California Apparel News

Worldwide competition is fierce. This is particularly evident in the fabric and fiber industry because of the universality of apparel. In every country, fiber is almost as ubiquitous as food in that every culture has some means of developing it, however basic.

No company understands the benefits and drawbacks of manufacturing, marketing and selling fiber on a global scale like Buhler Quality Yarns Corp., a subsidiary of Hermann Buhler AG in Switzerland, which earned $25 million last year on sales of premium-quality fabrics.

Global giant

Jefferson, Ga.–based Buhler Quality Yarns currently markets nine branded products, including U.S. Supima Ringspun, SwissCotton Organic and SwissCotton Rainbow. This manufacturer of fine-count, combed yarns is determined to hold its global market presence by maintaining standards of quality, accountability and customer service. Buhler yarns are made exclusively from American Pima cotton, or extra-long staple cotton, under the brand name Supima.

Grown in the Southwest United States, American Pima has a cotton fiber of 34 millimeters. Buhler relies on this high-grade cotton fiber to produce fine shirting and high-end apparel, says David Sasso, Buhler’s vice president of international sales.

According to the Web site for Supima (www.supimacotton.org), a promotional organization for American Pima cotton growers, Pima yarns account for only 3 percent of annual cotton production in the United States. Pima’s fineness and long staple length make it a premium cotton fiber. It is used to spin higher-count yarns, which can be knitted or woven into soft, fine, luxurious fabrics.

“Because of our commitment to superior quality and customer service, we are continually developing new products to best serve our client base,” Sasso says.

One particular fabric Sasso is excited about these days is its SwissCotton Rainbow fabric. Rainbow is a pretreated, high-grade cotton yarn that absorbs dyes much more deeply than regular untreated cotton, he says. Because of the different dyeing properties, patterns woven or knitted into the fabric can be made visible in the desired color after piece dyeing. Various levels of color intensities can be achieved by using a combination of Rainbow yarns with different levels of the Rainbow treatment.

“By dyeing an item in garment form, the lead time for multicolor articles is reduced drastically,” Sasso says. “Popular colors can be produced very quickly, reducing inventory risks.”

Buhler is emphatic about maintaining stringent quality- control procedures, especially now that the company is faced with aggressive competition from the Chinese market.

“Some disreputable suppliers are blending inferior cotton fibers with Pima and branding it as 100 percent Pima—that is an illegal and unfair competitive practice. And customers are not getting the quality they are paying for,” Sasso says. “Our only real recourse is educating our customers so they know the difference. hellip; Maintaining licensing standards is the only way we can really do this.”

Because Buhler, a manufacturer of American Supima cotton, is licensed to use the Supima brand, an apparel maker using Buhler fibers can use hangtags to certify that its fabrics are made from the highest-grade Buhler Quality Yarns.

Giving locally, going global

How are other companies adjusting to competition in the global market?

Birmingham, Ala. –based Kollage entered the apparel market four years ago with novelty yarns. The fabric maker spends roughly 15 percent of its budget on advertising and marketing each year, according to Co-Owner/ Partner Mark Moraca, who said he expects that number to decline as brand awareness becomes more prevalent.

Kollage’s approach is to be environmentally responsible and give back a little—with hope that these efforts will inspire others to do the same.

As part of its commitment to a cleaner environment, Kollage has entered the realm of eco-friendly fabrics and is now a major supplier of eco-friendly milk-, soybean-, corn- and bamboo-fiber yarns marketed with evocative names such as “Creamy,” “Yummy” and “Cornucopia.”

“When I started, 90 percent of the industry was coming from China,” says Co-Owner/Partner Susan Moraca. “I was determined to find an exclusively U.S. source. It took a while, and I’m on the Cotton Belt.”

Kollage now has a program called “USA Yarns: Yarns with a little give.” In an effort to bring the industry back to the United States, the Moracas created yarns exclusively grown, processed and dyed in the United States and distributes them under the brand name Hope.

Hope is domestically produced cotton that comes in a variety of rich colors and an array of weights. About 10 percent of USA Yarns’ sales are donated to American charities. Each quarter, USA Yarns’ buyers nominate and vote for the cause or charity to which the proceeds will be donated, said Susan Moraca.

Lincolnton, Ga.–based Jimtex Yarns, a division of Martex Fibers, decided the best way to compete globally was to create a custom niche for itself among domestic retailers before making the big plunge into international waters.

Two years ago, Jimtex created ECO2cotton, made of post-industrial cotton fiber. The company is marketing ECO2cotton with the slogan “Closing the Loop.”

“We were determined to find the highest and best use for the huge volume of fiber waste,” says Stefanie Zeldin, director of marketing and sustainability for Jimtex. “Eventually, it evolved into a full-scale textile recycling program, where we remove the materials from the factories and cutting houses, sort, grade, and bale it—then channel it to all manner of industrial uses.” The cotton fibers are baled and rewoven into high-quality, open-end yarns.

Zeldin said there are other companies, particularly activewear makers, doing great things with recycled materials. “But they are in a polyester world while we are in a cotton world,” she added.

ECO2Cotton has partnered with In2green to develop promotional T-shirts, hats, fleece, blankets and novelty items that showcase its recycled cotton.

“Promotional materials are the perfect in, particularly for companies that align themselves with environmental causes,” Zeldin said. “What’s the point of having your ecofriendly slogan on non-recycled or non-organic cotton?”

The promotional launch was well received by several national retailers, including Wal-Mart, that plan to launch alternative eco materials this spring.

The flip side

Even if your business involves importing from the Pacific Rim, as Fox Fabrics in Los Angeles does, all things are not equal. In addition to the often economically viable Chinese- and Korean-made fabrics, Fox imports high-end fabrics from the “Mediterranean Rim” countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Austria, Italy and Turkey.

Fox Fabrics Owner Phil Fox said the European exchange rate is a particular challenge. “The euro is killing us right now,” he says. “We’re finding that the European markets are not trying to compete with the Asian markets on price; they’re just segmenting high-end.”

“For now, the price points are not out of reach, but there has been a slight drop-off in the highest luxury materials.”

Despite this challenge, Fox Fabrics, which earned $17 million last year, has managed to sell its quality fabrics to apparel makers and retailers such as BCBG, Bebe and Nordstrom—apparel companies that, Fox said, are still willing to spend a few extra dollars on luxe jerseys, rayons, silks and cashmeres.

In this time of uncertainty, fabric makers are relying on quality control, ingenuity and determination to continue operating on the home front, which makes them best able to compete in the fluctuating global market.

Fox is optimistic about the future. “We are very excited about our Spring line, which is almost completely in; we’ll have some incredibly beautiful, original fabrics to offer,” he says. “Although, if the euro continues to climb against the dollar, we may all have to re-examine our wants and needs.”