Apparel

… And then the businessman woke up in a bathtub filled with ice only to find his kidney was gone! Eating Pop Rocks and drinking Coke will cause stomach damage! Walt Disney has been cryogenically frozen! The best urban legends revolve around some rather unsavory themes, don’t they? Here’s one more you might not have heard: “Golf” is actually an acronym for “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.” Not true.

Hanesbrands Inc., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, announced its worldwide goals to reduce energy use and carbon emissions as well as the launch of a corporate social responsibility Web site that details the company’s social- and and environmental-stewardship programs.

President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday extending through April the U.S. Small Business Administration’s ability to provide enhancements in its two largest small-business loan programs.  The enhancements, first made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, include a higher guarantee on some SBA-backed loans and fee relief.

World Emblem International, Miami, announced it recently opened its eighth manufacturing operation in Reno, Nevada. The new manufacturing location is capable of producing name and company emblems, embroidered logo emblems, direct embroidery on apparel, transfer applications and Perfect Print sublimated emblems.

Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General Corporation announced customers can now find Hanes brand of underwear at 8,800 Dollar General stores.

When L.L. Bean first announced its plan to launch a hip new clothing line targeting 20- and 30-somethings last August, I quickly joined the chorus of voices crying foul. After all, Bean isn't just a brand; it's an institution, a torchbearer, a monument to a bygone lifestyle

American Apparel Inc., Los Angeles, a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2009.

Sport Supply Group Inc., Dallas, announced that its board of directors approved and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share on the company's common stock for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, which ends March 31, 2010. The quarterly cash dividend is payable on April 16, 2010, to all stockholders of record on the close of business on April 6, 2010.

Since becoming a dad about 14 months ago, I've learned a lot of things--both good and bad. For example, rawhide bones are not the same thing as teething rings. Vomit cleans up nicely off leather. And perhaps most importantly, my innate lack of fashion sense no longer matters. The reality is when I'm pushing a stroller, dolling out “puffs” and chasing my son around in the park, no one cares what I'm wearing.

Tolland, Connecticut-based Gerber Technology, a business unit of Gerber Scientific Inc. and a world leader in automated CAD/CAM and product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions for the apparel and flexible materials industry, will sponsor a customer case study presentation featuring the Seattle-based golf and sportswear company Cutter & Buck at the March 23 Apparel Tech Conference West in Los Angeles. The session, entitled “24/7 Global Operations: Supply Chain & PLM--A Customer Case Study”, will be presented by Bobbie Jo Foster, business systems manager for Cutter & Buck’s Product Group in Seattle.