American Apparel & Footwear Association,update

 

SUBSCRIBE | ABOUT | EVENTS | ADVERTISE | JOIN April 21, 2026   Tonight, AAFA is celebrating 50 years of the American Image Awards in New York City, reflecting on those who have continued to shape our industry. In the meantime, here are the latest updates shaping apparel and footwear right now. AAFA Guide Introduces ‘Practical’ Steps for Workplace Heat Safety April 21: The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has published guidance focused on preventing workplace heat stress in the global apparel, footwear, and travel goods industries. Named the AAFA Guide to Protecting Workers from Heat Stress, the document sets out “practical and actionable” recommendations intended for use across supply chains. (Source: Just Style) U.S. AAFA Urges CARB to Align with Existing Emissions Reporting Outline April 19: The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), while responding to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) request for feedback on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting requirements under SB 253, urged the board to align with existing emissions reporting frameworks and ensure flexibility in the use of recognized standards. (Source: Fibre2Fashion) China Imposes New Rules to Block Foreign Companies From ‘Decoupling' April 14: ... The new rules build on Beijing’s existing efforts to prevent Western companies from avoiding goods from northwest China’s Xinjiang region, where researchers have cited evidence of forced labor, mass arrests and confinement to re-education camps targeting the region’s predominantly Muslim Uyghur population. (Source: New York Times) Trump Administration Takes Steps to Refund $166 Billion in Tariffs April 20: ...The Trump administration on Monday took its first steps toward returning more than $166 billion collected from tariffs that were struck down in February. Just over a year after imposing many of the duties, the government began accepting requests for refunds, surrendering its prized source of revenue — plus interest. For some U.S. businesses, the highly anticipated refunds could be substantial, offering critical if belated financial relief. (Source: New York Times) LISTEN: Hormuz Blockade Impacts and Trump's New Tariff Playbook  April 20: On this episode of the Trade Guys, Bill and Scott unpack the latest on the economic impacts of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. They also look at the Trump administration's efforts to implement tariffs under Sections 122 and 301. (Source: The Trade Guys) Revoking China PNTR May Lead to Higher Tariffs Borne by U.S. Firms: AAFA April 17: The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) recently urged the International Trade Commission (ITC) not to revoke the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status granted to China as the move would result in higher tariffs borne by U.S. companies. (Source: Fibre2Fashion) LISTEN: U.S. Study Flags Chemical Risks in Fake Fashion April 20: Speaking to Ecotextile Talks in a new podcast, Steve Lamar, the president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) explains how a new study found that more than four in ten counterfeit fashion products tested failed basic product safety standards. He said this raised fresh questions over the public health risks of fake World Cup replica kits and other bargain “deals” sold online in the run up to FIFA’s prestigious tournament. (Source: Ecotextile Talks) Cox’s Supreme Court Win Damaging—Not Fatal—to Copyright Owners April 20: The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Cox Communications Inc. case restricted the scope of platform liability for contributory copyright infringement, but did not immunize ISPs, e-commerce sites, or social media platforms that ignore piracy. The ruling increases the burden on rightsholders to enforce their copyrights, and may push them toward untested legal strategies or to lobby Congress for legislation expanding contributory liability. (Source: Bloomberg Law) A Half-Trillion-Dollar Problem: Inside Fashion’s Counterfeit Economy April 17: As counterfeit goods mimic authentic products with near-perfect precision and infiltrate resale platforms, brands and marketplaces are confronting a reality that is no longer about obvious knockoffs, but about indistinguishable replicas moving through legitimate channels. For nearly a decade, counterfeiting has held a foundational share of global commerce, consistently topping $450 billion a year, or roughly 2–3 percent of world imports, even as the market has evolved from street-corner knockoffs to platform-native supply chains optimized for speed and deniability. (Source: The Fashion Law) At last week's Global Supply Chain & Trade Conference in Baltimore, policy and industry leaders shared the latest developments in sourcing and logistics. Thank you to our host Under Armour, Inc. for having us, to every speaker, and to each of the sponsors making the conference a success! Interloop Industry Chat: In this AAFA Industry Chat, AAFA President and CEO Steve Lamar and Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Interloop Limited Fahid Hussain Kahlon, discuss how apparel brands can innovate under current industry pressures and build resilience in their supply chains. Watch here. New! Heat stress guidance: Last week, AAFA released the AAFA Guide to Protecting Workers from Heat Stress. The guidance is intended to provide practical and actionable recommendations that can be operationalized in supply chains to implement policies and procedures to both mitigate and prevent excessive heat days and to protect workers when excessive heat days do occur. Protecting workers in the apparel, footwear, and travel goods industry from extreme heat is becoming increasingly important as global temperatures and the incidence of heat stress in the workplace continue to rise. This publication builds on AAFA’s long-standing efforts to support fair labor practices for garment workers worldwide and specifically its work since 2024 to develop protections against heat stress in the supply chain and is open to all industry stakeholders for widespread sharing of best practices. It will be updated annually. For more on how to use this new open-industry resource, AAFA will host a briefing for all industry stakeholders on May 19 at 10:00 AM ET.   AAFA Members are also encouraged to stay tuned via the AAFA Social Responsibility Committee and AAFA Environmental Committee. Questions? Contact Nate Herman. Tariff refunds and supply chain updates: This week, members are eagerly focusing on utilizing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s first phase of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool in the Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal). AAFA is getting mostly positive feedback from members so far; however, more tips and anecdotes will be shared in Beth’s upcoming Trade and Custom Committee (TCC) notes and the next tariff call for members at noon ET on Monday, April 27.   Last week, AAFA was incredibly busy on the trade front. In addition to the event in Baltimore, the team: Submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) opposing the U.S. government's Section 301 tariff investigation on excess capacity, targeting 16 countries. Submitted comments to the International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding its investigation, Effects on the U.S. Economy of Revoking China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations Status. Delivered comments by the Joint Association Forced Labor Working Group on the U.S. government's Section 301 tariff investigation on forced labor.    For further updates and information, we invite members to participate in the next TCC meeting in Washington on May 5, followed by a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill on May 6. Questions can be directed to Beth Hughes.   To help stay on top of related trade and transportation activity, all members can join monthly Shipping Roundtables, next one hosted tomorrow (April 22 at noon ET) as well as talk to Membership about representation on AAFA’s Transportation Team, led by Audrey Clark.  Brand Protection updates: Coming up, AAFA has several engagements planned at the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition Annual Conference (IACC) 2026 from April 28 to 30 in Orlando, FL. At the conference, AAFA will lead meetings with platforms including Walmart, Meta, Shopee, Alibaba, Mercado Libre, and TikTok/TikTok SHOP as well as host a member dinner on Monday, April 27. If you are interested in attending any of these meetings during the conference, please reach out to Jennifer Hanks.   AAFA will also lead the next Brand Protection Council (BPC) call on May 12 which will be joined by  Conrad Wong (IP Attache covering Guangzhou and Southern China) and Qian (Kelly) Sheng (Program Specialist, The Office of Policy and International Affairs) from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s China Team. Tonight's American Image Awards: Warm congratulations to the 2026 American Image Awards honorees and a special thank you to the CFDA Foundation for ten years of partnership.   This year’s honorees are the visionaries behind the brands, ideas, and movements shaping fashion’s future. The 2026 recipients include: Fabletics as Company of the Year; Zac Posen as Designer of the Year; Avery Dennison as Global Innovator; Timberland as Fashion Maverick; AFIRM Group as Eco-Steward of the Year; Seth Campbell and Josue Solano of BBC International as co-recipients of the Trailblazer Award; and Ruben Toledo for the Icon Award. Follow along with #AmericanImageAwards tonight for key moments. Member Welcome: CreateME CreateMe is an AI robotics company pioneering automated manufacturing for soft materials, starting with apparel. Built on the belief that the Future of Fashion is Bonded™, the company has developed a unified platform that combines advanced robotics, proprietary adhesive bonding, and Physical AI to deliver a new standard of precision, consistency, and speed.   By replacing stitch-based construction with digitally applied adhesives and automated material handling, the platform enables localized, on-demand production that reduces waste, shortens supply chains, and improves recyclability by design. Core technologies include Pixel™ micro adhesive bonding, the MeRA™ robotic assembly system, and Thermo(re)set™ reversible adhesive science, advancements that make scalable, automated production possible within compact, localized facilities.   CreateMe partners with brands and manufacturers seeking to modernize how products are made. With more than 95 patents across robotics, adhesives, and Physical AI, the company is defining the infrastructure for bonded manufacturing globally. April-May   April 21 | In-Person: 50th AAFA American Image Awards April 22 | Online: Monthly Member-Only Shipping Roundtable* April 27 | Online: Webinar: Sustainability Claims & Biobased Verification April 27 | Online: Member-Only Call on Tariffs* April 29 | Online: Webinar: Prove It or Lose It: Affirming Supply Chain Traceability for Cotton and Beyond May 4 | Online: Webinar: Navigating IEEPA Tariff Refunds: What Apparel Importers Need to Know Now May 5 | Online: Briefing: Fibre Fragmentation with The Microfibre Consortium May 6 | Online: Webinar: Product Safety Starts Upstream: Preventing Compliance Failures at the Source May 18 | Online: AAFA Member-Only Call on Tariffs* May 19 | Online: Implementing the AAFA Heat Guidance May 20 | Online: Monthly Member-Only Shipping Roundtable* May 20 | Online: Webinar: What’s Changing in ESG Compliance: A Guide for 2026 and Beyond   *Member-only content Government Contractors Forum September 15 - 16 | Philadelphia, PA Visit our events calendar for all AAFA webinars, scheduled events, and member/committee calls.   Sponsorships are available for the Government Contractors Forum. All other sponsorships for 2026 are sold out. Plan early for 2027 and contact Megan Balkovic to discuss your preferred events and programs for next year. About the American Apparel & Footwear Association 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. Representing more than 1,100 world famous name brands, AAFA is the trusted public policy and political voice of the apparel and footwear industry, its management and shareholders, its more than 3.6 million U.S. workers, and its contribution of more than $523 billion in annual U.S. retail sales. AAFA drives progress on three key priorities: Brand Protection; Supply Chain & Sourcing; and Trade, Logistics, & Manufacturing. AAFA approaches this work through the lens of purpose-driven leadership in a manner that supports each member’s ability to build and sustain inclusive and diverse cultures, meet and advance ESG goals, and draw upon the latest technology. PRIORITIES | SOLUTIONS | ACCESS | ABOUT | EVENTS

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