Apparel

Bloomberg Businessweek recently reported on a new apparel company animating T-shirts by cutting holes in the artwork, then placing smartphones or tablets behind the opening and configuring them so an animation would play. Is this a technology you could apply to your apparel marketing?

The same people who stirred a bit of morality into your morning cup of joe want to get into your overstuffed closet, too. Fair Trade USA, a nonprofit organization that certifies that goods made in developing countries meet certain standards related to wages and environmental impact, is several years into an effort to bring its standards to the clothing industry. The effort began quietly, but has recently started to gain momentum. Just a few weeks ago, Patagonia pledged to launch a Fair Trade certified line of yoga apparel.

J. America, Fowlerville, Mich., recently announced its new line release for Fall 2013 through Fall 2014. As an industry leader in fashion-forward styles and fabrications, J. America has added 15 new styles this fall, which are featured in the Better Basics, Sport, Vintage and JA Ladies collections.

The decision by Gildan Activewear Inc. to invest $250 million in new U.S. yarn-spinning plants in Davie and Rowan counties by mid-2015 raises a curious question.

Will Gildan's renewed interest in the value of U.S. production resonate with rival Hanesbrands Inc., particularly since Gildan's expansion is taking place within an hour of its backyard of Winston-Salem?

Hot on the heels of the Made In USA "C-Note" collab with Concepts, New Balance has announced that it will be launching an entire apparel collection for men and women—produced domestically. Based on the popularity of the 990 sneaker, the collection will highlight signature features from New Balance's archive of kicks like "heavy-gauge topstitching and waffle half-moon[s] with mounted label[s]" according to WWD.

In addition to being produced in the U.S., the materials that that makeup the fleece pullover, polyester-twill jacket, and graphic tees are being sourced domestically as well. Didn't get your fix at the American Field pop-up shop?

Last Friday the Toronto Star published an article about one of its writers going undercover in a Bangladesh sweatshop. It's an incredible piece, and one I think everyone in our industry should read.

With today’s tough economy and overall tighter company budgets, it’s no wonder your clients are becoming more demanding and wanting more from you in a shorter turnaround time. With so many balls in the air, and only two hands to catch them all, working with a smart supplier who can truly be a partner to you will make a world of difference.

HanesBrands, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., recently announced that it has closed the acquisition of Maidenform Brands Inc. for approximately $583 million. HanesBrands had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company in July.

Runners are on their own to purchase pants, but the T-shirts they wear are another story. Since the early days of the running boom, T-shirts have been the souvenir almost always included in the price of a race entry fee. And runners love them.

In a recent scientific survey conducted among a group of seasoned runners, I learned runners favor tech or synthetic, lightweight fabric T-shirts over cotton—the fabric of choice for so many years. Runners say they fit better, don’t get smelly, breathe, have a nicer texture and stretch enough to “cover a car” according to one respondent.

Facebook's mission to secure its status as the world authority in who knows who—a constant, lumbering quest to improve its advertiser-serving "social graph"—involves more than just parsing your status updates and cataloging your relationships. It also, quite simply, means knowing what you look like. The company's flirted with facial recognition for years to this end—it rolled out and then rolled back face recognition in user-uploaded photos in 2010—and a proposed change to its terms of service, introduced last month, would give it the right to use your profile picture in an effort to enhance it's auto-tagging efforts.