To provide technical assistance and support
through telephone help lines and trouble-
shooting services to help solve day-to-day
business and equipment problems.
To provide networking opportunities.
During networking, members exchange
ideas, information, or services, forming an
inter-connected or inter-related chain of
communication.
One trade organization that relates to the
entire pipeline is The Fashion Group International
(FGI). It is a global, nonprofi t professional
association of women executives who represent
every segment of the industry. To be eligible to
be sponsored for membership, a woman must
have a record of achievement and executive
•
•
level success in the fashion business. Members
include fashion designers, magazine editors, retail
executives, and other fashion professionals.
The Fashion Group International was founded
to exchange information, ideas, and resources that
are benefi cial to member careers and the industry.
It is a powerful network of women in the industry.
See 4-22. The Fashion Group International is
headquartered in New York City and has regional
chapters in fashion centers around the U.S. and
the world. Local chapters have their own meetings
and activities, and send representatives to
meetings of the worldwide group.
The American Society of Interior Designers
(ASID) is a strong and active trade association
of home fashions professionals. The society
tries to maintain high standards among interior
designers. It has specialized groups within the
overall organization, such as for commercial/
offi ce interiors.
The main trade association for industrial
textiles is the Industrial Fabrics Association
International. An annual symposium, called
“Techtextil,” is coproduced by Textile World
Magazine and the Association of the Nonwoven
Fabrics Industry.
The main trade group for the home sewing
industry is the Home Sewing Association
(HSA). A sub-group of HSA is the American
Sewing Guild, which has ongoing programs
among its many local chapters of home sewers.
Besides a publication to home sewers from
the organization, there are many fashion and
craft sewing magazines, mainly from pattern
companies. Also, fabrics are sold from swatched
mailings, and mail order catalogs offer notions
and gadgets of interest to home sewers.
Other trade associations will be discussed
throughout this text with the specifi c subject
matter that applies to each group.
Trade Publications
Trade publications are magazines,
newspapers, and books that deal specifi cally with
a certain industry or segment of an industry. They
keep companies and employees informed about
their trade. Several trade publications of the past
have merged into one strong voice about their
segment of the industry. Others now disseminate
industry news and information to their distribution
list, and anyone else interested, over the Internet
T
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t
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e
A
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Fiber production American Fiber
Manufacturers Association
American Yarn
Spinners Association
National Textile
Association
Council of Fashion
Designers of America
National Retail Federation
Direct Marketing
Association
American Apparel &
Footwear Association
Yarn production
Fabric
manufacturing
Fabric finishing American Association
of Textile Chemists
and Colorists
Apparel designing
Retail activities
Consumers
Apparel
manufacturing
and sales
Major Textile/Apparel Trade Associations
4-21 Most of these trade organizations are
known in the industry by the fi rst letters of
the names in their titles. At the end of the
pipeline, there are several advocate groups
(not indicated) that represent consumer
rights and/or protection, even though
individuals may not be actual members of
these groups.
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