where did that come from?

by Susan, Zoe Boutique

If you’ve been a longtime reader of Alexandria Stylebook or if this is your first time to visit our site, one thing you learn quickly is that we are all about shopping Local and all that Alexandria has to offer. But have you ever thought about what it might mean to take that a step further and REALLY “Shop Local” – focusing on items that are manufactured in the United States? Today, we’ll take you into the changes in the garment and footwear manufacturing industries over the last 40 years and show you that it is possible to “shop local” in every sense!

In the 1960s, the United States made 95% of the clothing and 98% of the shoes sold in this country. Today, according to a report from the American Apparel and Footwear Association, 3% of the clothing and 2% of the shoes sold in the US are made here. “If Americans bought just 1% more of products made in USA, it would create 200,000 jobs,” says Dave Schiff, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer for Made Movement, a marketing agency focused solely on American-made products. “The bottom line is when people buy things made in America, it’s good for America.” This quote comes directly from a 2013 Time Magazine article on the fight to save the Garment District in New York City.

No one can tell a better story about clothing manufacturing in the United States than Seema Sudan, the knitwear designer and founder of LiaMolly, a knitwear collection once carried at both Zoe Boutique and Kiskadee. In 2011, the Asian manufacturing facility that had produced the LiaMolly knitwear line was increasing the minimum orders from 300 pieces per style to 2000! For a company that sells to small boutiques like Zoe and Kiskadee, it was not going to be feasible to expand their market to this extent. I knew that LiaMolly had decided to bring their manufacturing back to the US and focus it in New Orleans (where the company is based). Having attempted other means of financing and being turned down, Seema turned to a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money to purchase a single knitting machine. Her campaign was successful and she started learning to operate the machine with the hope of continuing her own line and beginning to manufacture knitwear in Louisiana. Read additional details of her story here.

When I opened Zoe in 2011, my goal was to have at least 50% of the inventory in the store Made in the USA. Recently, I was working with My Fair Vanity, a blogger who focuses on companies that are making a conscious effort to choose their supplies mindfully or to ensure their workers have fair wages. When she told me that she would only wear things Made in USA, I started looking around the store and realized that almost 75% of our inventory came from US manufacturers! The New York City Garment District alone employs over 7,100 workers and contributes over $2 billion annual to the City’s economy. While New York and Los Angeles are the garment hubs for the United States, new manufacturing plants are sprouting up in Raleigh, North Carolina and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Many designers perceive that garments manufactured overseas save consumers money. But that cost saving comes at the cost of quality. I can personally speak to the fact that the items that I have at Zoe that are manufactured in the US are of a much higher quality. I am on a first name basis with many of the small US-manufactured designers carried at the store and they have all told me how nice it is to be able to supervise the creation of samples and the final products. They don’t have to wait weeks for a sample to come back and not be “quite right” or to receive a shipment and find it has a problem that causes every store to return it. And, if an item is selling well, the designer can often produce more when it is made domestically.

If you are one of the 78% of Americans who responded that they would rather buy items manufactured in the US (Consumer Reports 2013), many of our Alexandria Stylebook stores carry “Made in USA” items. From Alexis Bittar Jewelry at The Shoe Hive to Paige Denim at Kiskadee to Velvet by Graham and Spencer Tops and Dresses at Zoe, we offer you lots of opportunities to truly “Shop Local.”

Disclosure – My husband Jim is employed in the US Manufacturing industry. His work in a Northern Virginia based manufacturing company helps to provide equipment to manufacturing companies in the US and around the world. His travel to places like Horse Cave, Kentucky; Wichita Falls, Texas; and Cedar City, Utah means jobs for thousands of Americans. This is a personal passion of mine because I know what a difference it can make.

• Author Details

Susan Gerock

susan.gerock@shopatzoe.com