From the Sector

National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas issued a statement, urging the government to institute Buy American policy changes to help bolster U.S. manufacturers producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If the government is sincere about reconstituting a U.S. production chain for medical personal protective equipment (PPE) to resolve the drastic shortages we are experiencing during the current pandemic, it is going to have to make key policy changes to help incentivize domestic production. A strong Buy American mandate for these vital healthcare materials needs to be instituted for all federal agencies, coupled with other reasonable production incentives, to help ensure a strong U.S.  manufacturing base for these essential products.

Our government already has an existing example of such a mandate that serves as an excellent model. The U.S. Department of Defense operates under a fiber-to-finished product Buy American rule for military textiles. This rule ensures that the vital textile materials our U.S. warfighters depend upon, come from a secure domestic production chain that cannot be severed during a military emergency by offshore entities.

There is a bipartisan call for action as members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have begun to acknowledge the need for these types of reasonable and essential policy changes.

Anything short of fully instituting domestic purchase requirements through Executive Order and other legislative initiatives will ensure that PPE production through U.S. supply chains that have been created overnight don’t evaporate as soon as this crisis is over.  

In the midst of the crisis, our failure to confront this challenge will allow for a repeat of the sins of the past that allowed sourcing agents to offshore the entire production of medical PPE in search of lucrative profits. While chasing the lowest cost import may have seemed cost effective at the time, these past few months have demonstrated that we paid a deadly price through this approach by jeopardizing the very lives of frontline medical personnel that are fighting the pandemic.   

This is a national security issue. It’s also a vital healthcare issue and it is decision time for U.S. policymakers. If our country is to be prepared for future deadly pandemics such as the one it is now facing, reasonable policy changes need to be implemented to ensure that we strengthen our domestic supply chain to address America’s security, safety and healthcare requirements.”

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers. 

Elevate Textiles, a global provider of advanced, high quality products and mission critical textile solutions is pleased to participate in the recently launched Gerber PPE Task Force. This industry-wide effort combines resources and expertise to support manufacturing operations and brands as they increase their production or transition their operations to produce personal protective equipment in the fight against COVID-19.
Elevate’s Burlington, American & Efird (A&E), and Gütermann brands provide critical barrier fabric and thread components used in the manufacturing of lifesaving PPE products including masks, isolation gowns and other medical garments.

"The only way to be successful during this difficult situation is to join forces and support one another," said Lenny Marano, VP of Product Management & Marketing for Automation Systems at Gerber Technology. "We are proud to have a global network of partners to support PPE production so that it's more widely available."

For over 40 years, Burlington has been in the Medical business manufacturing fabrics for use in operating theaters such as surgeon’s gowns, isolation gowns, sterilization wrapper packs, drapes, scrubs and lab coats. The Maxima® collection of fabrics is useful for reusable isolation and surgical gowns and meets AAMI standards for Levels 1-4 and FDA standards.

Coalition of Iconic American Apparel Brands & Textile Companies Heeds Call of Nation to Produce Medical Face Masks

A coalition of iconic American apparel brands and textile companies, responding to the urgent call of the White House for medical supplies, have come together to build a supply chain virtually overnight and fast-track the manufacturing of medical face masks to help hospitals, health care workers and citizens battling the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

Parkdale Inc.-- the largest yarn spinner in the U.S. headquartered in North Carolina—helped lead the effort to build the coalition with Hanesbrands, Fruit of the Loom and six other companies to set up a manufacturing supply chain and begin ramping up production of the masks.

The coalition consists of iconic American brands such as Hanesbrands and Fruit of the Loom, often competitors in the marketplace, who are banding together for the greater good of a nation facing one if its most monumental challenges.

American Giant, Los Angeles Apparel, AST Sportswear, Sanmar, America Knits, Beverly Knits and Riegel Linen are also part of the coalition working tirelessly to respond to a national emergency in the nation’s time of need.

Dr. Peter Navarro, assistant to the President and director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, worked with the coalition and helped expedite the production of these masks. The first face masks have been approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The companies expect to begin production on Monday and will make the first deliveries by mid-week.

They are dedicating their assets, resources and manufacturing capacities to create a high output of facemasks. Once fully ramped up in four to five weeks, the companies expect to produce up to 10 million facemasks per week in the United States and in Central America.

If companies are interested in dedicating resources to help the cause, please reach out to the National Council of Textile Organizations at kellis@ncto.org

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.
 

• U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.  
• The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.  
• U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.  
• Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.