fill it.

Only in America

The new American clothing story sits in an innocuous Anaheim industrial park. When massive apparel companies like Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and others vacated their U.S. factories to move offshore in the 1990s, AST Sportswear saw an opportunity and set up shop here. “That’s when we saw the void for a made-in-the-USA product,” says Rashid, one of several principals at AST, which produces the Bayside line. Everyone was moving their production abroad, Rashid says, “But there were still people who wanted goods made in the USA.”

With six other plants in southern California, the 15-year-old apparel company’s operations are a whirl of activity. Walk through one of it’s factories and you’ll see dozens of people at work. Activity is constant. Machines hum. People are everywhere, sewing shirts and passing them on to another. Cloth runs down conveyor belts after going through a cutting machine, and then it goes to people working the hem lines to fashion it into actual clothing.

AST has reason to be busy. When it committed to producing clothing domestically, demand outstripped supply. Rashid and his partners never planned to cater so much to groups demanding made-in-the-USA products when they started the company, but the offshoring exodus opened up a market gap so wide you could drive tractor trailers full of American-made clothes through it. So that’s exactly what they did, and there were few places better to do it than southern California, where apparel workers were looking for work. In 1996, 119,000 apparel and textile workers were employed in Los Angeles County, but by last year, the number had dropped to under 60,000.

AST became, as Rashid put it while walking through one of AST’s Anaheim factories, “a one-stop shop for someone who wants American-made apparel,” producing T-shirts, sweatshirts, fleeces, socks, aprons, tote bags and more. What started out as a flyer with T-shirts in four colors has become an 80-page catalog, all of it produced in the U.S. AST doesn’t try to compete with Chinese and other foreign imports on the imports’ major selling point. “We really don’t compete in price,” Rashid says. “If someone calls us about price, I say we don’t compete on price. We compete on quality.”

It’s more profit than patriotism that drives this business model. All of AST’s investors are either immigrants or children of immigrants from Pakistan, India and England, so there was no inherent “buy American” sentiment. Every year, unions look for American-made apparel because of their stances on “free trade” and “fair trade.” Political campaigns need shirts and hats with political slogans on them. “For example, in 2008, when President Obama was running, we supplied his entire campaign,” Rashid says. “When Bush was running, he didn’t care where the garments were made. They just had to be the cheapest ones. That’s why you saw shirts from China, the Dominican Republic, places like that. Last time, McCain came and bought shirts from us. So did Ron Paul, Ralph Nader.”

Still, made-in-the-USA apparel goes beyond the left and right wings. Big companies like Microsoft, Intel and Oracle have bought AST’s wares. The supplier exports a great deal to places such as Tahiti and Japan, the latter of which often looks down upon cheap imports from China or Korea. “Japan believes the garment quality in the U.S. is very high,” Rashid says. They don’t have a textiles industry. They have technology. If they have a product made in Korea and China, they think it’s inferior. They think American is a better product.”

But there’s something else AST competes on, and it’s remarkably timely now. AST has lots of inventory and gets to market very quickly, thanks to the 14 distribution centers around the U.S. that AST shares with other firms. “We’re not afraid of inventory,” Rashid says. “Most companies don’t have the money or space to handle inventory. That’s not a problem for us. If business is slow, we build inventory. If business is slow, no problem, we’ll sell it down the road.” AST can do that because it’s well capitalized, according to Rashid. When the recent recession cut orders, AST built up inventory. When demand increased, AST had it available when Chinese factories did not.

“AST has massive amounts of stock,” says Howard Levine, who runs Alliance Graphics (asi/117905) in Berkley, CA, and buys primarily U.S.-made apparel to decorate and sell. “I think it’s an expanding market,” he says of U.S.-made apparel, “not a shrinking one.”

Quality Over Price

Kirby Best agrees, and that’s why the former driver of the Canadian bobsled team started Performance Healthcare Products, which produces medical scrubs in Cullman, AL. Like AST, he espouses quality over price, though he’s eschewing inventory for a production-on-demand approach, tapping longtime textiles workers in Alabama who had been out of work due to offshoring. “You can buy cheap scrubs at Walmart,” Best says, “but if you want good-quality scrubs, you come to us.” Performance skips right past the middleman by producing on direct order for hospitals, such as the local Cullman Regional Medical Center. That model is necessary because Best doesn’t realize big-enough margins to make retail sales work. But the cost to his customer ends up being about the same under this model. “It’s about double what it costs to manufacture it in China, but you take out the transportation, the cost of inventory and the risk,” he says. “The cost to customers is about the same.”

Bill Thomas saw a market gap 20 years ago when he started Bill’s Khakis in his hometown of Reading, PA. As a college student, he found a pair of old-school khaki pants in an army surplus store and fell in love with them. Seeing no similar product on the market, he launched an authentic throwback line. “The trends have swung back to an American look, and that ranges from preppy to what would be considered an all-American workwear type of look,” Thomas says. “The pendulum in the fashion industry tends to swing back and forth every 20 years from European to Americana.” Now may be America’s time, as a technology-raised generation comes of age in the U.S. “There’s a second generation that’s discovering the authentically American heritage brands,” he says. “They like it. They want made-in-America because it’s authentic.”

Cali by Cal started in Los Angeles a little bit differently. Cal McCollum had moved from Texas to California for a job and started his own line of women’s clothing in 2002, taking on a no-frills third-floor warehouse space on the outskirts of the Los Angeles garment district, where he still works with three full-time employees in addition to contract shops. Unlike Bill’s Khakis, Cali by Cal doesn’t produce old-fashioned Americana. Instead, the firm designs camisoles, dresses, pants and shirts, all targeted toward a modern female client. Cali’s specialty is a “figure physics bra,” what others call a “shelf bra” – i.e., a bra built into the inside of a shirt. “We don’t like to call it a shelf bra because most of those are a piece of s**t,” McCollum says in his Texas accent as he walks by racks of clothes in his warehouse. “We’ve actually put a lot of research into it.” McCollum used to deal with foreign manufacturers, but not anymore. He grew tired of having foreign companies show him one quality of fabric and then send him something bunched, rough and basically unusable for the quality he wanted to produce. His decision to quit taking imported fabric came out of necessity. “The reason I don’t do it is quality and time,” he says. “Our return rate is 1%. I don’t have to worry about bait and switch.”

Now McCollum buys his fabric from American manufacturers and gives his clothing a “Made in the USA” tag. While some people buy because of that, it’s not his main selling point, and Thomas feels the same. “We don’t lead with the flag,” Thomas says. “We don’t say buy our brand because it’s made in America. Buy it because it’s good, and yeah, it’s nice that it’s made here, but here’s a product that is actually what it’s supposed to be.”

Manufacturing Success

Although it has suffered from a recent spate of troubles, American Apparel (asi/35297), perhaps the biggest U.S. clothing manufacturer of them all, is also seeing an uptick in interest for Made in the U.S. apparel.

Over the summer, barely a week went by without some bad news for the Los Angeles-based company: poor financial numbers, bottoming out of its stock prices, resignation of its auditing firm, a federal investigation into that resignation, three class-action lawsuits, and various prognostications of the firm’s imminent demise and bankruptcy. And just last year, the company was forced to lay off 1,500 employees who had no legal authorization to work in the U.S.

However, the trend-setting supplier showed signs of improvement as of press time. Billionaire Ron Burkle bought a 6% stake in the company, and share prices rebounded in September and October. British lender Lion Capital offered new credit terms to keep the company afloat, and former Blockbuster executive Tom Casey joined American as its acting president soon after in October. Analysts continue to trace the company’s greatest problems to the ill-timed opening of more than 285 retail stores right as the worldwide economy tanked. But what the news obscures is the fact that American Apparel found a workable manufacturing model that allowed it to rise so high in the first place.

American Apparel’s chief operations officer, Marty Bailey, has seen both sides of the offshore equation. He spent 15 years at Fruit of the Loom, about half of which were spent moving the company’s operations abroad and opening about 40 offshore factories for the company. “Of course, when you do that, you get to see the true cost,” he says. “It’s not just the labor. It’s the logistics. It’s the transit. It’s getting it there and getting it back. It’s the quality.” Bailey came away convinced the business model at those factories could work stateside. Upon joining American Apparel, he put Fruit of the Loom’s team model to work, and it was on display one September afternoon on a tour of one of his Los Angeles factories. “You’re in the largest apparel manufacturing facility in North America right now,” Bailey says, before conceding that Mexico might have a competitor to that title. “Back in 1995, you couldn’t have said that.”

American Apparel employees are split up into teams, each of which works on one type of garment, and they seldom switch types. One team may be on T-shirts, while another is on baby clothes. The team starts with fabric. One person hems a sleeve. Maybe the next gets a collar. They pass it on down the line. At the end, that fabric is a shirt that goes into a box, gets audited by an inspector, and then goes on a conveyor belt to the adjacent distribution warehouse. The workers are paid by the completed garment, not by the hour, and a chart at each team’s station shows how much they make every hour. In most cases, it works out to over $12 an hour per employee. “Our company’s success is based on the success of the people doing the work,” Bailey says. “The more successful they are, the more successful we are. If I pay people by the hour, I’m buying their time. If I pay by the piece, I’m buying their effort.” After Bailey joined the company in 2002 and implemented this model, production rates tripled.

What does American Apparel’s rollercoaster ride say about the state of U.S. manufacturing? If your glass is half full, it says U.S. apparel manufacturing can still work, particularly if foreign competition can’t sustain low wages and high production. If it’s half empty, it says American Apparel’s higher wages left too little room for error.

But perhaps there’s another option – choice C, if you will. In January 2009, FIBER, an online journal of the international apparel industry, surveyed its readers to ask people’s opinions on the future of the U.S. apparel industry. Of the respondents, 21% thought production would increase due to consumer concerns about social responsibility, and 26% said domestic production was gone for good and would continue to decline. The rest – 53% – said they thought the domestic market was “stable for niche production.” “Even the big guys want some short-term fill-ins, and there continues to be a demand for U.S.-made apparel,” says Marsha Dickson, a professor of fashion and apparel studies who chairs that department at the University of Delaware, which publishes FIBER. “So there’s definitely room for a market niche.”

Dickson sees more interest for local designs and clothes produced in good working conditions. Those people who want to draw on American clothing factories don’t have as many manufacturing options as they once did. Perhaps this is another market gap that new or expanding manufacturers might exploit, but for the moment, it’s just that – a gap. “What is the area where we can keep business?” Dickson asks. “Where are the niches? And I don’t have an answer to it. I get all these e-mails from people who want to start an ethical fashion business. They say, ‘Where is this list of American factories?’ I say, it’s not that easy.” Dickson doesn’t forecast an industry comeback, but then again, she says she’s not the crystal-ball type. Like others, Dickson looks at the facts – the closing of factories, offshoring and price gap – and is left with more questions than answers. In the end, the answers will come from people either willing or unwilling to invest in the U.S. apparel industry.

Daniel Walsh is a staff writer for Wearables.

To Buy or Not to Buy American

How important is the made-in-the-USA tag when it comes to buying apparel? There isn’t a simple answer. For many customers, price rules all, and though the price gap with cheap imports may have narrowed, it hasn’t disappeared. “I would rather sell 100% made in the USA, based on my own feelings on it,” says Adam Wright of Pulse Marketing and Apparel, a distributor based in Scottsdale, AZ, “but I have to give my clients what they want. And Gildan, Hanes and Fruit of the Loom have better pricing.” But if your clients are willing to look beyond price, they are definite reasons to buy American. Here are three:
1. Markets: There are lots of groups that prefer or even require apparel made here. They include unions, political campaigns, patriotic committees (who might hold a Fourth of July parade) and even big companies demonstrating their commitment to domestic manufacturing. And overseas markets like Japan love it, too.
2. Quality: Yes, foreign goods can be cheaper. However, "Most people say that price is the most important thing. But it's not always the most important,” says Howard Levine, who runs Alliance Graphics (asi/117905) and buys U.S.-made apparel. “Quality and service matter."
3. Convenience: What takes weeks sometimes for overseas manufacturers to deliver can take days for U.S. ones. Also, other issues like customs snafus and tariff markups can be avoided easily.

License To Play - A top end-user market (education) plus the number-one product category (yes, apparel) can equal big opportunities for distributors. From Counselor magazine. July, 2010.

License To Play
By Dave Vagnoni
July 2010

A top end-user market (education) plus the number-one product category (yes, apparel) can equal big opportunities for distributors. But to tap into the college apparel market, distributors need to know how to navigate the licensing process. Here’s a primer.

For Rob Bragonier, it was the best business mistake he’s ever made. It happened a dozen years ago when Bragonier’s shop, Altoona, PA-based Pro Active Sports (asi/299632), decorated some apparel using a collegiate logo. “We had done a job for Penn State and I was naive and didn’t know we needed a license,” Bragonier says. “A local competitor turned us in.”

It wasn’t long before Bragonier’s phone rang. On the other end of the line was a representative from Penn State’s Office of Licensing. “She told me we were in violation,” he remembers, “but she was extremely nice and helped me through the process of getting a license.”

Bragonier knows he could have been slapped with a fine or been the target of legal action. He got a well-timed, business-changing break. And to his credit, he’s taken advantage of it. Since that first unauthorized order, Pro Active Sports has secured a steady flow of Penn State-related work. “One of our best clients is Penn State-Altoona,” says Bragonier, whose 10-person company produces annual revenues in excess of $1 million. “We do T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets. After trying desperately for a while, we got into the main campus, too. Through a referral, we now do work for the basketball program at PSU. We’ve been very fortunate.”

Scripted with a happy ending, Bragonier’s story is both incredibly unique and incredibly common. Unlike most, Pro Active Sports avoided a penalty after a clear licensing violation. Yet, like many, Bragonier was unaware of the increasingly complicated collegiate licensing process. “It’s still a bit embarrassing for me,” he admits.

Understandably, to even well-versed and longtime distributors, collegiate licensing can be a bit tricky. At worst, though, it’s a migraine-generating, paperwork-driven torture test. That’s where Counselor comes in. We’re here to help take away the pain. With the expertise of university administrators, key trademark industry players and “been there, done that” distributors, Counselor has compiled this straightforward, how-to collegiate licensing guide.

Getting Started
Let’s say you’re a distributor in the college and economic hotbed of Raleigh, NC. You’re interested in obtaining a license to sell apparel printed with the locally popular logos of Duke, UNC and NC State. Your first thought might be to call the schools for information. Don’t bother. “We get a lot of calls from first timers and we send them right to the LRG website,” says Gregg Zarnstorff, director of trademark licensing for NC State. “That starts the process for them.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, LRG is the Licensing Resource Group, one of the two major collegiate properties associations in the country. LRG represents about 160 colleges and universities, from NC State to Bemidji State. CLC, or the Collegiate Licensing Company, is the older of the two firms, representing schools with powerhouse athletic programs like Alabama, Texas, Penn State, Kansas and Duke.

For these two firms – and the sports apparel distributors that can tap into the business – the market is immense. Only taking into account athletics, collegiate licensing generates about $4 billion in revenues annually, according to research firm IMG Worldwide. “It’s a dynamic industry that never goes on strike and has a huge fan base,” says Lisa Tomlinson, vice president of marketing for LRG.

Because the trademark business has gotten so big, if you want a license from just about any school, you must first apply with LRG or the CLC. And, since schools can choose which agency they want to be affiliated with, you might have to apply to both LRG and the CLC for licenses. Indeed, in the example of Raleigh, NC, anyone who wants to sell logoed apparel to Duke, UNC and NC State would have to apply to both agencies for licenses.

Applying For A License
Both LRG and the CLC provide extremely detailed applications that include questions about a potential licensee’s marketing plans, sales force, industry experience, current liability insurance, manufacturing locations and geographic selling niches. Entire application sections focus on social responsibility and factory disclosure, obligations and fees, as well as product enhancement programs. “We try to be very upfront and not make the process hard or have applicants feel threatened,” says Tomlinson. “We welcome new companies and we work to treat the process like a partnership.”

While LRG and the CLC may view licensees as partners, their clients are the schools they represent. That means the agencies are responsible for finding the best licensees to fit within a school’s pre-established parameters, with different colleges prioritizing different areas. For example, administrators at Gonzaga might want to expand their notoriety outside of the Pacific Northwest by granting licenses to companies in the Midwest, while decision-makers at NC State might want licensees that can provide more eco-friendly apparel options. “We’re looking for unique products,” says Zarnstorff. “I see eco-fabrics as a coming trend. Right now, there are a lot of cotton tees out there.”

In the case of a T-shirt, Tomlinson believes companies can set themselves apart by offering creativity and full-service options. “We’ll look at the cut, the fabrics, whether they have women’s products, the method of decoration, whether it’s fashion-oriented and if it’s made in America,” she says.

The application to become a licensee can put a distributor through several phases. After filling out pages of paperwork, potential licensees are asked to submit designs and samples incorporating a school’s marks, complete product specification sheets and show how they’ll meet labeling requirements. In a third phase, companies are asked to agree to labor codes of conduct and pay advance and administrative fees. The entire process usually takes up to 90 days before a license is either granted or denied.

“In the past, it was a much easier process,” says Dennis Edwards, president of South Carolina-based Bobby Edwards Enterprises (asi/186040). “We were one of the first ever to be licensed with the CLC. In the beginning, deals were done with a friendly handshake. Now there’s a lot more legality to it.”

Types Of Licenses
A company can apply for one of three types of licenses. A standard license allows a company to produce items for extensive resale, usually with permissions from several schools. An in-state license allows a company to produce items for resale for one local school only. Lastly, a restricted or internal use license allows a company to produce non-retail items that are sold directly to an individual school. All licenses are reviewed annually. “We review companies based on their merits, not based on money,” Tomlinson says.

Even so, licensees are greatly segmented based on the value they offer to a school and their effectiveness in generating revenue. That means standard licenses are most commonly granted to larger manufacturers – think adidas and Nike – or medium-size businesses that specialize in collegiate apparel programs. In-state licenses are the preferred choice for companies with close ties to a local school, particularly its athletic department. Restricted or internal use licenses might be acquired to accommodate several annual orders that may be placed by an alumni association or a student group.

“Don’t be mistaken, this can be an intimidating and cumbersome process,” says Terry McGuire, senior vice president of marketing at Counselor Top 40 distributor Halo/Lee Wayne (asi/356000), which holds licenses for about 75 collegiate schools. “If a distributor is just doing a few orders, I wouldn’t go through it. Now, if a distributor has a very good working relationship with a school, it can be very, very worthwhile.”

And, while that license is definitely worthwhile to the serious collegiate-apparel distributor, it can also be costly. Because of processing, administrative, fair labor and auditing fees, plus insurance costs, a license costs about $500 annually. “Really, many of these fees are meant to ensure that a company is serious about licensing,” Zarnstorff says.

Licensees will also be charged royalty payments, which are generally about 10% of net sales. These payments are typically made quarterly through a licensing agency, which then sends the royalties to the appropriate school. Advance royalty fees, considered a deposit on future payments, are often required for apparel contracts. The larger the school, the larger the advance guarantee, with $500 being a common deposit for major athletic conference programs.

Reasons To Consider Licensing
Rapidly growing apparel distributor Kotis Design (asi/244898) was started seven years ago by three innovative and passionate University of Washington students. “I love what college represents and I know the college market,” says Jeff Becker, one of Kotis’ co-founders and current president. “We’re very aggressive in getting licenses.”

That strategy, which includes applying for 12 licenses annually, has helped Kotis become a leading provider of collegiate logoed apparel. With sales climbing into the mid seven-figure range, Kotis has achieved a three-year growth rate of 187%. “We feel like we have the best products and we have amazing people who work here,” says Becker, who has a 37-person staff.

Not only does Kotis hold licenses with 50 different colleges and universities, it also holds trademark rights for fraternities and sororities. That means Kotis can produce a T-shirt for a Delta Gamma charity softball game with both a school’s logo and the corresponding Greek letter logo. “We sell a lot to fraternities and sororities,” Becker says. “It’s about a third of what we do.”

Because Kotis holds multiple licenses, the company can accept orders other distributors can’t, all the while building a word-of-mouth referral network in hundreds of Greek houses across the country.

Now, while the licensing payoff has been huge for Kotis, the initial costs it must pay are also steep. The company pays royalties, including advance fees, of 10% to both collegiate and Greek life licensing agencies. “It’s really expensive, so you have to bring in revenue,” Becker says.

That’s why Kotis’ staff tries hard to be selective in submitting collegiate licensing applications. “I’m not going to apply for a license at Notre Dame,” Becker says. “I know we’re not going to get it. But it’s about relationships. We recently got a license at the University of Utah because people kept asking us to do it. We know we’re going to get sales through that.”

Of course, Kotis’ sales growth is just one example of how licensing can benefit a company. Two years ago, Tennessee-based Sommet Promotions (asi/349742) teamed up with ISP Sports, which holds the broadcasting rights for Vanderbilt University athletics. Combining its license with a strong relationship with ISP, Sommet (formerly known as BrandCentrik) has begun providing game-day basketball, baseball and football giveaways, including T-shirts. “We designate one game per season and we co-brand our logo with Vanderbilt’s logo,” says Jeff Sowell, chief marketing officer for Sommet.

Two states away in Indiana, Fine Promotions (asi/194115) holds licenses for IU and Ball State, successfully selling apparel to the latter while avoiding royalties. “We’ll do work for the president’s office at Ball State,” says Robb Fine, CEO. “Maybe they’ll want nice polos or jackets, or even ties with the school’s logo on there.” Because the products Fine provides are for internal university use rather than resale, he’s exempt from royalty fees.

In Dodge City, KS, Gavin Unruh has enjoyed a history of licensing success with a smaller school. “Fort Hays State had an active recruiter in our area,” says Unruh, co-owner of EmbroideMe of Dodge City (asi/384129). “They had major sponsorships with golf tournaments and we’d do golf polos for them. It got us some exposure.”

Finally, while good planning, close client relationships and hard work matter greatly in selling licensed apparel, location is no doubt key, as well. No area in the country is friendlier to licensees than Tompkins County, NY, home to unaffiliated Ithaca College and CLC-affiliated Cornell University. “I do T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts for local retailers,” says Sharon Gold, owner of Gold Screen Printing (asi/209299). “I’ve never had to pay any royalties because we’re in Tompkins County.”

As a way to support local businesses, school administrators decided many years ago to waive royalty fees for county licensees. “CLC tells us Cornell is the only school in the country that does this,” says Mike Powers, spokesman for Cornell’s university communications office. “It’s been that way as long as I can remember and it probably will always be that way.”

Licensing Challenges
Appleback LLC (asi/123011) is one of the busiest screen-printing shops in New Jersey, evidenced by the fact that owner Jill Valentino only averages about four hours of sleep every night. “My friends call me the Energizer Bunny,” she jokes. Yet, when the topic switches to the collegiate licensing process, she is no longer in a joking mood. “It’s the biggest hassle in the world,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

It was March 2009 when Valentino applied to become a licensee for Rutgers University, which is affiliated with CLC. For reasons Valentino still can’t explain, it took until December for Appleback to receive a license. Then, when she was finally set up for her first order, a communications mix-up led to some strange-looking pants.

“I was given verbal approval for a Rutgers hockey logo,” Valentino says. “Then later they came back and said I had to add ‘ice’ before ‘hockey.’” The confusion meant, in limited time, that Valentino had to insert the word “ice” in a vertical design on pairs of flannel pants. The design already included the large Rutgers’ “R” that’s commonly used as the university’s main logo. “Those pants that read Rice hockey, yup, that was us,” she says, with a bit of disgust.

Besides the artwork snafu, Valentino has also been challenged by the costs she’s incurred as a licensee. “I’ve spent $800 to $1,000 already and that’s not counting all the time I’ve spent on paperwork and on the phone,” she says.

While Dave St. Clair respects licensing agencies, he can relate to the angst felt by Valentino. At one time, St. Clair’s company, then known as Midwest Embroidery, was one of the top 20 CLC licensees in the country. But, during the 1990s, the licensing landscape changed. “It just got to be a commodity business and it wasn’t as exciting for us,” laments St. Clair, now vice president of South Bend, IN-based St. Clair Apparel (asi/332918). “I would consider getting back into the collegiate licensing business, but I would be careful of the partners I chose, meaning retailers.” And yet the opportunities are too great to pass up. Despite industry changes, St. Clair Apparel still works on smaller projects for IU, Purdue and Notre Dame. “We still have our hand in the game, but we don’t resell,” St. Clair says.

While price is one obstacle to overcome, there are further challenges to consider. The collegiate licensing industry is exceptionally detail-driven, with universities growing increasingly protective of their trademarks. Sizes, slogans and colors must be exact. “Kansas State is very, very particular about the purple used for its logo,” says Luke Scoby, a salesperson for Kansas City-based Custom Specialties (asi/173252). “There really aren’t that many purples, but it has to be right.”

While careful treatment of school trademarks is important, so is the issue of social compliance and fair labor. As an example, more than a dozen schools cut ties with licensee Russell Athletic in 2009 after questions arose about the company’s labor practices at a plant in Honduras. “Suppliers have done a good job with product safety,” says Halo’s McGuire, “but there are some that are still learning about social compliance.” Before a business can become a collegiate licensee, it may have to join the Fair Labor Association and pay yearly dues. “About one third of the major universities are part of the Fair Labor Association,” McGuire says.

Dave Vagnoni is senior writer for Counselor.

Common Licensing Application Questions

Does your company have a corporate social responsibility program?
Have you ever been involved in a product liability claim?
What distinguishes your company from the competition?
How will your product be packaged?
Have you ever been denied a trademark license?
Courtesy of the Licensing Resource Group

Supreme Court Weighs In

In a landmark licensing case decided in May, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the National Football League’s request for broad antitrust law protection. Justices unanimously overturned a lower court decision, ruling that the NFL isn’t a single entity, but rather a consortium of 32 separately owned teams. The ruling is a major victory for plaintiff American Needle, an apparel manufacturer, which brought suit against the NFL after the league awarded Reebok with an exclusive apparel license. The High Court decision could affect the future of licensing in the following ways:

Individual NFL teams may be allowed to negotiate separate apparel contracts with a manufacturer of their choice. Currently, Reebok is the only manufacturer licensed to produce NFL apparel.
Other major sports leagues may be more hesitant to designate an exclusive apparel licensee, fearing a lawsuit from a spurned manufacturer. At the very least, more companies will likely be allowed to bid for exclusive contracts.
Major League Baseball is now likely to permanently remain the only professional sports league to enjoy a broad antitrust law exemption, meaning the league’s licensing decisions cannot be challenged in court.

Taking Over The World One T-Shirt At A Time - Eric Hamlin sells $2 million in apparel – mostly T-shirts – every year. Here are the secrets behind his success. From Counselor magazine. January, 2010.

Taking Over The World One T-Shirt At A Time
By Betsy Cummings
January 2010

Eric Hamlin sells $2 million in apparel – mostly T-shirts – every year. Here are the secrets behind his success. (Hint: The education market is highly involved.)

The phone came flying across the room. Eric Hamlin reached out and grabbed it as he walked into the interview. “Jeff threw me this cordless phone and said, ‘Call this number and sell them a shirt,’” recalls Hamlin, now the sales manager of Kotis Design LLC (asi/244898), an apparel distributor in Seattle.

“Jeff” would be Jeff Becker, the company’s president and baptism-by-fire interviewer. It’s not every job interview where the person on the other side of the desk starts barking out orders. But that was the situation Hamlin found himself in five years ago when he came to Kotis looking for a job.

Hamlin immediately took the phone in his hand. Becker quickly ticked off a number to call. Fumbling with the phone, Hamlin plugged in the digits and waited for somebody on the other end to answer. He had no idea what he was doing.

Hamlin was connected to the University of Tennessee campus. To whom was anyone’s guess. “Hello,” he recalls speaking haltingly into the receiver after a woman picked up on the other end. “We sell customized shirts. Do you need any?”

“Why are you calling me?” the confused prospect shot back. “How did you get this number?”
“I didn’t land that order,” Hamlin says, laughing. “I don’t remember what I said, but somehow I passed the test. I started working the next day.”

A Slow Start
It may have been somewhat of an embarrassing beginning, but Hamlin knew he was cut out for the work. He had read a job posting for T-shirt sales and decided to apply. As the president of his fraternity and purchaser of apparel for fraternity events, he was familiar with Kotis and its product line. But the company’s aggressive sales techniques were new to him. He’d have a lot to learn.

These days Hamlin, 26, hawks T-shirts to the tune of $2 million a year in sales. “We like to say we’re taking over the world one T-shirt at a time,” he says. He’s joking (sort of), but he might as well not be.

Through trial and error and reading any business and sales books he could find, Hamlin dove into the job, hitting the phones all day, covering his “territory,” which really was the entire U.S. “I was just trying to skim the fat off the top by making connections with a certain number of people every day,” Hamlin says. The more calls he made, he figured, the greater his chances for making those connections.

His first order – to a group, coincidentally, at the University of Tennessee – was a $600 deal for 80 American Apparel (asi/35297) T-shirts to be worn at a sorority-sponsored softball tournament. “It was to Pi Beta Phi,” Hamlin recalls. Eventually, “She was one of my best customers,” even if Hamlin thought the T-shirt design for that first order – a simple image of two softball bats – was a little dull.

At the time Hamlin and the rest of the company’s sales team sold shirts “in classic start-up style” – out of an uncle’s basement, getting by on a diet of ramen noodles and adrenalin from a job that paid commission only. The space, Hamlin says, wasn’t much bigger than two dorm rooms put together and was almost alarming in its appearance and accessibility. “I had to go to this basement through an alleyway entrance, and there was no signage,” he remembers.

But that’s OK, Hamlin thought. This would be a short-lived gig. Still in school as a drama major with plans to enter law school, he intended for his time at Kotis to be temporary, a way to make extra cash while at college. But what started as a part-time gig making countless outbound calls very quickly became a bigger job. Only a week into it, Hamlin says, he was put in charge of a fellow seller. That employee quit; Hamlin continued on.

Eventually his confidence and selling skills grew. So did his sales, with growth to this day averaging 34% year over year, he says. In fact, Kotis ranked number 29 on the Puget Sound Business Journal’s List of Fastest-Growing Companies in the Seattle area, with a three-year revenue growth of 187%. At some point Hamlin realized that selling T-shirts might offer a more rewarding and lucrative career than working as a lawyer – a realization that horrified his parents. “What are you thinking?!” Hamlin recalls his parents saying when he announced he was forgoing law school for a future with Kotis.

He’d just scored a 165 on his LSAT (well above the average score of 150) and showed promise as a future litigator. It wasn’t until Hamlin bought his first car – an Audi – with the commissions he made from those T-shirt sales that his father realized that promotional products might not only provide Hamlin a good income, but also a challenging, fulfilling career. Even further proof of Hamlin’s T-shirt success: He recently bought a house in Seattle’s gentrified Ballard neighborhood.

Learning The Ropes
In the beginning, Hamlin admits, he was clueless. He’d pick up the phone and call one school after another, saying whatever came to mind. “I shot for 20 calls an hour if I could do it,” he says from his office, which, today, sits two blocks from the University of Washington campus in an office building rather than a basement.

At first Hamlin jumped in with whatever pitch he could, beefing up his message through self-education from business books. Over time he crafted a loose script, and decided to focus on the “relationship sell” he’d read so much about in those books and experienced organically in his dealings with clients.

Today that’s the idea Hamlin emphasizes to his 15-person sales staff, which focuses on the collegiate market. “We call it the 30-second relationship,” he says. “If you can’t find a common bond with a prospect in 30 seconds, you’re just another voice on the phone.”

How to make that connection? Learn your market and your client. For starters, Hamlin makes sure he knows the school mascot, colors, schedule and scores of athletic teams, changes going on around campus, new academic developments, happenings at the latest tailgate parties – literally anything that could be a conversation starter. He lets the prospect know that he not only knows T-shirts, he knows a lot about the school he’ll be selling the T-shirts to. “If there’s a hurricane off of Florida and I’m calling a school there, I bring it up,” he says. “If you can have a bond beyond just being a sales prospect, then they’ll remember you.”

Speaking the lifestyle language of his prospects and clients is crucial, Hamlin says, which is why he focuses exclusively on and sells deep into the college arena, rather than turning his attention to unfamiliar markets. “I can’t call someone in the finance industry or the medical industry because I know nothing about it,” he says. “I’ve tried and crashed and burned.”

But, when it comes to the academic arena, Hamlin says, “I have no problem calling the athletic director” at any college or university and jumping in about the team’s record, because he’s familiar and comfortable with the dialogue amongst college campuses. That helps to establish a relaxed, friendly rapport with prospects.

And though Hamlin is a proponent of scripts, the key to high sales, says the former drama major, is knowing when to ad-lib. “If you can take a script and memorize and internalize it and you understand the flow of how a conversation should go, you can improvise,” he says. “The best actors memorize a storyline and know the script so they can fall back on it, but most of their lines are ad-libbed.”

A Loyal Following
That free-flowing attitude also extends to Hamlin’s views on developing customer loyalty, offering to fulfill orders and make clients happy even if it means stepping way beyond his responsibilities. Recently, when a client’s order at the University of Oregon looked like it was going to be a day late, Hamlin offered to drive the order two-and-a-half hours from Seattle to Eugene, OR, to make sure the client would get it on the day requested.

Of course, having that kind of dedication to customer service means that Hamlin is rarely off the job. Even when he’s not working, he’s focused on T-shirts. “I’m obsessive compulsive when it comes to what people are wearing,” says Hamlin, who admits he was never fashionable in college. “Now my friends know if they’re wearing a shirt that’s new, I’ll touch it and feel it. I’ll look at the tag and tell them it’s a Peruvian cotton or that it’s a burnout style or a longer-length shirt.”

That knowledge required heavy immersion and education in apparel manufacturing, Hamlin says. “It took me at least two years to really understand all the different nuances of basic tees,” he says. Once he knew the shirts, he conquered his clients. “We like to say that we sell sexy,” Hamlin jokes, because so many of his clients are sororities. That means sourcing the latest trendy tee. This year, for example, that means American Apparel’s Deep V-Neck T-shirt.

“I think the way Eric works is the same way our business does, which is to be motivated and driven and always trying to improve things,” Becker says. “I think a lot of companies are OK with where they’re at. We’re not OK with where we’re at.”

Not ever, says Becker, who started Kotis with his brother Daniel and another partner, Nicolay Thomassen, while the three were students at the University of Washington. And what was once just the three of them has grown into a multi-million dollar operation with 34 employees. Now there is no limit to how big the company could get, and Becker says Hamlin exhibits the same attitude toward collegiate T-shirt sales – that there’s no limit to how big the business could expand.

With the market contracting a bit, that growth will mean penetrating some of the markets where Hamlin hasn’t had as much success. “We’re really strong on the west coast,” he says, but admits he struggles more with the style sensibilities of southern colleges. “We don’t quite get the southern vibe,” he says. “They wear a lot of pocket tees. I’ve never worn one in my life, but they all want that.”

And giving clients what they want is Hamlin’s specialty. Says Becker, “Eric’s had lots of opportunities to sell other things, but he’s very focused on what he is selling, and that’s shirts.”

Betsy Cummings is senior writer for Counselor.

Find Your Decoration Destiny - Is apparel decorating a good idea for your business? Here’s a primer on five popular forms of apparel decoration, with expert advice on what makes it worthwhile and how to get started. From Wearables magazine. October, 2010.

Find Your Decoration Destiny
By Tonia Cook Kimbrough
October 2010

Is apparel decorating a good idea for your business? Here’s a primer on five popular forms of apparel decoration, with expert advice on what makes it worthwhile and how to get started.

In today’s marketplace, where clients seek imprinted apparel on a shoestring budget with short lead times, you’ve likely toyed with the idea of bringing some of the more popular and basic decorating techniques in-house. After all, decorating garments yourself allows for smaller-quantity orders, tighter production controls and better margins. Then again, if it were that easy, you might have already done it by now.

Surely, you have questions: “What decoration technique is best to start with? What equipment am I going to need? How much is this going to cost me?” To provide perspective, Wearables has gathered insights on five top decorating techniques: heat transfer, sublimation, direct-to-garment, screen printing and embroidery. We’ve provided key information about what they are, the equipment each requires and the apparel each works best with. Also, check out the accompanying grid to see the cost, difficulty and the pros and cons of each. By the end, you’ll know which decoration technique is right for you.

Heat Transfer

What is it? A form of garment decorating that uses a heat-press machine to apply a heat transfer onto a garment. You can create a transfer with an output device such as a printer or vinyl cutter, or order them pre-made from a transfer supplier. “The transfers have heat-activated adhesive backing that adheres when pressed onto the garment with an accurate amount of time, temperature and pressure,” says Josh Ellsworth, general manager at Stahls’ CAD-Cut Direct.

What equipment do you need? If you plan to create and apply your own heat transfers, you’ll need a heat press, an output device such as a printer or vinyl cutter, compatible adhesive papers or films, and inks. However, if you plan to purchase heat transfers from suppliers, you need only a heat-press machine.

Whichever route you choose, “Find a heat press that has versatility,” Ellsworth advises. “Look for one with interchangeable platens that will accommodate a variety of substrates. You’ll spend a couple hundred dollars more up front, but this is a 10- to 20-year investment.” (A platen is the bottom plate of the heat press. Platens come in various sizes and shapes to allow decorators to transfer heat-applied graphics to a wide range of apparel and accessories.)

Ellsworth also stresses, “It is very important to be sure the heat press you choose delivers even temperature across all areas of the platen.” Another tip: Look for a heat press with digital temperature and pressure gauges.
What type of apparel and fabrics work best? “You can pretty much decorate any style of shirt, jersey, jacket, pants or shorts with all presses,” Ellsworth says. “If you want to venture into items with more complex constructions, such as bags, gloves, shoes, etc., you’ll need to look for a press that offers flexibility. Also, the transfer technology is now so vast that you can find options to accommodate most any kind of fabric.”

Sublimation

What is it? Jimmy Lamb, manager of communication at Sawgrass Technologies, describes sublimation as a simple three-step process: 1) create, 2) print, and 3) press. It starts by creating the graphic using an art program such as CorelDRAW or Photoshop. The graphic is then sent to a sublimation printer and printed out onto transfer paper.

Last, it goes onto a garment with a heat press. “The combination of heat, time and pressure causes the sublimation inks on the transfer paper to turn into a gas and migrate into any polymer fibers they come in contact with,” Lamb says. “The end result is a vivid, full-color image that is permanently embedded in the fibers of the garment.”

What equipment do you need? “Desktop sublimation relies on the use of an office-style inkjet printer that is supported as a sublimation-ready system (select models of Epson and Ricoh printers),” says Lamb. All it takes is sublimation ink and a software driver to convert it. (A list of supported printers can be found at www.saw
grasstechnologies.com.) A heat press machine will be needed, as well.

What type of apparel and fabrics work best? “Sublimation only works with polymer fibers, so in the case of apparel that means polyester,” Lamb says – good news, given the demand for performance apparel. He also notes that sublimation works on a number of hard-surface items, including flip-flops, coasters, clocks, signs, mugs, aluminum water bottles, mouse pads, photo panels, dog tags, ornaments, office décor and more.

Direct-to-Garment

What is it? “The way it works is very similar to printing to a desktop printer,” says Paul Green, AnaJet Applications manager. An image is created in Photoshop and imported into a RIP (Raster Image Processor) program. Next, select your ink settings depending on the fabric and saturation level (heavier apparel like sweatshirts need more ink saturation). When this is complete, you simply press the “print” button. However, Green adds, “Once the garment has been printed, it must be heat-cured by a heat press or conveyor dryer.”

What equipment do you need? “You will need a digital apparel printer, a heat press and graphic software to begin,” Green says. Jessica Cho, also of AnaJet, offers additional tips for choosing equipment: “Determine whether the printer has good ink flow,” she says. “Many printers are fundamentally flawed, with considerable problems that stem from ink-flow issues and clogged print-head nozzles. The second consideration is the manufacturer’s ability to provide support. Call the maker’s tech-support line to learn whether you can get a live technician without a significant wait.”

What type of apparel and fabrics work best? Preferably you’ll want to print on a flat surface; T-shirts are the most traditional option for direct-to-garment printers. Direct-to-garment also works for a number of other items, including polos, sweaters, hoodies, jeans, aprons and bibs. But, be sure to keep fabric requirements in mind. “The direct-to-garment printers typically use water-based pigmented inks, which are suitable for cotton fabrics,” Cho says. “Most of these inks will also work well with poly-cotton or cotton-polyester 50% blends.” While standard inks won’t work on man-made fibers like polyester or nylon, there are special inks (AnaJet offers one called PolyBright) especially for this use.

Screen Printing

What is it? Screen printing is considered a stencil-printing process. Johnny Shell, VP of technical services for SGIA, explains the process: “A woven mesh is tightly stretched over a frame and coated with a light-sensitive liquid material, called emulsion. Once dry, it is water-soluble; however, when the emulsion is exposed to light, it hardens to form an impermeable stencil. A film positive with the image to be printed is created. The clear areas of the film allow light to pass through and harden the emulsion. Opaque areas of the film that represent the image block light from the emulsion, which stays water-soluble in those areas. After exposure, the stencil is washed and the unexposed emulsion washes away, leaving the open mesh to allow ink to pass through. A rubber squeegee is used to push ink through these open areas onto the printing substrate.”

What equipment do you need? Chris Thomas of Atlas Screen Supply Company advises shoppers to insist on three things when buying screen-printing equipment. First, he stresses the importance of a quality exposure unit. “An exposure unit should have at least six high-output bulbs with a vacuum-blanket top,” he says. “Second, select a four-color press with micro-registration. This allows you to move screens very slightly, making adjustments so that multiple colors come together in a way that the image looks right.” Last, he suggests a conveyor drier, noting that many distributors and decorators settle for just a flash drier, which only halfway dries the ink between screens. “This is where designs get bent, because plastisol ink has to reach 320 degrees to cure and be washfast,” he says. “You should have a flash drier and a conveyor drier.”

What type of apparel and fabrics work best? Screen-print inks are versatile enough to work on a wide variety of fabrics. “Plastisol is the most popular ink system in use and is used on cotton, cotton-poly blends, polyester and nylon,” Shell says. “Special inks and/or additives are needed for polyesters and nylon, so check with your supplier.” In addition, there are water-based inks (which provide a softer hand and don’t carry phthalates like plastisol).

Embroidery

What is it? Digitized artwork guides embroidery machines to stitch threads via automated needles into desired designs of texture and color. “To me, digitizing is the basis for good embroidery,” says Bruce Korn, president of ZakBack Inc. (asi/365556), who added embroidery equipment to his distributorship to better control production as client demand increased. “Embroidery is not difficult, but it is an art form.”

Embroidery Coach Joyce Jagger, who authored The Truth About Embroidery Business Success
(www.embroiderytipsandmore.com), recommends hands-on training focused on the type of embroidery work you plan to produce. “In addition to learning the equipment,” she says, “you must understand how to hoop; what types of backing, needles and threads to use; how to create underlay stitches and top stitching. There are a lot of little details.”

What equipment do you need? “New and used equipment is readily available,” Korn says. “Single-head machines are the smallest, and units go up to 12 heads or more. To start properly, you need an embroidery machine, embroidery hoops, digitizing software, a computer and a way to manage thread.” Jagger recommends beginning small, but investing in quality. “A good single-head embroidery machine gives you a lot of flexibility, but you want top-of-the-line equipment and software. You’ll get a lot more run time, less downtime and quicker return on investment,” she says.

What type of apparel and fabrics work best? Embroidery works well for most any fabric or style of garment that needs an upscale finish. Some fibers are easier to embroider than others, however. “I feel that 100% pima cotton embroiders beautifully,” Korn says. “While we do lots of embroidery on moisture-wicking garments and other materials, the machines can be challenged on occasion. Large stitch files can bunch a garment and make the job look bad.”

Jagger praises the versatility of embroidery, noting that its range spans knits, wovens, denim and twills, but says the key to making it work on a variety of fabrics and styles is choosing the correct threads and backings.

Tonia Cook Kimbrough is a contributing writer for Wearables.

Case Study: A Matter of Control

Investing in a $30,000 eight-head embroidery machine several years ago was no small decision for Bruce Korn, president of ZakBack Inc. (asi/365556). But, he knew the importance of high-end decorated apparel to his client base. “As embroidered goods are 15% to 20% of our business, doing our embroidery in-house allows us to control production,” he says. “Not only can I produce things more quickly, I also have control over the quality of the job we produce.”

To keep the quality top-notch, Korn decided to hire an embroidery manager. “He learned through the apprentice experience and he trains others in our company the same way. New materials are always coming out and you are constantly learning new techniques for digitizing and embroidery,” Korn says.

Not every embroidery job, however, fits his shop’s niche. Korn carefully weighs quantity and budget when choosing which orders to handle in-house and which to send out to a larger embroiderer. “If you have a six-head machine and a 1,000-piece order, it might be more cost-effective to contract that job to a large embroiderer that you trust, so that you can produce smaller orders in a timely fashion,” he says. “Now we have 15 heads and we will still send some things out if it makes sense to do so.”

Is Korn ready to bring other decorating techniques in-house? Not quite yet. “I do want to add direct-to-garment printing to our service offering. However, while great strides have been made in the technology in this area, I don’t feel the time is right. These machines are great, but not yet a good alternative for screen printing unless you’re producing lots of small-quantity, multiple-imprint-color jobs.”

The Price of Safety - Product-safety legislation has ushered in confusion and difficulties for businesses across the country. Apparel too is feeling the impact. From Wearables magazine. October, 2010.

The Price of Safety
By Daniel Walsh
October 2010

Product-safety legislation has ushered in confusion and difficulties for businesses across the country. Apparel too is feeling the impact.

This law has a story.

When Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008, democrats had just retaken control of Congress two years earlier, and they reacted to six years of government deregulation by stepping up regulation in a variety of sectors. During that same time period, product safety was at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds.

A spate of product recalls in 2007 included Chinese-made toys and other children’s products that were found to have high levels of lead and other toxins in them. In addition, Chinese-made baby formula tainted with the industrial toxin melamine sickened more than 50,000 babies, killing at least four in China. Scrutiny on consumer-safety regulators was already increasing when, in November 2007, the Washington Post reported that the last two chairpersons of the federal commission tasked with regulating consumer safety had taken dozens of trips at the expense of the companies they regulated. Critics decried this as an ethical misstep that was repeated over and over again.

Congress responded. Six weeks after that report, the House of Representatives passed the CPSIA, which regulated the levels of toxic substances like lead and phthalates in children’s products; the Senate followed three months later. The consumer product safety era in American business was born. “Congress was angry, and that anger came out in a bill that has enforced numerous responsibilities on an agency that wasn’t prepared for it or staffed for it,” says Rick Brenner, CEO of Prime Line (asi/79530), a Connecticut-based supplier.

The law’s messy impact has taken longer to sort out than it did to move the law through the legislative process. Congress enacted some broad directives, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still determining some of the rules. Just this past August, the CPSC finally released the criteria and process for labs to become federally accredited third-party testers of products and their components. A week later, the agency released its long-awaited definition of what qualifies as a children’s product. Spanning 65 pages, the August 25 document summarized at the end, “… a children’s product means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.” It took more than two years after the law went into effect to clarify that key fact.

It’s been that kind of path for companies and consumers dealing with a law many say is murky, convoluted and overreaching. But it’s a law they need to deal with whether they want to or not.

Apparel Limitations

This was supposed to be a law about toys. Baby formula. Lead. That’s what many thought, particularly in the apparel industry, where most of the product is simply fabric. “Talk to a lot of apparel companies, and they look at it as though it doesn’t apply to us,” says Brent Stone, executive director of operations for the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), a nonprofit accrediting organization for the promotional products industry. But it does apply, at least theoretically. Zippers can have lead. Buttons can be swallowed by a small child – theoretically.

Some embroiderers have responded by ruling out certain items they may have once used for decoration on children’s clothing because of their content. “In the apparel industry, I think the biggest impact was no more bling,” says Jennifer Taggart, an environmental and consumer products attorney who writes the blog, The SmartMama.com. (See the “Decoration Safety” sidebar for the impact on apparel decoration techniques.)

With so much in the law left up to the CPSC to interpret, some firms simply chose to quit the kid’s clothing business. “We had some customers who had some children lines where it was just a small part of their business, and they just said, ‘We’re not going to deal with it,’ ” says Mindy Anastos, a spokeswoman for L.A. T Sportswear (asi/65948), which sells a popular children’s line of clothes called Rabbit Skins. Other companies that were considering whether to start children’s lines chose not to because CPSIA compliance seemed a hassle to comply with, Anastos adds. The result has been some lost business for L.A. T, but Anastos says that hasn’t stopped others from courting the children’s apparel market. “Mostly other companies have stepped in to try to fill that void, so obviously we’re trying to go after them,” she says.

At L.A. T, company leaders have simply built the costs of compliance into their estimates. Short-term, the impact was significant because it took time and up-front costs to do what’s necessary to comply, Anastos says. But long-term, it’s viewed as a minor impact to the company. L.A. T has tried to get ahead of the regulations by initiating testing for lead, phthalates and other toxins early enough to ensure that everything meets federal standards. “The law says there’s no mandatory test, but everything must meet the standards,” Anastos says. “In our mind, we want to make sure that L.A. T products meet the standard. A lot of people are nervous about the law, so we want to do all the things we need to do to put their minds at ease. I think a lot of people felt overwhelmed by the regulations, the interpretation. I think now people have settled back. They realize the reality of the situation where the law is here to stay, so people are working on complying.”

D. Fenton, executive director of compliance at QCA, says part of the reason some apparel companies don’t feel the law applies to them is they didn’t need a law to force compliance. “It doesn’t apply because they’re largely complying on their own,” Fenton says. “There were voluntary standards to meet the customers’ demands.”

The Promotional Products Conundrum

Picture this: A black backpack is imported to the U.S. Upon arrival, it’s blank, with no design on it. A company could imprint it with a police department’s logo so the department could give the backpacks to its officers. Or, the company could imprint it with a Hannah Montana logo. “When it comes into the country as a blank, unimprinted bag, it’s not a children’s product,” Brenner says. “Depending on what I imprint upon it, it becomes a children’s product.” Some, like Brenner, say the item is no more or less safe if it has an adult’s or child’s design upon it.

Their thinking is if the bag – or toy or other product – has unsafe levels of lead in it, it should be deemed unsafe regardless.

But the law was not designed that way.

No one knows just how much consideration was given to the promotional products industry when the legislation was drafted. “Our industry flies under the radar of most regulators,” Stone says. On the surface, perhaps it seemed simple that baby formula and toys were for kids, regardless. But a pen becomes a children’s product once you put a child’s design upon it. The fact that any of Prime Line’s products could become a children’s item means the company tests every single product that comes in, regardless of whether it’s supposedly been tested previously or not by the original manufacturer. Brenner says he doesn’t want to take any chances.

The wait for the definition of a children’s product had left many worried about just how far the CPSC would go in its interpretation. In the end, things stayed simple and straightforward – except for all those gray areas.

Criticism All Around

Anne Northup missed her chance to vote on the CPSIA when the former republican congresswoman was swept out of Congress by the democratic tide in the 2006 congressional elections. Four years later, she looks at the law from the angle of someone now tasked with interpreting it as a member of the newly expanded five-member CPSC board. She says she sees the need for some regulation, but she thinks the law is poorly designed, setting arbitrary limits without being able to determine potential risks. “Certainly there’s a danger there,” Northup says. “Lead for young children is serious. If it’s absorbed, it can cause serious problems. The law, unfortunately, does not allow CPSC to evaluate whether there’s a risk.” If there’s lead in the product – or one of several other components, such as phthalates (a plasticizer) – it has to meet the standards, even if some say there’s no apparent danger. “The law did not give us a lot of leeway to make a risk analysis, and I’m surprised we have not taken steps to offer more flexibility,” Northup says. She worries the law will put some companies out of business.

Some say the lack of flexibility is unreasonably costing them money. Rick Woldenberg, chairman of Illinois-based Learning Resources Inc. (LRI), wrote the CPSC with formal comment on a regulation proposal, dubbing it “The End of (Business) Life As We Know It.” The parentheses are his. “He anticipates this to cost us about $15 million annually, and that’s just the amount of additional time and testing needed to comply,” says Larry Lynn, the compliance and quality director at LRI, which produces educational toys and other products. The company increased its oversight team from two to six for LRI and a sister company, which combined have about 180 employees. “In 25 years, we’ve had one recall, for 130 parts, for which we actually recovered every single component,” Lynn says.

“Now here we’ve taken what’s always worked and turned it into this $15 million operation to prove what we’ve always known. We’re not trying to escape responsibility. We’re just trying to do it in a reasonable manner that doesn’t make you go broke.”

Others say the law doesn’t go far enough. “I view it as being rather tepid,” says Tom Myers, CEO of apparel supplier Broder Bros. Co. (asi/42090). He says producing safe products is part of business and companies need to design systems that ensure that. The company had already done so, long before the CPSIA passed, because Broder's customers demanded it. “We have standards which are higher than CPSIA standards,” he says. “People who buy from us include Federated Stores and Walmart. They already have a higher level of sensitivity to issues like this than the promotional products industry.”

Myers remembers very clearly the discovery of melamine in some baby formula just two years ago. If a company would do that to meet a quote, he says, it’s not unreasonable for federal regulators and companies to want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. He recalled dealing with a Chinese company once that had agreed to allow inspection of its factory. The inspectors showed up a few days early and were told they had picked the wrong day. “We said, we have to be able to inspect it whenever we want, not give you time to unchain the orphans,” Myers says.

What’s Next

The CPSC has initiated a stay on the children’s product testing regulations taking effect until the criteria for third-party testers is finalized. By November 19, three months from the date of the release of the third-party testers’ criteria, it will likely be complete.

So the question is, what’s next. “If you had a hands-off, arm’s-length approach to manufacturing, that’s no longer an option,” Fenton says. Companies like Broder have initiated means of tracking an item’s path from manufacture to sale, and the necessary tests are in place. “You need to be able to control your supply chain,” Stone says.

Some companies are “looking for a ‘get out of jail free card,’” instead of embracing compliance, Stone remarks. They need to accept that there is no escape from a law that’s not going away, certainly not during an election year. Beyond that, Myers says, a client deserves to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a product is safe. “It’s stuff people should be doing anyhow,” Myers says. “I think people should be doing more of this.”

Daniel Walsh is a staff writer for Wearables.

What Distributors Can Do

1. Inform your customers. Some clients may not be aware that adding a kid-friendly imprint will subject their products to regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Telling them up front will prepare them for what they need to do from the outset, and allow them to make more informed decisions on products and timetables.

2. Ask for documentation. How do you know if suppliers are testing their own products and being compliant? Ask for the paper proof. Don’t be afraid to offend. This should be standard operating procedure, and any company that is in compliance should be happy to prove it. For them, it’s a selling point: If they’re going to spend the money on testing, they might as well flaunt it. On distributors’ end, it’s something that’s necessary to ensure a product is safe, because if it isn’t, the distributor is liable, too.

3. Pay for your own testing. Perhaps not for every item you sell, but maybe for a few if you just want to be sure. Many larger distributors will do wholesale testing, but for a small distributor, checking on a few items can bring peace of mind. It can be pricey, but it also adds another level of security for end-buyers – and yourself.

For a list of accredited third-party testing labs, go to www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/labsearch.

Decoration Safety

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) has had a clear impact on distributors and decorators when it comes to apparel imprints.

Under the rules, rhinestones and crystals are now basically off-limits for children’s products because their lead content is too high to meet federal standards. Some distributors and decorators are using plastic replicas to do the job in their place. Environmental and consumer-products lawyer Jennifer Taggart says she had one client who lost $30,000 worth of inventory when the new rules went into effect, essentially nixing the sale of hats with rhinestones to the young girls for whom they were designed.

Embroidery falls under the category of textiles, says D. Fenton of the Quality Certification Alliance. Different threads are treated in different ways. Natural fibers such as cotton, silk, wool, hemp, flax and linen need not be tested. “Depending on the fiber content, embroidery should be exempt,” he says.

Inks must be certified as lead-free and should not contain phthalates, Fenton says. Inks in the CMYK ink scale – cyan, magenta, yellow and key, or black – have been shown to be lead-free, Taggart says. Other color prints are not, and typically require third-party testing before they’re used in screen printing. Plastisol content must be no higher than the limit for lead in paints and coatings (plastisol is found in some screen-printing inks, though not water-based inks).

The CPSIA: A Primer

Manufacturers, suppliers and distributors based in the U.S. are responsible for compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Here are some of the basics you need to know.

Penalties: The law carries penalties from $5,000 to $100,000 per violation, such as for failure to report possible product hazards to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in a timely fashion. Criminal penalties are increased to up to five years in jail. Also, the CPSC must approve any solution to a recall.

Testing: Affected manufacturers must provide a “General Conformity Certificate” stating that the product complies with federal safety rules. It must list the date and location of manufacturing and testing, contact information for obtaining records to back this up, and each relevant rule and standard.

Lead: Children’s products can’t have more than 300 parts per million of lead. The general limit was scheduled to drop to 100 ppm on August 14, 2011, but the CPSC could decide that limit isn’t feasible. The lead content limit for paints and coatings is 90 ppm.

Third-party testing: Beginning February 10, 2011, manufacturers must test all children’s products at an accredited independent testing lab and issue a certificate based on the testing that indicates the product meets all CPSC standards. A list of accredited testers can be viewed online at www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/labsearch. (Many companies are already testing.) This tenet had been stayed until the CPSC resolved the definition of a children’s product and requirements for testers, both of which were determined in August. The CPSC held a comment period in September for the third-party requirements, and the standards won’t be finalized until after the comment period has concluded.

For more information, visit www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html.

Polos: Back on the Horse - Classic and enduring, polos are suitable in just about all settings. Here are eight tips to revitalize your sales of this wearables staple. From Wearables magazine. October, 2010.

Polos: Back on the Horse
By Julie Cajigas
October 2010

Classic and enduring, polos are suitable in just about all settings. Here are eight tips to revitalize your sales of this wearables staple.

Few products in the ad specialties market are as universal as the polo shirt. What other product is just as likely to be worn by both a Fortune 500 executive team and the employees at the local pet shop? However, the fact that polos are ubiquitous doesn’t make them simple; there are numerous hands, fabrics, cuts, blends and decoration options, and keeping up with these requires research and vigilance on the part of the distributor. The vast array of options reflects the continued popularity of polos. In fact, a recent survey by Wearables found that over half of distributor respondents (53%) expect their polo sales to increase in the coming year.

“For me, polo shirts are almost 95% of my wearables sales,” says Robin Huff, account executive for IntraMedia Solutions, a distributorship based in Phoenix. “The polo is such a basic, standard piece of clothing, especially here in Arizona, because it is more casual and comfortable.” And, Huff is not alone. Across the wearables industry, with both distributors and suppliers, polos remain a consistent and sizable portion of apparel orders. “Polos are the number-one selling category for Vantage and account for approximately 40% of the company’s product sales,” says Gina Barreca, director of marketing for Vantage Apparel (asi/93390).

Adds Danny Tsai, VP of merchandising for Tri-Mountain/Mountain Gear (asi/92125), “Polos are a crucial product for distributors to have in their arsenal simply because literally every end-user wants and needs them.”

Why are polos so popular? Their versatility is the top reason. They can be dressed up or dressed down with amazing ease and work in a huge variety of settings. “They are a uniform, a fashion statement, playwear and teamwear,” says Mary Ellen Nichols, director of marketing communications for Bodek and Rhodes (asi/40788). “They dress up and down; they are the can’t-go-wrong-garment.”

Plus, it’s no secret that as casual apparel infiltrated the workplace over the last quarter-century, polos have taken root as a business staple. “My client finds that employees who wear polo shirts look more uniform,” Huff says. “When he has had them wear dress shirts and ties in the past, the look has been far from uniform. Employees have come to work with garment and neckwear combinations that did not match or looked inconsistent.”

Everybody loves polos, and suppliers have responded by broadening their offerings over the years. “Today, there is such a wide variety of polos out there, from luxurious, dressy pieces to moisture-wicking, sporty pieces,” Tsai says. While such a wide choice is good, this means there are hundreds of thousands of polo options coming from hundreds of suppliers, each with a different name, each using different language to describe features, each with a different level of quality. This can overwhelm and paralyze distributors even before they begin. But have no fear: Here are eight tips to jazz up your polo sales.

1. Start With the Right Supplier

A distributor’s search should always begin with the supplier. Philip Davis, president of Yes Inc. (asi/365373), has struggled with the wrong suppliers before finding the right suppliers, and has some tips for other distributors. “The quality of the product, whether high or low depending on the job, is very important,” says Davis, who is based in North Little Rock, AR. “But, more important is finding out if a supplier has in-stock availability of the merchandise they are advertising. Nothing is worse than when a supplier guarantees they have all you will need, and then you end up with backorders on products that should be available. Stock is critical.” Because polos are used as uniforms and for time-sensitive events, it’s important that they do not end up backordered and that you do not have any sort of delays in getting them to the end-user.

Davis lists key garment qualities to look for, such as style, fabric, thickness, performance features and more. But, it’s surprising what comes last. “Price is an issue, but it’s never the primary issue,” he says. “I would put it toward the bottom of the list, because I’m going to be giving my clients what they want.”

And, don’t forget about service. Tri-Mountain came through for Davis and his client when another uniform company had left them displeased. “The client told us that they were very dissatisfied,” Davis says, “that the embroidery was breaking down and puckering and that the shirts were not lasting.” Talking further with the client, he realized that the employees at this company were all doing very different jobs with different levels of activity and wear. “We needed to make sure,” he says, “that the guy out climbing poles looked as good after he washed his polo as people who sat behind desks.”

Davis partnered with Tri-Mountain, which treated each department in the company as a separate order and made recommendations for each based on how the staff would utilize the products. “Tri-Mountain even shipped them in numbered boxes to make them easy to distribute when they arrived,” he says.

2. Determine Your Client’s Needs

Finding the right product from a superior supplier is only half the battle. “More important than what you need to know about polos is knowing what your client wants to use the shirts for,” says Davis. Start by asking about the client’s planned uses for the polos, and ask the questions they might not have considered. For example, ask about the different levels of activity that employees engage in, the temperatures where they will be working, the number of shirts they have and how often they will be washing their shirts. If the polos are for a golf event or something other than a uniform solution, be sure to ask about the event, the length of time the polos will be worn in one day and the details of the activity.

3. Consider Co-ed

Is your audience men and women? This can significantly change the way you approach a polo sale. Polos may not always make the best first impression for women, says Gabrielle Rohde, co-founder of Rohde Royce (asi/83278). “A guy wearing khakis and a nice polo could walk into a nice restaurant and fit in,” she says, “but a woman in the same outfit might end up looking too casual or poorly dressed.” Given a choice, women may opt for a blouse or woven shirt. But, if a polo is a garment of choice, don’t forget about specific women’s sizing. The cuts have to be retail-quality, and the shirts must fit women of all sizes. “Many plus-size polos in our industry are just mediums that have been graded,” Rohde says. “A good plus-size women’s polo will have adjusted grade rules similar to garments at retail.” (Grading in apparel is the practice of adding fabric without changing the silhouette.)

Also, men’s and women’s options don’t always have to be exactly the same. “The goal,” Rohde says, “is to make them look like part of a team, and there are other ways to do that than having them match identically.” Try coordinating colors, styling options and accessories to give the women on the team a polished look in polos.

4. Explore Color Nuances

The broad range of colors in polos has always been one of their many plusses, so be sure to take advantage of the numerous choices, recommends image consultant Clare Spiegel of Your New Image. “For polo shirts and other garments, color needs to be unique to the point that it is not a harsh, standard color,” she says. “Other than red, clients need to choose a color that is not a color-wheel color.” Rather than choosing pure yellow or pure green, colors need to be unique and soft in order to be flattering and professional looking. “You need to bring higher levels of polish to business-casual,” Spiegel says, “and one way you can do that is through choosing the right color for your polo shirt.”

Variety is also important when it comes to colors. If a client uses the polos for a uniform, employees aren’t likely to enjoy wearing the company colors every single day. “I do not feel that the company needs to stay with its logo or company color,” Spiegel says, “but, they do need to be shown a variety of color choices that are blends of color-wheel colors.” Instead of a bright borax yellow, Spiegel suggests that distributors show shades of yellow mixed with shades of brown or gray to make a more sophisticated look.

5. Tap Into Performance Power

Clients are looking for more than just a trendy color when it comes to polo shirts. Performance characteristics are a great way to demonstrate quality and increase the margin on a sale. “Polo evolution is following the standards set by the athletic brand giants today – adidas, Nike and the like,” Nichols says. Performance properties – moisture-wicking, antimicrobial, wrinkle-resistance and more – have migrated from the playing fields to the workplace, and have elevated the perception of polos in the eyes of many.

What other things should distributors look for? “Features that are always popular with polos are the extra touches that make a garment either more comfortable or long-lasting,” Nichols says, “such as quick-drying fabrics, super-soft weaves, extra-reinforced stitching, collars and cuffs, fashion details and things like body mapping on certain higher-end garments which provide tailored breathability to the wearer.”

6. Don’t Overwhelm

Even after whittling down your choices by identifying a supplier and appropriate colors, there are still dozens of polos left to sift through. “There are too many choices,” Nichols says. “You can overwhelm a client with selection.” It’s important to take what you’ve learned about the client’s needs, the end-users who will wear the garments and the level of sophistication the client is looking for, and turn it all into a winning sales presentation that gives the client enough choice, but not too much. “Know your favorites and narrow down your choices to go in with what you know and love as your best recommendations,” Nichols says. “Remember, you are the expert; you know the garments, and the client is relying on you to be the garment expert and to wear what you sell.”

7. Educate the Client

Throughout the process, distributors should make the extra effort to explain to clients the key differences and benefits of each polo styles. “I think end-users understand price points once a distributor can provide context on polo brands, style details and performance features,” says Lee Strom, senior marketing manager with SanMar (asi/84863). “There can always be a perception that a polo is just a polo, and customer may not always understand the price differences.” Letting the clients feel the product, explaining performance features and demonstrating as many features as possible during the appointment can make your client an educated buyer. And, educated buyers will often prefer quality and usefulness to price.

8. Utilize Decoration

Embroidery remains the standard for polos, though screen printing and other techniques are starting to gain more traction. Clients are increasingly asking for more unusual placements on the garments – including the collar, sleeve, nape and yoke – but Cristine Nigro, president of Proforma Creative Precision (asi/300094), warns that it’s important to keep your client realistic about decoration. “I had one company recently trying to find a different location, and they decided they wanted to put a small square on the placard,” she says. “We worked with a supplier that does embroidery in-house to see if it could be done, but logistically the decoration would have had to be put on during the manufacture of the garment.” Ultimately she advised a more traditional placement, using a virtual sample to show how certain areas wouldn’t work with decoration.

Other decoration tips? Consider working with a supplier that decorates; if a garment is damaged in decoration, the supplier will replace it for free. Also, find a local professional to digitize your client’s logos so that you own the digitization and can use it in the future. And, don’t let novelty designs endanger the garment

Julie A. Cajigas is a contributing writer for Wearables.

Margin Management

Margins on polo shirts may never be as razor-thin as they are with T-shirts, but polos are also so common that it’s easy to see your margins shrink if you’re not careful. “Margins depend on a lot of things,” says Cristine Nigro, president of Proforma Creative Precision (asi/300094). “Margins depend on your history with the client and what additional services you are providing, including the decoration services. It’s about managing price and service expectations upfront and letting the client know that you provide top-notch service and quality products.” Here are three tips for keeping the margins high on polos:

1. Recognize the importance of decoration. “I believe you can maximize your margins by demonstrating how good the embroidery or decoration is going to look on a polo and how well it will match and hold up,” says Philip Davis, president of Yes Inc. (asi/365373). This is especially true with embroidery, which has a high perceived value. Adds Gina Barreca, director of marketing for Vantage Apparel (asi/93390), “How a distributor chooses to decorate the product is a big factor in how much profit you’ll actually keep. If you buy a product from one source and decorate with a second party, elements such as extra time in transit, shipping costs and cost of damages and replacements can affect the final margin.”

2. Always offer quality. “My margins are fair, and because of that my clients will always come back to me,” says Robin Huff, an account executive with IntraMedia Solutions. “I never gouge anyone because a shirt is $5 and I can get a higher markup; I want to go for quality. If I sell them a low-quality shirt they won’t come back, so I need to make sure I give them a good experience with a quality piece and a price that fits their budget.” Don’t sacrifice quality to increase the margin. Instead, provide a quality piece, even if the margin is slightly lower, knowing that you will get the return business for years to come.

3. Avoid bidding for jobs. A bidding situation can squash the margins and encourage distributors to sell at prices that don’t provide any profit. It’s important to remember that providing the service of researching, procuring and decorating the product is all part of the final price. Sometimes bidding is necessary, such as when you’re interested in working with a government client; in this case, read the RFP carefully and respond with a fair price that takes into account the time you will spend and the cost of the products you feel best suit the situation.

Just Add Water - Looking for a great way to dive into swimwear promotions? Check out these case studies for proven tips on promotional beachwear and swimwear. From Wearables magazine. April-May, 2010.
Just Add Water
By Jill Malcolm
April-May 2010

Looking for a great way to dive into swimwear promotions? Check out these case studies for proven tips on promotional beachwear and swimwear.

Swimwear can be an intimidating field for promotional products distributors. After all, it’s a highly visible group of apparel featuring a subject that many end-users are sensitive about: their own bodies.

Yet, there couldn’t be a better time to start pondering the benefits of swimwear – not only during the summer months, but year-round, too. A brand message stands out on a swimsuit because it’s unique and far from oversaturated, unlike other product categories. “I think swimwear has a greater potential than ever before because of the increase in branding competition in the industry,” says Mitch Emoff, executive vice president of distributor Goldner Associates (asi/209800).

Increased versatility in swimwear makes it an in-demand category. Current trends offer new ways for businesses to mold and shape their brand, from custom luxury pieces to retro styles evoking the glamour of nightlife. The market for swimwear may have previously seemed confined to sunny beaches, but board shorts, cover-ups and other options are allowing an increasing number of companies to use swimwear outside of the water.

Plus, swimwear can yield lucrative margins because of its singular nature. Barbara McCreary, a sales representative for distributor Geiger (asi/202900), does markups of 40%, a figure that is competitively priced compared to other distributors.

It doesn’t matter if the client is a high-end buyer looking for a uniform or, as Lori Coulter, owner of Lori Coulter LLC (asi/46771), puts it, “an event-driven customer that is looking for a one-time-only solution” – swimwear can service both. Don’t be afraid to go beyond the obvious when it comes to outfitting the perfect swimwear summer promotion.

“String bikinis are usually the first thing people have in mind when they think of a promotional event, but at the same time you need to consider what type of bodies you will be outfitting with swimwear products,” Coulter says. “We have many customers that are also adding cover-ups and beach bags as product giveaways in addition to swimsuits; cover-ups work well with every body type.”

Keep in mind that the type of promotion will dictate what swimwear should be recommended to clients. Pricing also falls into that realm. High-end clients looking for a long-term solution are more likely to invest in custom suits with quality, fit and an overall style that complements and expands their brand. “When it comes to swimsuits as uniforms, the fit and quality have to be superb because it’s an outfit that needs to be worn on a regular basis,” says Coulter. “On event-driven promotions, I find that price is oftentimes a crucial factor in the decision-making process, and because of that the options available may be more limited for a smaller budget.”

Sizing issues have normally been a major hurdle with swimwear sales, but the barriers are falling. “Online ordering of fashion apparel has ushered in a movement of custom sizing charts, and I think it only natural that swimwear follows this route,” Emoff says. Men’s suits are generally easier to size than women’s, and board shorts are a popular, one-style-fits-all solution for male end-users. “I think it’s a good alternative or option for certain companies to use if they haven’t gone that route before,” says Chris Van Zeist, vice president of sales for Bishop & ID Wear (asi/40586). “Items like board shorts are probably popular pieces to consider because they can be worn for an event and also after the event as a casual-dress item.”

Regardless of the promotion, creativity plays a leading role in making beach and summer campaigns a huge hit this season. The following case studies provide insight into successful promotions that can whet appetites in this eye-catching market.

Glitz and Glamour in Sin City

When it comes to exclusive Hollywood experiences, no place provides the fantasy better than Las Vegas. So when the MGM Grand Las Vegas opened its new pool, Wet Republic, a custom swimsuit uniform with the right amount of glam was in order.

“Wet Republic offers an exclusive experience to their guests that brings the best of Vegas nightlife to the middle of the day,” says Coulter. “It’s glamorous, and we wanted to provide a uniform that exemplified that.” Swimsuits were created for over 25 employees for the opening of the pool, and each model server was provided with four custom-designed swim sets, including a bikini, tankini and one-piece with coordinating micro-mini skirts.

With quality and fit being of utmost importance, Coulter utilized TrueMeasure 3-D body scanning technology to create custom pieces for the employees. “We brought the 3-D equipment with us to the MGM Grand, which is not the typical process for most business clients, and we measured each individual,” Coulter says. The TrueMeasure process uses a body scanner to create a 3-D model of the body, capturing over 140 measurements in one minute and defining each unique body type. Appropriate swimsuit styles and silhouettes are then selected to make everyone look their best.

Coulter also worked closely with MGM Grand to develop the perfect color and style for the suits. “For any project, we consider the overall décor of the pool environment, brand image, function and the body types of the people wearing the swimwear,” says Coulter. “We chose cream and champagne gold-trimmed swimwear to compliment the décor of the Wet Republic pool environment and the brand of the MGM Grand property.”

Where to Use This Promotion
- High-end resorts and water parks, for poolside food and beverage servers
- Beverage companies
- Athletic teams and professional and semi-pro cheerleading teams
- High-end automobile companies
What to Consider
- Although custom swimwear evokes glamour and luxury, many independent and affiliated theme parks and waterparks that promote family environments can benefit from quality branded swimwear.
- Know the customer, and who will be wearing the garments. “It’s important for clients to understand that swimwear must be seen on a real person to understand the fashion, fit and wearability of the design,” says Lori Coulter, owner of Lori Coulter LLC (asi/46771).
Sailing to Successful Promotions

Adding accessories to boost the punch of promotional campaigns can prove to be very successful, especially with swim- and beach-related products. So when swimwear and lifestyle apparel supplier Sportailor (asi/88796) teamed up with longtime partner West Marine, the result was promotions gold. West Marine, the world’s largest boat supplies retailer, and Sportailor developed a promotion that included swim trunks and a free gift-with-purchase offer. “The promotion involved the consumer purchasing one of our swim trunks and then filling out an information card to receive a free cooler from our line, Hook & Tackle,” says Stan Rudman, vice president of sales for Sportailor. “It was a promotion that we did actively for about a year and it was widely successful; we received tens of thousands of names.”

The swim trunks used were modeled off of a Hook & Tackle brand walking short that was developed years before for sportsfishing and other outdoor activities. “We called this new trunk the BeerCan trunk, because it features a special pocket that can hold a beverage can or water bottle,” says Rudman. When customers purchased a pair of BeerCan trunks, they were prompted by a special hang tag in the beverage pocket to submit their information for the free cooler. “The promotion was active for a year, but it actually went on longer because years later people would send in the forms, and we continued to honor them,” he says.

Including a giveaway makes for a stronger promotion, but careful consideration must be paid to the type of item chosen as a giveaway. “The cooler was the perfect accessory because it not only is an item people take to the beach, but they also take it along on other activities, such as boating and other outdoor activities. Both the cooler and the swim trunks transcend different niches, making it appealing for a wider variety of people,” says Rudman.

Where to Use This Promotion
- Outdoor sporting promotions including fishing, boating and kayaking
- General summer and beach promotions targeting all age groups
What to Consider
- Swim trunks appear to be immune to the age debate that often surrounds swimwear. “Age isn’t necessarily something to worry about when selling our types of products,” says Stan Rudman, vice president of sales for Sportailor (asi/88796). “I’ll see an 18-year-old kid wearing our trunks and then turn around and see a 55-year-old man wearing the same trunk, so for this kind of apparel there really is no age limit.”
Dive Into Decoration

Because many promotional events only take place for a limited time, swimwear like bikinis can often provide the most exposure for a client’s buck. Van Zeist and Bishop know this from past experience, having worked with beverage companies to outfit models giving away drink samples. “The suits can be used for swimming, but the look these companies want to achieve is that of an eye-catching beverage-sampling uniform for the models to wear at the event,” he says.

However, branding doesn’t end with a simple bikini. Decoration is paramount to completing the look. Bishop, for example, has utilized dye sublimation on bikinis and swimsuits for brands like SOBE, Jagermeister and even the U.S. Army. “When you silk-screen something, the design becomes textured onto the product,” Van Zeist says, “whereas with dye sublimation, it goes right into the fiber so it looks like the print was there from the beginning.” Dye-sublimated decoration also doesn’t wear out as easily as other forms of decoration, and the high dpi registration of the process yields picture-perfect graphics, imaging and color.

Where to Use This Promotion
- With younger crowds: think spring break, college campuses, local radio and TV stations and beach/boardwalk promotions
What to Consider
- Price can still affect the simplest bikini and boardshort promotion. Dye sublimation adds a special eye-catching touch, but be aware of the added expense involved.
- Tank tops, which can also be dye sublimated, can be great add-ons to any swimwear-focused promotion.
Corporate Beach Party

Corporate incentive trips are a great opportunity for distributors to incorporate swimwear and beachwear into their promotional repertoire. For McCreary, it’s been a fruitful experience, particularly with one client that sends top salespeople to a tropical location every year.

For a recent trip, McCreary presented the client with ideas she found during her own Hawaiian vacation. “I was in a gift shop with my family and saw these beautiful retail sarongs and raffia hats that I thought would be perfect for the incentive trip in October, so I bought one of each to bring back and show my client,” says McCreary.

The sarongs were a huge hit, decked out in animal and solid prints and colors. Custom woven labels were added to the sarongs, and McCreary was able to find different styles of the sarong so each one was unique to the recipient. McCreary’s client also ordered a logoed beach bag for this trip, filled with female-friendly items and goodies such as logoed towels, a camera and sunscreen. Trip attendees were welcomed at the resort registration desk with the beach bags.

With swimwear, McCreary cautions that you should know your market and client: “I think swimwear works better for universities and other beach promotions centered around young people. The sarong works on many levels because it is age-, body- and environment-appropriate for the corporate market.”

Where to Use This Promotion
- Incentive trips and employee-wellness rewards
What to Consider:
- When corporate execs are your main consumers, pitch beach accessories that can complement branded swimsuits and other swimwear owned by the recipients.
- The majority of large corporations have incentive programs for employees, so they can be a good way for distributors to get started in selling swimwear and beach accessories.
- Always add special services for clients. “I always make sure I have a packaging team on hand for clients,” says Barb McCreary, a sales representative for Geiger (asi/202900). “We put everything together so it’s ready to go when people arrive at the event; presentation is everything, and it helps to set you apart from the competition.”
Jill Malcolm is an editorial intern for Wearables.

Staking A Claim - Apparel suppliers today cite advanced eco-friendly and performance properties in their clothing and in their marketing. But can these claims be verified? Here’s what distributors need to know. From Counselor magazine. July, 2010.

Staking A Claim
By CJ Mittica
July 2010

Apparel suppliers today cite advanced eco-friendly and performance properties in their clothing and in their marketing. But can these claims be verified? Here’s what distributors need to know.

There is no test for an organic cotton shirt.

Think about that: There is no way, with all our scientific tools, to test an eco shirt for its most distinguishing element. There is no scientific procedure where a lab can deliver a definitive verdict of “organic.” You can see a shirt, touch it and wear it and simply have no idea whether it’s made from an organic fiber or not.

“The end-consumer, or the retailer, can’t take that garment and go and test it for organic cotton. There isn’t a test,” says Mark Trotzuk, president of Boardroom Eco Apparel (asi/40705). “You can’t tell whether it was grown organically or not. Just like recycled polyester.”

In fact, the only way to know a shirt is “eco” is to take the word of the manufacturer. Yet when the elements that drive two of the leading apparel trends – eco-friendly and performance properties – aren’t visible to the naked eye, it creates uncertainty. Testing isn’t readily available or particularly useful for these fields. Advanced properties often can’t be displayed in a 30-minute sales pitch.

And so … it comes down to trust. Distributors trust suppliers that have a history of quality and with whom they’ve cultivated a relationship. Clients trust distributors to have done the work and back up their claims. “Clients know that we stand behind our products,” says Adrian Sasine, director of marketing for The Icebox (asi/229395). “So if we’re saying that it’s organic and it’s eco-friendly, then they trust that we’ve done our due diligence there.” And if that means investigating an unknown supplier further because of its unfamiliarity, so be it.

There are, though, things distributors can do to increase their diligence in this matter – and not just take supplier marketing claims at face value. First of all, ask questions. If you want to know that items are what suppliers say they are, make them prove it as best they can. Ask what the items are made of, find out the processes involved in making the items, and ask to see documentation about the supplier’s fair-labor and eco-friendly practices. “A red flag should go up for any distributor if they run into a supplier that doesn’t want to have these conversations,” says Anthony Corsano, president of Anvil Knitwear (asi/36350). “Make them answer questions about their products and their processes.”

Indeed, the last thing distributors need right now is to be purchasing items for clients that don’t live up to their own hype. Greenwashing is already regarded as a concern across all industries. Performance properties, too, come under the microscope. A lawsuit last September from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed that VF Corp. and its North Face label made unsubstantiated public-health claims regarding the antibacterial properties of a select style of footwear.

Next up in the false-claims crosshairs is nanotechnology, which is fueling some of the most remarkable advances, pushing apparel into surprising and undefined new directions – and often being mislabeled. “It’s marketing, it’s not nanotechnology. They even do not understand nanotechnology these days, they just use the word,” says Dr. Hoon Joo Lee, a professor at North Carolina State’s College of Textiles.

What can be done? Ultimately, the buying habits of the consumer are what matters. “At the end of the day, we can’t chase each other around and test this stuff,” says Michael Snyder, president of Snyder Apparel Sales. “What’s going to happen is the consumer is either going to like the product or not. They’re going to buy it or not.”

As is the case with most technical and product advances, success comes when client expectations are met. That’s ultimately what distributors need to keep in mind when trying to decipher which suppliers are really walking the walk and which ones are just talking. By doing the front-end work – such as checking for certification, casting a wary eye toward sales-speak and qualifying suppliers – distributors not only attempt to verify apparel claims, but also make sure that the customer walks away happy.
Here are some tactics to help along the way.

Eco Apparel: Hardly Standard
On the first page of the catalog for Boardroom Eco Apparel are the words “No Greenwashing.” It’s not necessarily a stand by the Vancouver-based supplier against the potentially eco-inflated marketing claims of some companies. Rather, it’s a simple point being made by the company: everybody’s eco standard is different. “It doesn’t come down to greenwashing,” Trotzuk says. “It comes down to how end-consumers decide how far they want to go and what their standard is.”

After all, greenwashing is muddied by the fact that there is no standard of environmentally sound practices. In fact, taken at face value, eco-friendly is a misnomer. “There’s no such thing as environmentally friendly apparel or cups or pens or anything. It’s not friendly no matter how you make it,” Trotzuk says. So, what’s left is a litmus test of inner values. What’s eco for some isn’t for others. One company donates 1% of its profit to the planet. Another encourages its customers not to print out its e-mails. Who is truly being green?

The same idea applies to eco apparel. “Consumers prefer to buy products that are eco-friendly, but we do not know what real eco-friendly products are,” says Lee. “It’s a trend, but customers are also confused.”

Most eco-friendly apparel options start (and end) with the fiber, such as organic cotton or recycled polyester. That’s a great start, says Trotzuk, but that alone only represents 3% to 5% of the total energy impact of a garment throughout its lifecycle. Eco fibers still take a lot of energy to turn into clothing. Says Lee: “A lot of people buy organic cotton products because they think it is sustainable and eco-friendly. But actually we have to spend a lot of water, and more detergent, to scour and dye and finish the cotton product.”

Basically, what seems like eco-friendly practices to some may be greenwashing to others. But there still also exists a conscious effort to market something as green whenever possible. “I think people will stretch whenever they can to call something eco. And probably to the point that it really isn’t,” says Dan Jellinek, a vice president for Touchstone Marketing Group (asi/345631).

It’s actually not a new phenomenon, though. According to one early ’90s study, by 1990 one-fourth of the household products brought to the market contained eco buzzwords such as “recyclable,” “biodegradable” or “ozone-friendly.” On the flip side, a report in 2008 by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority did find that 94% of ads with environmental claims were compliant with advertising codes. Of course, advertising codes and moral indexes are two separate entities.

What’s a distributor to do? Avoid buzz words like “green,” “eco” or even “natural,” for one; those terms are generic and can be misleading. It’s important to stress facts, such as what an item is made out of, or what eco standards it conforms to. There also should be a visible policy for working with suppliers of eco-friendly goods – a checklist of questions that you can show your customers. How is a supplier reducing its carbon footprint? How is it committed to the environment? Is it supporting fair labor and using its business for good?

A supplier’s reputation and policy can go a long way toward answering a lot of those questions. But there’s an easy way to check the claims: environmental certification. “Why should I trust somebody who’s testing their own product and have their own lab? How do I know that they are doing it correctly?” asks Trotzuk. “It really comes down to third-party verification all the way along the line.”

You see, while an organic shirt can’t be tested, the processes that created it can be monitored and regulated. Boardroom, for example, is a member of bluesign, which bills itself as “the independent industry textile standard.” It covers every step of the textile manufacturing process, from the raw materials to the final product, and even includes other areas of concern like safe working conditions. Plus, bluesign members can work with other bluesign members to ensure authenticity. It’s one of a number of standards available, including the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), the Control Union Global Recycle Standard, Cradle to Cradle certification and more.

Performance Anxiety
The drumbeat for performance apparel has been sounding for some time now. The resurrection of polyester and the emphasis on properties like moisture-management and wrinkle-resistance have become a certified trend.

But according to Snyder, when the economy sputtered, the emphasis quickly turned to price points and basics like T-shirts. That helped create a culture of “generic commentary,” in Snyder’s words, of terms like “easy care” and “stain release” that he thinks imply increased performance but in reality don’t mean much.

“How do I show somebody that my basic pique, which everybody with a pulse has one, should be selected over another?” asks Snyder, who operates as an independent representative for apparel suppliers and manufacturers. “Everybody is trying to prove their basic product outperforms everybody else’s.”

Much in the way that greenwashing has become a concern, so too has the idea of suppliers over-promoting – or even fabricating – performance capabilities at a time when practically all clothing “performs” to a higher standard than 10 or 20 years ago. What qualities are functions of the fabric? What is a true added benefit? What’s real, and what’s marketing jargon? The gray areas exist.

“It’s similar to eco, with everybody making claims about what a lot of things are,” Jellinek says. “I think that happens on the moisture-management side. I joke around that moisture-management to me means polyester.”

Consumers don’t need convincing about these properties. They know they exist, and for the most part they’ve bought into them. Items like a waterproof jacket are a given; you can pour water on it as an easy demonstration trick, but it’s not very necessary. (“I don’t know how many people are doing that these days,” Jellinek says.) It makes a distributor’s job easier, because other properties aren’t so easily verified.

But there are ways to go the extra mile. Dri Duck Traders (asi/50835), which stakes its reputation as a manufacturer of technically advanced workwear and jackets, verifies its wares in a number of ways: providing educational materials to distributors, including videotaped demos; breaking down performance features with visual icons and easy-to-digest information; having its apparel wear-tested by publications like Top Rated Gear; and sticking with finishes that have brand-name recognition, like Teflon.

“Consumers recognize Teflon when they’re talking about their pots and pans and cooking,” says Jessica Strain, sales and marketing administrator for Dri Duck, “so if they see it on a garment, it gives them extra reassurance knowing that we have those added features, and it’s a name they recognize.”

On the distributor side, The Icebox prefers to stick with recognizable brands when it comes to active sportswear, and doesn’t hesitate to satisfy clients’ curiosity if they wonder if it really works. “If somebody comes to the showroom, we’ll gladly order them a sample, and put it in their hands,” Sasine says. “If it’s a big order, it’s part of our customer service to make sure that they’re going to get at the end what they wanted in the beginning.”

Withering Consumer Demand?
If apparel manufacturers are to be held accountable for living up to their marketing claims, the pressure must be exerted from two sources: government regulation and consumer demand. While federal regulation is spotty but growing (see sidebar), consumer demand is something that can be more easily achieved.

But just because it can be done doesn’t mean it will be. Trotzuk sees a discrepancy between the actions of large corporations and smaller clients. “The bigger companies are asking the right questions,” he says. “They’re realizing they can’t go out there and make these claims, because they’re under the microscope from their shareholders and consumers.”

It’s equally varied, according to distributors, when it comes to clients demanding certification or testing. “Some people will ask that question,” says Jellinek, whose company collects such information as part of its vendor profiles. “And if they do, then we’ll provide whatever necessary paperwork there is to back it up.”

Why aren’t consumers demanding more? Most likely, it’s because there hasn’t been a large enough scandal to put them in a state of unease. Plus, higher-priced apparel suffered the last two years; buyers were willing to sacrifice quality for something that fit their budget. “This economy is a bad time to be a barometer of what’s important to people,” Snyder says.

That, of course, can and will change. “I think there’s going to be a high demand for eco again,” Strain predicts. “I could see that people would want something in their hands, something physical showing we are certified and we have those documents that we can pass along and show everyone.”

In fact, there may be increased scrutiny simply because these two leading trends are merging. Every technological advance will be gauged, in part, by its possible detriment to the environment. Eco and performance are not separate movements. “I think the consumer that’s wearing performance apparel is more in-tune with the environment than the person who’s going out and buying just a cotton T-shirt,” says Walter Wilhelm, president and CEO of Walter Wilhelm Associates, an apparel design and manufacturing consulting company.

Distributors can get ahead of the curve through due diligence and taking the time to qualify the products. Ultimately, though, their business will be influenced by one factor above all. “The honest truth in our industry is, it comes down to relationships,” Snyder says. “There are so many basic polos that if everybody’s touting all these qualities, it’s going to come down to a supplier that they trust, and many times a sales rep that they like.”

In this age of apparel, will that be enough?

C.J. Mittica is a staff writer for Counselor

Can Regulation Help?

Historically, apparel hasn’t been the subject of safety regulation, but that notion is slowly and surely changing. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, first implemented in August 2008, began to monitor lead and phthalates in children’s products, apparel included. Antimicrobials – treatments that prevent the growth of bacteria and odor in clothing and other products – are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because they act as a pesticide against microorganisms.

“In normal corporate apparel, antimicrobial is really the first time that I think any end-user or distributor would step forward and ask for test results,” says Michael Snyder of Snyder Apparel Sales. Snyder’s company developed an antimicrobial treatment called AP-360 (the active ingredient is a fine powder called Chitosan that’s derived from snow crabs) that is used in items from Edwards Garment (asi/51752).

The antimicrobial regulation isn’t a mere drop in the bucket. There are 256 active ingredients currently registered with the EPA; on average, three new active ingredients and 15 new uses are registered with the organization each year. And antimicrobial use of nanoparticles cannot be minimized. Nanosilver, a popular antimicrobial finish (silver’s inherent properties hinder bacteria growth) has drawn scrutiny for possibly leeching into the environment or the human body.

“We do not know what will happen if nanosilver is absorbed into the human tissue. Scientists say the nano-tissue will be accumulated inside the body,” says Dr. Hoon Joo Lee, a professor at North Carolina State’s College of Textiles. He researches combat uniform advancements, and says even the military doesn’t use nanosilver anymore.

Nanotechnology represents a tricky proposition for the apparel industry. It’s a popular marketing term, though sometimes misused. It also represents a potent lifeline for innovation in apparel, one that has certainly attracted the EPA’s attention because of its unknown ramifications. “The EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs is currently examining potential hazard, exposure, policy, regulatory and international issues that may be associated with pesticides that contain nano-scale materials,” says EPA Press Officer Dale Kemery, adding that the organization planned to release a new policy in June.

Regulations, though, are ultimately a minor part of the apparel design and production process. The pressure to safely conform is often more self-inflicted, says Walter Wilhelm, president and CEO of Walter Wilhelm Associates, an apparel design and manufacturing consulting company. “The amount of government regulations isn’t really the obstacle,” he says. “It’s more that the larger companies are putting restrictions on their own contractors as to how they’re making it. That makes it tougher for the smaller guys,” he says. – CJM

Questions to Ask

Here are some questions that distrib-utor can ask suppliers to help verify their eco-friendly and performance-property apparel claims.

What fabric is a garment made out of?
What makes the item environmentally friendly?
What certification does the supplier have? Is it a factory certification (which covers the factory) or a transaction certification (which applies to the specific shipment)?
Does the supplier practice Corporate Social Responsibility? How does it promote fair labor?
Are the dyes certified organic?
Does the supplier have eco-friendly decoration options?
How much energy was used to create the garment? How far does the supplier have to ship it?
Will the supplier take back used garments to be recycled after they have been worn?
For antimicrobials, what is the active ingredient?
Does the supplier have materials to demonstrate and explain performance properties?
Can documentation be produced if asked for?

Wearables Boot Camp - When you look in the mirror, what do you see? A confident wearables salesperson – or a fashion neophyte begging for guidance? For one distributor, the transformation began when he enlisted in our comprehensive educational program. From Wearables magazine. March, 2010.
Wearables Boot Camp
By Joe Haley
March, 2010

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? A confident wearables salesperson – or a fashion neophyte begging for guidance? For one distributor, the transformation began when he enlisted in our comprehensive educational program.

If everyone would just get with the T-shirt- and-jeans program, then all would be right in Steve Johnson’s world. In that dream scenario, the president of Simply Thankful Inc. (asi/327609) in White Lake Bear, MN, would not have to endure the stares and rolled eyes from his three children every time he had to “dress” for an event.

While Johnson takes the disapproving gestures in stride, he admits to being style challenged. Packing for trips can be dilemma. Whether it’s for a trade show or vacation, he usually relies on the assistance of his fiancé to match shirts and pants, creating outfits for each day. And his three kids often get in on the act. “I’m not really into style or trends,” he says. “I put something on and my kids say, ‘Dad, you’re not really going to wear that, are you?’ So I say, ‘OK, help me out.’” His most vocal fashion critics are often his two daughters, ages 18 and 16, but even his 12-year-old son can’t bear to watch a fashion train wreck unfold. “Sometimes he even has to help me out,” Johnson admits.

So when Wearables put out the call for a distributor who was in need of help – both with personal style and advice on selling apparel – it was Johnson who answered. He agreed to participate in a full day of apparel-related education at the ASI Show in Orlando, FL. In addition to that, he would take part in a one-on-one session with an industry supplier, gaining valuable insight as well as a new imprinted wardrobe for client visits.

The Backstory

When it comes to selling imprinted apparel, Johnson’s story is not unlike others. He was in a completely different industry but found his way into promotional products after designing a letterman jacket for handball players.

“There was never any cool handball apparel or merchandise,” Johnson says. The jackets begat tees and sweatshirts, and before he knew it, he had a company.
With the revenue coming in, Johnson and his partner decided to become full-time distributors over a decade ago, naming the company Bragging Rights. “I like the industry, it’s fun,” he says.

Things were looking up (ESPN and the University of Florida even contacted Johnson because they wanted to use the company’s trademarked name for a bowl game), but he decided to leave the industry in 2002 after going through a divorce. During that time he managed a private-school facility while also working in real estate during the housing boom, but the call of the ad specialty industry never disappeared. As a result, Johnson opened up his second distributorship, Simply Thankful. Currently, he is its only employee, working out of his home while he holds down a full-time job elsewhere.

Johnson’s goals aren’t overly ambitious. He is looking to target utility companies, a market that he worked with before under his previous distributorship. And he wants to spread his business among a variety of industries. “I’d like to find several different categories of clients,” he says. “We did a lot of business with Bragging Rights, but, I had all my eggs in one basket. I want 50 solid clients to work with and focus on year-round. I don’t think anyone needs 100 clients.”

Boot Camp D-Day

Johnson didn’t need to worry that the Wearables Boot Camp would be a Paris Island-like experience (no head shaving, name-calling or early morning calisthenics here). However, there would be intense education and consultations, something that Johnson knew he needed to improve his apparel sales.
“I’m pretty clueless when dressing,” says Johnson. “If I had a formal event to go to I would ask someone for help.” His problem? Matching colors and stripes with other patterns and knowing what looks best with certain styles.

The day of Johnson’s rite of passage brought the familiar chill of a 30-degree morning – except he was in Orlando for the ASI Show, and not his native Minnesota.

No matter the temperature, Johnson jumped into the day with the first of his five classes, sitting in the back, absorbing anything and everything the moderator was throwing out.

Over the next seven-plus hours Johnson would sit in on five sessions:
- “How To Sell Decorated Apparel – and Double Your Sales,” moderated by Ed Levy of Digitize4U
- “Apparel Sales Primer: Decorating, Sizing, Fabric Selection and More,” taught by Ira Neaman of Vantage Apparel (asi/93390)
- “Secrets from Million-Dollar Apparel Sellers,” a panel discussion lead by Nicole Rollender, Stitches editor and director of ASI Education
- “Creative Selling Into Hot Apparel Markets,” taught by Tom Flippo of Dunbrooke (asi/50930)
- “Top 10 Apparel Sales Challenges – and How to Conquer Them,” presented by Marc Held of Bodek and Rhodes (asi/40788).
- In the end, Johnson says it was worth it. “Seeing a lot of the different decorating styles was very helpful,” he says, confident that the knowledge gained will open him up to more apparel business and help him feel more prepared going into client meetings.
Johnson took that enthusiasm with him onto the show floor the next day. “Since I went to the wearables classes, I decided to walk the show floor and talk to some of those vendors,” he says. What did he find out? That he likes the idea of suppliers that do the imprinting, which is something he normally contracts out. He says, “It’s nice when you see some of these places becoming one-stop shops. I want to try them because they will help on shipping costs.”

Let’s Get Down to Business

The next phase of the Boot Camp was introducing Johnson to Paul Kory, national account manager for Vantage Apparel (asi/93390). The friendly interrogation revealed some stone-hard facts.

“You have to know a little bit about what you’re selling,” Kory says. Therefore, Johnson would be smart to get up-to-date on all the latest trends: fabrics, styles, materials, what’s hot at retail, moisture-wicking properties, UV protection, the latest versions of polyester, etc. “You have to be knowledgeable because your customer is going to ask you,” Kory says.

Kory stresses that clients see things in the stores and want to know whether or not they can have them imprinted. That makes it important when talking about the resurgence of polyester, for example, to distinguish between the properties of new polyester and the stuff that was produced in the ’70s. “Now, polyester is very lightweight, it’s comfortable and it wicks the moisture away from your body,” says Kory.

Another piece of info Kory passed on to Johnson cuts to the heart of the sales presentation. “You have to go in with a good, better, best scenario. You have to. You can build on that,” Kory says adamantly.

Finally, Kory urges Johnson to wear the apparel he’s showing his clients. And it should be logoed. “From a personal standpoint, you have to believe in it, you have to stand by it, so you should be willing to wear it. The logo has to look good and it has to be durable,” he says. In that regard, Vantage supplied Johnson with several new, imprinted pieces as part of a new wardrobe.

Making the Scene

Johnson agreed to do a live, on-air interview with the hosts of ASI Radio’s Tuesday Morning Show in Orlando. In front of several hundred show attendees waiting for the ASI Show exhibits to open, Johnson talked about his personal style challenges, the knowledge he was looking to gain and what he actually learned. And, being a good sport, he also took an on-air quiz about apparel decoration trends. Naturally, after his day-long education session, he aced the test – though the same can’t be said of the first time he took the quiz prior to the Boot Camp.

One high-profile event in Orlando is the ASI Fashion Show, and Johnson made sure to attend. Sitting alongside the catwalk with a well-earned cocktail in hand, Johnson absorbed all the apparel as well as the variety of accessories the models toted. And before it was all said and done, he was even interviewed by ASI TV to share what he learned.

Debriefing

After his full immersion in the world of wearables, Johnson is off on a new path, where his kids shouldn’t have to worry as much about what Dad is wearing out. (Perhaps he won’t be as stylish as the GQ models, but one can get away with pairing plaids and stripes and polka dots when one looks like, well, a GQ model.)

Johnson is also prepared to sell, sell and sell more wearables by offering a broader range of product categories imprinted with decoration techniques that he’s increasingly comfortable with, like laser etching and reverse-cut appliqué.

In the end, this raw recruit, who knew more than he realized, will make it just fine. (That’s our guess.) In six months we’ll check back with Johnson to will find out if our Boot Camp graduate has turned into a true apparel leader.

Joe Haley is managing editor of Wearables.

Get Blinged Out - All you need to know about decorating garments with crystals. From Wearables magazine. June, 2010.

Get Blinged Out
By Shane Dale
June 2010

Crystals

Q: What type of machine do I need to apply crystals to garments? What do I need to know before I apply them? What are the top garments to apply crystals to? Which fabrics are ideal for crystal application? What kinds of businesses buy garments with crystals?

A: All you need to apply crystals to apparel is a heat press, says Andrew Sequeira, co-owner of Sparkle Plenty Designs (asi/88444). “Just about any heat press would work, but it’s advisable to check with the manufacturer to see if the given heat press is suitable for that type of application,” he says.

Shell DeHosse, owner of Sparkles By Shell, says a regular iron can also be used, but it’s not preferable. “The easiest way is a heat press because it’s just one single press and you’re done, and it’s a consistent heat,” she says.

Application Cautions

New heat-press operators should be cautious when learning to apply crystals to garments, according to Sequeira. “If someone hasn’t worked with a heat press before, it’s advisable to do test cases first,” he says.

Unlike inks, Sequeira says crystals can move around during application if you aren’t careful. “When you go to apply it, do a quick eyeball over the transfer itself to make sure the stones are in proper alignment,” he says. “Invariably, you’re going to have some stones that are out of place, and some more than others. If it’s a lot out of place, that’s going to stand out. You need to know that ahead of time so you can make adjustments.”

And, since crystals are manufactured in bulk, Sequeira always takes time to look for defective or chipped stones. “Rhinestones are manufactured in the millions and millions,” he says. “You’re going to invariably have stones that need to be replaced.”

Top Garments

In terms of top-selling crystal-decorated garments, shirts are number one, with caps and tote bags right behind, according to Sequeira. “One of the other things we’ve just done is worked with linens and draperies that are embellished with the Swarovski stones,” he says.

Sequeira has also recently worked with a good deal of dry-fit athletic wear. “It’s a little more delicate in the sense that it’s more high-maintenance, but it still works for stone applications,” he says. “You can apply crystals to anything else that’s some kind of a fabric-based piece. It could be linens, draperies, napkins – anything.”

DeHosse specializes in ladies’ T-shirts. “I’ve sold a ton of three-quarter-sleeve shirts,” she says . “It’s definitely a ladies’ cut – not a unisex tee, but something that has a feminine cut to it.” She has also designed a lot of crystals on flannel pants for young girls. “They really like those, either with their sports team or the name of their cheer squad down the leg,” she says.

Lynda Morgan, co-owner of The Stitchin’ Chicks, says she’s placed “bling” on just about every kind of garment that one can imagine, but shoes are one of her specialties. “For that kind of apparel, we use the E-6000 glue,” she says. “We once did high-top sneakers. We put 150 Swarovski crystals on the shoes and we glued them all on individually. The only things we don’t put it on are things for children because there’s a choking hazard. But hats, shoes, shirts, jeans, aprons – we put it on everything.”

Cooperative Fabrics

Sequeira says cotton-based fabrics are generally the easiest for crystal application “because they’re low-maintenance; you don’t have to worry about the heat because with stone applications, you’re always dealing with high heat,” he says. “You always want to test it, but with cotton, it’s not going to be a problem.”

Sequeira cautions that synthetic fiber can scorch or glaze more easily than non-synthetics, which is why you may want to do a test run on synthetics, and you may need to tweak the temperature on the heat press prior to application. “For example, we work with 350 degrees on the heat press, so you can go with 320 degrees to 325 degrees and make it work, but below that, you’re not using enough heat for the [glue] to melt,” he says. “If less heat will still work and you’re working with something delicate, you may want to lower the temperature.”

In DeHosse’s experience, most fabrics, including synthetics, are “pretty forgiving” when it comes to the heat press. “The only thing I don’t generally have a lot of luck on is nylon. It’s pretty slick,” she says. “But most blends are just fine.”

Morgan, who says polyester also works well with crystals, adds that vinyl is not a fabric on which crystals can be applied via heat press. “If you put bling on vinyl, it’s going to melt on a heat press, so we use glue,” she says.

Rhinestones are the most cooperative form of crystals in terms of garment application, DeHosse says. “Rhinestones are the easiest to use because you can put it on just about anything,” she says. “If it can withstand heat, it can be applied with rhinestones.”

Top Industries

Dance schools and cheer squads are DeHosse’s top crystal consumers. “Especially when they do fundraisers for sports teams, it’s the moms who run the fundraisers, and they don’t want the simple unisex T-shirts,” she says. “They order the girlie T-shirts with a little bit of bling on it. We’ve done crystals for a couple of squads in which it was actually their performance outfit. When they got under the lights and moved, they really sparkled.”

Sequeira has recently been contacted about crystal apparel by religious organizations, among other groups. “It might be for kids’ teams, or women who are a group of dealers, or it could be for a completely informal reason,” he says. “It could be a fun piece for a collection of people that have a common identity.”

Morgan mostly sells crystal apparel to individuals, but the one organization that she consistently sells to is the Red Hat Society, a group of women who are primarily 50 years of age or older and typically wear high-end red and purple garments when they get together. “They’re all about bling,” she says. “They wear feathers and they’re all about that fancy look. We do have a large supply of red and purple because when they come in, they always want bling.”

Shane Dale is a contributing writer for Wearables.

Crystals Are Everywhere

Crystals have been popular on wearables for a long time – but they’re also catching on with non-apparel items.

In terms of wearables, Shell DeHosse, owner of Sparkles by Shell, just worked with a spiritwear client who wanted to do something special. “She had done rhinestones before, and we carry a sparkle vinyl, so we combined the rhinestones with the sparkle vinyl,” she says.

DeHosse created pants with lettering that spelled “cheer” down the leg in a hot pink color. “The vinyl is a slick material, so we had to actually cut a hole in the vinyl when we were cutting out the design,” she says. “It had to be big enough to fit the rhinestones into it so it stuck to the fabric.”

The client ordered about 50 pairs of the pants. “I see that’s where the market is actually headed with rhinestones: combining it with screen printing, with embroidery, and with vinyl,” DeHosse says.

When it comes to non-wearables, Andrew Sequeira, co-owner of Sparkle Plenty Designs (asi/88444), recalls a job where he added bling to drapery that a client used for a powder room. “We actually did a Swarovski crystal burst pattern – sort of a random scattering of stones – and we did it for an order of drapery that was 12 yards wide,” he says.

Sequeira says he was cautious with the crystal application because the drapery was comprised of a delicate, transparent fabric. “We did some test cases first, and those worked out,” he says. “It looked really cool because it was just a different effect.”

Sequeira says the project was much different from anything that Sparkle Plenty had previously done. “The idea that you can take a type of embellishment in the mindset of something that’s usually done for shirts, and do something like that – it does what people want it to do, which is create something really visually appealing,” he says.

Big-Screen Effects - Don’t believe that there’s nothing new in the world of screen printing. From Wearables magazine. July, 2010.

Big-Screen Effects
By Thomas Trimingham
July 2010

Don’t believe that there’s nothing new in the world of screen printing. Every year, new special effects are created that catch the eyes of consumers worldwide. Just when it seems screen printing has reached a saturation point, a new look can revolutionize the process and make customers clamor to acquire the hottest trend.

The reality, of course, is that most new effects don’t capture the market to that level – but they do add a special touch that can merit an extra boost to the price tag. That can come at a cost, as some screen-print effects can be expensive to create, and not worth the trouble. The goal is to discover what effects justify a higher price while still maintaining the lowest production costs. This puzzle can become even more complex due to the fact that customers want and expect intricate effects. Where’s the balance?

Special effects in screen printing follow a simple 80/20 rule. That is, 80% of the business is driven by 20% of the available effects. Clearly there are consistent winners that can captivate customers and boost your bottom line.

Popular and Profitable

The real question is, how can a particular effect be determined as profitable with all of the variables being considered? One major factor has yet to be weighed: consumer interest. Will a client pay more for a shirt that has a special effect? A lot of this is based in markets and demographics. Girls’, juniors’ and ladies’ retail garments tend to have the bulk of the special effects, but a surprising amount of men’s shirts are also showing some extra treatments these days.

One quick way to determine what special effects are popular is to visit some of the trendy local retail shops and see what is prominently displayed. If you have a little time, it’s worth listening and talking to the customers to see what they get excited about. This step will take away the mystery and speculation about what special effects compel consumers to buy a shirt.

Be forewarned, however: Retail can help as a gauge for what is a popular effect, but it’s not a total guarantee of what will be profitable in custom promotional work. The apples-to-apples comparison between retail and promotional apparel doesn’t always apply, and particularly not in this case. The large majority of retail decoration is done outside of the U.S. and won’t be comparable to the cost of your work. The retail market margins for special effects have all but disappeared due to this third-world competition. Discount retail stores have jumped on the cheaper work being offered in countries like China, Turkey and Mexico. Some retailers still do the decoration themselves, but not surprisingly, many have sourced it overseas.

What’s the best way to integrate a profitable effect? Consider techniques that can be adapted with a low start-up cost and can be combined. There’s no magic answer, because something that would be profitable for your business might not apply to a competitor. It depends on your different equipment, skill sets and artwork you would be comfortable with.

Special effects also are not a simple snap-your-fingers solution. “It takes more work to sell a special effect than it used to,” says industry veteran Tom Vann, co-founder of Tommy’s T-Shirt Factory. “One of the best ways to do it is to create your own spin on it and then label it yourself. This takes more work to develop something like a football look with a texture and then give it a name, but in the end you can charge more for it this way than just adding glitter to a print.”

So which effects offer the most wow factor? Here are five you should know about.

1. Waterbase Printing

This technique has been rising in popularity in the last few years and has won over a large number of converts. “The waterbase print – and I like to group this together with the discharge print on darks – is an effect that still gets people to appreciate it because they love the soft feel and it is something that not every printer can do well,” Vann says.

Waterbase printing perhaps doesn’t fit the classic notion of a special effect, but it does match all the criteria. It is unique, takes more work than a standard plastisol print, has a higher cost in preparation and requires special handling that not every printer can do. Some might argue that this is just a different printing process, but within the variables of the standard list of special effects, it would certainly take the top spot.

What sets waterbase apart? It’s known for its super-soft feel, and with discharge on dark garments the effect can be carried through to a wide range of graphics. An additional advantage is the popular use of the ink to print over seams and in unusual locations on the garment to create a very unique and popular look. It also offers vibrant colors (often brighter than plastisol) without the heavy feel. This technique requires specific emulsion for the screens, waterbase inks (obviously) and precise production controls on timing and humidity to execute consistently.

Most importantly, waterbase prints merit their high price. They tend to be used on higher-cost garments so that a soft feel is maintained, and the overall piece will be considered a premium product that should also have a higher margin.

2. Oversize Prints

Printing large images onto garments continues to be a very popular option, and it creates a profitable niche for those printers that have the equipment to capitalize on it. Not everyone has the capability of producing true oversize prints (a belt printer is needed). Some decorators and distributors can get by through simulating it with multiple screens, though this can be costly. Another note: Oversized prints can be created with waterbase printing or soft plastisol printing to go over a garment’s seams for additional effect.

Despite the cost and difficulty, oversize prints continue to be in demand. “Oversize printing that takes up a lot of the garment really has the customers talking,” says Maurice Chalonec, president and CEO of RCSilk, a screen printer based in Boston. “The larger printed pieces can command a higher price point, and fewer printers can handle this style of printing, so it can be less competitive.”

It may seem obvious, but oversize prints require really big screens. Depending on the artwork size there is a need for the screen, press and squeegee to be large enough to cover the print. This can also be a concern if the dryer or flash cure isn’t large enough to accommodate the process.
Like waterbase, oversized printing doesn’t fit the traditional notion of a special effect, but it certainly applies. It is unique in look, takes extra production preparation, has an added cost to produce and not every printer can execute it.

3. Glitter Prints

There is a stunning array of glitter printing that is being done in the fashion and custom markets. More variety of glitters, such as iridescent particles with different transparencies, are all being used to catch the consumer’s eye, particularly the juniors’, teens’ and girls’ markets. Some glitter is applied in a base and printed along with the normal print and some is dusted onto the wet ink before it is run through the dryer.

Glitter is not the easiest effect to work with. A decorator or distributor needs the exact right mesh, squeegee and ink viscosity for properly printing glitter. If the glitter is to be dusted onto a wet adhesive, then there can be messy issues with excess glitter and durability of it on the final print. And while glitter is cheap (you’ll pay normally $100 for 10 pounds, which is a ton), it does require more in labor.

Ink companies have made notable strides with printed glitter over the past several years, and these prints will often last a dozen or more washes before the glitter becomes tarnished or dull-looking. Glitter prints where the glitter is dusted on will not last as long in the wash. These will wash off to a significant degree before six to 10 washes unless extra efforts are made in production.

4. Foil Prints

In the past five years foil has made a tremendous comeback in popularity. Foil is a thin metallic that peels off and adheres to ink adhesive when heat and pressure are applied to the foil. On a shirt, the ink is printed on it like a gel and then cured in a dryer. The foil is then heat-pressed on top of the adhesive area, and the carrier sheet it was on will come off.

In the ’70s when foil was big, it lacked durability and wash-fastness. Today, however, it is very compatible with waterbase prints and much more durable. With its light feel and bright shine, it has a high perceived value and gives good quality for the investment. Moreover, while foil was used to cover large areas of a garment a decade ago, it is used much more judiciously now as an accent for smaller areas on a detailed print. That makes foil much more economical.

The drawback to foil printing is that it requires a two-step process unless a printer is going to make a large investment to acquire an in-line foil option on the press. The foil print is usually done with a heat press after the initial printing of an adhesive is applied to the shirt. The garment is printed, run through the dryer and then the foil is applied to the area where the adhesive was printed.

5. Rhinestone Prints

This is another heat-transfer item that has made enormous progress. The simplest way to create this print for a screen printer that doesn’t have special equipment for it is to create a pattern and then send out for rhinestone transfer sheets. The print can then be executed in waterbase or soft plastisol (using standard plastisol will not work well with a heat press because it will re-melt). After it is run through the dryer, the garment can be heat transferred with a pre-made sheet of rhinestones.

Mix It Up

Depending on a printer’s equipment, one option (such as foil) could be more profitable than another (such as oversize) if the capability isn’t right. More importantly, several of these effects can be combined. Waterbase inks serve as a great foundation to include foil or rhinestones as an added effect, or even both. The end result just needs to be balanced with what the costs are and how much the garment can be sold for.

Whatever the effect that is in demand, it’s a sure bet that special effects will always be a big part of popular garment decorating. There will be a constant push to create the next “big effect” in fashion. Keep an eye out for that, and you may have your next big moneymaker in the promotional market.

Thomas Trimingham is a contributing writer for Wearables.

That’s Not All

Need more screen-printing effects? Here are four more worth considering.

1. Gel. This is popular for boys’ shirts and is commonly used to augment prints with splatters on them or water, or to create a gloss on an area of a design. A large deposit of ink is typically required and the gel is sometimes colored; glitter can also be added.

2. Crackle. Special additives can be used with pigments to create an ink that will crack and look worn-out on the finished garment. This effect is very popular with the rise of the “distressed” trend.

3. Suede. An ink additive can make an ink feel fuzzy to the touch and have a soft suede-like appearance that’s perfect for leather-looking prints or different themes that need a texture. Blue suede in a pattern can create an excellent denim look.

4. High density. Though this is not as common, it is still a popular look to have accent areas on the shirt that have a raised appearance with sharp edges and clean lines. A high-density ink is printed through a bigger mesh to create a print that can be stacked up to look as if it’s raised off of the garment.

From Seed to Shirt - Beginning in the cotton fields of Texas and concluding in the sewing facilities of Honduras, creating apparel is an epic journey. Come along as we take the tour. From Wearables magazine. August, 2010.

From Seed to Shirt
By C.J. Mittica
August 2010

See the interactive online feature here!

Beginning in the cotton fields of Texas and concluding in the sewing facilities of Honduras, creating apparel is an epic journey. Come along as we take the tour.

Clothing, like every big idea, starts with a seed. This seed is small, hard and looks rather insignificant. But, we know better. We’ve wrapped our lives in the fruits of this seed. From the ground it springs up, an innocent stalk of life in the earth. It weathers adversity – wind, bugs, weeds, hail, drought – before a brilliant flower emerges from its green canopy. And that’s not even the important part. The flower dies and falls away, and what later emerges is a wonderful ball of white, pillowy and plentiful. Months later, from the hardest of exteriors, the cottonseed bears its cotton.

From there, apparel’s journey has only begun.

Apparel manufacturing is a mammoth process, a goliath of industry that churns beneath our collective consciousness, far away from the gleaming racks at retail and the oceans of pages that fill up clothing catalogs. With cotton prices spiraling higher each month and both inventory and pricing in a state of uncertainty, it felt as timely as ever to examine this process firsthand. How does it all work? And, what does it mean for distributors?

To find out, Wearables boarded a plane to follow the manufacturing pipeline that Anvil Knitwear (asi/36350) uses to create its organic T-shirts. First stop: the cotton fields of Texas.

Muleshoe, Texas

At this moment in the sweltering June sun, Jimmy Wedel is holding his livelihood in his hands. A mere four months after being planted, an organic cotton plant at this point is a rather fragile thing: a couple of crinkled leaves caked in dirt and canvassed by thrips, tiny red bugs that suck the juices out of the leaves. If it weren’t for the neatly planted rows, it would be easy to assume that the larger pig weed was the cash crop of particular interest. Wedel, swathed in standard Texas issue (blue jeans, belt and boots, though the work shirt is Patagonia) knows it’s not much to see. “It won’t be pretty like my neighbors’,” he says half-apologetically of the organic cotton, comparing it to the heartier conventional crop grown by his fellow farmers.

To the eye, there isn’t much going on with cotton at this early point in the summer heat. The plant (though cotton is technically a tree) won’t reveal its boll of cotton until the beginning of fall and won’t be harvested until November or December.

In truth, though, this time of year is of paramount importance to an organic farmer like Wedel. The cotton right now is small and delicate, threatened not only by the elements and insects, but especially by the weeds. “The main thing I had to do is to give up the herbicide,” says Wedel about becoming an organic farmer back in 1993. “The critical element of organic farming is the weed pressure. Whatever weeds we can’t take out by mechanical means – a cultivator, a tractor, a plow, whatever – we have to hire crews to come in and remove those, hoeing by hand. And that’s very expensive.”

In exploring organic’s higher prices, Wedel’s explanation lies at the root of the matter. He employs about six people year-round to organically farm his 4,500 total acres, which in addition to cotton include corn, wheat and peanuts, as well as soy, black and pinto beans. A conventional farmer needs only two people and much less equipment to farm the same amount of land.

The difference is that conventional farmers use chemical spray on genetically modified crops, known as GMO for short, but which also go by the term “Round-Up Ready.” The GMO crops are genetically altered to survive the herbicide and pesticide that kill the weeds and bugs. A good spray every two to three weeks will do the job. Wedel, on the other hand, has to constantly coordinate work schedules over his lots to catch the weeds before they grow too much. The management, he says, is far more intense. “I tell people, if you enjoy playing golf, don’t get into organic,” says the farmer as he guides his pickup around and through his fields. “I don’t know what Memorial Day or July 4th is. Never celebrated it in my life.”

In his remote pocket of Texas, Wedel is one of a few farmers who work organically, and it’s easy to see why. “None of them want to get into it because it’s too dadgum hard,” he says about his neighbors. Cotton is the most difficult of his crops to grow organically; Wedel used to have four times the acreage a decade ago. Water is scarce, thanks to a finite aquifer, eventually requiring more dryland farming (60% of Texas organic cotton is not irrigated) that leaves the crop at the mercy of rain. And, farming’s tough enough as it is: It’s a shrinking profession that isn’t attracting new blood and often requires half a million dollars in capital in your back pocket before you even drop a seed into the ground. The result: “At this point I don’t see organic cotton in the U.S. growing,” says Kelly Pepper, manager of the Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative in Lubbock, “though economic factors might change that. For now, it’s the status quo.”

Lubbock, Texas

If you’re looking for cotton, you’ll find it in Lubbock. There’s a reason the airport has massive pictures of cotton plastered on its walls: 90% of the U.S. crop is grown in the high plains of Texas. But, while the scope of Texas’ organic crop is sizable (11,000 bales in 2009), it’s a mere drop in the bucket compared to conventional. Organic accounts for less than 1% of the world’s cotton. At the sprawling Farmers Cooperative Compress in Lubbock, where all the bales of high-plains cotton are stored and shipped, organic fills just half a warehouse out of the 120 sprinkled throughout the complex.

The quandary is that while organic cotton is a major tentpole of apparel’s environmental presence, the same suppliers that champion it are also doing major sales in conventional. “You’re not looking to create havoc,” says Anvil CEO Anthony Corsano, whose organic sales are “sizable,” but who still makes the majority of his apparel with conventional yarn. “You’re just looking to create change on a day-to-day basis.”

The Texas Organic Co-Op isn’t concerned with fighting conventional; instead, its primary duty is securing an established market that won’t ebb and flow with demand. “The whole thing with organic,” says Pepper, who has a background in both accounting and farming, “was to try and get it to a sustainable, economic situation.” When the co-op was founded in 1993, consistent buyers were as rare as hills in the flat Texas countryside. Now, though, Nike and Walmart rank as the second- and third-biggest global buyers of organic, according to The Organic Exchange.

Anvil is up there, too, ranking sixth on the Exchange’s Top 12 list of buyers. The supplier typically uses half or more of the available U.S. organic cotton crop, and won’t purchase foreign fiber unless domestic suppliers run out. Plus, it has created a market for transitional cotton that didn’t exist before, convincing big names like Billabong to sign on for a time. Before, farmers would have to farm organically but sell the cotton as transitional for three years, until it could finally be called organic. “They have brought us a means of converting cotton to organic,” Wedel says about Anvil.

Why go so far to support the home effort? “I think that it’s good for the U.S. to attempt to convert more acreage and be more proactive environmentally in every area of responsibility,” Corsano says. “So, it’s not that I have an issue with foreign fiber. It’s that I think we should do as much as we can at home.”

Make no mistake, foreign cotton is a looming presence in the organic world. Sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile products did increase by 35% in 2009. But, while the U.S. stagnates in its organic cotton acreage, countries like India have fueled that growth for a simple reason: Their farming isn’t nearly as mechanized. They’re already doing most things by hand and can’t afford chemicals. Organic certification is just a hop, skip and a jump away for them.

What’s the difference between domestic and foreign cotton? Some swear that foreign cotton has more “trash” (bits of leaves, bark, grass, etc.) because its seeds are removed by hand instead of a mechanical gin. On the other hand, “What happens in the developing world very often is that the cotton is picked by hand. So by virtue of that, you get less trash in there to start,” says econscious (asi/51656) Sales Manager Stefan Bergill, whose company purchases the majority of its organic fiber from Turkey, in addition to India and Pakistan. “I think the biggest difference is that every single bale in the U.S. basically gets tested. And, you have a much more stringent reporting system in the U.S.” The established infrastructure for grading cotton is a key selling point for Texas farmers. The USDA’s classing office in Lubbock alone can run up to 50,000 samples a day during harvesting season. Says Pepper: “Classing is critical to the rest of the process … and it is one of the advantages that the U.S. has over the rest of the world.”

Unsurprisingly, foreign cotton comes cheaper. But, that belies a bigger point: the volcanic eruption of rising cotton prices here and abroad. According to the National Council of Cotton, world cotton prices are now about 50% higher than last year at this time – having risen from about 60 cents per pound to 90 cents per pound – and will likely increase further in the coming months. Why the rise? Part of it traces to major cotton exporters like China and India, the latter of which has frozen much of its cotton exports this year to control prices and protect its domestic market. In addition, demand for cotton has rebounded, but farmers can’t raise their acreage up quickly enough. That, along with inventory woes and overseas labor unrest, has forced suppliers to announce impending price increases by the end of the year. (Anvil announced some price increases July 1, but not on its organic shirts.)

These high prices won’t last forever. “It’s my opinion that conventional will come down as we get into the fourth quarter and into next year,” Corsano predicts. That matters little to organic. Cotton is a commodity (traded on the stock market like other raw goods) and its prices fluctuate all the time. “Our philosophy,” Pepper says, “is to try and not ride the yo-yo of conventional pricing.” His co-op learned the hard way in 2007, when it had a record year (15,000 bales) and very strong demand. It raised prices – and promptly got flattened by the cratering economy. For eight months, Wedel couldn’t sell a bale.

Pricing is very much the major barrier to organic’s continued growth. Anvil found success five years ago when it developed its organic shirt because it sold it at a reasonable difference (50 cents to 75 cents higher than a conventional shirt) vs. the traditional $2 to $4 gap. Pepper has seen the demand for organic cotton rebound this year, but farmers will only make the switch if it makes economic sense, not out of the goodness of their heart. “There has to be an economic reward for a farmer taking a risk,” he says about switching to organic. And, until the economy improves, those rewards will stay buried in the soil.

Gastonia, North Carolina

If the street name – Cotton Blossom Circle – didn’t give it away, then the wagonful of cotton in the lobby certainly does, when it comes to Parkdale Mills’ expertise. It’s easy to overlook Parkdale’s role in the apparel manufacturing process; spinning yarn, after all, is the ignored middle child between growing cotton and creating clothing. But it’s an essential step, and Parkdale is no fly-by-night operation. Situated in an old mill town in the heart of the Charlotte region, the 94-year-old company is the largest manufacturer of spun yarn in the world. With facilities scattered all across the Carolinas and the Southeast, Parkdale churns out 20 million pounds of yarn per week to the tune of $1.3 billion in production.

While cotton in its raw state is simply a crop, the basis of apparel starts to take shape here. Ringspun cotton, cotton-poly blends, tri-blend heather yarns and more all get crafted in the Parkdale production facilities through four distinct production methods. While one method (ringspun) is becoming increasingly popular, the majority of T-shirt yarn is made from the process called open-end. “There certainly has been a shift to a softer hand,” says Charles Heilig, Parkdale’s executive vice president. “Ringspun yields a softer hand, but there are also many other products that we’ve been able to meet our customers’ needs with using the other three technologies.”

Parkdale executives regard their step as a simple one, and on the surface it is: taking fluffy cotton and spinning it into yarn. But, that belies the complexity involved in the enterprise. Parkdale doesn’t just take a bale of cotton and shove it through the production line. It orchestrates what is called a “laydown” – an arrangement of 45 bales of cotton of all kinds and origins. To prepare the cotton to ship to its production plants, employees position the laydown at Fiber Distribution Center, where thousands of bales of cotton accumulate in half-empty rooms like historical relics in Citizen Kane’s Xanadu. “Because of the volumes that we’re purchasing and our blending capabilities,” Heilig says, “we’re able to supply a consistent quality of yarn for all 12 months.”

The employees arrange the bales in a line and mark them with chalked numbers – a specific order with a specific purpose. Basically, creating yarn is like working with a recipe, and the laydown prepares the ingredients. To achieve consistency with its fibers, Parkdale has set requirements to get cotton with specific grades in a number of categories, including length, color, microdenier (size of the fiber) and more. This is where the government classing-office grades come in handy, though that wasn’t always the case. Parkdale used to do its own grades because it didn’t trust the government’s evaluations in the days before computer equipment was prevalent. Now, Parkdale relies almost exclusively on U.S. cotton, because the grading and logistics are far more comprehensive than what foreign can offer.

And so it begins at Plant 21, Parkdale’s largest open-end spinning facility. The laydown bales are lined up and a machine takes a 3 mm-deep pass each time to send the cotton into the production process. From there the cotton is mixed, cleaned and blown, and then goes through the carding process, which combines six strands into a single one. The last major part is the actual spinning process, where the fiber is forced into the grooves of a spinning rotor that compresses it into miniscule threads of yarn.

Through it all, what appears to be a skeleton crew of workers moves the cylinders of yarn and keeps things humming. Yarn-making isn’t labor-intensive, and the low numbers on the floor are normal for Plant 21, a whirring den of deafening machines moving at a speedy automated pace. (Ear plugs are required, which makes conversations practically impossible – especially technical explanations of equipment that one has zero knowledge about in the first place). Speed is key to the yarning process, and since Plant 21 only deals with the open-end process, it can churn out roll after roll of yarn 24 hours a day with single-minded precision.

Organic, of course, is not so easy. Parkdale certifies anywhere from three to five plants to work organically, designating organic yarn with an elastic band on the cylinder and keeping a separate equipment line for it to avoid comingling. At every step along the way, in Texas and at Parkdale, organic must be held separate from conventional cotton to avoid compromising the organic.

From there, the spools purchased by Anvil are shipped to Honduras. Traversing the Carribean wasn’t always necessary, however. Parkdale had a facility in Honduras, but pulled out. “We believe we’re competitive manufacturing yarns in the United States because of the low-cost energy and the proximity to cotton,” says Heilig, juxtaposing the fact that energy isn’t necessarily cheaper in Central America. Given the spate of apparel makers fleeing the U.S. for more tropical pastures, Parkdale clearly remains the exception.

San Pedro Sula, Honduras

One quickly learns in Honduras that the yellow lines in the road are not law, but mere suggestions. As the native drivers fly into the oncoming lane, passing three or four cars on the single-lane mountain roads heading out of the city, it’s those frozen moments of panic that make one regret not having a living will. Tem Mcinville, “Gerente General” of the AKH textile facility (Anvil Knitwear Honduras), has adopted a less dangerous tact when driving. “A lot of the culture is not very safe. There’s a lot of risk-taking,” he says in his North Carolina accent, after another car executes a high-degree-of-difficulty pass.

The risks, however, don’t carry over to doing business in this verdant Central American country. Anvil certainly wasn’t the first apparel manufacturer to put down roots in Honduras, nor will it be the last. “They know what they’re doing when it comes to supporting business,” Mcinville says about the Honduran government, while driving through the picturesque Naco Valley on the way to the plant. Or as Dale Lockamy, vice president of cut-and-sew for Anvil, puts it while sitting in the company’s STAR facility, “If you can put 2,000 people to work, they want you down here.”

Anvil has two facilities near San Pedro Sula, the second-largest city in Honduras and the country’s business capital. AKH is where fabric is knitted, dyed and finished; at STAR, the fabric is cut and sewn into T-shirts and other apparel. (Anvil has one other cut-and-sew facility in Nicaragua.) Like the majority of clothing companies, Anvil at one time manufactured all of its apparel in the U.S., but then started utilizing subcontractors abroad. In 1996 it opened a sewing facility in Honduras. About five years later, it moved its cutting operations, as well. In 2005 the company built the state-of-the-art AKH facility from the ground up.

Why the migration? Trade agreements between the U.S. and Central American countries that allow manufacturers to operate duty-free and ship product back to the States. “It was pretty much a no-brainer,” Corsano says about the move. Of course, that doesn’t mean operating in a third-world country is all beaches and sunshine (though there is plenty of that). Honduras, for example, had to deal with the small matter of a presidential coup last year. “If you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen,” Corsano remarks. “If you want to run a business and not have an issue – political, labor, weather, energy-related – you can’t be an apparel manufacturer in a developing country, because that’s what you get.”

Even with the move, speed is still at a premium for the company to alleviate worries about sitting on inventory and supply. “We make T-shirts for customers that want quick turnaround,” Lockamy says, adding that the company quotes on no more than eight weeks. And, the positives – cheaper labor, abundant resources – clearly outweigh the negatives. Anvil goes to great lengths to protect both. AKH champions a process called Total Productive Maintenance that encourages machine operators to catch problems early and presentthem to management with suggested changes. Mcinville and others then give the go-ahead within 24 hours. “What does that do for a person’s head here? You’re not just operating a machine,” Mcinville says with pride as he walks the steamy factory floor, showing off pictures of employees holding trophies and being lauded for safety and productivity. Anvil also commits to corporate social responsiblity initiatives – donating food, reimbursing tuition at local schools, and perhaps most importantly for this soccer-mad company, opening its cut-and-sew facility late so the Honduran staff could watch the country’s first Copa Mundial game in 28 years.

Environmental responsibility is even more paramount. AKH is close to zero in its landfill waste, down to the biodegradable cornstarch untensils in the cafeteria. It commits to processing waste water and returning it to better-than-OHSA standards – a practical necessity for a massive facility that uses 2 million gallons of water per day. That was the ultimate goal for Corsano when he steered Anvil on its environmentally friendly path five years ago: producing eco-friendly apparel with eco-friendly practices. “But, I need to be clear,” he adds. “We’re not perfect. It’s not a journey or a race that ends. There’s always something more to do.”

So it is true with the lifecycle of apparel. Anvil creates a T-shirt, and it leaves Honduras behind – the striking mountains, the fields of sugar cane and bananas, the dilapidated rows of homes and the burgeoning cities. The shirt has yet to arrive at destinations unknown. Even after all this, apparel’s journey is still beginning.

C.J. Mittica is editor of Wearables.

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