Century Place Wins Top Award
For 3rd Year

Century Place has become the first company to receive UniLink’s All-Star Supplier award three years in a row. Mike Carter, president, and Jeff Smith, CEO, accepted the award April 14 at the UniLink FOCUS ’05 Awards Dinner in Las Vegas, Nev.

All-Star Suppliers are chosen based on several criteria with most consideration being given to the ratings received from UniLink members on their Supplier Satisfaction Survey. Other criteria include how beneficial the program is to UniLink members, communication and marketing support to UniLink, volume growth, and accuracy and timeliness of monthly reports.

Century Place’s excellence in customer service and product quality/innovation has become a constant for UniLink members. “Mike has dedicated himself and his staff to providing top-notch service. In our business, we depend on the reliability of our suppliers. As exemplified by three All-Star Awards in a row, Century Place executes with near perfection on a consistent basis,” said Don Ames, president of UniLink Associates L.P.

UniLink Associates L.P. is the a buying group in the independent uniform and textile industry with over $1.5 billion in combined purchasing power and over 570 members. UniLink provides members with volume discounts from more than 90 of the industry’s top suppliers. It also provides marketing and human resources assistance, business support and networking opportunities.

GCA Introduces Men’s and Women’s French Blue Executive Shirts

Garment Corporation of America (GCA) announces the addition of french blue to its line of men’s cotton-rich Oxford executive shirts and the introduction of the same shirt in a women’s style.

“The current wave of popularity for this color is seen in the retail market nearly everywhere, and that trend is reflected within the uniform industry as well,” states Lloyd Bennett, GCA vice president for marketing.

The men’s style, 4514/4514E, and women’s style, 4414/4414E, are made of permanent press, reverse blend 60/40 cotton/poly, 4-1/4 ounce oxford cloth. Features include an all-button front placket, box pleat back, two-piece topstitched yoke, lined button-down banded collar, lined and topstitched two-piece cuffs adjustable with two buttons, and a hemmed spade-style left breast pocket.

The men’s style is now in stock in sizes 14 1/2, 32-33 to 19 1/2, 36-37. The women’s style will be available mid-summer in sizes 6 to 24.

For ordering information, contact GCA customer service department at
800-944-4500 or e-mail:
customerservice@gcauniforms.com

Product Roundup: Milliken, Invista and SanMar
By: Jackie Roselli

Starting this month, UniformMarket will include information on company product launches or new lines in an expanded segment: the Product Roundup. These occasional articles will feature news on new products that we’ve received from you our readers, with the information prominently displayed in the beginning section of UniformMarket rather than merely listed as another news item.

We do this for two reasons. First, we believe that product news received directly from readers shouldn’t be lumped with information we’ve gathered from other outside sources. Second, as a vehicle for the uniform industry, we believe that the dissemination of information regarding industry advances is an important component of what this magazine should do. This information, therefore, should receive the attention it deserves.

Would you like your product news featured in Product Roundup? Do you have a story angle that you’d like us to cover? Send us your ideas and we may include them in an upcoming issue.

New product offerings this month come from Milliken, Invista and SanMar:

In May, Milliken & Company, one of the world’s largest privately held textile and chemical manufacturers, introduced StainSmart Comfort Zone, a new triple-action fabric technology that combines the benefits of stain repel, stain release and moisture wicking in polyesters and polycotton blends. Marking a development milestone for the company and the textile and apparel industries, Milliken has enhanced a traditional back-to-face finish application to achieve comfort and stain protection.

“The art of this product is in the precision finishing,” says Lyn Murajda, division brand manager for Milliken’s Apparel and Specialty Fabrics Division. “Not only does StainSmart Comfort Zone extend stain prevention and comfort capabilities to meet the growing demands of consumers and their intense desire for new performance fabrics, but its unique finishing process presents new opportunities for Milliken partners, including fabric manufacturers, brands and retailers.”

StainSmart Comfort Zone is an evolution of Milliken’s core dual-action stain repel-and-release fabric technology, StainSmart. StainSmart Comfort Zone extends StainSmart’s current capabilities by adding a third performance feature, wicking, through a unique, patent-pending finishing process. This triple-action technology is the newest iteration in stain protection chemistries and is a unique use of back-to-face technology in the market.

The outside, or face, of the fabric repels liquid-based spills, thus preventing most stains. The inside, or back, of the fabric wicks perspiration away from the body, providing superior comfort for the consumer. The entire fabric contains a “releasing” technology that works on tough, ground-in stains that penetrate fabric, such as salad dressing, by allowing these stains to wash out during normal laundering, making it ideal for numerous apparel and uniform applications.

StainSmart, StainSmart Comfort Zone’s parent technology, features Milliken’s repel and release benefits. It is available in a wide range of high-quality, durable fabrics for the high-performance active apparel; casual menswear and womenswear; workwear; military, medical and school uniforms; hospitality; and healthcare and military lodging markets. StainSmart technology can be found in brands such as Edwards Garments, Fabian Couture Group International, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, and Peaches Uniforms Inc. The United States Air Force has also approved it for use in bedspreads in their military lodging facilities.

Last year, fiber manufacturer Invista and software maker Freeborders launched FAST, a Web-based service for sourcing fabrics. The site is intended to serve as a neutral platform open to any fiber maker, mill, manufacturer and retailer in the world. Beginning May 2005, fabric buyers, apparel designers and brand houses throughout the world now can access and request fabric samples made with DuPont’s new Sorona fiber using the same service.

In making the Sorona announcement, DuPont said that FAST allows brands the opportunity to cut lead times and speed development because they will be able to search, sample and cost all Sorona-based fabrics online, 24 hours a day. Now, instead of attending traditional trade shows and mill visits, they can register online at FAST and search mill databases by fiber brand, fabric type, construction, geography and other parameters, requesting swatches of fabric made with Sorona around the clock directly from mills and at no cost.

“FAST provides the easiest way to source and sample the growing inventory of fabrics made with Sorona,” says Dawson Winch, global product and marketing manager with DuPont Sorona business. “The FAST Web-based catalog creates a strong global textile and apparel market for Sorona and is breakthrough marketing for this category, providing us with greater speed-to-market.”

The Sorona business team has implemented the new FAST marketing option for more than 20 DuPont Sorona partner mills that manufacture and market fabrics made with Sorona. Many of the Sorona licensees and their mill customers now featured on FAST are located in the Asia Pacific region.

SanMar Corporation, a leading distributor of wholesale imprinted apparel, has created a new collection targeted toward the industrial workplace and industrial laundering industries. The debut CornerStone collection features a long-sleeve work shirt, short-sleeve work shirt and work pant, all designed to precise industry standards. Displaying the industry recognized orange IL50 label, these garments are designed to withstand more than 50 washes through the extreme conditions of industrial laundering machines.

“SanMar’s move into industrial workwear is a natural extension of our wholesale apparel offering,” says SanMar president Marty Lott. “Not only do we have the infrastructure in place to manufacture quality industrial workwear garments, we have a tremendous level of customer service and depth of inventory that we think the industrial industry will really appreciate. It’s a perfect fit.”

CornerStone’s long- and short-sleeve work shirts feature design details that keep the garments looking great wear after wear. Shirt collars come with removable stays for a crisp look, and buttons are fashioned with melamine that won’t crack under the intense heat and pressure of industrial laundering. The shirts’ fabric is made with 4.25-ounce, 65/35 ploy/cotton that’s been treated with a soil release, wickable finish. The shirts have a pre-cure durable press so they stay looking sharp and are available in the popular colors of light blue, navy and white.

CornerStone’s industrial work pant is designed with heavyweight 7.5-ounce, 65/35 poly/cotton twill and features front and back pockets. The pant has a jean-style waistband with button closure. As SanMar builds its presence in the sector, the company plans to add additional product to round out the CornerStone collection.

For more information on Milliken’s fabrics, please call 1-864-503-1655
or visit the Milliken Apparel & Specialty Fabrics Division Web site at
www.MillikenApparelFabrics.com

For information on Sonora or other Dupont Fabrics, visit www.fastextile.com

Contact SanMar customer service at 800.346.3369 for additional details on its CornerStone collection.