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How to use the H-2B program to hire legal temporary guest workers
May 14th, 2018
April 1st, 2018 / By: Pamela Mills-Senn / Feature Finding workers during the busy season can prove challenging, leaving U.S. tent and event rental companies short-handed, but there’s a tool at their disposal that can provide just the remedy. For tent and event rental companies, the busy season not only brings the promise of more work, it also […]
Challenges and opportunities
October 23rd, 2017
Smart fabrics products may require novel textile substrates. A key takeaway from the Smart Fabrics Program and E-Textiles Workshop at IFAI Expo this September was the symbiotic relationship between smart technologies and the development of suitable textile substrates to facilitate the desired function. While the fashion apparel business has become increasingly commodity-driven, smart fabrics require […]
The importance of size and fit
October 23rd, 2017
Garment makers are using new technologies to optimize comfort. With the growth of the wearable technology market, innovations in high-tech protective garments and a push by the U.S. military for more comfortable uniforms and gear, the issue of size and fit has also grown in importance. This is not a fashion or aesthetic choice, exclusively; […]
The efficiencies and versatility of advanced and automated equipment are helping bring back the U.S. sewing industry
September 1st, 2017
When U.S. textile jobs started to leave en masse for China and other cheap-labor countries in the 1990s, an entire industry scrambled to pick up the pieces. Companies that survived the upheaval frequently shared one common trait: adaptability. Some contract sewers courted niche non-apparel product makers, while others invested in equipment to become leaders in […]
Does “Made in the USA” matter in the sewn-goods industry?
August 30th, 2017
A 2015 survey by Consumer Reports indicates that nearly 8 in 10 American consumers would rather buy a product made in United States than an imported one—and 60 percent of them would be willing to pay 10 percent more for it. But the sewn-goods industry faces critical questions about the “Made in the USA” label: […]
High-Performance Sewing Machines
March 1st, 2017
Every trade has its tools, and marine fabrication is no exception. A critically important tool of marine fabrication is the sewing machine. Regardless of the brand, a sewing machine has to be durable, reliable and easily maintained, because it is, after all, the workhorse of a productive shop. Purchasing a professional-grade sewing machine, however, is […]
Part 1: State of the Industry 2017
February 1st, 2017
Despite some slowing of global GDP in 2016, growth of the U.S. and Canadian specialty fabrics industry is slow but steady, and markets like fabric structures, tent rental and manufacturing, fabric graphics and marine fabrication are outpacing national averages. The pace is expected to continue, but can also be somewhat constrained by changes in unemployment […]
Air Apparent
January 1st, 2017
Companies and event organizers use inflatables to grab public attention and promote their brands. Although he now sells spaces in luxury subterranean survival shelters, Robert Vicino once focused his entrepreneurial spirit on loftier altitudes. He put a 90-foot King Kong on the Empire State Building and designed Otto the Autopilot for the farcical movie Airplane. […]
The future workforce
October 1st, 2016
A Makers completed curriculum and a nationally registered apprenticeship program are in the final approval stages. The next generation of skilled sewers is in the works. Textile manufacturers need sewers. People entering the workforce need jobs that can lead to fulfilling careers. So why has it been so challenging to bring the two together? What […]
Getting the word out about fabric graphics
August 1st, 2016
Fabric graphics have become a marketing and branding essential. As they go outside to play, the medium is definitely part of the message. Fabric graphics are a perfect vehicle for our branding-obsessed culture, providing the ability to transmit messages in fun, colorful, impactful and attention-getting ways. Fabrics and fabric graphics are at home everywhere indoors, […]