Apparel

If the horrific garment factory collapse last month in Bangladesh has any silver lining, it is the response from more than 30 of the world's leading apparel companies - including Benetton, PVH, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Inditex (Zara), Marks & Spencer and Tesco - to sign an agreement to protect the safety and lives of that nation's workers, who make the companies' products. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh is a historic advance over the voluntary private factory monitoring that has tragically failed to prevent the recent disasters in Bangladesh and in places around the world where clothes are stitched for the global market.

Another tragedy at a Bangladesh clothing factory, another announcement by Wal-Mart about additional steps it will take to beef up worker safety, this time by inspecting all of its suppliers' facilities itself. Not that the retailing giant hasn't made real efforts already to improve employee safety in notoriously bad factories overseas, but the deaths of more than 1,100 people at the Rana Plaza factory last month should signal that a piecemeal, go-it-alone approach is insufficient, even for the biggest retailer in the world.

Clothing Marketers Deny Knowledge of Abuses: California Labor Commissioner Roberta Mendonca said her office's investigation into illicit home-sewing shops so far has found no evidence that Guess Inc. or the other clothing marketers linked to the probe realized that their products were being made illegally. But she said the state is seeking fines totaling $104,500 from three contractors who illegally employed home workers to sew garments for Guess or other clothing marketers.

NEW DELHI - Thousands gathered Tuesday in the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza garment factory complex in Bangladesh to pray for the 1,127 people who died in the world's worst apparel industry disaster. Pictures taken at the Islamic prayer ceremony on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital, showed a rescue worker in yellow headgear affixing a red flag in the ruins. Army personnel, who have been working around the clock for almost three weeks, ended their cleanup and recovery operation early Tuesday, handing responsibility to civil authorities.

Nike and Reebok, two of the largest players in the sports gear industry, are embroiled in an unholy spat over who gets to make and sell products featuring the name of newly minted New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow. Late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan granted Nike Inc. a temporary restraining order that will prohibit Reebok International from profiting off of jerseys and other paraphernalia stamped with the football star's moniker. The order also forces Reebok to recall all Tebow-related Jets gear currently on shelves.

Serena Williams wowed a lot of people, including David Letterman, when she appeared on his talk show Wednesday night wearing a form-fitting (to say the least) red dress. "I think I saw your eyes almost pop out there," Williams said. "Well, I think so.... That's not the only thing," Letterman responded. (Note to Dave: After your recent history, perhaps jokes like that aren't the wisest to make.) Williams is in New York preparing for next week's U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

USC announced Thursday it had signed a 10-year license agreement with Silver Star Merchandising, a Texas apparel manufacturer and distributor with ties to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The school did not release financial terms of the agreement, which takes effect in the fall. The agreement gives Silver Star Merchandising, "exclusive license to manufacture and distribute USC branded apparel and headwear in the mass, mid-tier, sporting goods, specialty and online retail channels," the announcement said.

J. C. Penney Co. said Wednesday that it will drop its less profitable home electronics, sporting goods and photographic equipment lines from its stores and expand its women's apparel departments instead. However, the nation's fourth-largest retailer said it does plan to continue offering the three lines in its catalogues. The company also said that it will expand women's departments in the newly available store space, grouping together merchandise for specific segments of consumers.

J. P. Stevens & Co. reported Thursday that about a fourth of the company's holdings are for sale, including 18 apparel plants in four states that employ 7,500 workers. The company said the move was designed to "reduce the exposure" of the company to cheap imports. If the textile giant finds buyers for the plants, it would be almost totally out of the apparel-making business, Chairman Whitney Stevens said Thursday in Greenville.

The look of motorcycling is largely defined by leather ? most of it in cringe-worthy designs that are long on protection and short on style, especially for women. Indeed, "motorcycle fashion" is something of an oxymoron. There are motorcycles, and there is fashion, but rarely do the twain meet. Scooters? That's another story. Rooted in European design, the small number of designers devoted to scooter wear do a far better job of equalizing form and function, merging crash-worthy materials into styles that allow riders to step off their rides and into a restaurant without looking like they've been in a race.

Actor Matthew McConaughey will launch a new clothing line called JKL . McConaughey partnered with Canadian-based Grand National Apparel on the mainly sportswear-based collection. A portion of the sales from JKL will go to benefit McConaughey's charity the just keep livin foundation, which supports after-school fitness and wellness programs at inner-city schools. [ Yahoo ] Macy's has launched a new Keds apparel line at Macy's stores nationwide and online at Macys.com and Keds.com.

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices slid in March after spiking in the prior month as gasoline prices fell back - the latest indication that inflation remains subdued despite the Federal Reserve's continued action to pump billions of dollars into the financial system.  The consumer price index, seasonally adjusted, sank 0.2% last month from February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. The drop was bigger than some analysts expected and followed an unusually steep monthly increase of 0.7% in February.

The glass-walled Melrose Avenue space, halfway between the budget apparel shops to the east and swanky haute couture salons to the west, wasn't where one would normally go looking for JCPenney. But the hip shopping strip is where discount chain J.C. Penney Co. chose to launch a temporary pop-up store last week in celebration of its new collaboration with popular Canadian apparel brand Joe Fresh. At the opening soiree, the languid beats of Frank Ocean's "Super Rich Kids" played over the clink of champagne glasses.

It's been more than 30 years since reggae superstar Bob Marley died of cancer, but the Jamaican musician continues to enjoy broad cultural resonance. Marley's songs and merchandise sales rank him alongside other late musical greats including the king of pop, Michael Jackson, and the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, according to Forbes magazine. The sustained popularity of Marley -- who wore his hair long in the dreadlocks favored by the Rastafarians and espoused a life philosophy that the world could be united through "one love" -- has attracted new deals with Creative Artists Agency and giant music merchandising company Bravado.

Snail mail is fast going out of style. How is the U.S. Postal Service trying to stay hip? By launching a fashion line. The quasi-government agency, which is struggling financially and recently announced plans to stop delivering letters on Saturdays, said this week that it will start a line of clothing and accessories. The collection, to be called “Rain Heat & Snow,” will be made through a license agreement with Cleveland-based apparel firm Wahconah Group Inc. The Postal Service will not incur any cost and will collect royalties from sales, according to USPS spokesman Roy A. Betts.

Retailers got a much-needed boost in January after a lackluster holiday shopping season, using post-holiday clearance deals to lure cagey consumers worried about higher payroll taxes. H&M's coupon for 30% off this week drew Toluca Lake payroll accountant Katy Genovese to the store at the Americana at Brand shopping center. She walked out with a $20 dress and $30 in shirts. Genovese, 57, and her shopping partner, Lori Berlanga, 45, said they spent January hitting up malls for bargains that are increasingly plentiful and longer-lasting.

Stimulated by designers preferring nearby contractors who respond quickly to fashion trends, Los Angeles garment firms now employ 100,000 workers, with another 20,000 performing illegal home work or toiling in unregistered garages. But while L.A. garment jobs increased by 50% since 1973, national apparel employment declined by 25%. Low-wage imports now supply 55% of our apparel purchases, up from 25% 15 years ago. If present trends continue, in a decade all U.S. garment manufacturing will disappear.

After days of silence during which long-held resentment toward Abercrombie & Fitch Co. began to boil over, Chief Executive Michael S. Jeffries tried to stem a backlash against the teen-focused retailer. Jeffries, in a statement Thursday, discussed criticism that the company lacks women's XL and XXL sizes in favor of catering toward young, good-looking customers. "A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers," he said in the statement.

Jaclyn Shanfeld moves from garment to garment with the unbridled joy of a little girl rummaging in her mother's closet. From the "wall of Chanel" Shanfeld retrieves a light pink and lavender jacket that once fetched $3,200 but was priced for resale at $750. She shows off the unmarked soles of a pair Nicholas Kirkwood boots, originally purchased for $1,500 that are now offered for $700. She unveils a sheer black, sleeveless Alaia gown bought for a special occasion - but never worn.

Dov Charney is no stranger to controversy, but a new lawsuit accuses the American Apparel chief executive of very strange behavior indeed, including choking and rubbing dirt into the face of a former Malibu store manager. In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Michael Bumblis, the former manager, said he was wrongly fired for complaining about Charney through company channels. Bumblis said the problems with the CEO started in April, when Charney accused him of working for a rival retailer at a recent industry convention, according to the lawsuit.