How the L.A. apparel industry became mask makers

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The L.A. fashion industry quickly pivoted to producing protective equipment, showing one advantage of domestic manufacturing over long global supply chains.

makes elevated basics similar to American Apparel, which during Charney’s ownership operated retail stores, knitted its own fabrics, and cut and sewed its clothing at a downtown factory. The new company doesn’t yet knit yarn, but is otherwise vertically integrated at its South L.A. factory complex.Charney says that while his clothing costs more than an import, that price differential is not important for fashion-conscious shoppers who can afford to buy his $24 T-shirts and $78 pants.

At AST, Dadabhoy said the company can put a product in a buyer’s hand within four to six weeks of executing a purchase order, about twice as fast as an overseas supplier. By contrast, Levi Strauss & Co., which sources from hundreds of factoriesAST also has been able to reduce the price differentials — despite paying its workers on average $20 an hour plus benefits — through its vertical integration.

Of course, there are hazards to the model, aside from retailers whose primary focus is cost. While keeping production at your doorstep can help minimize supply chain risk, there are no guarantees in the age of the coronavirus.Los Angeles Apparel has struggled to keep the coronavirus at bay. The company said it was conducting temperature checks, encouraging social distancing and hand washing, and has erected cardboard barriers at individual workstations to try to protect workers.

He said the factory was inspected by Cal/OSHA and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Officials at Cal/OSHA were unable to immediately comment. Tim Gilman, a public health spokesman, said the department is working with the company to investigate the matter., and labor advocates say that some factory owners have exploited workers who are making masks and other protective gear, paying them sub-minimum wages in dangerous conditions because they have nowhere else to turn.

More than 97% of apparel sold to U.S. consumers is manufactured abroad, with about 80% coming from China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and other Asian countries, said Sheng Lu, an associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. More likely, he said, some apparel companies may decide to source more from Mexico and Central America — where they already ship U.S. textiles for assembly into clothing and there is broad political support due to the recently passed United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement and the 2006 Central American Free Trade Agreement.

 

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