The Ink Kitchen

Brett Bowden, Founder/Owner of Printed Threads, sometimes known as “Screen-Print Jesus”, sermonizes on the importance of customer service.

He’s controversial, he’s candid, he’s a force.  Dov Charney, of Los Angeles Apparel, talks about how transparency and authenticity are more important than buzzwords when it comes to ethics and sustainability.

We were thrilled to host Impressions Shop Talk at ISS Long Beach 2019.  Thanks to our collaboration with Impressions and the participation of our good friends we were able to present some of the best and brightest minds to the industry in a fun and candid format.  Perhaps you were there, maybe you weren’t, either…

There is an appalling report by Human Rights Watch,  released on  1/23/19,  called “Unfair and Abusive Labor Practices in Pakistan.” There are approximately 15 million garment workers in Pakistan and many are working in abysmal conditions with no real protections. The piece makes truly sobering reading. You can also watch a brief video released along…

The Associated Press and NPR/Frontline and the New York Times and other news outlets are reporting that Chinese internment camps are forcing inmates to make apparel including for Badger Sportswear, the North Carolina based company. Ethnic Uighurs and Kasakhs who are discriminated against in Western China are forced into internment camps and for no pay…

Today’s column is by my buddy Bill Mooney. He has an entertainment and music industry merchandising company. called Tannis Root. He’s a good guy with a great business. He also has had the most kick ass industry parties to celebrate his decades in business and I got to see Sonic Youth, the Condo Fucks, Mudhoney…

PPAI media focused today on Chris Fox who is in charge of corporate social responsibility at Hanes. The article outlines the commitments he leads there in terms of treatment of workers, community development, and environmental responsiblity. Lo and behold, some of the initiatives not only were the ethical but actually made good business sense.

There is an article in the New York Times  this past Sunday about the human toll and the environmental toll of the international garment industry in Savar, Bangladesh. That’s the location where the Rana Plaza factory collapsed and killed at least 1,129 workers and injured over 2000 others, many permanently. Today will mark the fifth…

There is a bill currently in the CA legislature on the topic of polyester microfibers. They have proposed legislation mandating by 2020 that garments with 50% or more polyester or other synthetic fiber warn you to wash them by hand and not wash them by machine. This is on the heels of studies indicating that…

Hanes bought Alternative Apparel as the garment industry continues to consolidate. It makes sense for Hanes to buy a straight ahead top fashion brand in the decoration world giving them a wider range of products.  I find it encouraging that they actually mention social responsibility, a term not bandied about so much lately. Rachel Newman:…