Athletic and Sportswear

Sportswear Industry Predicts Boost from Olympics and World Cup
January 27, 2014

The soccer World Cup and next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi will help sportswear sales to recover in 2014 after an unseasonably warm winter hit demand for cold-weather kit in Europe, industry representatives said on Wednesday.

The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, which includes companies such as market leaders Nike, Adidas and Puma, expects growth between 3.5 percent and 4 percent this year, president Frank Dassler said.

"We can already see that retailers' demand for football products is rising strongly and we expect further growth," Dassler told reporters ahead of next week's ISPO sports trade fair in Munich.

Merchandise Uses Olympics Principles Against Russian Anti-Gay Laws
December 2, 2013

One of the mainstays of the Olympics is the myriad examples of branded merchandise that are sold to support the games, not to mention burnish the images of official sponsors. The supporters of an effort to help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens of Russia, where the Winter Games are to be held in February, are adapting that marketing tactic with a line of protest merchandise to be sold by American Apparel and promoted by athletes.

Olympic Uniform for Team USA will Finally be Made in the USA
October 31, 2013

Team USA will now wear the Made in the USA label. Every article of clothing made by Ralph Lauren for the U.S. Winter Olympic athletes in Sochi, including their opening and closing ceremony uniforms and their Olympic Village gear, has been made by domestic craftsman and manufacturers.

During the 2012 games in London, it was a flashpoint in the media and among Washington politicians that much of the U.S. apparel was made overseas, especially in China.

Ralph Lauren Corp., which has been making most of the athletes' clothes since 2008 when it took over from Canadian clothier Roots, got the message.

New Balance Adds Made In The USA Gear To Its Roster
October 16, 2013

Hot on the heels of the Made In USA "C-Note" collab with Concepts, New Balance has announced that it will be launching an entire apparel collection for men and women—produced domestically. Based on the popularity of the 990 sneaker, the collection will highlight signature features from New Balance's archive of kicks like "heavy-gauge topstitching and waffle half-moon[s] with mounted label[s]" according to WWD.

In addition to being produced in the U.S., the materials that that makeup the fleece pullover, polyester-twill jacket, and graphic tees are being sourced domestically as well. Didn't get your fix at the American Field pop-up shop?

Apparel-maker Gildan to Add 500 by Expanding 2 NC Factories, Adding Third by End of 2016
October 10, 2013

An apparel-maker that produces T-shirts, socks and other clothing plans a $250-million factory expansion that will add about 500 jobs in the next three years.

North Carolina officials said Tuesday that a subsidiary of Montreal-based Gildan Activewear Inc. will expand its existing manufacturing plants in Salisbury and the Bladen-County town of Clarkton, and open a new factory in the Davie-County town of Mocksville.

Average annual salaries are projected at more than $32,000, plus benefits.

Cotton or Nothing?
October 2, 2013

A new movement demands 100 percent cotton in all garments. What about high-quality synthetic tech fabrics?

Gildan Activewear Plans $200M Expansion in the South After Salisbury Project
September 30, 2013

Montreal-based Gildan Activewear says it isn't finished with its expansion program even after it adds 200 employees at its yarn-spinning facility in Salisbury.

The company plans to spend an additional $200 million to open two more spinning plants in the South, which will bring a total of 700 jobs to the company. Gildan Activewear is in the process of "evaluating potential sites" for the plants, with plans to start operation of both by 2015.

The idea is to "support its projected sales growth and further reinforce its position as a global low-cost manufacturer," the company stated in a press release..

Nike Patents Golf Shirt Design That Could Double as Coach
September 17, 2013

Nike Inc. says it can make a golf shirt that could replicate what a coach does. The world's largest maker of sporting goods obtained about a dozen patents on Aug. 27, including one invention with the potential to irk golf pros.

"A coach or trainer can greatly improve an athlete's form or body positioning, which can result in improved athletic performances," Nike said in a patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "For most people, however, a coach or trainer is not always available" and there isn't an easy way to check positioning on your own, Nike said.

Neons - For Standing Out or Saving Lives?
August 21, 2013

Duality. Utility. Form meets fashion. Isn't that how many of our sportswear trends are developing these days? Shirts that work. Jackets that move. And now we have colors that captivate and catapult us out of harm's way.