eTextileCommunications.com

Three months again, how many of us in the textile and apparel sector would’ve dreamed one of our main topics of conversation these days would be around Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

Very few, probably.

But here we are, either sheltering in place while working with today’s virtual tools or getting up and going to work at “Essential Businesses.” Or, if you can’t work remotely, waiting for your place of business to reopen.

All the while thinking of or working with PPE every day.

Despite the distress the COVID-19 crisis has caused nationally and globally, a number of silver linings are slivering and slinking around those black clouds. The promise of shortened supply chains and made-where-you-are mandates looms large and bodes well for our industry, whether you’re in the U.S. or Europe or somewhere else and have depended on the Asian model for two-plus decades.

Kornit/WTiN webinar

OPM chairman calls COVID-19 a ‘wake-up call’ and chance to rethink bringing production home

Reshoring. Onshoring. Nearshoring. Local for local.

These all were trends in the textile and apparel trade even before COVID-19 changed the world virtually overnight, but the pandemic has put these buzzwords in the spotlight and has seemingly helped clear the path for an accelerated movement “home.”

The global crisis’s impact on those trends was an underlying theme during a May 7 webinar, “Ten Reasons to Bring Production Back Home,” which featured J. Kirby Best, chairman and founder of Nashville, Tenn.-based OnPoint Manufacturing (OPM) with a manufacturing facility in Florence, Ala., and one of its suppliers, Israel-based Kornit Digital, a printer, ink and chemical producer for the apparel, home goods and textile accessories industry.

Stepping up

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U.S. textile continues to shine during COVID-19 pandemic

Forgotten or written off as "non-essential" by some for many years, the U.S. textile and apparel industry continues to step up and prove its merit during this unprecedented crisis brought on by COVID-19. eTC continues to spotlight some of these companies who have risen to the challenge to protect frontline heroes and the general populace during this pandemic. It is the industry's time to shine. Following are reports on what some of those companies are doing to address the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and more.

Vapor Apparel, TS Designs revamp business models to close PPE gap

Prime Medical team believes in mission to ‘do good in world’

Unionwear ‘proud to make a difference’ in N.Y./N.J region hit hard by COVID-19

Brother International joins fight by donating sewing machines

Supreme Corporation jumps at chance to bring innovation into PPE realm

OnPoint Manufacturing pivots to full protective mask protection

Gerber Technology’s PPE Task Force came together quickly

Henderson Sewing Machine introduces PPE production systems

National Safety Apparel working with coalition for the greater good

As label maker, Printcraft fills natural role in world of PPE

MMI Textiles moves quickly to address America’s needs

Minnesota Knitting Mills makes slight pivot into PPE production