IRVING, Texas—PPAI is reaching out to member companies affected by the floods in Tenn. in the form of the Promotional Products Business Recovery Plan. The purpose of the recovery plan is to take care of immediate needs by determining which companies have been affected, what they need and then collecting and distributing critical resources to help re-establish businesses that have been destroyed, damaged and disrupted. This plan was first implemented in 2005 to help industry members through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  -Read more-

LOS ANGELES—A4 recently coordinated with World Vision and Food For The Poor to send more than 62,000 new garments to Haiti. World Vision had more than 800 staff on the ground in Haiti when the quake struck.

Just last month I spent some time with a customer out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. You know, Cedar Rapids, the city that was underwater last year from a devastating flood that the Army Corp of Engineers said was impossible. Bimm Ridder Sportswear is one of many companies that, through tremendous perseverance, hard work and a little help from industry friends, is recovering from that tragedy. One year ago the entire production floor, including the presses and dryers, was completely underwater. Today they are rockin’ and rollin’. A wonderful story, indeed.

As the country sinks deeper into economic doldrums, it’s likely to stay there for a while. Nearly every economist polled believes a recession has begun, and most think it will persist beyond the first quarter of 2009. Thankfully, the decorated-apparel industry in general weathered last year’s storm and came through relatively unscathed, given the strengthened appeal and affordability of the goods being produced and the market windfall the industry enjoyed from the fierce political campaigns. Business is down somewhat, according to the business owners we’ve polled, but without near the devastation as seen in many industries.