Made in North Carolina The Future of U.S. Apparel Manufacturing

The Facts

98% of clothing purchased in the U.S. is imported from abroad

Just 2% of clothing bought in this country is manufactured on U.S. soil.

And Datang, China, makes one-third of the world's socks.

Is Anything Made in America Anymore?

“All over the country in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, ordinary

people were worried about unemployment, increased

economic inequality, and the future of the United States in

a rapidly globalizing economy.”

A Brief History on Apparel Manufacturing…

In 1815, the first cotton textile mill was founded in Lincoln County, NC. In 1840, there were 25 cotton mills

By the turn of the century there were nearly 100.

In 1923, North Carolina overtook Massachusetts as the leading textile producing state

There were 293 mills in 1914

And by 1930, NC produced $190.9 million worth of textile products.

In 1970, Burlington Industries in NC became the worlds largest textile-manufacturing operation.

In 1992 North Carolina represented 16% of textile production.

what happened to U.S. apparel manufacturing?

  Technological advances    Imports of apparel and textiles   Increasing global competition   Introduction of cheap, overseas labor   High unemployment   Lower Education, No cross training   NO INNOVATION.

From 1997 to 2002 North Carolina lost 100,000 jobs in the textile industry and

70,000 more in the apparel industry.

Apparel and textile employment has

dropped 70% since 1996, and more than half of manufacturing

plants have closed.

Economists say that the age American clothing manufacturing is dead.

"I don't think this is where we should compete with China,

frankly. What we're good at is the production of advanced goods.”

- Bruce Katz, Brookings Institute

We disagree. We’re rebuilding.

  44 percent of US apparel jobs are in three States—California, North Carolina, and Georgia.

  Historically, North Carolina has led the other 50 states in textile production.

  And NC is still recognized as the headquarters for several major global textile marketing and manufacturing companies.

“While now we're largely a service-providing nation, we're still just a generation away from being a nation of producers. The question is:

What economic framework will help us reclaim those skills and that potential.”

INNOVATION COMMUNITY BUILDING

JOB CREATION ETHICAL MANUFACTURING

Meet School House We proudly design and deliver ethically

created and fashionably desirable “Made in America” collegiate clothing

We’re the fresh face of East coast apparel manufacturing And along with our partners, we’re building a

greener, homegrown supply chain.

From our cotton, yarn and fabrics

Cotton Grown in Northampton, Halifax, Edgecombe, Martin, Bertie, Lenoir, Sampson, Pitt, Wilson and Wayne counties

Yarn provider UNIFI, Inc - Greensboro, NC 1,974 jobs

Fabric Contempora Fabric - Lumberton, NC 150 employees

to Shipping & Packing

Boxes Box Board Products, Greensboro, NC 190 employees

Polybags Morrissette Paper, Raleigh, NC 182 employees

even zippers and screen printing

Zippers IDEAL Fastener, Oxford, NC 225 employees

Screen Printers Tees R Us, Rocky Mount, NC Innovative Ink, Morganton, NC 12 employees

We’re a small business creating business with suppliers and manufacturers in

North Carolina.

We support over 2,784 American apparel jobs

in NC across 10 companies

What's more, we’re proving ethical manufacturing can happen here, too.

Knit Goods Durham, NC 40 employees

MITTS NITTS

From a storied knit manufacturer that’s crafted sweaters for the armed forces

To a worker-owned sewing cooperative with Guatemalan roots in the mountains of

the Appalachians

Cut & Sew Morganton, NC 6 employees

OPPORTUNITY THREADS

WE ARE Moving beyond mass manufacturing.

- Providing employees a fair wage for their work - Committing to new labor constructs - Focusing on craftsmanship and quality - Cross training workers and honoring their craft

And creating products people care about and feel connected to.

WE ARE American Collegiate Craftsmanship.