Company Now Expects Full Year 2008 EPS of U.S. $1.45-$1.50 and Second Quarter EPS of U.S. $0.35

Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL; TSX and NYSE) announced that it expects to report adjusted diluted EPS of approximately U.S. $0.35 for its second quarter ended March 30, 2008, up approximately 13% from the second quarter of last year. The Company had previously projected EPS of approximately U.S. $0.42 for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. For the full 2008 fiscal year, the Company is now projecting adjusted diluted EPS of U.S. $1.45-$1.50, up 12%-16% compared to fiscal 2007. The Company’s most recent EPS guidance, which was updated in January 2008, was U.S. $1.85-$1.90.

The lower than anticipated growth in EPS in the second fiscal quarter, compared to the Company’s previous EPS guidance, is primarily due to lower than projected unit sales growth in activewear as a result of a shortfall in production for the Dominican Republic textile facility, a write-down of inventories of discontinued retail product lines pursuant to the rationalization of Gildan’s product-mix within the sock category, and additional costs incurred to service mass-market retailers during the integration of retail information systems. These unfavourable variances were partially offset by more favourable activewear product-mix and lower than anticipated promotional discounts in the U.S. wholesale distributor channel.

The lower than anticipated production in the Dominican Republic textile facility will continue to prevent the Company from capitalizing on strong sales demand for its products in the second half of the fiscal year, in particular during the peak summer selling season for T-shirts in the third fiscal quarter, and also result in higher than projected manufacturing costs and supply chain inefficiencies.

In addition, the Company expects to be negatively impacted by higher than projected increases in freight and energy costs in the second half of the fiscal year. These factors are expected to be partially moderated by the impact of assumed more favourable selling prices in the U.S. screen print channel in the third and fourth fiscal quarters, as a result of a recently announced selling price increase.

Management remains confident in the Company’s growth strategy and long-term competitive advantages, and is confident that during the second half of the fiscal year it will successfully resolve the operational issues which are curtailing its EPS growth in fiscal 2008.

Information for shareholders

Gildan will report its fiscal 2008 second quarter results on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. A press release will be issued following the closing of regular stock market trading hours and a conference call is scheduled for that same day at 5:00 PM EDT. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (800) 261-3417 (Canada & U.S.) or (617) 614-3673 (international) and entering passcode 80323574, or by live sound web cast on Gildan’s Internet site (“Investor Relations” section) at the following address: http://gildan.com/corporate/IR/webcastPresentations.cfm. If you are unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available starting that same day at 7:00 PM EDT by dialing (888) 286-8010 (Canada & U.S.) or (617) 801-6888 (international) and entering passcode 29444872, until Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at midnight, or by sound web cast on Gildan’s Internet site for 30 days.

Profile

Gildan is a vertically-integrated marketer and manufacturer of quality branded basic apparel. The Company is the leading supplier of activewear for the wholesale imprinted sportswear market in the U.S. and Canada, and also a leading supplier to this market in Europe. The Company sells T-shirts, sport shirts and fleece in large quantities to wholesale distributors as undecorated “blanks”, which are subsequently decorated by screen printers with designs and logos.

Consumers ultimately purchase the Company’s products, with the Gildan label, in venues such as sports, entertainment and corporate events, and travel and tourism destinations. Other end-uses include work uniforms and similar applications to convey individual, group and team identity. In addition to continuing its growth within the wholesale channel, Gildan is implementing a major growth initiative to sell athletic socks, underwear and activewear to mass-market retailers in North America.