<PAGE>
                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

              CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO
                 SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT RULES 13a-14 AND 15d-14
                             AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002


I, Christopher B. Munday, Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Sportswear Int'l
Corporation, certify that:


1.      I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Tropical
        Sportswear Int'l Corporation;

2.      Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
        statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
        to make the statement made, in light of the circumstances under which
        such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
        covered by this quarterly report;

3.      Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
        information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
        material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
        cash flows of registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
        quarterly report;

4.      The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
        establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
        defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and
        we have:

        a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
        material information relating to the registrant, including its
        consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
        entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report
        is being prepared;

        b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
        and procedures as of the date within 90 days prior to the filing date of
        this quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

        c) Presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
        effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our
        evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.      The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
        on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and that the
        audit committee of the

<PAGE>


        registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
        functions):

            a) All significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
            internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's
            ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and
            have identified for the registrant's auditors any material
            weaknesses in internal controls; and

            b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
            other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
            internal controls; and

6.      The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
        quarterly report whether there were significant changes in internal
        controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
        controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including
        any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and
        material weaknesses.

Date:  May 5, 2003




                                           By:   /s/ Christopher B. Munday
                                                 ------------------------------
                                                 Christopher B. Munday
                                                 President and Chief
                                                 Executive Officer