[ Technical Textiles - CALIFORNIA.]

CALIFORNIA:

Fair Indigo, the pioneering fair trade Apparel and Accessories Company, has introduced Fair Trade Organic Cotton Denim for Fall 2007 in a variety of fashionable styles at great prices. Fair Indigo is the nation's first mainstream fair trade apparel brand, providing stylish, high-quality clothing, jewelry and accessories while paying a fair wage to the producing vendors and the people they employ.

The concepts of organic and fair trade have come together for the first time in the mainstream apparel market to satisfy the rapidly-growing group of socially conscious customers looking for more responsible buying choices.

"Customers who care about the people who make their clothing are the same people who care about the impact of consumption on our planet," said Elizabeth Ragone, a Fair Indigo co-founder and the firm's style director, "we see organic and fair trade as a natural pairing."

"The move into eco-friendly cotton is an important option for the growing group of people looking to do the right thing when they buy,and who want to look good at the same time," Ragone said.Our entire denim collection this fall is not just fair trade, but also organic, she added.said." The combination of fair trade manufacturing principles and organic cotton in stylish clothing will broaden the fair trade consumer base by appealing to a much larger organic-oriented clothing market, she said, "and at $69 our jeans are a fabulous value; not just a good investment, but a significant investment in good."

The demand for organic cotton has grown exponentially in recent years with experts predicting a 50 percent to 70 percent increase in 2007. As retailers and brands ramp up their commitments to sustainable textile and apparel production, sales of organic cotton are set to triple from an anticipated $900 million in 2007 to $2.8 billion by the close of 2008, according to Organic Exchange, a California-based non-profit organization committed to expanding organic agriculture.

Customer response to the fit and style of Fair Indigo's inaugural denim collection provided the impetus for the move into organic cotton denim, she said. The collection features sleek, slim-fit jeans, fitted hip-length jackets and long, easy skirts. For men the organic cotton denim collection includes jeans and a jean jacket in classic, easy-fitting styles. All of the pieces are manufactured for Fair Indigo in a fair trade factory in San Jose, Costa Rica using 100 percent organic cotton grown in the United States and woven in North Carolina.

Started by a small group of industry insiders with the goal of changing the way the apparel industry works, Fair Indigo provides "Style with a Conscience" by paying a fair wage to the people who weave every fiber and sew every seam of its collection. The concept is known as fair trade and it means putting people first.

The privately held retailer markets its clothing via catalog (800-520-1806), at fairindigo.com and through its flagship brick and mortar retail store in Madison, Wis.

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Cotton for Non wovens A Technical Guide.

FOREWARD.

This publication provides technical information about cotton that should be useful to non wovens manufacturers who have an interest in providing cotton products. Cotton products that fall under the non wovens description are absorbent or personal care items. Radical improvements have been made in fiber selection, mechanical cleaning, bleaching and fiber finishing that make cotton non woven roll goods production commercially viable. Cotton is the fiber of consumer choice. Its current market share is 56 percent of all fibers sold in the U.S. in apparel and home furnishings, excluding carpets. Independent consumer studies have shown that most purchasers of personal care items prefer cotton over synthetic fibers for these products.

I. Introduction.

Cotton Incorporated is pleased to provide this manual which presents technical information on the use of cotton in non woven products. The manual has been prepared in response to the many requests for information on this subject. In brief, the following subjects are covered:

U.S. cotton production.

Cotton's physical properties.

Preparation and bleaching procedures.

Cellulose chemistry and fiber morphology.

Methods for producing cotton non woven products.

Cotton Incorporated, the fiber company of American cotton producers, is available to provide assistance to those interested in developing, producing and marketing cotton nonwoven products. Our services include marketing research, technical research, product development and implementation and marketing. More information on the scope of each service appears later.