Apparel

Jay-Z Sued by Wholesaler Over $450,000 Bill
June 13, 2013

iSource NYC has filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court against Rocawear, the apparel brand co-created by Jay-Z, over $450,000 allegedly owed to the wholesaler for "specially ordered goods ... [with] the 'Rocawear' brand name imprinted on [them]."

U.S. Apparel Makers Express Concern Over High Labor Cost
June 5, 2013

The apparel manufacturers in the US have expressed concern over increasing labor cost in the country as several global apparel brands are sourcing garments from other countries with low production cost.

North Carolina-based apparel manufacturer TS Designs is one of the examples of the US garment manufacturers affected by the rising labor cost in the country.

"Due to the increasing labor cost, several garment brands have shifted their base from the US to other countries, including Mexico and Bangladesh," said Mr. Eric Henry, CEO of TS Designs in an interview with fibre2fashion.

U.S. Retailers to Forge New Safety Plan for Bangladeshi Apparel Factories
June 4, 2013

Feeling pressure from consumer and labor groups for not doing more to ensure factory safety in Bangladesh, Walmart, Gap and numerous other retailers along with the nation's main retail federations are seeking to forge a new plan to promote safety in that country's apparel industry.

This effort, to be spearheaded by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit group based in Washington, was announced on Thursday, more than two weeks after dozens of retailers and apparel companies, almost all of them European, announced a far-reaching plan aimed at ensuring factory safety in Bangladesh.

Garment Industry Follows Threads Of Immigration Overhaul
May 31, 2013

In Los Angeles, the business of fashion is big. The apparel business employs as many as 45,000 workers in L.A. County, many of them immigrants.

Consequently, the garment industry is worried about the outcome of the immigration debate and watching closely to see what happens.

One of the heavyweights is American Apparel, which makes more than 40 million articles of clothing each year out of its factory near downtown L.A.

The clothing industry is notorious for employing illegal workers. American Apparel was forced to fire nearly one-third of its workforce—1,800 employees—after an immigration crackdown in 2009.