Glimmers of hope in the housing market and car industry are encouraging, but with the CBI predicting that it will be a long road to recovery, no one would blame anyone currently in business for adopting a cautious approach to investment.

It's photoshoot time for many brands and Jerzees Schoolgear is no exception.

This year, however, they decided to do a shoot with a difference and photograph their garments on real people in real schools.

BTC activewear has got behind new brand DeWalt with all four regional sales teams wearing the distinctive quality garments every Thursday throughout August.

TheMagicTouch have announced the latest innovative application for their image transfer process.

High quality personalised flip-flops have arrived with massive appeal covering many opportunities in a multitude of different markets.

Embroidery sales and servicing company Stocks Sewing Machines is celebrating a milestone this year with the news that it has been chosen to supply its ZSK embroidery machine to the iconic Nike Town store on London's Oxford Street.

Multi-brand distributor PenCarrie are inviting customers to preview the new garments and accessories available for 2010 at a series of events across the UK.

Crazy Bags has launched a new take on the reusable bag, adding a cotton canvas drawstring duffle bag to the range. Available in black or natural canvas and 100% reusable, the bag can be worn as a backpack or over the shoulder.

Bags2Keep, official supplier to Modbury, Britain's first plastic bag free town, has launched a new range of organic cotton string bags.

Corporate couture firm NKD Clothing has designed the outfits for one of Scotland's newest restaurants.

The PAGE Catalogue Group annual conference and dinner was held at the Arden Hotel, at Birmingham's NEC.

Workplace deaths and injuries might have fallen but thousands still die every year as a result of work-related accidents. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new strategy, Be Part of the Solution, designed to reduce the number of workplace accidents and take a common sense approach to ensuring that risk management is an enabler for business not a burden.

Sponsored by Everything Environmental, The British Promotional Merchandise Association (bpma) is introducing a new category, The British Manufacturer of the Year Award, at this year's annual bpma awards to be held in January 2010.

Wide format printers and their suppliers worldwide are broadly optimistic about the chances of business recovering to pre-recession levels within the next 12 months, according to FESPA, The Federation of European Screen Printers Associations.

Leicestershire firm The Marketing Worx have launched two new brochures.

The trade brochure is available to all distributors and resellers of promotional products. It features items supplied by the company in the last 12 months and is available free.

Incorporatewear, which specialises in the design and management of bespoke corporatewear and uniforms to major brand names is now supplying workwear in smaller quantities with the launch of www.inworkwear.com which offers a stock-supported range of work clothing.

Sheffield Speedway track officials have a smart new uniform provided by MASCOT Workwear, Europe's largest privately owned workwear manufacturer. 

Entitled RFID Case Study - American Apparel, the video is the first multimedia production that demonstrates how the largest apparel producer in the US deployed item-level RFID to overcome inventory accuracy and replenishment challenges at selected stores, while appreciably increasing sales.

In response to customer requests, Skinnifit have added a new size XXL to their best-selling Modern Essential T for women (style ref SK101).

Visage, one of the UK's largest importers of clothing, have upgraded to the latest version of the ATMS StockTrack PLUS warehouse management system.

What is this thing called "the brand"? Why do marketing gurus treat it as the icon of selling, investing it with something akin to religious significance? Surely a brand is just a name and a logo with (typically) a big advertising budget shoving behind it? If so, wasn't Shakespeare right, and a rose would, indeed, smell as sweet by another name? Or, if the Bard's word has no sort of marketing relevance, should everyone be aiming to develop a brand?

With many companies looking to reduce spend and having more of a focus on price, in recent months Regatta has been selling more low to mid priced styles. We have found that in general, industry prices are increasing and in a move to help customers, Regatta has frozen prices until the end of the year.

The current Blue Max line up features a staggering collection of jackets available from stock - from schoolwear blazers to versatile outdoor wear. The range is cutting edge in terms of quality but classic in design.

Established for more than 25 years, Beezer produce a variety of outdoor garments for corporate, leisure and school wear.

BTC activewear has recently added the TECH range of Performance Soft Shell garments to their ever-growing Result jacket collection.

The TECH range is a technically advanced, multi-activity collection, designed to provide ultimate weather protection.

The end of summer signals the start of the football season, and a perfect outfit for a visit to the stadium is Team Coach Jacket (JN 341), part of Daiber's new team wear collection.

Fruit of the Loom has extended its family of fleece outerwear with the launch of the sleeveless fleece.

The new style is made from the same 100% polyester fleece fabric (300 gm/m2) as the well-established full zip and half zip fleece jackets. This proven fabric is renowned for its warmth, comfort and breathability, along with its pill-resistant properties and exceptional durability. There are six fabric colours to choose from, (including bright orange and bright yellow), with sizes from S-XXL.

One of the handiest and most popular jackets within the Finden+Hales range is the Piped Showerproof Training Jacket - available in adults and kids' sizes and in an impressive seven colourways.

The H850/51 and H55/6 microfleece jacket and sleeveless is super dense making it warm yet not bulky and can be zipped into the H830/H831 to give the interactive showerproof jacket a cosy inner. 

Essex based promotional clothing supplier, I.S. Enterprises, can offer garment decorators a range of fleece and jacket options suitable for the start of the autumn season.

With schooling now starting at a younger age it's important for brands to offer a range of suitable clothing for younger kids. This is where Larkwood steps in with a range of garments specially designed and developed for those younger kids, toddlers and even babies.

There are four new Papini jacket styles to choose from, each using Aquatite fabric technology, with the added security of fully taped seams to ensure the garments are waterproof, including the hood.

PenCarrie offers an extensive range of jackets and outerwear in categories that guide you straight to the right choice for a particular purpose.

Ralawise can provide a broad choice of jackets from the biggest brands in the industry such as Result, Regatta and Stormtech.

New for 2009 is a range of ‘intelligent clothing' jackets Russell specifically designed to interact with one another and work in synergy with the wearer's body.

Each piece offers either insulation, breathability, foul weather protection or a combination of all three.

Result offers a unique collection of classic and contemporary multifunctional jackets that will support you in any corporate or leisure activity.

The new TECH Performance range exclusively from Result is a technically advanced three layer high stretch Soft Shell multi-activity collection designed to provide ultimate weather protection and comfort.

As a brand RTY has been known for the past 11 years or so as primarily a first and mid layer supplier of shirts, sweatshirts standard fleece and the like. That changed last year with the introduction of the first outdoor style in the form of RTY100 waterproof jacket. Insulated and fully taped it has been well received by the printwear trade.

The end of long summer days and warm nights needn't be all doom and gloom although it may often seem that way what with the myriad of similar looking jackets out there in the marketplace.

You´ll find exactly what you´re looking for in Tombo´s selection of fleeces.

Starting with fleece options for when balmy summer evenings turn to winter ones, Tombo offer the TL94 Tombo Teamwear Zip Neck Micro Fleece for ladies, and the TL95 Tombo Teamwear Zip Neck Micro Fleece for men.

This year the jackets range at UKL is bigger and better than ever before, with a wide range of styles, colours, weights, and prices, to suit every shape, size, environment and budget.

We all know safety matters and none of us intentionally sells unsafe products. We all recognise that the vulnerable - for example, children, the elderly and the less able - are the highest priority. So why all the fuss, some would say even paranoia?

Bespoke garment design needn't be complicated. That's the message from Russell Solutions, which has revamped its bespoke offering to simplify the service and make it more user-friendly. Debbie Eales spoke to Russell Solutions' commercial manager, Jane Saba, about the new offering.

Let's face it, not everyone's a natural sportsman and not all of us have glowing memories of school sporting triumphs - leading the football team to regional victories, hurdling our way into the trophy cabinet and not dropping our egg off our spoon. 

When it comes to branded goods, nothing works better than a well-known image or logo to make it sell in greater volume. But as we all know, you can't just print any image onto a T shirt; in fact the most well-known images are protected by intellectual property laws making it illegal to sell something with a licensed image without prior agreement by the brand's owner.

From chocolate to clothing and from bags to pens, the promotional merchandise industry has been subject to the ‘green factor' over recent years. The phrases sustainable, ethical, fair trade and organic are prominent throughout the industry, suggesting that there is a definite passion to ensure that the environmental and ethical impact is being taken into consideration.

July 13 saw one of PROMOTA's social highlights of the year. The PROMOTA Sparks John Francome charity golf day was held at the Camberley Heath Golf Club in Surrey.

PROMOTA member Mantis World has an interesting philosophy when it comes to its products and how they are produced - Made for impact, just not on the earth. We spoke to Prama Bhardwaj, managing director of Mantis World about the company's production methods and how the industry is facing up to the issues surrounding ethics and the environment. 

Brightbutton creates products that combine affordability with innovation, appealing to clients looking for good value, while still impressing their customers in the lead up to Christmas. 

Once again our thoughts turn to Christmas and cost effective promotional items that will be kept and treasured for years to come.

"If ever there was a good time to reward your staff or to say thank you to customers, it's this year more than ever."

So says Gordon Glenister, director general of the British Promotional Merchandise Association (bpma).

If you're looking for unusual and original corporate gifts that really stand out from the crowd, then look no further than GettingPersonal.

Send your customers a Christmas card with a difference with Listawood's MouseCard - a mouse mat and greetings card combined.

Knomo's luxury laptop-handbags, trolleys and laptop sleeves successfully blend style with functionality - as our increasing celebrity following will testify to, including Girls Aloud (who all carry a slim laptop pouch each), Samuel L Jackson and Richard Branson (who both carry our Saxby Courier bag).

Clear Prospects Ltd is revolutionising the promotional merchandise industry with its 100% British Made proposition. And at a time when other firms are struggling, the company is experiencing growth in stark defiance of the recession.

BTC activewear exclusively offer the Shugon range of promotional bags, including the ever-popular Stafford Nylon Drawstring Tote Backpack. Offering exceptional value for money, this classic drawstring backpack is produced from strong waterproof nylon with PU backing and is available in a choice of 15 colours.

"What are we going to promote next week?" was the start of a board meeting. 

"I don't want your stinking badges" replied my colleague.  

According to Malcolm Watson, managing director of The Marketing Worx, the run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times for the company.

Myrtle Beach's new Christmas Caps are gorgeous enough to make even the party poopers feel festive.

And the promotional expert's Xmas socks are perfect for stuffing with sweets and small gifts.

With many companies going under, are promotional items a justifiable expense?

"On the one hand, promotional products represent a great way to keep in contact with customers and remind them that you're still here - and, of course, everyone loves something free," says N2's marketing manager, Emma Batrick.

Mumbles offers a selection of great products that make the perfect gift or giveaway when you're looking for something a little bit different.

The use of branded merchandise and promotional products is most effective when the target audience is specifically identified, so products should be selected to appeal to specific audiences.

With a range of brands offering great products for promotional use, Ralawise are pleased to highlight a few key areas where customers can benefit. 

This season's fluorescent and neon colour trend is something that the printwear trade can capitalise on for winter.

"Selecting an appropriate, yet memorable, corporate Christmas gift can be a minefield," says Melissa Chevin, marketing manager at Senator Pens.

In the present climate, companies are aiming to get the most from their marketing spend and are looking for added value, so personalised promotional gifts are currently extremely popular and provide that extra individual touch important for any Christmas gift.

Event! Merchandising Ltd specialists in innovative merchandise for both the corporate and entertainment world has teamed up with Shed Simove - the "Ideas Man" to propose creative ideas to all existing and new clients who want something unique and fun.

TheMagicTouch continue innovation and product development with the introduction of SmartBox, a range of bespoke silver gift boxes to decorate and personalise.

Towel City offers a great collection of towels, robes and bathwear accessories, which are easy to decorate with trademarks, logos, designs or motifs to promote and emphasise your brand.

Embroidered badges are not just for the big guys, who produce thousands per day from wide rolls of fabrics. For medium and small embroiderers the advantages of producing badges will give a boost to generate more business.

As part of its commitment to customers and a policy of sourcing new, value adding, garment decorating equipment AJS has added GEMfix, a range of high tech, fully automatic rhinestone setting machines, to its product line up.

Hereford based trade supplier Lewis Print Ltd has seen demand for its embroidery services expand during the first part of the year as director Jimmy Lewis-Humbert explains.

Melco have recently introduced a new model into their range of Amaya embroidery machines, the Amaya Bravo.

At Brother, our sales team deals with quite a few companies who've had requests for embroidered products from their customers and are investigating entering the market. They want to go further than offering a selection of template designs and they need to be able to complete jobs quickly and effectively. They can't take the risk of investing large amounts in heavy-duty equipment and they need some straightforward methodology that will enable them to master this new skill set quickly and enable them to produce impressive results.

Many embroiderers have talked about the issue of customers requesting print files for an embroidery design they have created. Here's a story about how the latest Wilcom software can not only do this, but will give you more business opportunities as well.

Embroidery has long held an aura of mystique and intrigue, a rare craft practiced in a far away land that is both cloistered and impenetrable, cut off from the world of lesser mortals and the uninitiated.

With the demise of U S Screen, IGS-UK was faced with a rocky path, no printer to sell, no ink to sell, and not much to look forward to. But with such strong interest and an excellent response at the Printwear & Promotion Show 2009, IGS-UK were determined to pull through and continue to increase their foothold in the d-t-g market. They needed to pull a rabbit out of a hat to succeed, and they did - twice!

Strange but true: when the Spice Girls exploded onto the music and fashion scene, they were indirectly responsible for the success of garment decorators Essential (formerly Essential Embroidery Design Ltd). Editor, Debbie Eales visited the company's new 18,000 sq ft premises in Dunstable to meet founder, George Georgiou, following a £100,000 spend on in-house screen printing

Fifteen minutes of fame

Boo hoo, I'll never be famous! Teens and early twenty somethings are suckers for the fame game. The reality TV shows, celeb mags and a big chunk of the red-tops sell the idea to them that fame and wealth go together without much talent or effort being required. Just getcha bits out girl! Who'd be a teacher? In everything bad, there is good, in this case a printwear business opportunity. Create the ultimate teen birthday/Christmas present - instant fame.