Atlantic Coast Cotton

Put a little pep in your preppy product sales with derby and sorority products.

A brief guide to necessary items for the most scattered season change. (Side note: It is all imprintable!)

To find out what is and isn't popular, Promo Marketing spoke with several supplier experts in the apparel field about promotional fashion in several categories.

Whispering Pines Sportswear, Monroe, N.C. announced it will expand its offering for 2010 with the addition of products to its Adams Essentials, Adams Fashion Headwear, Inner Harbor, Willow Pointe and 24/7 Lifesyle Lines.

WHAT’S MEXICAN FOOD got to do with it? Or, for that matter, Japanese animation or Apple computers? Turns out, a lot. Together, they’re three indispensable ingredients for a total nerd-fest. But, taken on their own merits, the seemingly incomparable trio comprises just a few tools of the color analyst’s trade. “I think a lot of people think forecasters sit in an ivory tower and dream up these things and hoist them on the public,” said Leatrice Eiseman, author of Color: Messages & Meanings and director of the Pantone Color Institute, the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based color research and information center. In fact, the “it”

ECONOMY SHMECONOMY. NOT to be glib, but that headline has sold one too many papers these days. Yes, things are not necessarily prospering, however, what the general public should be talking about is how to respond to these given circumstances. Facing the unenviable challenge of helping end-buyers find value in items that can all-too-easily be considered “extraneous,” now more than ever, suppliers and distributors must continuously prove the worth of their wares. Showing how each garment can be used in a practical wardrobe application attaches a tangible benefit to every dollar spent, an essential formula for continuing to drive business through financially uncertain

THE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS industry is an evolving one. Case in point: a little over five years ago when this writer first came aboard the Promo Marketing (formerly Promotional Marketing) ship, there was little, if any, talk of the environment and what the industry could do to preserve it. However, within the past two years alone, it seems the entire industry has gone “green,” with both suppliers and distributors heralding their environmentally responsible business practices and industry publications dedicating entire issues to the topic. Even with the widespread attention environmental safety has received, there are other notable topics brewing in the industry these days.

FORGET THE FOUR SEASONS. 2008’s fashion forecast is all about states of mind. Better-cut styles will have wearers exuding confidence. Reinvigorated color choices illustrate newfound energy. Going corporate takes a turn toward the future, while organic looks keep consumers’ feet and thoughts on terra firma. Below, suppliers take stock of their offerings for the industry’s most fashion-friendly new year in recent history. “For 2008, we are thrilled to introduce our brand new Missy division, which features basic to fashionable apparel that is cut to fit the everyday woman. Nine new styles will be available at the start of the year.” —Dean Vuong, vice

FOR A PRODUCT that “provides warmth without weight; is soft to the touch; will not shrink, ravel or run; is water-resistant; has moisture-wicking properties and is easy to work with,” according to the fleecelady.com Web site, it is the opinion of this writer that fleece deserves a place in the hallowed exhibition halls of the Smithsonian, or at least a tributary wax figure in New York’s famed Madame Tussauds museum. Granted, it’s hard to think of anything having to do with warmth, much less hot wax, given the current temperatures outside. However, as sure as dawn turns into dusk, so do hot days turn into

Pine Island Sportswear, Monroe, N.C., recently picked up distributors to aid in its national distribution. TSF Sportswear, Heritage Sportswear, Atlantic Coast Cotton and Hymans are now offering an assortment of the company’s products in their catalogs and on their Web sites. “We have always been known in the marketplace, but have never actually saturated ourselves across the country,” noted Daphne Hall Koenigsberg, owner. “With the help from these distributors, our products can now be shipped to 30 states in one day.” Last March, Koenigsberg became sole owner of Pine Island, which she co-founded in 1991. “It has been an interesting ride thus