Save the Garment Center
| Founded | 2007in New York City |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit, Interest group |
| Fields | Preserving fading Garment District |
| Website | http://www.savethegarmentcenter.org |
Save the Garment Center was started in 2007 as a grassroots campaign by factory owners Samanta Cortes, Anthony Lilore, Paul Cavazza and Larry Geffner. This campaign was in response to City Hall’s plans to lift the 1987 zoning laws that had protected the leases of the Garment Center fashion tenants for the past 23 years. Save the Garment Center’s initial goal was to keep the manufacturers and suppliers in New York’s Garment Center from being pushed out of the district, or having to shut down all together. In 2009 Save the Garment Center became a 501c6 trade association.
In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the U.S. was manufactured in the Garment Center, now that number has decreased to approximately 3%. Despite this drastic decline, there are still 846 fashion companies headquartered in New York City, which is more than London, Paris, and Milan combined. New York City is the fashion capital of the world, and the Garment Center continues to make that possible. The existence of the Garment Center continues to be threatened by new development and production outsourcing. These pressures have resulted in the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs and cripples New York City’s ability to serve as the epicenter of research and development for fashion. As an organization we seek to reverse this trend by supporting and advocating on behalf of this culturally and economically important ecosystem of factories, suppliers, and designers to ensure its survival. STGC promotes fashion companies and brands who design and produce quality clothing in the Garment District and in New York City. There are 24,000 apparel manufacturing jobs in New York City that make this domestic clothing production possible, and STGC creates transparent access to all of these resources for the future designers of America. These resources enable new fashion entrepreneurs to start a business and a fashion line leading to the creation of American jobs. Whether you are an established or emerging designer, a consumer, a fashion junkie, or simply a concerned American citizen, we ask you to join us in supporting New York’s Garment Center. We support factories, suppliers, and designers through education and advocacy. We are ambassadors to all programs that support and create awareness for our members. There is no other Garment Center in the world like ours. The Garment Center is the soul of Midtown Manhattan, and the backbone of the NYC fashion industry. To learn more about the history of the Garment Center, its importance, and how it can be revitalized retaining fashion design and manufacturing at its core, please read Made in Midtown and “Making Midtown: A New Vision For a 21st Century Garment District in New York City,” both reports produced by The Design Trust For Public Space in partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America. You can also read The Municipal Arts Society report “The Garment District New York City 2011 Report“.
References
External links
- Bleyer, Jennifer (2 December 2007). "Pins and Needles". New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
- Perez, Magdalene (18 July 2007). "Activists hope to save Garment Center". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
- Murray, Heather (19 December 2008). "Garment District’s fashion future hanging by a thread". Chelsea Now. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
- Pinson, Laurel (24 December 2008). "Save the Garment District?". The L Magazine. Retrieved 29 December 2008.