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Mission Statement

Save the Garment Center’s mission is to Promote, Preserve, and Save New York City as Fashion Capital of the World

Save the Garment Center is a trade association devoted to promoting New York’s Garment District, and the fashion companies or brands who use it. In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the US was Made in the US. Now, that figure is down to just 5%. 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.

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.

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 District from being pushed out of the district, or having to shut down all together. In 2009 Save the Garment Center became the 501c6 trade association it is today.

As a trade association, 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.

 

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