Manufacturers of mattresses and basic bedding, particularly those that have been focusing on quality of sleep in their marketing, have gotten a huge boost from the Superbowl champion New York Giants.

According to press reports earlier this week, a number of players on the Giants have been dealing with back injuries which they attributed to the beds they are sleeping on at their training facility in Albany, N.Y. This should come as no surprise considering the circumstances. The Giants are staying in a dormitory in which the players are forced to sleep in twin-sized beds.

When the news came a couple of days ago that Wendy Keryk had passed away, the image of her smile immediately popped up in my brain. I never saw her without it.

That smile, more often than not followed by a hug and questions about how my family was doing, always started our get-together. It was there even when I interviewed her over the phone. You could hear it along with that marvelous English accent—it virtually leaped out at you from the handset.

One of the biggest recent developments in home textiles comes from a company that will not be present at this month’s New York Home Fashions Market.

When I recently asked textiles executives about their current issues in sourcing, one CEO answered: “In one word…COTTON!!”

This reply…actually, this primal scream…reflects the textiles industry’s ongoing frustration. From about 50 cents a pound a year and a half ago, cotton prices have climbed to the point where $2 a pound is now in clear sight—and they might not even stop there, once they reach that level.

Plus, cotton isn’t the only cost crunch in textiles. Because of the multiplying turmoil in the Middle East, oil and gasoline prices are expected to spike, and soon.

Bed bugs, despite being small in size, have become very big news. And they’re starting to affect home furnishings.

Forget about that slow boat to China. Take a plane. Charter one if you must.
But get to China quickly. It is where you need to be.
While everyone in the U.S. is complaining about rotten business, China is out of control...in a good way. I'm here at the Intertextile show in Shanghai and some 40,000 people are expected to be attending before things wrap up.  Not too many shows in America get that kind of attendance.

By Richard Roman

Today’s global economy has brought more choices and diversity to the home furnishings marketplace, but with that diversity comes a negative aspect as well. The consumer has no reliable way to understand the true value of the products they are purchasing.

FRANKFURT; Germany—And now there are Paris Hilton sheets too.
Heimtextil, the huge trade fair that is all textiles for the all the people, opened for business this morning here, offering up any imaginable bed, bath, window and table product, even bedding featuring the likeness of pseudo-celebrity Paris Hilton. The majority of products on display from the 2,500 exhibitors—off slightly from last year—were of a decidedly more practical nature, a fact showgoers appreciated.

By Johnny Keeton
In January, after Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany, a group of home-textiles executives met to discuss promoting U.S. brands worldwide. The concept of an independent group showing at Heimtextil 2010 was discussed.
The good news is, we will have a good showing of American home textile brands in Frankfurt in the newly designed USA Garden Pavilions—one in the fabric area and one in the finished product area. More details are at usahometextilebrandtour.com.

By David Gill
In a little more than a week, 2008 will transform into 2009. The new year will bring a new presidential administration, but whether it will be able to solve the old problems with the economy is, of course, open to question.
Even with the bleak shape of things, however, there is business to be done for enterprising sheet, towel and bedding makers in 2009.

Direct international sourcing is a business imperative today for any progressive retailer or wholesaler in the home fashion business. Based on a few thousand meetings over the last 15 years, I have noticed a few common practices of companies who have the most successful sourcing stories.

Walk into any store selling sheets and towels and such in the United States, and it’s almost like getting a geography lesson like when you were back in high school.
There are twin sheets from Sri Lanka, towels from India, tablecloths from Vietnam, sheet sets from Bahrain, top of the bed from China, curtains from Turkey and all kinds of other goods from virtually all of the four corners of the globe.
Today’s modern textiles buyer pretty much resembles Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in their “Road to” series, although we’re pretty sure they never made it as far as Bangladesh.