1:19 p.m., Feb. 18, 2009----If you want to do business with clothing manufacturers in China, you need to know much more than how to properly greet your prospective business partner (that's with a bow versus a handshake).

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The latest issue of FIBER, the online journal for the global fashion and apparel industry produced by the University of Delaware, focuses on China, its maturing apparel industry, the outlook for the U.S.-China textile and apparel trade, and how to do business the Chinese way.

“China has the largest apparel industry in the world and continues to be a major business partner for both large and small companies,” said the journal's editor, Hye-Shin Kim, associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

“Additionally, China also has millions of young consumers with unprecedented spending power, who are interested in buying top brands, including apparel by foreign manufacturers,” she noted.

Industry and academic experts share best practices and tips for conducting business in China, as well as valuable insights into young Chinese consumers, and the changing face of social responsibility in the Chinese apparel industry, with the rise of social media.

Kin-fau Au, associate professor and associate head of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, provides an overview of China's apparel industry, and Priscilla Y. L. Chan, also a faculty member at that institution, writes about foreign brand expansion into China.

An interview is included with Brian DeLeu, design director for JC Penney, on future sourcing design and product development in China. DeLeu, a University of Delaware alumnus, is responsible for the design and merchandising of JC Penney's St. John's Bay brand.

Maria D'Andrea, supervisory international trade specialist in the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), U.S. Department of Commerce, details the status of the U.S. textile and apparel trade with China and provides an overview of the office's responsibilities and services.

The journal also announces the first FIBERcast, a 45-minute audio program set for Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. on social responsibility in the apparel industry. Register for the program at this Web site.

FIBER stands for the "Fashion International Business Education Response" project. Now in its second year, the two-year project is funded by a $165,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

It is led by Hye-Shin Kim, project director, Marsha Dickson, professor and chairperson of the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, Sharron Lennon, the Irma Ayers Professor of Fashion and Apparel Studies, and George Irvine, program specialist in Professional and Continuing Studies.

The FIBER journal's mission is to showcase fashion and apparel markets around the globe, share the insights of leaders in the industry and the latest academic research on critical issues, highlight opportunities for further education, and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, connecting members of the fashion and apparel community around the globe.

It is produced semiannually with the assistance of the University of Delaware's Office of Communications and Marketing.

Previous issues of the journal have highlighted the apparel industries in Guatemala and in Thailand.

Subscribe to the journal at this Web site.

Article by Tracey Bryant