'We Wear' is our new brand identity – AAFA

07 Oct '11

5 min read

Consumer Driven Market Share
When compared to other consumer industries, AAFA represents one of the largest consumer segments. For instance, each year, American consumers spend nearly $2.5 billion on deodorant and $15 billion on bottled water. They spend $20 billion on video games, $75 billion on fast food, and $130 billion on soda. They spend more than $340 billion on clothes and shoes – more than seven times what it costs to run the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The industry even outpaces the sales of new cars which account for around $175 billion each year.

Well-Paying Industry Jobs
In terms of employment, the U.S. apparel and footwear industry directly employs more than four million U.S. workers. These important jobs includes industry executives, textile mill workers, sourcing managers, wholesalers, retail floor associates, technical designers, and marketing professionals, just to name a few.

The industry also supports countless other U.S. industries, like the more than 37,000 transportation jobs it requires to move products from the port to the sales floor and the 235,000 dry cleaning jobs required to maintain and protect the industry's quality product.

And these are well-paying jobs. According to an AAFA/24Seven, Inc. survey conducted earlier this year, the median salary across the entire industry supply chain is $70,000. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly earnings for a worker in a U.S. apparel factory is $11.82 per hour.

The average hourly earnings for a worker in a U.S. apparel or footwear brand is $25.28 per hour and the average hourly earnings for a worker in the retail side of the apparel and footwear business is $14.38 per hour. Likewise, the average hourly earnings for a worker in transportation and logistics, a key link in the apparel and footwear supply chain, is $21.74 per hour.

What to Expect
In early November, AAFA will roll out a new Web site that is fully-integrated to improve the way the AAFA communicates with the industry and the way the industry communicates with Washington. Throughout the upcoming year, AAFA will also release new statistics and datapoints to reinforce the positive economic impact the industry has on the U.S. and global economy. AAFA is also planning to produce new tools, resources, and educational programs that will help the industry compete around the world.

Little Known Apparel and Footwear Facts
• While the United States accounts for one-quarter of total global apparel and footwear retail sales, the United States accounts for just five percent of the world's population. Global growth is a top priority for the industry.

• The U.S. military spends more than $2 billion each year on military apparel and footwear for U.S. servicemen and women around the world. It is the domestic apparel and footwear industry that produces these products under the Berry Amendment.

• In 2010, U.S. consumers bought 20.5 billion garments and 2.3 billion pairs of shoes. On average, every American spent more than $1,100 on 68 new garments and 8 pairs of shoes. 99 percent of the footwear and 98 percent of the apparel sold in the U.S. is produced globally.

American Apparel & Footwear Association

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