SAVE OUR JEANS!

Pending Trade Legislation May Halt Downslide of U.S. Denim Textile Industry


Let’s talk about jeans – that iconic American garment which started as clothing for the American working class – cowboys, farmers, construction workers, mechanics, and laborers.  Produced in the U.S. since the 1830s from sturdy, almost indestructible denim, jeans have become both a symbol of American youthful defiance as well as a nod to high fashion.

Now, the question—How American are your jeans?  Since the 1980s, the United States has been losing its dominance over the worldwide denim fabric industry.  Victims of competition from foreign manufacturers, higher production costs, and a shrinking demand for denim, American denim companies are being forced to cut output and close local production facilities. To survive, U.S. companies are entering into joint manufacturing ventures and outsourcing their operations to foreign countries.  The result: thousands of U.S. mills and manufacturing jobs lost.

Save our jeans! Currently pending before the U.S. Congress is a trade legislation bill known as the Save Our Industries Act of 2011 (HR2387, a.k.a. SAVE Act).  Given the current global economy, this legislation is just what we need to keep jeans as American as apple pie.  The reduction and elimination of taxes on apparel coming from the Philippines will help the interdependent textile and apparel industries, as well as lower the cost of imported jeans, making them more affordable and cheaper for you, the jeans-lover!

The process begins in the U.S., where textiles (denim and other fabrics) are manufactured. These fabrics will then be sent to the Philippines where, under the skilled hands of Filipino garment workers, they will be made into fashion-forward, embroidered, and embellished jeans.  The finished garments are then shipped back to the U.S., to fuel America’s ongoing romance with jeans - flared, straight-legged, boot cut, or tapered.

It’s a win-win: For the first time, U.S. manufacturers will be able to export denim and other fabrics to an Asian market thereby creating new jobs in the U.S textile sector.  In the Philippines, thousands of apparel-making jobs will be preserved.  Both countries have enjoyed deep historical and cultural connections for the past four decades.  The SAVE Act will initiate a much-needed trade partnership especially during these days of crippling global economic conditions.

To learn more about the SAVE Act, visit www.saveourindustriesact.org

To let Congress know what you think of the SAVE Act, go to http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h2387 or http://www.popvox.com/bills/us/112/hr2387