WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) today announced that it has secured 2,000 tents to donate to employees of its contract sewing operations in Haiti as part of the company’s efforts to help feed, clothe, shelter and employ thousands of earthquake victims.

“We are proud of the efforts of our contract partners and the outpouring of support from Hanesbrands employees around the world, including in the Caribbean basin, Central America and North America”

The family-sized tents, purchased for $250,000, are in transit to the port of Miami and are expected to arrive in Haiti late next week for distribution to the families of employees in need in Port-au-Prince.

“Our contractors have done heroic work, supplying food and humanitarian aid to workers, getting their operations functional again and putting employees back to work,” said Gerald Evans, Hanesbrands’ president, international business and global supply chain. “Many employees have requested tents for their families to seek shelter because their homes have been rendered uninhabitable or they fear returning to damaged homes. With the help of others, we have expedited the process for finding, securing and transporting tents to our contract partners in Haiti.”

The company has two primary sewing contractors in Port-au-Prince, each of which had production suspended because of the Jan. 12 earthquake. Virtually all of the 3,200 contractor employees who worked on Hanesbrands T-shirt sewing are back at work.

“We are proud of the efforts of our contract partners and the outpouring of support from Hanesbrands employees around the world, including in the Caribbean basin, Central America and North America,” Evans said. “We are committed to getting these Haiti contract employees back on their feet. In addition to ongoing food, shelter and humanitarian aid, one of the most important things we can do is to get employees back to work to provide stability in their lives and a source of income.”

Hanesbrands is partnering with Seaboard Marine to ship the tents from Miami to Haiti free of charge. Bear Transportation is trucking the tents to the port of Miami at a reduced rate, and Hanesbrands was able to purchase the tents in an expedited manner from Boundless Network of Austin, Texas, Caravan Canopy International Inc. of Lamirada, Calif., and International E Z Up Inc. of Riverside Calif.

“We appreciate the help of our partners, including the governments of Haiti, the United States and the Dominican Republic as well as the United Nations, in supporting our contract operations,” Evans said. “We appreciate the generosity of Seaboard Marine for stepping up to donate the ocean shipping of the tents to the families in need.”

Hanesbrands is also sending regular shipments of food, water and other supplies from its Dos Rios fabric textile plant in Bonao, Dominican Republic, where supplies are being staged using company and employee donations from around the world.

In total, Hanesbrands expects to donate more than $3 million in cash, in-kind donations of clothing, and supplies of tents, food and water to help the contract workers and the general population of Haiti. In addition to direct aid, the company is working with humanitarian aid agency CARE and Fashion Delivers Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Hanesbrands is also arranging the transportation to Haiti of donated water collected by Christ Cathedral Church of Deliverance in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hanesbrands is supporting the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s Haiti-AAFA Recovery and Reconstruction Team, a task force that will provide key industry insights as relief operations continue and reconstruction planning begins in Haiti. Jerry Cook, Hanesbrands senior vice president of government and trade, will serve as co-chairman of the Recover and Reconstruction Team’s steering committee.

Hanesbrands expects to return to pre-earthquake levels of T-shirt production by mid-February. The T-shirt production in Haiti is small part of Hanesbrands total production and is not expected to have a material impact on sales.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including those regarding our long-term goals and trends associated with our business, our recently completed debt refinancing, and the net retail space gains that have been secured for 2010 and the expected impact of the space gains. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and are based on our current intent, beliefs, plans and expectations. They involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, performance or developments to differ materially from those described in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the following: our ability to execute our consolidation and globalization strategy, including migrating our production and manufacturing operations to lower-cost locations around the world; our ability to successfully manage social, political, economic, legal and other conditions affecting our foreign operations and supply chain sources; the impact of natural disasters; current economic conditions; consumer spending levels; the risk of inflation or deflation; financial difficulties experienced by, or loss of or reduction in sales to, any of our top customers or groups of customers; gains and losses in the shelf space that our customers devote to our products; our debt and debt service requirements that restrict our operating and financial flexibility, and impose interest and financing costs; the financial ratios that our debt instruments require us to maintain; failure to protect against dramatic changes in the volatile market price of cotton; the impact of increases in prices of other materials used in our products and increases in other costs; our ability to effectively manage our inventory and reduce inventory reserves; retailer consolidation and other changes in the apparel essentials industry; the highly competitive and evolving nature of the industry in which we compete; our ability to keep pace with changing consumer preferences; costs and adverse publicity from violations of labor or environmental laws by us or our suppliers; and other risks identified from time to time in our most recent Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including the 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, registration statements, press releases and other communications. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time.

About Hanesbrands

Hanesbrands Inc. is a leading marketer of everyday apparel essentials under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, JMS/Just My Size, barely there and Wonderbra. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men’s underwear, children’s underwear, socks, hosiery, casualwear and activewear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. Hanesbrands has approximately 45,000 employees in more than 25 countries. More information about the company may be found on the Hanesbrands Internet Web site at www.hanesbrands.com.