Three years ago, Plimoth Plantation approached Tricia Wilson Nguyen, an MIT-trained engineer specializing in, of all things, historic needlework, to see if she would help lead an ambitious project. The museum wanted to re-create a lavishly embroidered 17th-century woman's waistcoat as the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibition on how America’s founders dressed themselves. "I told them they were totally crazy," said Nguyen, who lives in Arlington. She knew it could take hundreds of people th

14 December 2009 - Cotton prices stopped rising everywhere in the world, as speculation showed less interest in commodity markets. Demand from spinners remains however strong at current prices on the international market, in anticipation of higher prices in the first months of 2010. The fall of the stock-to-use ratio by the end of the season was last week confirmed. Source: Emerging Textiles

14 December 2009 - Polyester intermediate prices began seriously falling in the past seven days, after demand for polyester fibers similarly declined by early December. The drop in crude oil futures in New York is also triggering a new downward cycle in the polyester chain in Asia. Source: Emerging Textiles

Los Angeles premium-denim maker J Brand is reportedly moving closer to selling its company for $90 million to a private equity firm. The deal, which has been months in the making, is going through the final stages of negotiations, several sources said. The exact terms of the transaction are still being worked out. In an e-mail sent Dec. 10, Jeff Rudes, one of the company's founders, said, "As of today, there is no transaction." Sources said Rudes is hoping to stay on with the company, whil

Apparel exports from India fell 17 per cent year-on-year in October this year to $603 million as the country lost market share to neighbouring China, Vietnam and Bangladesh in the wake of rising input costs. Rising prices of cotton have raised the prices of yarn and fabrics, making Indian garments and made-ups unattractive to overseas importers, who have turned to China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia to buy garments at relatively cheap rates. Despite a revival in demand in the

World's largest retailer Walmart is already in full Christmas shopping and sales mood. It has set up a special Christmas Shop online facilitating Christmas deals for the 2009 season. However, there is no word yet about it's Christmas flyer. Some special sales and deals are already available at Walmart for the holiday shoppers. For example, if you order your gift online before the December 17, it will be part of its pre Christmas deals and the consumer will receive free shipping. This way t

The USDA December forecast of the 2009 U.S. cotton crop was slightly higher this month at 12.6 million bales, but still about 2 percent below the 2008 crop. The national yield increased to 782 pounds per harvested acre, while the harvested area was unchanged at 7.7 million acres and slightly above 2008's 25-year low. Upland production is estimated at 12.2 million bales, the smallest crop in 20 years. The extra-long staple (ELS) crop remains estimated at 367,000 bales, the smallest since a simila

Egypt's Alexandria Cotton Exporters' Association (Alcotexa) committed to sell 9,189 tonnes of cotton in the week that ended on December 12, Alcotexa official told Reuters on Monday. The sales comprised 50 tonnes of Giza 87, 2,021 tonnes of Giza 88, 6,810 tonnes of Giza 86 and 308 tonnes of Giza 80, the official said. The deal brings Alcotexa's export commitments for the 2009/10 season, which began in September, to 44,894 tonnes of cotton worth $98.9 million, the official said. Sour

Namoi Cotton Commodities (NCC), Australia largest cotton ginning company, has selected Atlantic Pacific Automation Group (APAG), a first-of-its kind alliance providing safety and motion control solutions, to design, develop and commission a turnkey automation grain handling system. The APAG strategic alliance involves: CT Oceania (Brisbane), Authorised Australian supplier of the new CTI 2500 Series PLC platform (replacing SIMATIC 505 and SIMATIC 500 TI PLCs); Pilz Safe Automation (Melbourne)

Pakistan textile industry is unable to compete with the regional countries such as Bangladesh and China due to lack of access to European and American markets. Talking to Business Recorder here on Monday, the Federal Textile Industry Secretary said that Bangladesh and other countries in the region had easy access to the European and American market, which were the main importer of textile manufactures, while Pakistan was lacking that facility. He said that labour in the neighbouring countrie