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Garment Industry
Contents
History > Composition
of the Garment Industry > Dressmaking
> Dressmaking in the 1870s > Women's
Fashions in the 1890s > Department Stores and Changing Fashion
> Garment Industry in NYC Today
> Garment Labeling > Sweatshops
> Triangle Shirtwaist Factory > Sewing
Machine
Garment Labeling
Consumers' League of New York City
The Consumers' League of New York City was formed in the 1890s
as one of the first consumer groups to take an interest in problems
of sweatshops. Most of the members were white middle-class women.
Their objectives were to raise public and government awareness
about the poor working conditions of sweatshops and the potential
health threats to workers and consumers as a result of these conditions.
They saw poor working conditions in tenement sweatshops as hazardous
not only to the immigrants working in them, but also to the middle
class consumers who purchased these products. The unsanitary conditions
meant that middle-class consumers were at risk for buying clothing
contaminated with disease. The Consumers' League pointed out that
"to buy means to have power and to have power means to have
duties", and urged consumers to take responsibility by only
buying clothing made in safe and sanitary conditions. Labeling
was instituted so that consumers could tell what products were
made under favorable conditions. The National Consumers' League
was formed in the late 1890s and still exists today.
"Made in the USA" Standards
Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in charge of enforcing
the "Made in the USA" standards for labeling products.
The basic rule is that things marked or advertised as made in
the US be "all or virtually all" made in America. That
means that all significant parts, processing and labor that goes
into the product must originate in the US. They can include only
negligible amounts of foreign materials or labor. Textile, wool,
fur products and automobile manufacturers are the only ones who
must disclose US content of their products. The standard only
applies to other industries if they want to make the claim that
their products are "Made in the USA."
For most clothing and textile or wool household products, a "Made
in the USA" label is required if the final product was manufactured
in the US of fabric made in the US (it does not effect the claim
of the yarn or fibers used to make the fabric originated somewhere
else). If a garment is partially US-made and partially foreign-made,
then the labeling must reflect that. There are guidelines as to
where the label should be placed: if the garment has a neck, then
it should the label should be placed there, otherwise it must
be placed in another conspicuous place. Under the Buy American
Act, all products for government procurement must be at least
50% made in the USA.
"Made in New York"
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, members of the
apparel industry and elected officials worked together to create
the "Made in New York" initiative. Many garment factories
and retailers were damaged, closed or lost business as a result
of the attacks. Apparel is the retail sector most adversely affected
by the attacks, according to economists from Retail Forward, Inc.
Retailers and manufacturers are being asked to buy from NY garment
factories, and specially designed hangtags will be used to alert
consumers to clothing made in New York:
During the last three months of 2001, more than 700,000 garments
and accessories were produced in NYC and have the "Made in
New York" hang tag. Millions more will be produced through
2002.
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