Textile Pirates

Executives and trade groups within the textile industry are lobbying Washington lawmakers to get tougher on copyright infringement. Ripoffs of U.S.-based textile designs cost the industry more than $100 million in lost sales every year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The Boston-based National Textile Association said more enforcement is needed at the government level. However, waves of Asian imports are making it tougher to police the designs. One textile executive is taking matters into his own hands. George Shuster, chief executive of Rhode Island–based Cranston Textile Services, has set up a bounty program. When Cranston employees see a potential rip-off, they buy it and are either reimbursed if they are wrong or get part of a legal settlement if they are right.