September 17, 2026, The USDA-ARS Cotton Quality and Innovation Research Unit requires a roving frame and a rotor spinning frame to support fiber-to-yarn processing research, cotton quality improvement, and pilot-scale textile development. These machines provide essential process control capabilities, including adjustable drafting, twist settings, rotor speeds, and small-batch experimental operation, all necessary for research not feasible in commercial production mills.
See the waiver HERE.
October 1, 2026, Standing before an room filled with colleagues, service members and loved ones, Army Brig. Gen. Sean Kelly, commander of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, marked an extraordinary milestone this month as the command celebrated the retirement of two longtime federal civil servants whose careers span a combined 76 years.
Gloria Simons and William “Bill” Diaz were formally recognized for 41 and 35 years of distinguished service, respectively. As the nation’s combat logistics support agency, DLA delivers end-to-end global supply chain solutions to all military branches and combatant commands, a strategic mission carried out through the sustained expertise of dedicated civil servants like Simons and Diaz.
Simons, a strategic sourcing specialist in the CLOTHING and TEXTILES supply chain, began her 40-year career on Oct. 2, 1985, as a supply clerk at Norfolk Naval Air Station, Virginia. Over four decades, she held critical logistics posts across DLA Troop Support Subsistence, DLA Energy at Fort Belvoir, the Defense Commissary Agency and Clothing and Textiles, strengthening supply chain agility at every phase of her service.
Read more HERE.
October 1, 2026, Award Notice: Insignia, Grade, Enlisted, Cap.
Awardee: Kennedy Inc.
Award Amount: $33,440.
See: SAM Notification.
October 1, 2026, the U.S. Navy announced that it surpassed its fiscal 2026 recruiting goal, continuing a trend of meeting its fleet’s manpower needs several years in a row.
Read more in the Military Times.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (``CITA'') has determined that certain faux leather fabric bonded to a pile fabric, as specified below, is not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner in the CAFTA-DR countries. The product is added to the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA-DR in unrestricted quantities.
Specifications: Certain Faux Leather Fabric Bonded to a Pile Fabric
HTS: 6001.10; 6001.92.00.
Fabric Type: Knit fabric, faux leather bonded to a pile fabric.
Fiber Content:
Face: Faux leather fabric constructed from a 100% polyester knit fabric.
Back: Sherpa knit pile fabric 60-64% polyester, 36-40% acrylic.
Yarn Size:
Face: 75 Denier sea-island filament 100% polyester used for both warp and weft.
Back: Binding polyester 150 denier polyester combined with tops acrylic fiber, weighing between 8 to 18 grams.
Thread Count:
Face: Wales/cm 32, Course/cm 32.
Back: Wales/cm 7, Course/cm 8.
Weight: 442-488 grams per square meter.
Width: 137 to 143 centimeters (equivalent to 53.9 inches to 56.30 inches).
Weave: Knit in both, face and back.
Coloration:
Face: Roll dyed, colors: black, brown and green and overprinted;
Back side: fiber Dyed in colors black, brown and green.
Finishing: Bonded using the Moltopren heat process, which involves a flame lamination technique that fuses the layers through controlled heat and pressure.
The finished sherpa hair has a height of approximately 4 to 7 mm in the back.
Additional Information: Sea island fiber is also known as super-conjugate fiber or butterfly polyester yarn, is formed by a core component dispersed in another polymer in a longitudinally continuous way. Polymer material forms the core part, which is also called the island phase or dispersed phase. Another polymer is called sea component, sea phase, or continuous phase. Because original dispersed phase fiber presents as an island state in the fiber section, it is called sea-island fiber.
DATE: October 28, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSE: The meeting will be accessible to the public virtually via Zoom webinar.
BACKGROUND: The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled is an independent Federal agency operating as the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. It oversees the AbilityOne Program, which provides employment opportunities through Federal contracts for people who are blind or have significant disabilities in the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the Federal Government. The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (41 U.S.C. chapter 85) authorizes the contracts.
REGISTRATION: Attendees not requesting speaking time should register not later than October 27, 2026. Attendees requesting speaking time must register not later than October 20, 2026, and use the comment fields in the registration form to specify the intended speaking topic(s). The registration link will be available on the Commission's home page, www.abilityone.gov, under News and Events.
During the period January-September 2026, the Department of War contracted with clothing and textile vendors in 26 States plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
