THA Executive Committee Meeting – April 7 at THA offices in Charlotte, NC.

THA Board of Directors Meeting – April 27 at The Mulberry Inn in Savannah, GA.

THA's 101st Annual Convention – April 27-30, 2006: 4 Days Left to Make Hotel Reservations – If you have registered for the convention but have not made your hotel reservations yet, you still can get THA's room block rate of $169/night (single or double) if you make your reservations by the Monday, March 27 Deadline. Call The Mulberry Inn directly at 877-468-1200 and specify the “THA room block.” Or you can make your reservations online by clicking on The Mulberry Inn's web site link. If you have reserved your hotel room, but not registered with THA, please send your registration form to THA.

Brochures on the Annual Convention have all been mailed out to THA members. The brochure contains program information, a registration form and sponsorship information. If you are interested in attending this year's Annual Convention, please make sure you send in your registration to THA by the April 7 deadline. Registration forms are also available on our website ( www.hosieryassociation.com ). 

Make plans now to join your fellow hosiery industry friends in Savannah, GA on April 27-30.

CIT COMMERCIAL SERVICES and SWIFT SPINNING INC. and UNIFI INC. are our current general sponsors of THA's 101 st Annual Meeting & Convention April 27-30 in Savannah. R. L. Stowe is a hole sponsor at the annual convention golf tournament. THA wishes to extend its gratitude for the support of these companies. Sponsorship information has been included with the annual convention brochures that were mailed out, so if your company is interested in joining these industry leaders, please contact Mike Austell at 704-365-0913 or email mike.austell@hosieryassociation.com.

The CHA Chapter of THA will hold their next meeting on May 25 at the Pepper Tree Inn, Greensboro. 

CHA's Golf Tournament: CHA will hold a golf tournament on Thursday, June 8 at Rock Barn Country Club. Rock Barn is a Robert Trent Jones Jr. course and site of a fall Senior PGA event. Registration for this Captain's Choice tournament is at 8:00 a.m. with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. The $90 registration fee will include golf, lunch and heavy hors d'oeuvres at the awards ceremony. 

HR/SAFETY GROUP – The May 12 HR/Safety Group meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting will be September 14-15 in Asheville, NC.

March/April issue of Hosiery News is out! The current issue of The Hosiery Association's official magazine is now available in print and electronic formats. Consisting of a unique blend of editorial which is meaningful to your businesses, Hosiery News is developed by a team of association professionals and is read consistently worldwide. Let us know if you're not receiving your copy.

 

Industry Support with Style! THA will soon be re-launching its web site with a new look and a new feel. With the thousands of consumers, retailers and industry professionals that visit us from across the globe on a daily basis, this new platform will offer its users with more functionality and more information readily at their fingertips than ever before. A “members only” section will enable its users to keep up to date on the latest statistical, legislative and trend information available. 

Special Note: The next issue of the Hosiery Insider will not be distributed until the week of April 3rd.

 

Moretz Receives Wal-Mart's 2005 Supplier of Year Award: Moretz Inc. has received the Wal-Mart 2005 Supplier of the Year award for the retailer's Ladies Socks Dept. 27. This is the third year in a row Moretz has achieved the honor. The Moretz, Inc. team will be honored for the award at a celebration held at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas recently.  Rich Stober, president, massmarket sales, Moretz, Inc., made the announcement. "To earn the award that many consider the industry's highest honor for three consecutive years is truly a testament to Moretz associates for their dedication to continuous improvement," said Mr. Stober.  Wal-Mart and Moretz, Inc. have been working together since 2000. Moretz, Inc. works with Wal-Mart, to provide sport, dress/casual, and fashion socks for its high volume, international network of stores. Moretz, Inc. dedicates an in-house team of sales, marketing, and design/merchandising professionals to create and manage the sockwear programs for Wal-Mart stores. Leveraging Moretz Inc.'s Vendor Inventory Management system, the team consistently increases sales for Wal-Mart per square foot, turns, fill rates, and profitability.

NC State University's 2006 Continuing Education Schedule: May sessions include: “Distribution Free Analysis” – May 2006 , “New Product Development—Wipes” – May 1-5, and “Dyeing and Finishing Fundamentals” – May 16-19. Most of the courses are held on NCSU's Centennial Campus. To view the entire 2006 schedule or if you are interested in registering for one of these courses, visit www.ContinuingEducation.NCSU.edu.

Prime Source, a new networking event for the international apparel industry, will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 28-31. The 2-day forum will bring together 200 participants who have significant influence in shaping the future of the International apparel industry. Participation is by invitation only and has been targeted at high-level representatives from apparel brand owners, retailers, importers and manufacturers, as well as ministerial-level government officials from apparel importing and producing countries.The 4-day trade show will be the venue where senior management of large importers and retailers, buying and purchasing offices of major brands, executives of brand label manufacturers, and merchandisers can meet with service providers. These exhibiting companies will introduce their production capabilities and strengths to buyers, allowing both to gain new, high-level business contacts and to meet with companies that can provide solutions to improve business. Find out more about the forum at www.internationalapparelforum.com. Find out more about the trade show at www.primesourcetradeshow.com.

Dallas Market Center Show – The Men’s & Boys’ Apparel Market and the Women’s & Children’s Apparel and Accessories show will be held at the Dallas Market Center in Dallas, TX March 30 – April 2. Dallas Market Center, the largest wholesale merchandise resource in the world as recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records, is the one location where retailers from around the globe source a wide range of products including textiles, fashion accessories and women's, men's, children's and western apparel. With more than 50 markets each year attended by more than 200,000 buyers, Dallas Market Center offers an array of services geared toward helping retailers expand business & increase profits. Additional 2006 show dates: June 1-4, August 17-20, and October 26-29. For more detailed information, visit www.dallasmarketcenter.com.

2006 Seattle Trend Show – Show dates for 2006 have been released for the Seattle Trend Shows. This show is a regional tradeshow for the Pacific Northwest, featuring women’s, children’s and men’s apparel and accessories. For 65 years this show has served independent retailers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and British Columbia. The shows will be held at the Qwest Field Event Center in Seattle, Washington. Dates are as follows: March 31-April 3, June 10-12, August 5-7 and October (TBD). For more information about this show, contact Patricia Hodges, Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Apparel Association: T – 206-767-9200, F – 206-767-0707, E – pnaa@earthlink.net, W – www.seattletrendshow.com.

Florida Fashion Focus – An upscale, open-booth trade show offering the latest trends in ladies’ apparel and accessories. Florida Fashion Focus brings wholesalers and retailers together in a professional environment designed to provide the optimal buying experience. This industry show will be held at the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel and Convention Center in Miami, FL on April 1-3. Visit www.floridafashionfocus.com for additional information.

Material World Show – Material World will have two shows in 2006: April 4-6 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, FL and September 26-28 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York, NY. “From Design to Delivery, the Premier Global Trade Event for the Sewn Products Industries.” Additional information can be found at www.material-world.com.

TÜYAP Fairs and Exhibitions Organization Inc. will organize the 4th International Istanbul Yarn Fair between the dates April 05 – 09, 2006 at Tüyap Fair, Convention and Congress Center, Beylikdüzü - Istanbul – Turkey . Simultaneously with the above fairs and at the same location, 23 th International Knitting, Embroidery, Hosiery Machines, Side Industry and Chemicals Fair will be organized in cooperation with TEMSAD Textile Machinery and Accessories Industrialists Association. 

PAM Trading Corp ( Greensboro NC ) and Santoni spa ( Brescia Italy ) are conducting an event in Greensboro NC "Santoni Seamless Days" April 4th, 5th and 6th 2006 at PAM Trading. For questions please contact: Alan Parker Exec VP PAM Trading Corp 336-668-0901 ext 106 aparker@pamtrading.com.

Fashion designer Oleg Cassini passed away in Long Island at the age of 91. Cassini is best known as the man that dressed Jacqueline Kennedy during the Camelot years in the White House years from 1961 to 1963. He put her in simple geometric dresses made out of sumptuous fabrics and pill box hats. According to legend it was President Kennedy who recommended Cassini who was relatively unknown at the time. He was born in Paris to ex-pat Russian parents and had worked in Hollywood for a number of years before dressing the First Lady. Jackie was only 31 when her husband was elected as the Chief Executive.

The catwalk will finally live up to its name when dogs join cats on the runway for New York's first pet fashion week in August. The shows will feature handpicked, internationally established and up-and-coming designers. According to the organizers website “The intention is to provide a glimpse into what the future of pet fashion might hold and possibly shock spectators with cutting-edge haute couture and street-ready fashion.”

Nicaragua and Honduras Ready for DR-CAFTA Implementation on April 1 Nicaragua's General Assembly has passed reforms to implement DR-CAFTA, including changes to the country's intellectual property rights (IPR) protections, and Honduras approved similar measures on March 15. Both countries hope to implement the trade agreement with the U.S. on April 1. In order to allow these countries to come online as soon as possible, the U.S. and El Salvador (the only country for which the agreement is currently in effect) have agreed to waive the 90-day waiting period for new countries joining the agreement. In related news, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said recently that it is working with Congress to make technical corrections to DR-CAFTA to allow duty-free entry for textile and apparel products made in signatory countries with inputs from countries for which the agreement is not yet in effect. As DR-CAFTA is currently written, an apparel product assembled in El Salvador using U.S. yarn knit into fabric in Honduras would not receive duty-free treatment until the agreement goes into effect for Honduras. A legislative fix could be included as part of the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB), which passed the House last week, or the Oman free trade agreement (FTA) implementing legislation, which has yet to be introduced.

USTR to Hold May 3 Hearing on U.S.-Malaysia FTA
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will hold a public hearing on May 3 regarding the U.S.-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA). The purpose of the hearing is to clarify negotiating objectives for the proposed agreement and to provide advice on how specific goods, services and other matters should be treated under the agreement. Anyone who would like to testify at this hearing must notify the USTR by April 21. Written comments are due by May 12.

United States, European Union Sign Enlargement Compensation Agreement
The United States and the EU signed a bilateral trade agreement in Geneva on a comprehensive package of EU trade concessions to compensate the United States for tariff increases that resulted from the EU's May 2004 enlargement. The agreement reduces several EU agricultural and industrial tariffs to offset increases that occurred when the 10 countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 were required to change their tariff schedules to conform to the EU's common external tariff schedule. Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the United States is entitled to compensation from the EU to offset some of those changes. A USTR press release said that another element of the agreement--the expansion of tariff-rate quotas--enhances and strengthens market-access opportunities for certain U.S exports to the EU market. Implementation of the EU concessions is to go into effect no later than July 1.

Opposition to Textile Sectoral in Doha Round Agreement
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), the National Retail Federation (NRF), the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) and other associations representing U.S. apparel and travel goods retailers, brands, manufacturers and importers wrote a letter to USTR Rob Portman recently that stated that they are “steadfastly opposed to any attempt to use a separate negotiation to exempt textiles and apparel from the general NAMA market access formula in an attempt to maintain special protection for this sector.” The associations stressed that they are only willing to support a textile and apparel sectoral that “seeks deeper liberalization than what could be achieved through the general NAMA formula.” The letter also expressed the associations' opposition to any effort to resurrect the quota regime or extend the China safeguard past 2008.

Indonesia Becoming Center for Illegal Transhipment
Press reports indicate that Indonesia is fast becoming a major hub for the illegal transshipment of goods to the U.S., and that Washington has threatened to impose restrictions on Indonesia's exports of textiles and shrimp unless the country takes action. Indonesian exporters are accused of using fake certificates of origin to export products from China and Thailand to circumvent U.S. import restrictions.

CBP Seizes Another $6 Million in Textile Products
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced this week that it has seized $6 million in imported textile products since February 24. This brings the total amount of textile goods seized this year to more than $20 million. CBP states that in the past three weeks 26 seizures were made, almost all of which were based on the violation of Chinese safeguard/quota requirements.