The Panelists:

• Textile Supplier - AEGIS Environments, W. Curtis White, CEO and Director of R&D
• Major Apparel Brand - Under Armour, Bill Mickle, Director of Material Innovation
• Testing Lab - SGS U.S. Testing Co., Karen Kyllo, Ph.D., Deputy VP Global Softlines
• Retailer - Patagonia, Randy Harward, Director of Quality Assurance
• Agency - American Apparel & Footwear Assoc., Nate Herman,Sr. Director of Int. Trade
• Moderator - TEXbase, Joe Walkuski, President

The Consumer Product Improvement Act of 2008 became effective February 10, 2009, limiting the use of lead and certain types of phthalates on products for children up to the age of 12. FabricLink and TEXbase presented this Panel to address the concerns among various levels of the supply chain on how compliance to the new requirements would impact their businesses. Since the Industry Panel event on January 23, 2009, several updates to legislation have been made. substances.

Update as of 2/6/09: According to David Evan, partner, Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP, "Barring any new developments (e.g., Congressional action), the phthalate and lead substrate standards will both take effect on February 10, 2009 and will apply to goods in inventory and in retail stores as of that date. As a resultof the recent CPSC stay of certain testing and certification requirements, importers are not required to test or issue compliancecertifications with regard to the phthalate and lead substrate ban until 2/10/10. However, merchandise must still comply with the standards."

For further updates in the legislation, please contact the CPSC, or an attorney involved in export/customs issues or international trade matters.