AAFA History
Earlier company descriptions, brand line-ups, store counts and photographs from the history of AAFA, kept for historical reference.
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The Company Description of Its Time
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 historical 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.
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.
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