Certain Three-Thread Fleece Fabric With Soft Hand Pigment Added to DR-CAFTA Short Supply List

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements ("CITA") has determined that certain three-thread fleece fabric with soft hand pigment, as specified below, is not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the CAFTA-DR countries. The product will be added to the list in Annex 3.25 ("Short Supply List") of the CAFTA-DR Agreement in unrestricted quantities.

Reference number: 177.2013.02.21.Fabric.SoriniSametforGaranMfg.

Specifications: Certain Three-Thread Fleece Fabric With Soft Hand Pigment

HTS: 6001.21.

Overall fiber content: Cotton--57 to 63%; Polyester--37 to 43%.

Gauge: 21.

Face Yarn
Fiber content: 57-63% combed cotton; 37-43% polyester ring spun.
Yarn size: 47.4/1-57.6/1 (metric); 28/1--34/1 (English).

Tie Yarn
Fiber content: 100% polyester.
Yarn size: 157.9-191.5/48 filament (metric); 47-57 denier 48 filament (English).

Fleece Yarn
Fiber content: 72-78% carded cotton, 22-28% polyester.
Yarn Size: 18.6/1-28.8/1(metric); 11/1-17/1 (English).

Weight: 233.9-267.8 g/square meter (6.9-7.8 oz./square yard).

Width: 152.4 cm cuttable or greater, open width (60'' cuttable or greater, open width).

Finish: Bleached and rotary printed with soft hand pigment (process), or piece dyed and rotary printed with soft hand pigment (process) (see note).

Performance Criteria
1. Torque must not exceed 4% (must meet AATCC 179).
2. Vertical and horizontal shrinkage must be under 5%.
3. Must meet a class-1 flammability rating.

Note: The attributes listed for yarn size relate to the size of the yarn prior to knitting. The measurements for fabric construction and weight relate to the fabric prior to garment production. Some variations may occur in these measurements as a result of the manufacturing process.

Note (Finishing): A soft hand pigment is a known industry term. It refers a process which involves the use of special binding agents, typically acrylic polymers used to affix the pigments to fabrics. The bonding agents used in soft hand pigment printing process have lower glass transition temperatures. The glass-transition, or glass transition, is the reversible transition in amorphous materials (or in amorphous regions within semi-crystalline materials) from a hard and relatively brittle state into a molten or rubber-like state.