INDUSTRY NEWS

Uniforms don't violate students' rights, court says
Public schools don't violate students' freedom of expression by requiring them to wear uniforms, a federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Nevada school district's uniform policy against challenges from students, including a high school junior who was suspended five times for a total of 25 days for wearing a T-shirt with religious slogans, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Clark County School District's policies were not intended to squelch free speech, but instead were aimed at "creating an educational environment free from the distractions, dangers and disagreements that result when student clothing choices are left unrestricted," Judge Michael Hawkins said in the majority opinion.

Dissenting Judge Sidney Thomas said the ruling was at odds with the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1969 decision that upheld a student's right to wear a black armband in protest of the Vietnam War as long as it did not disrupt the classroom. Under Monday's ruling, Thomas said, a school could prohibit such protests, or any other attire that expressed an opinion, by requiring students to wear uniforms.

The students' lawyer said he would ask the full appeals court to set the ruling aside and order a rehearing before a larger panel. He said the ruling could be extended beyond schools and might allow a city to ban political expression in some public areas.

As a constitutional interpretation, the ruling is binding on federal courts in nine states, including California. But parents in California still have the right under state law to exempt their children from a school's requirement to wear uniforms. No such opt-out right exists in Nevada, where state law requires schools merely to consult with parents before requiring uniforms. The Clark County district, which includes Las Vegas, requires its schools to get approval from 55% of parents to impose a uniform requirement on all students.

Lead plaintiff Kimberly Jacobs attended Liberty High School, which required students to wear khaki-colored bottoms and solid-color tops, with no writings except the school logo. After Jacobs was repeatedly suspended for wearing a shirt that expressed her Mormon beliefs, a federal judge ruled in her favor in 2005 and ordered the school to stop enforcing its policy against her and erase records of the suspensions.

But the appeals court said the policy is valid because it promotes legitimate educational goals -- such as safety and the removal of distractions from learning -- and applies equally to all written expression on clothing, regardless of content.

In contrast to the black armbands in the 1969 Supreme Court case, which were prohibited because of the opinion they expressed, the Las Vegas high school banned all apparel-related expression except the school logo, which conveys no particular message, Hawkins said. He said students remain free to express their opinions in conversations, school newspaper articles or in after-school attire.

Edwards Garment acquires Andrew Rohan
Edwards Garment Co. (asi/51752) today announced the acquisition of HMB Sales, Inc. HMB (asi/58794) has manufactured and marketed Andrew Rohan brand sweaters to the business-to-business market for over 25 years. Edwards Garment is a rapidly growing manufacturer and supplier of casual and uniform apparel.

The Andrew Rohan sweater line helps fill out Edwards Garment's existing lines, which include shirts, blouses, pants, skirts, shorts, suit separates, chefs apparel and aprons.

"We serve many of the same customers, and the availability of the Edwards line gives Andrew Rohan distributors many more options for their customers," says Edwards Garment President and CEO, Gary Schultz. "Edwards' customers will also see new opportunities as we add the prestigious Andrew Rohan sweater line to our offer."

"When we approached the owners, timing wise it worked out because they were ready to move on into retirement," adds Schultz. "They felt very comfortable turning the company and relationships over to us."

The purchase gives Edwards a full line of sweaters, which it had only dabbled in over the years. "We felt that sweaters were an important segment but didn't know how we were going to add them to our line," says Schultz. "We've offered a few over the years but we found that if you are going to be in a category, you need to have more than one or two items. With Andrew Rohan we get a full line from a brand name that is well-known and respected."

Edwards is in the process of moving inventory and customer service to its main office in Kalamazoo, MI. Some employees, including several in sales, product development, inventory and production planning, will also be making the move. Edwards will continue to use the Andrew Rohan name but will not retain HMB's ASI number.

Drycleaners to get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval?
Consumers—including uniform wearers—who have long considered themselves casualties of ineffective service from many of the nation's drycleaners, at last will have an objective measure of a drycleaner's competency and service orientation with the debut of the Award of Excellence (AOE) accreditation program. At the same time, drycleaners who take pride in the professionalism of their work finally have a way to identify themselves to consumers who have been searching for a good drycleaner. The AOE Web site also contains extensive apparel care tips.

With its strict compliance requirements, the Award of Excellence (AOE) is based on professional principles and practices reviewed and overseen by the 11-member national Clothing Care Council. Its members represent the Good Housekeeping Institute, well-known apparel manufacturers, the academic sector, and consumer advocates such as national columnist Heloise. The AOE so far has been earned by only one-half of one percent of all American drycleaners.

Via rigorous testing of stain and soil removal proficiencies, ongoing professional education, and commitment to customer service principles, participating business owners earn the AOE designation and become eligible to display award citations attesting to their cleaning prowess at their places of business. The award must be re-earned annually and is viewed as a credibility-enhancing measure of proficiency and high operating standards.

"Professional drycleaners who undergo training and who work hard to refine their craft and serve the public have long needed a form of validation that consumers can recognize and rely upon," says William Fisher, chief executive of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute. "The Award of Excellence is a tool for assuring the public that skillful cleaning partnered with excellent customer service are not lost arts today."

Members of the Clothing Care Council include:

• Nora J. Carpenter, Senior Vice President of BBB Capacity, Council of Better Business Bureaus
• David Eiselle, Senior CEO, Founder, Owner, Davelle Clothiers, Reston, Va.
• Charles Riggs, Ph.D., Faculty Member and Program Director, Production Management Institute, Texas Woman's University
• Norma M. Keyes, Director, Product Standards, Cotton Incorporated
• Heloise, Columnist and nationally known speaker
• Mary W. Ballard, Senior Textiles Conservator
• Carolyn Forte, Director, Home Appliances and Cleaning Products, Good Housekeeping Research Institute
• Shirley Lattimore, Fabrication Specialist, Doncaster of Tanner Companies
• Ralph McElroy, President, Hart Schaffner Marx University
• Sharen Mirell, Director, Corporate Consumer Relations, Liz Claiborne, Inc.
• Manfred Wentz, Ph.D., Director, Hohenstein Institutes (USA) Inc.; Head, Oeko-Tex Certification Body - U.S.A.

Save those uniform receipts
April 15 will roll around again real soon, and uniform distributors may want to remind their customers about potential tax deductions for uniform expenses. Tax experts from Jackson Hewitt remind uniform distributors, dealers and wearers that the cost of uniforms can often be used as a deduction at tax time. Unreimbursed expenses can be deducted for items such as subscriptions to trade journals related to work; dues for trade associations or unions; insurance premiums for protection against liability or wrongful acts and specialized equipment or tools that are replaceable within one year. But workers can also deduct for safety equipment such as steel-toed shoes or boots; the cost and upkeep of uniforms not suitable for everyday wear (for example, specialized coveralls, hard hats, work gloves, safety shoes, and goggles not considered "street wear").

Uniforms with a Latin flavor
A distributor in Texas has designed a terrific new uniform program with a Latin flavor (think embroidered guyaberra shirts) for a chain of restaurants in the San Antonio area. Now she wants some long-sleeve options that will make servers equally comfortable in the cooler winter months. Click here to see a couple of good options from Nyne and Bill Blass Premium, including the COOLMAX Rip-Stop Shirt (NNS6143), a 4 oz., 70% Cotton, 30% COOLMAX polyester shirt that's made of a breathable, moisture control fabric and features an edge stitch point collar, removable collar stays, back pleats for added comfort and Nyne's signature triangle side vent so the shirt can be worn in or out. Available in Cashmere, Black, Ink, Dark Chocolate in S-XXL from Capital Mercury Apparel.

Credit: Photo by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

An angel to the Angels
Erica Ford has the dirt on all the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim players. That's because she's been washing their uniforms for almost 12 years. She also is responsible for mending uniforms that become ripped or tattered, and has become so proficient in these repairs that visiting teams utilize her talents on their uniforms as well. "She's kind of like an unsung hero," Jeff Davenport, equipment manager for the Kansas City Royals tells the Los Angeles Times. Click here to read the full Los Angeles Times story about Erica Ford's work for the Angels.

Apple borrows a uniform idea from healthcare
Apple's retail stores are borrowing an idea from the healthcare uniforms market: Using color to identify employees according to the role they play in customer care. Beginning with the newest Apple location that just opened in Boston, Apple retail stores are undergoing a "redesign" of sorts intended to more thoroughly identify the roles played by employees with the color of their shirts. Three job titles have been renamed: Mac Genius will become simply Genius, Mac Specialist will become Specialist, and Business Consultants will become Business Partners. Employee uniforms will also change to better distinguish these employees and their roles. Behind-the-bar Genius employees will continue to wear dark blue T-shirts, while Specialists will now wear light blue T-shirts and Concierges will wear bright orange T-shirts. Business Partners will take on a more professional appearance with dark blue, buttoned-down shirts with "Business" embroidered on the sleeve next to the Apple logo. The back-of-house gang will still wear their traditional black T-shirts.

The new shirts have different slogans for each position:

Employees in Apple's retail stores will now be identified by the role they play—and the color they wear.

• Specialist: "I can talk about this stuff for hours"
• Concierge: "I know people"
• Creative: "No pain, all gain"
• Genius: "Not all heroes wear capes"
• Manager: "My place. Your place"
• Back-of-house: "Some artists use brushes. I prefer boxes"

"These stores have served them very, very well and really raised the bar in terms of technology customer service," says Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, a technology consulting firm.

In its latest financial quarter to March 29, Apple's store sales leapt 74% to nearly $1.5 billion. The average revenue per store in the quarter reached $7.1 million, up 48% from $4.8 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, operating profits at the stores more than doubled, to $334 million in the quarter.

Casino uniforms too sexy?
Union and management representatives at Caesars hotel and casino in Windsor, Ontario have agreed to appoint a committee to address concerns raised by some female beverage workers who feel their new uniforms are too skimpy, a union spokeswoman told the Windsor Star.

The new uniforms to be worn by servers at Caesar's Windsor are similar to those worn by their counterparts at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas (above).

The union got its first look at the uniforms for female beverage workers during an April meeting with management, the spokeswoman said. "My opinion (of the uniforms) doesn't matter," she said. "My only concern is that our members feel comfortable."

Employees' views of the new look appear to be divided. Some workers said they would switch departments if forced to wear the new outfits, saying the cream-colored, short toga-style dresses with plunging necklines are too revealing. Others said the dresses are elegant and appropriate for a Caesars casino. The new uniforms are similar to those worn by servers' counterparts at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Currently, employees wear a black uniform consisting of a waist-level jacket, multi-colored top and the choice of slacks or a skort. Of the 120 full- and part-time beverage servers, only about a dozen are male.

The casino recently underwent a $400 million expansion and renovation and is reopening June 19 under the Caesars brand.

MTPD officers show off their new uniforms.

Metro Police change look with new uniforms
At Washington, DC's Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD), it's out with the brown and in with the blue. The department has changed its class A brown uniforms to a new version that is blue.

MTPD officers began wearing the new blue and white dress uniform in April. It consists of a blue pant with gold and blue piping and a white dress shirt. The trim on the pant leg was designed to match the royal blue and gold stitching on the department's official patch. "The new uniform enhances the professional image of our police department, which is recognized across the country as being a leader in transit policing," said Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn.

A team of officers and officials were tasked with selecting a design that would create a distinct new look for the department. MTPD is planning to donate its brown uniforms to a police department that does not have the resources for dress uniforms. Press reports indicate the department spent $291,000 to outfit its 420 officers.

Garden Grove police officers model the historic uniforms. Left to Right -- Master Officer Raphael Loera, Officer Corey Polopek, Master Officer Ed Desbiens, Officer Adam Coughran and Officer Paul Ashby.

Police memorial features historic uniforms
For Garden Grove, CA's 21st annual Police Memorial, five of the department's officers will wear historic uniforms – most of them worn by the five fallen officers who will be honored during the ceremony. Sgt. Jose Gallardo did most of the research into the department's history and the uniforms and said he pitched the idea to give new officers an insight into the department's rich history, he told the Orange County Register. It wasn't easy to gather all the uniforms, badges and leather gear, he added. He and other officers talked to retired chiefs and even borrowed some of their badges and belts to make the display possible. Featured at the ceremony were the forest-green Eisenhower jackets, trousers and caps with tan-colored shirts which constituted the first official uniform of the Garden Grove Police Department in 1957.