What California's new law means for garment workers and businesses

Nov 11, 2021
The law will guarantee an hourly wage for workers, but higher labor costs will put pressure on many small factories.
Garment worker Francisco Tzul has recently started working for a sewing contractor that pays an hourly wage rather than a piece rate.
Caroline Champlin/Marketplace

Are people ready to step out in rented clothing again?

Oct 19, 2021
Rent the Runway prepares for its IPO at a time when the logistics around delivery and consumer demand is still in flux.
Shoppers look through Rent the Runway's West Coast flagship store in San Francisco in 2019. The clothing rental business is aiming for a valuation of up to $1.5 billion.
Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Rent the Runway

"The past couple of months have been pretty crazy": How one clothing business grew in 2020

Dec 28, 2020
As her collections continue to sell out, Wanek is adjusting to increased demand for her clothing.
MoiseXVII via Getty Images

Small businesses prepare for the holidays amid the pandemic

Nov 25, 2020
Small business retailers are facing a holiday season like no other. Three owners share how they're preparing for the shopping season.
A worker decorates the Christmas tree at The Grove outdoor shopping center in Los Angeles on, Nov. 5.
Valerie Macon/AFP

How COVID-19 changed this U.S. clothing manufacturer

Oct 19, 2020
Los Angeles-based Lefty Production Co. became a PPE manufacturer to remain essential. But will the need for U.S.-made masks and gowns remain?
Above, a worker at Lefty Production in Los Angeles. CEO Marta Miller thinks brands ordering less inventory in the wake of the pandemic could help drive American manufacturing.
Ira Joffe, courtesy of Lefty Production Co.

As sales boom, Black business owner juggles two jobs

Sep 17, 2020
The push to support Black-owned businesses has meant exponential growth for Aliya Wanek's clothing line.
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

How are retail sales numbers higher than they were last year?

Aug 14, 2020
People are still shopping — just for different stuff.
A Florida man puts newly purchased wood into his truck. Sales at home and garden stores in July were up almost 15% over July of last year.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How clothing can be a 'tool of resistance'

Jul 14, 2020
From the suffragette movement to the Black Panther Party and "Black Lives Matter” T-shirts worn by protesters today, social movements and clothing go hand in hand.
Protesters with "Black lives matter" T-shirts at the San Francisco Hall of Justice in 2014.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How do Chinese employees get paid for February when they didn't work?

Apr 1, 2020
Most people in China are just getting paid wages for February and by law, employees are supposed to receive their regular salaries even when their companies were shut because of the coronavirus. Did they?
Workers in Shanghai are back on the roads as the Chinese economy tries to gear up again.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Rethinking the runway fashion show

Mar 2, 2020
Some designers and industry leaders are making their runway shows more environmentally friendly.
A model walks the runway during Paris Fashion Week.
Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images