American Apparel

This is the article I wrote for advertising agency thread:

Brands We Love : American Apparel

american_a_store

The T-shirt, an American icon, was once a no-brainer to buy: Simple, versatile, accessible. But along with asking "Do I look good in this T?" consumers are beginning to ask, "Where’s it made? What are the conditions under which this T-shirt was produced?"

Amongst the vast sea of garment makers that these questions are levied against; one company seems to have taken advantage of an opportunity by managing to the higher-ground values it has set for itself. American Apparel has become one of the fastest growing garment manufacturers in the U.S., while also managing to be socially responsible in its method of production.

We are fascinated with companies that utilize the power of brand strategy to differentiate themselves in a sea of competition. Some companies manage to their brand strategy – others do not. Most companies fail and we believe designing a brand strategy is a critical element of business success. American Apparel is a company that uses a core set of brand values to define themselves and the image imprinted in the minds of the American public.

In this thread segment, we interviewed stakeholders and analyzed the American Apparel brand. Unlike many stories that focus on AA’s ethical systems and methods, thread set out to examine the relationship between the AA customer and brand. Specifically, we are interested to learn from AA in order to shed light for business and marketing leaders and the companies they manage – industries abound. Though you are likely not in the Apparel Industry, we believe the lessons learned are far-reaching for any business leader. If you can take these lessons away from this segment and apply them towards your industry – we have succeeded.

History of the ‘American’ garment

Towards the end of the 19th Century Levis Strauss took Jacob Davis’ designs and mass-produced a work wear now known around the world. Sometime around 1958 the visual distinction between American Adult and American Child blurred. Instead of switching up to formality in there twenties a new generation kept to their jeans, their comfortable casual wear. It led to a classic era in the development of all American clothing.

A few of decades ago, the world over knew American clothing as the jean, the chord, the T Shirt and underwear. With these terms came the brands. Hanes covered people’s backside. Champion covered people from the sports field to the shopping mall parking lot before GAP and the sports brands took over. To get an idea of how these item’s permeated the world’s conscience, check the stock of any vintage store in any city from New York to Tokyo to Sydney to Berlin.

Misunderstanding customer demand

Somewhere, somehow American garment makers lost their way. Envious of how European jean brands were charging $120 when U.S. brands were only getting $25, American garment makers tried to emulate the European ‘collections’ approach and walked away from the American system where classic styles remained more constant over longer periods of time.

In order to cost effectively cater for frequently changing consumer tastes, the manufacturers moved their operations offshore. Today 83% of all clothing in the United States is imported and more than 30,000 U.S. textile workers lost their jobs in the past year and a half alone, according to the American Textile Manufacturers' Institute. Outsourcing has become such a concern today that it has become a centering topic in this year’s 2004 Presidential Election debate .

Along with worries about job loss, there are also concerns about working conditions overseas. All of a sudden consumers are beginning to feel responsible for the modern specter of sweatshops across the globe! Na'imah Boone a college graduate from New Jersey wrote in a web-article, “People want to wear clothes that are stylish and hip, which is why name brand designers make a substantial profit. Teens want clothes from GAP, Nike, and Bebe, and the average person is not concerned that the name brand t-shirt they just paid $30 for was made for 30 cents an hour in near-slave conditions.” Rachel in her Urban Dryad blog thinks, “The main problem…is that we as consumers are so separate from the people producing. We have no idea what goes on, which is convenient for companies that want us to buy without questioning.”

The fact is that sweatshops also operate on US soil too, but with a target audience of over 137 million Americans under the age of 35… who’s going to make a change?

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE

Posted by Guy Brighton on May 5, 2004 at 02:59 PM | Tags/Topics: | | (3) | | Add GB To Your News Feed

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Comments

great stuff... was just talking about American Apparel last night since my friend is starting a mommy couture line of T-shirts with suggestive slogans like "multiple o's" (multiple offspings).
Cute, huh!

Posted by: Niche at May 5, 2004 4:13 PM

Associated reads:

Posted by: Guy at May 5, 2004 4:45 PM

Associated Read No Sweat

Posted by: Guy at May 5, 2004 4:51 PM

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