AAFA - Fashion Company Profile

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. That single sentence from the original profile is the filing in full: AAFA is not a brand or a retailer but the industry's collective voice, and this page in the Apparel Search company directory records what the association is, how it was formed, and what it sets out to do for the companies that belong to it.

The association was formed in August 2000 through the merger of two highly regarded trade associations: the American Apparel and Manufacturers Association and Footwear Industries of America. Drawing from a broad, strong membership base, AAFA is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear, and other sewn products companies, which compete in the global marketplace. Its stated mission is to promote and enhance its members' competitiveness, productivity and profitability in the global market by minimizing regulatory, legal, commercial, political and trade restraints.

Two Associations Become One

The first predecessor, the American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA), was founded in 1960 as the national association representing U.S. apparel manufacturers. Though many believed the industry was too fragmented to make this possible, leaders of the Southern Garment Manufacturers Association, together with the National Association of Shirt, Pajama and Sportswear Manufacturers, formed an organization that represented every segment of the industry, regardless of company size, location, product line or type of distribution, and came to represent approximately 80% of wholesale apparel sales of U.S. companies, with members' plants in almost every state.

The second predecessor, Footwear Industries of America (FIA), had roots stretching back to 1869, serving as the only national association for footwear manufacturers, importers and distributors, and suppliers to the leather and allied trades. Its shoe company members sourced around the world, and its supplier members delivered materials and products for the leather and needle trades, including leather, chemicals, machinery, components, synthetics and textiles. FIA helped U.S. footwear companies grow through education, advocacy, research and networking - the same four tools the merged association carries forward.

How to Use This Profile

A trade association profile is used differently from a brand profile. AAMA's activities, as the original records them, included advocacy towards Congress and federal agencies as well as strong programs in economics, education, technology, government affairs, marketing, communications and industry relations, with industry executives pooling their resources and talent through the association's programs, committees and services. A company researching AAFA today is usually asking a practical question: who speaks for the industry on a regulation, a trade rule or a legal restraint that affects how apparel and footwear are made and sold?

This page's preserved routes reflect that purpose: upward to the Fashion Company Names directory and the Apparel Companies A hub, and across to the Apparel Search associations and footwear associations listings, the women's footwear guide, and the general apparel guide. The association's own website is carried in the References below, in the plain homepage form the original gave. Read the filing as history as well as directory: two associations, one founded in 1960 and one with roots in 1869, choosing in August 2000 to represent a globalizing industry with a single voice.

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