Retail executives are silent as the government gains more control over the fashion industry.

Baseball stories, like retail interactions, can be fun — great ballplayers go out on the field, make the right choices, and play with inspiration — trying to lead their team to a winning streak.

The best way to explain this situation is:World Health OrganizationFirst base was a baseball player.what“It was the player on the second one.”I do not know“Managing the player was the third base, and tomorrow It was the pot. Then Lou Costello said, “Now I’m going to throw the ball to first base World Health Organizationhardly ever The man runs to second base because he drops the ball. World Health Organization He picks up the ball and throws it up. what. what He throws it up I do not know. I do not know He throws it back tomorrow – Triple Play” in the famous Abbott and Costello routine.

Unfortunately for fashion retail, many industry executives have opted for baseball’s more muted approach to the game. Recent legislation by state and federal lawmakers has quietly angered retail executives. Most of these retail fashion leaders want to talk about being good corporate citizens or how their respective companies are responding to new laws (which clearly disrupt their day-to-day operations). (To all who are paying attention) They also discuss future legislation that may be headed their way in a gesture of fair cooperation. Perhaps they fear criticism of the “brand” because no one is really asking, “How do we stop this legislative nonsense — and how do we get the federal government off our backs?” Responsible companies already know their mission and have it deeply embedded in their corporate culture.

On May 12^Th This year, hailing from the fashion capital of the world – New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand dropped the original. Law of cloth (FEmbarrassing AAccountability and building RIl noInstitutional Changing) with significant publicity and little congressional support. The bill has four sponsors (so far): three liberal Democrats – Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and one very liberal independent – (Bernie Sanders (I). For a vote, they pressed incentives to restart the garment assembly business, made the law even scarier, required garment manufacturers to register with the federal Department of Labor, and the bill would allow fines of up to $50 million for violations related to paying any factory less than the federal minimum wage, as well as creating a “garment industry subsidiary” within the Department of Labor. Creates a new job category called “Writer”.

If Senator Gillibrand’s law did not attract the attention of the retail community – in July, the US House of Representatives launched their version. Law of cloth As proposed by Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Deborah Ross (D-NC). It’s fair to say that Congresswoman Maloney was previously a candidate for New York’s Garment Center and is currently in a fierce battle with Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-N) for a redistricted congressional seat in New York. The congresswoman may have pushed for Senator Gillibrand’s side of the bill because the bill would easily get strong support from labor unions — who voted in the primary.

Legislation like this always seems exciting on the surface (especially with the help of well-crafted media outlets), but when industry insiders dig into the details, it’s easy to see how easily these new bills kill the golden goose. Egg. According to data, there are about 100,000 sewing jobs in the U.S., with the most jobs in California and New York. Both states have high minimum wage laws (around $15 an hour). Typically for garment manufacturing, the key is a “piece rate” that allows for greater productivity (in terms of units operated per day). When the federal bill requires a shift to an hourly rate (from a piece rate), production locations may be driven from states with a higher minimum wage to states with a lower federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour). Strange as it may seem, you may have a certain amount if the California bill and Gillibrand’s bill (actually) have a collective bargaining agreement (which tells you a lot about the forces driving the legislation).

In addition to the federal laws, New York State surprisingly came up with its own version of regulating the fashion industry – the so-called “fashion law” proposed by state senator Alessandra Biaggi. Interestingly, Senator Biagi is now in a heated political race for a seat in Congress with (re-districting) Federal Representative Sen. Patrick Maloney (D-NY) of New York. Biaggi’s bill specifically targets companies over $100 million doing business in New York and requires them to map 50% of their supply chain and list the goods they manufacture. It also mandates that workers’ average wages be listed on a list of preferred suppliers — along with wage comparisons between the local minimum wage and the living wage. Even worse, any citizen can file a civil lawsuit against a person or business suspected of violating this law — and face hefty fines.

It’s been clear since Trump’s tariffs were introduced that the US government wants fashion retailers to stop buying from China. However, according to the latest government data, 37% of clothing products still come from China, and it is not an easy task for retailers to quickly get out of their supply chain. In the year In the year In August 2019, former President Trump tweeted: “We don’t need China, and we’re honestly better off without them. Our major American companies are ordered to immediately find an alternative home for China, including bringing your companies home and manufacturing in the USA.

There is another issue that the former president constantly ignores (or forgets) when he talks about the HOME front – the feds passing a clothing wage bill for the private sector. By law, every piece of clothing made for the U.S. military must be manufactured entirely in the United States. However, the federal government quietly maintains an independent corporation called Unicor, which is often owned by the military and pays its workers (prison inmates) $23 to $1.15 an hour to make the uniforms. Their 2021 sales in the area (such as apparel and textiles) are listed at $127,956,000. UNICOR is part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the US Department of Justice. UNICOR’s reality begs the question of what is good for the gander – it should be equal for the lynx. Unless it’s the goose that rules the wage rules.

When Biden’s team took over in 2020, the industry hoped the new administration would be rational about the fashion business world. So far, there is no relief from Biden’s anti-trade positions and the situation is only getting worse. At first, the administration decided to “study” all the tariffs. Then, they failed to get Congress to renew the General Election System (GSP) program. Then, they target “hot spot” countries that are at risk of losing trade benefits (as a conflict resolution tool). Then Tim Biden pulled the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from Ethiopia and threatened Nicaragua with losing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). For them, there is a military takeover in Myanmar that could undermine GSP. US ports are still a mess, contract negotiations have yet to be finalized, and many of the rail terminals aren’t much better. Containers arriving from China can be seized or returned within 30 days – if the importer cannot demonstrate that the goods were not made with forced labor – under the recently passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

Apparel retailers and brands are constantly working to protect the environment, local and international garment workers, and know about manufacturing in “hot spots” around the world. The current problem is that too many new laws continue to be proposed, and it is clear that retail executives are becoming numb to the attack – maybe everything will finally calm down and maybe the situation will improve.

For every inch retail gives to the government – it creates two new inches of disruption and three inches of inflation. At this time, the entire fashion industry must come together and call out the forces that are trying to control it too much. Currently, the government is playing the lawnmower on the newly sown lawn for the industry.

The fictional anchorman Howard Beale (in the 1976 film network) – encouraged everyone to stick their heads out of the window and shout:I’m pissed as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Howard Belem says:Things have to change. But first you have to be crazy!“