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The Needle's Eye... Trends and Technologies Driving the Sewn Products Industry
February 1949 Front Cover
The term, "the needle's eye", has always seemed to us to be symbolic of the entire needle trades industry. Through "the needle's eye", we can see a picture of the industry and its many branches: equipment and machine manufacturers, thread, button and needle producers, industrial engineers, fabric manufacturers, and all the others who play a significant role in the production of sewn products.
The Needle's Eye – February 1949
In 1949, THE NEEDLE'S EYE publication focused its cover attention on one of these subjects – fabrics.
The February issue's cover featured wool, one of our warmest friends since almost the beginning of our existence. Through the years, no other fiber has afforded us greater protection from varying degrees of heat and cold.
Wool production, from sheep shearing to finished products, is a complex and important industry. The cover artist depicted his impressions of some of the processes and did not neglect to include one of the vital and eye-pleasing end-products, a bathing suit.
Textile cutting - productive and economical: Knitted, woven, non-woven, fleece, felt - the range of technical textiles is broad and so are their demands on cutting. Zünd's cutting solutions are consistently geared towards processing these types of materials. A powerful vacuum system reliably holds down porous materials on the cutting surface.
A Supplement to Needle’s Eye Issue #14
Buzz Word: Leather
“When we think of leather, we usually visualize cowboys and cattle in the romantic setting of the West. Actually, leather spans all continents and oceans. …” Editor Dave Gardner stated with the Out of the Past – Opening for The Needle’s Eye last month.
Indeed – leather remains a favorite material and as long as mankind will consume meat that hopefully respects animal welfare in its production, there is nothing wrong with it.
Not for the average consumer and apparently not for celebrities either. In July of this year, Angelina Jolie was spotted on the streets of Rome, with one of the most coveted accessories of the season: the new Yves Saint Laurent maxi bag, made of quilted black lambskin and decorated with an oversized YSL logo (going across sales counter for a flabby €3.500 / US$3,565).
Not just a style icon, Jolie is known for her activism and charity work, having dedicated her life to helping refugees find safe spaces. The actress has worked with countless organizations including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and has co-launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. - yh-f -
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Angelina Jolie
Industry Opinion
Let’s Stand By Trade Policies that Work for North Carolina
Kimberly Glas - National Council of Textile Organizations
By Greensboro News & Record’s Guest Columnist Kimberly Glas (NCTO)
North Carolina textile executives recently met with U.S. Representative Kathy Manning to discuss ways to cultivate economic opportunity and create jobs for the textile industry.
The congresswoman, who participated in a roundtable discussion with the industry at Unifi Inc.’s corporate headquarters in Greensboro, said she is committed to supporting “our homegrown industry by making PPE in America, protecting the yarn forward rule of origin in our trade agreements, and cracking down on China’s unfair trade practices.” Read More
Schmetz...your manufacturer for household and industrial sewing machine needles. The product and service spectrum of SCHMETZ covers a complete range of the individual requirements of over 47 sectors in the sewing and textile processing industry, as well as for workshops and the hobby sector. Placing the highest demands on the materials used, the processing techniques, and product quality, combined with the goal of developing tailored solutions for every application, are both the focus and the mission statement of the company.
Industry News
U.S. Educational Institutions Partner with Honduran University to Educate and Train Thousands of Students for Textile Jobs as Nearshoring and Onshoring Drives Historic Investments and Job Growth
North Carolina educational institutions are joining forces with a key Honduran university to educate and train thousands of students for the next generation textile workforce to meet a rising tide of nearshoring and onshoring in Honduras, Central America, and the United States.
With backing from the U.S. Department of State, North Carolina State University, Gaston College, and Catawba Valley Community College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Honduran-based Central American Technological University (UNITEC) at a signing ceremony at Gaston College in Dallas, North Carolina.
High-level U.S. and Honduran government officials, including Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment; Jennifer Knight, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods and Materials at the U.S. Department of Commerce; and Hector Zelaya, private secretary to Honduran President Xiomara Castro, participated in a roundtable discussion with textile executives and educational leaders as well as today’s MOU signing ceremony. Read More
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(Sitting, L-R) Dr. Garrett D. Hinshaw, president of Catawba Valley Community College; Dr. David Hinks, dean of the Wilson College of Textiles at N.C. State University; Dr. Marlon Brevé-Reyes, UNITEC Rector; and Dr. John Hauser, president of Gaston College.
(Standing, L-R) Jennifer Knight, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods and Materials at the U.S. Department of Commerce; Andy Warlick, chairman and CEO of Parkdale; Hector Zelaya, private secretary to Honduran President Xiomara Castro; and Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.
JUKI Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Meiryo Technica Corporation Finalize Joint Venture for Industrial Sewing Machine Business
As announced on November 8, 2021, JUKI Corporation ("JUKI"), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation ("Mitsubishi Electric"), and Meiryo Technica Corporation ("Meiryo Technica") agreed to establish a joint venture company with the view of expanding their industrial sewing machine business into the non-apparel industry. Following the announcement, on April 25, 2022, of a small delay in the process, the three parties are now pleased to announce that the Performance of Contributions by JUKI (80%) and Mitsubishi Electric (20%) for the establishment of the joint venture company has been fulfilled. Now Meiryo Technica, a corporation wholly owned by Mitsubishi Electric, has established “JUKI Technosolutions Corporation” as a new joint venture company handling the industrial sewing machine business. Read More
C and C Enterprise has teamed up with JACK, one of the world’s finest industrial sewing machine manufacturers, to form Jack of the Americas. Jack of the Americas distributes JACK machines throughout North America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean Basin. When you buy from Jack of The Americas, we don’t just ship you a box! We help you get set up and answer any questions you may have! With over 100 years of combined experience in the industrial sewn products industry, we are proud to say that we are one of the world’s leading industrial sewing products authorities and are here to serve you!
Not sure if Jack is right for you? Click on the button below for a short video showing off some of our machines. Watch it and see what Jack can do for you!
Not sure if Jack is right for you? Click on the button below for a short video showing off some of our machines. Watch it and see what Jack can do for you!
Cut-and-Sew Manufacturing Returns to North Carolina with Rebirth of Historic Textile Mill
In late 2020, Deanna Hodges, a seasoned fashion executive, business advisor, speaker, and author with over 30 years in leadership roles in the fashion and textile industry purchased the old Duplan Mill, which was once a vibrant part of the textile industry in Lincoln County. Over the years, the building was abandoned and left in ruins. During the pandemic, California-based Deanna Hodges was inspired to fulfill her dream of bringing manufacturing back to the United States and was determined to reshore her textile and cut-n-sew businesses as well.
She spent many months researching multiple states and locations looking for a home for a new manufacturing facility and corporate headquarters. Finally, her search ended in North Carolina with the historic Duplan Mill property in uptown Lincolnton that needed to be loved back into operation.
Seeing beauty in the historic property, Hodges purchased the former mill with the support of the city and the Lincoln Economic Development Association (LEDA). Read More
Deanna Hodges, founder of Hodges International, H2 Home Collection, and Hodges Collection.
Due Diligence for Garment and Footwear Supply Chains
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Grassroots work: From March to December 2021, a group of public buyers of garments and textiles participated in a pilot project to explore the integration of OECD risk-based due diligence into the public procurement of garments and textiles – the OECD Pilot.
Following the successful launch of the OECD e-learning Academy on Responsible Business Conduct in 2021, these days a new e-learning course on Due Diligence for Garment and Footwear Supply Chains is available to supplement your learning from the Essentials of OECD Due Diligence for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and advance knowledge for all various stakeholders to the sectors on OECD risk-based due diligence in supply chains specific to the sector.
The new course aims to help learners deepen their knowledge of prevalent human rights, labor rights, and environmental risks in the garment and footwear sector and understand how to implement OECD due diligence recommendations in their own operations and supply chain. Read More
Datacolor Announces Partnerships with Mexico-Based Color Experts
Datacolor, a global leader in color management solutions, announced two partnerships with Mexico-based agencies, Eurotécnica Textil S.A. de C.V. and Control Técnico y Representaciones S.A. de C.V. (CTR). The partnerships will expand support for Datacolor customers throughout the country. Read More
Global Sae-A Group Completes Construction of the Second Factory in Costa Rica
Global Sae-A Group, a leading yarn manufacturer and one of the world's largest apparel manufacturers based in Korea, held the building completion ceremony for its second spinning mill in Coris, Cartago, Costa Rica in the presence of President Rodrigo Chaves, Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade Jimena Chinchilla, CINDE's CEO Eric Scharf, and Korean Ambassador Jin Hae Kim.
The President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves Robes, who attended the completion ceremony, said in his congratulatory message, "The Global Sae-A Group, which operates factories in over 40 countries around the world, invested in Costa Rica in 2015 and in the seven years since, they have created hundreds of jobs. They have contributed greatly, not only to our Cartago family but also to Costa Rica's development.“ Read More
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Woong-ki Kim, the Chairman of Global Sae-A Group is giving a speech at the completion ceremony for its second spinning mill in Coris, Cartago.
Industry Technology
Fabric Cutting Optimization (Part 1 in a Series on Cutting Optimization and Automation)
By Dr. Trevor Little, Professor Emeritus, North Carolina State University
As is obvious to the production world, a lot of cut-and-sew items are not to be sized (graded), and it’s not uncommon to ignore them, yet they form an important slice of the North American market. In subsequent articles, these products will be discussed separately. Things like signage, automotive interiors, some military items, many technical textile items like marine, agricultural, composite preforms, and many other sewn products that are the results of cutting.
Fabric cutting is the most important step in garment manufacturing. Garment quality depends on accurate fabric cutting. Besides, fabric wastage also depends on accurate fabric cutting.
Cutting of fabric offers many different approaches depending on the type of products being produced. It is not possible to cover all eventualities in this first article on cut optimization, but we can get started by understanding the cutting basics.
The first task of a cutter is to cut out the parts accurately according to the pattern. So, cutting precision is a requirement and, of course, there are many cutting tools available that must match the requirements of the product. The cutting specifications always include a tolerance. The amount of tolerance often is a result of pattern skills, grading skills, fabric behavior, and cutting tools. Read More
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The Pathfinder M-Series® range of automated cutting machines is known for precision, very high productivity, reliability, and lowest power consumption. All 16 models are easily configured to suit most cutting applications, and, thanks to clever design, Pathfinder cutters require very little maintenance to continually deliver exceptional cut quality over a long working life.
Supply Chain
Is the Reshoring/Nearshoring Tide Turning?
By Daniella Ambrogi, Global Marketing Director, Computer Generated Solutions, Inc. (CGS), Atlanta, Georgia
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Redefining the Value Proposition
Even as some regions recover from the pandemic, fashion and consumer goods companies continue to face a perfect storm of challenges that have rocketed the supply chain to the top of the agenda for executives around the globe. Kept awake at night by issues like shipping disruption, demand volatility, tight raw material supply, and rising costs for virtually all inputs, American retailers, brands and manufacturers are finally getting serious about bringing some operations closer to home. Their primary targets include nearshoring to Central America and Mexico, as well as reshoring some production to the U.S. Read More
Traceability: Combining Digitization, Innovation, and Boots on the Ground
Companies are ramping up to create more transparent supply chains in response to consumer demands, NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) pressure and growing mandatory due diligence legislation, while at the same time initiating efforts to trace products along the value chain, to be able to label them with sustainability attributes. The digital traceability market is growing, but are these solutions sufficient, or do companies need other tools and support? Read More
Industry Events
Invitation to Join IAF’s 37th World Fashion Convention in Dhaka
The IAF’s 37th IAF World Fashion Convention is drawing closer rapidly. The full program starts on Saturday, November 12 with the IAF Golf Tournament. The Board of Directors Meeting, the General Assembly, and the IAF Board of Directors dinner will all take place on Sunday, November 13, in the afternoon and in the evening. On Sunday morning, the inauguration of the IAF Convention and the Made in Bangladesh Week will be carried out by the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Read More
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The ExpoDevCo management team close out a successful show. (Left to Right) Michelle Brice, Lorie Gross, Stephanie Everett, David Audrain, Alexandra Audrain, Penny Everett, Steve Everett.
C and C Enterprise is the United States agency for Highlead sewing machines. These high quality machines are available for your sewing needs and are sold only through local dealers and distributors. If you want more information on the Highlead brand, please feel free to contact us. www.candcenterprise.com
SPESA to Host 2022 Advancements in Manufacturing Technologies Conference this September in Detroit
The conference will be held Tuesday, September 13, and feature a full day of panel discussions with SPESA members and local industry leaders, a site visit to the Carhartt flagship store and Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center (ISAIC), and floor passes to the world-renowned North American International Auto Show. Read More
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At Grindle Marketing Communications, we believe the right marketing strategy helps you win. Developing it comes from investing time to understand your customer's needs, your competitive landscape, and your brand's strengths, weaknesses, and goals.
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For 30 years the founder of Grindle Marketing Communications has helped start-ups, mid-market, and fortune 500 companies to conduct research, build strategies, and tactical plans which build trust and differentiate brands from their competition leading to growth.
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