Apparel

Markets link people around the world in unexpected ways. We all know that. Seeing it up close is something else.

Last year, when cotton prices reached their highest level since the U.S. Civil War, we went looking for those human connections and the consequences.

Cotton's supply chain stretches from the hands of some of the world's poorest people, including millions of children, to the clothes worn by most everyone in the world's richest countries. It's also used in unexpected places (including car tires).

Child labor was of special interest for me and my editors as we began discussing the historic market.

Whether you're hitting the slopes with your skis or wiping out on them with you face, this week's Editor's Picks has got you covered with warm headwear.

It used to be that a T-shirt and pair of sweats was the outfit de jour at the gym. These days fitness apparel, much like workouts, have become more sophisticated. There are shirts with ventilation panels, pants with thermal lining and they all can be found in the Washington area.

Dozens of speciality stores, including Lululemon and Lucy, have sprung up to cater to a growing health-conscious population.

In 2011 alone, Modell's Sporting Goods opened in Columbia Heights, Althleta debuted in Georgetown and City Sports took up an address in Silver Spring.

Delta Apparel Inc. announced the election of Suzanne B. Rudy as a director by unanimous approval of the company's board. Rudy brings more than 20 years of proven financial, corporate governance and investor relations expertise to the Delta Apparel board of directors.

Authorities say a routine commercial vehicle inspection in Wyoming has turned up about $5.7 million worth of counterfeit handbags, jackets and shoes.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol said in a news release Tuesday the merchandise was seized Monday evening during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 just west of Cheyenne. The tractor-trailer contained 18 pallets of fake Louis Vuitton handbags and leather jackets, as well as fake Nike tennis shoes.

The patrol says the trooper who stopped the semi noticed it didn't have the proper shipping documents, and the merchandise was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

2012 could well be a banner year for item-level Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging in the apparel industry. Companies eager to improve inventory tracking and visibility as well as potentially drive increased sales and reduce labor costs are embracing the idea of item-level RFID at a fast pace. Indeed, global sales of item-level RFID systems to apparel companies are expected to approach $125 million by the end of 2014, according to ABI Research.

Today's item-level RFID tags are a technology enabled by the Electronic Product Code (EPC)—a GS1 standard that provides robust identifying information about specific products.

These recession-ready trends, tactics and times will keep you selling in tough times.

Andy Coyne from The Graphic Cow reclaimed the Guinness World Record for number of T-shirts worn by an individual at the PPAI Expo 2012 in Las Vegas on Jan. 5. Coyne wore 249 Hanes T-shirts to establish the new record.

Los Angeles-based apparel manufacturer American Apparel has reported that its December 2011 sales increased 15 percent, to $56.3 million. This included a net sales increase of 25 percent for the company's wholesale market, which caters to promotional products suppliers and decorators.

Pantone LLC has announced PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango, a vivacious, enticing hue, as the color of the year for 2012.