Champion-What's Your Everest

Student Will Join Expedition Hanesbrands to Help Inspire Others to use the Symbolism of the World’s Highest Peak to Set Their Own Life Goals

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Dec. 9, 2009) – Hanesbrands Inc., which is leading an expedition to climb Mount Everest in Spring 2010, announced today that it will take a local high school student to the world’s highest mountain to help inspire other students to plan and set ambitious goals in life – their own symbolic Everests.

Expedition Hanesbrands will select one student from Carver High School in Winston-Salem, along with a school chaperone and a parent or guardian, to make the three-week trip in May 2010 to Mount Everest base camp in Nepal.

The student will experience the nonclimbing aspects of a Mount Everest expedition and Himalayan life. The cultural immersion and learning opportunity will include several days in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, and a 15-day roundtrip walking trek to Everest base camp for a one-night visit with the climbing team at 17,700 feet.

“Mount Everest is so much more than a peak to summit. It’s a symbol for how you set your goals, how you live your life, how you can be a better person. Any successful Mount Everest expedition is about planning, preparation, self-awareness and respect for the mountain and the culture of the area. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for our Carver High School teammate.”

Jamie Clarke
International Mountaineer & Motivational Speaker

Hanesbrands and its employees have partnered with Carver High School in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district for more than 20 years supporting students’ academic achievement and citizenship.

The Carver High School student, parent and chaperone are expected to be chosen by mid-February. Clarke and Carver High School Principal Nate Barber announced the student trek and the selection process today in a school assembly.

Interested students will write an essay discussing the topic “What’s Your Everest” and what such a trip would mean to them. They will also interview with a selection panel.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students. It’s our job as educators to challenge our students every day, and the trip to Nepal will show them how setting goals and working toward them can pay off in extraordinary ways.”

Nate Barber
Carver High School Principal

Participation in Expedition Hanesbrands will be unlike any other Hanesbrands-Carver High partnership program. After a short flight from Katmandu, the guided trek begins in the village of Lukla at 9,250 feet in elevation and proceeds through the Khumbu Valley, where there are no mechanized vehicles. Commerce and everyday life depend on goods transported by humans and animals, including the ever-present yak. The trekkers will cross suspension bridges, hike along rivers, traverse valleys with vistas of towering Himalayan peaks and visit villages, shopping bazaars and lodges to experience Sherpa culture firsthand.

“The trek is absolutely awe-inspiring. It won’t involve mountain climbing, but it will be challenging and will require determination. The Khumbu Valley is beautiful and is the perfect setting for inspiration, self-reflection and immersing yourself into a culture that is very different than North America.”

Jamie Clarke
International Mountaineer & Motivational Speaker

The expedition team will be equipped with audio, video and Internet-based communications technology so that the school district trekkers can share their experience through frequent updates with the Winston-Salem community through the Expedition Hanesbrands Web site: www.climbwithus.com.

Expedition Hanesbrands

Hanesbrands and its Champion and Duofold apparel brands are leading the Mount Everest expedition to showcase the company’s research and development innovation and to market the brands’ activewear and base layer products.

The expedition team, including Hanesbrands employees, completed a Himalayan test climb and trek to base camp in October. When he climbs Everest, Clarke will be testing new cutting-edge apparel, including socks, base layer, insulating layer, and soft- and hard-shell garments, developed by Hanesbrands R&D team using more than 100 years of expertise and product innovation in the company’s Champion athletic apparel and Duofold base layer product lines.

In January 2010, Hanesbrands expects to unveil a one-of-a-kind summit suit designed to keep Clarke warm and mobile in the high winds and severe cold on the highest reaches of 29,035-foot Everest, the highest peak in the world.

The expedition features two Web sites where people already can follow the progress of the team, including viewing a series of inspirational “What’s Your Everest” video vignettes from Jamie Clarke.

Expedition Hanesbrands’ ClimbWithUs.com Web site features articles about Everest, Nepal, Sherpas and the gear developed for the expedition team; frequent audio, photo and video expedition updates; and content provided by outdoor adventure freelance writers Stephen Regenold and Stephanie Pearson. Twitter users may follow the expedition at http://twitter.com/ClimbWithUs.

A second Web site, Champion Apparel’s “Climb Everest With Us,” houses an online community for users to declare their own personal Everest goal for a chance to win $10,000 to fulfill their dream. The site is located at www.ClimbEverestWithUs.com.

Each entry will be featured on the site where visitors can share, view and comment. The site acts as an online community that allows others to provide support and advice to those who have submitted an entry. A Facebook application allows participants to directly link to their personal Facebook pages for easy sharing of dreams with friends.

Other Web site content includes expedition updates, photos, gear information and Champion apparel information. The site also has a “What’s Your Everest?” video filmed by students at the North Carolina School for the Arts.

About Champion

Champion offers a full line of innovative athletic apparel for men and women including sport bras, activewear, team uniforms, sweats and accessories. Champion can be purchased at most sporting goods and department stores. For more information about Champion for men and women, visit www.championusa.com.

About Duofold

Introduced in 1906, Duofold is a leader in base layer apparel for men, women and children. As an outfitter of the National Ski Patrol, Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors, Duofoldis the expert in helping winter athletes and outdoor enthusiasts perform at their best even under the most challenging weather conditions. Duofold is best known for its popular Varitherm and Originals cold-weather products. For more information visit www.duofold.com.

About Hanesbrands Inc.

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.

Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., Hanesbrands was named one of the 10 best companies supporting arts in America in 2009 by the Business Committee for the Arts, a division of Americans for the Arts.

Hanesbrands began its award-winning partnership with Carver High School in 1986 to support school programs that help students achieve academic and citizenship success. The partnership incorporates volunteers from Hanesbrands and has created numerous ongoing programs, including student and teacher recognition programs, mentoring programs and a drug awareness and testing program.