Chapter 1 - The Textile Industry

overseas agent

(intermediary) person or company that represents an exporter or importer in the countries overseas where it conducts business

remnants

1-10 yard pieces of cloth

private label

a retail brand in which apparel or other sewn products are manufactured specifically for a retailer and sold exclusively by that retailer (ex: Arizona at JC Penny)

finishing

additional treatments

converter

an individual or organization that buys greige good usually from mills, has the fabric dyed or printed and finished by other companies and then sells the finished fabric - all aspects of fabric are determined by them and sell products to same customers as mills

importer

buys fabric or manufactured textile products from a foreign mill or other supplier and brings it into the US

mill

company that owns textile machinery and makes fabric - they sell their finished fabrics to converters, jobbers, large retail stores, PL and apparel manufacturers

yarn

continuous threadlike strands composed of fibers that have been twisted together

doubled and rolled

folded in half lengthwise and then wound around a flat piece of cardboard

retail

have large variety of fabrics, with a small inventory of each one

jobber

help dispose of excess or surplus merchandise for the mill - buys from mills, converters and garment manufacturers - valuable customers (buy discounted styles)

Fair Trade

indicates that a product was produced without labor exploitation, by using environmentally sustainable practices and that the producers received fair prices for their product

put-up

indicates the way fabric is packaged when it is sold

recycling

large component of the environmental movement to reduce ecological damage

market planning

long-range planning

fabric

made from yarns and are either woven or knitted

rolled put-up

most fabrics sold to garment and other manufacturers are put like this - fabric is wound around a cardboard tube

exclusive brands

national brand with distribution through one retailer (ex. Candies at Kohl's owned by Iconix Brand Group)

shorts

pieces of fabric shorter than 40 yards in length - jobbers usually buy these

dyeing

process for imparting a solid color to textiles

printing

process of imparting designs to textiles

fiber

smallest part of the fabric, fine hairlike substances, categorized as natural or manufactured

apparel

the textiles used in clothing

interior furnishings

the textiles used in furniture, bath, kitchen and bed

industrial products

the textiles used in such items as luggage, flags, boat sails, bandages, dust filters and so on

vertically integrated mill

they make the fabric, produce their own yarn, and perform the finishing processes required after the fabric has been created

greige

unfinished fabric

pound goods

very short pieces of fabric (less than 1 yard in length) sold by the pound

overrun

when a mill produces more dyed, printed or finished fabric than the order specifies

over-the-counter

when home sewers purchase fabrics sold in retail stores