[TC]² Bi-Weekly Technology Communicator
Intro to Apparel Manufacturing Seminar
[TC]², Cary, NC - September 17-21
Register Now!
[TC]²’s Intro to Apparel Manufacturing course offers an overview of the entire manufacturing process from fibers to the finished product. Featured topics include: textile fundamentals, fiber formation and fabric design, fabric characteristics, material utilization, spreading and cutting theories, and much more. Key apparel terms and concepts are explained, along with standard terminologies for seam and stitch formations.
Join other industry professionals in this popular and informative program. To register or for more information, click here.
[TC]² Staff Train As First Generation WRAP Consultants
By Kim Anderson, [TC]²
Taking advantage of low wage labor in other countries has not been without consequences to U.S. apparel companies. U.S. companies are held accountable for their global practices by consumers, retailers and the government. The Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP), an independent, non-profit organization formed in 1998, is dedicated to assuring lawful, ethical and humane manufacturing conditions. Once a foreign facility has become WRAP certified, a U.S. company can be assured they are doing business with a socially responsible company.
WRAP ensures reliable socially compliant practices in two ways—certification and training. The Certification Program certifies individual facilities for compliance with WRAP’s principles and procedures concerning fair pay, workers’ dignity, safe and secure working conditions and environmental impact. WRAP’s training programs teach workers, factory managers and government inspectors about issues related to global supply chains and their partners.
WRAP has added a third service—consultants have been trained to help a facility successfully obtain WRAP certification. In a three day seminar WRAP personnel trained selected [TC]² employees to be authorized WRAP consultants. The consultants are now trained to help facilities in two ways. They can help facilities prepare for the certification process or if a facility has been unsuccessful, the consultants can advise them on how to successfully complete the certification process.
There are five steps a facility must take to become certified by WRAP.
• Application - The facility seeking certification submits a registration form and pays a fee. • Monitoring – After satisfying the compliance requirements in the handbook the facility schedules an on-site compliance evaluation by an accredited independent monitor. • Evaluation – After the Monitor verifies compliance, an evaluation report is submitted along with recommendations. • Certification – WRAP issues certifications to qualified facilities. |
Facilities that have become WRAP certified have experienced greater productivity, lower turnover, improved communications between management and employees, safer working conditions and improved morale.
The new generation of [TC]² consultants will provide facilities with services that can help them become officially socially compliant and give them the ability to improve their overall business environment and output.
Fit for Profit - Consumers Fit Problems - Why?
Possible Solutions
By Anastasia Vouyouka, Telestia
The Cool Zone exhibit of [TC]² at SPESA Expo in Miami brought forward the need to plan for good fitting garments. Apart from the cool technologies one needs the appropriately trained staff to sustain such a supply chain in the long term. This is affecting design, manufacturing and marketing decisions on a strategic level.
We, at Telestia, had started being troubled by the growing need for well-trained and skilled personnel to support the industry in matters of fit many years ago. A number of research surveys and articles were published where it was acknowledged that the lack of skilled people was becoming significantly more apparent. Designers are willing to water-down their designs if they proved to be too complex or time-consuming during the development of the sample. In other words, they would modify their initial design ideas to less creative or innovative designs when they had difficulty obtaining a good fit for the original concept. This approach to style interpretation has been going on for years, with the result of downgrading garment fit together with the consumers' taste and demand.
Research on sizing and 3D presentation and a lot of research money was expended to find answers and develop solutions for these issues. These solutions presented new challenges but the total solution was not apparent and the problem still persists.
Click here to read the entire article.
[TC]² Activity - Education Survey
By Genevieve Garland and Jim Lovejoy, [TC]²
Earlier this year, [TC]² sent out email questionnaires to a list of members and previous class attendees about our education and training offerings. We wanted to see how well our current training was serving the industry and what new offerings were indicated. We received over 100 responses back. Of the companies surveyed, 45% were involved in cut and sew and 41% were doing design, contracting or buying for wholesale brands. Responses came from individuals employed in small, medium and large-sized companies. Forty nine percent of the respondents had received some training in the past year. Respondents who had received training could select multiple resources, and, 64% had received training from [TC]², 31% from internal company programs and 62% from other sources. The five topics that had the most interest for possible attendance were: costing, fast fashion (speed to market), designing for production (garment engineering), fit and sizing, and supply chain management. This input will be very helpful in planning our future educational programs.
[TC]² thanks everyone who responded to our survey.
Member Profile - INVISTA
By Karen Davis, [TC]²
Headquartered in the United States, INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated fibers and polymers businesses with a global presence. The company delivers exceptional value for customers through market insight, technology innovations, and a powerful portfolio of some of the most recognized global brands and trademarks in their respective industries. Built on a powerful combination of innovation and branding, INVISTA owns more than 1,000 unique pending or granted U.S. patents, with corresponding patents in most countries where INVISTA has a business presence. This is combined with a powerful trademark portfolio including some of the most recognized global brands in the industry, such as, LYCRA®, STAINMASTER®, COOLMAX®, THERMOLITE®, POLARGUARD®, SUPPLEX®, FRESHFX™, TACTEL® and CORDURA®.
Corporate Headquarters in Wichita, Kansas
The organization is divided into businesses focusing on apparel, interiors, intermediates, performance materials, and polymer and resins and maintains offices around the world including sales and marketing offices in New York City, Sao Paulo, Geneva, Milan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The apparel division maintains market segments in ready-to-wear, intimate apparel, swimwear, activewear, legwear and career apparel.
Recent innovations include:
1. A wicking nylon filament which can be marketed as either COOLMAX® freshFX™or LYCRA® freshFX™brands, making it ideal for athletic apparel, intimate apparel, pantyhose, and seamless products.
2. A solid black spandex fiber with chlorine-resistance which delivers a lasting fit that qualifies for Xtra Life LYCRA® branding. When combined with solid black nylon, this product produces an extraordinary true-black with none of the typical spandex grin-through when stretched.
The company was originally DuPont Textiles and Interiors which was renamed INVISTA in 2001. INVISTA was acquired by subsidiaries of Koch Industries, Inc. in 2004, was merged with KoSa and the entire organization was renamed INVISTA. In 1980, DuPont was one of thirteen founding members of [TC]² . While with DuPont, [TC]²’s Chairman, Peter Butenhoff, acted as Program Administrator for [TC]² , retiring in 1992 and joining [TC]² full-time. Since 1980, a DuPont/INVISTA representative has maintained a position on [TC]²’s Board of Directors, and has helped guide its research and educational activities.
Material World New York
Material World New York Announces The Ultimate Sourcing Solution:
Global Matchmaking @ Material World
Taking advantage of the unparalleled scope of international garment producing and fabric resources exhibiting in the New York edition of Material World this September, registered attendees will now be able to match their needs directly with suppliers prior to stepping onto the Material World show floor. By simply completing the online Ultimate Sourcing Solution form, registered attendees will receive a comprehensive list of appropriate sourcing opportunities exhibiting at Material World, September 25-27, 2007; matching their needs by production and/or fabric category and geography. As the leader of bringing sourcing managers and fabric purchasers together with the best suppliers from around the world, Material World continues to be the leader in the most important aspect of industry trade events: commerce.
For more information, visit www.material-world.com or click here to register for the September 2007 event.
Important Dates
August
28 |
Apparel’s Sourcing Summit, presented at Sourcing at Magic, Las Vegas Convention Center |
September
13 |
Seams & Stitches – The Technical Details; Seminar at [TC]². For more details, click here. |
17-21 |
Intro to Apparel Manufacturing; Seminar at [TC]². For more details, click here. |
21-22 |
SEAMS Fall Meeting at [TC]². For details, visit www.seams.org. |
25-27 |
Material World, Jacob Javits Center, New York. For more details visit www.material-world.com. |
For detailed information about industry events, visit www.techexchange.com
Thanks to the techexchange site sponsors
Apparel Magazine, Gerber Technology, Lawson, Lectra, Methods Workshop and Reach Technologies.
A Look Ahead in the Newsletter
Material World
SEAMS Fall Meeting
View previous editions of this newsletter
[TC]²
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Fax: 919-380-2181
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