Do you know where your clothing comes from? America consumes billions of dollars of apparel every year. Chances are, your apparel of choice wasn’t made in the United States, but thousands of miles away in countries such as China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

Over the last few decades, fashion has become a global industry, affecting manufacturers, workers, retailers, and consumers alike. While your choice of fashion may appear to be superficial, the questions surrounding the industry deal with important political, economic, and moral issues.

How is fashion affected by trade policies? Are tariffs effective in promoting domestic industry? Do free trade agreements help those who take part in them? Lawyers, law professors, and industry experts explore the complicated issues surrounding the apparel industry.

OFFICIAL SELECTION:
Fashion Film Festival Chicago

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Featuring:


- David Spooner, Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
http://www.btlaw.com/David-M-Spooner/

- Susan Scafidi, Fordham University School of Law
https://www.fordham.edu/info/23380/su...

-Augustine Tantillo, President & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations
http://www.ncto.org/about-ncto/ncto-s...

- Howard Deutchman, Meridian Textiles
http://meridiantex.com/

- Lee Sporn, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
https://www.olshanlaw.com/attorneys-L...

- Julia K. Hughes, President, United States Fashion Industry Association
https://www.usfashionindustry.com/abo...

Related Links:

The Federalist Society: Fashion & IP
   • Fashion & Intellectual Property  

National Council of Textile Organizations: U.S. Textiles By the Numbers
http://www.ncto.org/wp-content/upload...

Human Rights Watch: “Soon There Won’t Be Much to Hide”: Transparency in the Apparel Industry
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018...

Differing Views:

The Federalist Society’s Article I Initiative: Hon. Michael Lee: Article I Reform and the Global Trade Accountability Act
   • Hon. Michael Lee: Article I Reform an...  

The New York Times: The Case for Trump’s Tariffs and ‘America First’ Economics
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/op...

Public Discourse: Trump’s Tariffs and Why America Needs a Patriotic Case for Free Trade
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/201...

International Organization: Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression
http://pages.ucsd.edu/~ehafner/pdfs/t...

Textiles in the News (NTCO): 2018 State of the U.S. Textile Industry Address
http://www.textilesinthenews.org/2018...