Montreal, December 20, 2005 – Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL; TSX and NYSE) today announced that it has renewed, subject to regulatory approval, a normal course issuer bid for a maximum of 1,000,000 common shares, representing approximately 1.67% of the total outstanding common shares (the only class of voting shares outstanding). As at December 15, 2005, there were 60,003,169 common shares of the Company issued and outstanding.

The Company currently has in place a normal course issuer bid which is for a maximum of 500,000 Class A Subordinate Voting shares (now 1,000,000 common shares following the conversion of all Class A Subordinate Voting shares into common shares and a two-for-one stock split). The current bid, which has been in effect since December 22, 2004, expires on December 21, 2005. No shares were purchased pursuant to this bid.

In the event that, during the course of the normal course issuer bid, the common shares trade at a price range that does not adequately reflect their value in relation to Gildan's assets, business and future business prospects, the Company believes that the purchase of up to 1,000,000 of its outstanding common shares made under the normal course issuer bid would represent an appropriate use of the Company's corporate funds, without significantly impacting its financing flexibility to pursue potential growth opportunities.

Any purchases under the renewed bid will be made during the period from December 22, 2005 to December 21, 2006, and will be made on the open market through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange, in compliance with its rules and policies. Common shares purchased under the bid will be cancelled.

Profile

Gildan Activewear is a vertically-integrated marketer and manufacturer of premium quality branded basic apparel. The Company manufactures premium quality basic T-shirts, sport shirts and sweatshirts for sale in the wholesale imprinted sportswear market. The Company sells its products as blanks, which are ultimately decorated by screenprinters with designs and logos for sale to consumers. Gildan has announced plans to sell its products into the mass-market retail channel, in addition to the screenprint market. In conjunction with this strategy, Gildan is expanding its product-line to include underwear and athletic socks.