Outside View: ‘Let’s Bring Back Jobs That Offer Skill, Stability and Dignity’

I built my American fashion business by hand. These tariffs might take it down.

Over the past 28 years, I’ve built my business in America from the ground up, with a deep belief in craftsmanship, creativity and the power of domestic manufacturing. I’ve chosen, over and over again, to produce here in the U.S., even when it would have been cheaper and easier to do otherwise. Today, more than 85 percent of our garments are cut, sewn and finished right here. We’re part of the mere 2 percent of clothing sold in America that’s actually made in America. But now, we’re in danger of becoming 0 percent.

My company, Lela Rose, and the people we employ across multiple U.S. states, are facing an existential threat, not because of consumer shifts or market competition, but because of the tariffs that were first instituted by the current administration. The policies carried forward have left us in a state of uncertainty, as we’ve scrambled to interpret what we’re being charged with, why and when. The rules change by the day, and often retroactively. It’s like trying to run a marathon while the course is being redrawn mid-stride.

Here’s what’s important to understand: while we produce our garments in the U.S., components that make up those garments largely come from abroad — not by choice, but out of necessity. The U.S. simply does not manufacture most of the pieces that go into our products, starting with fabrics, because the mills that specialize in these crafts have been established over generations elsewhere. Specialty textiles are woven often in Italy, France, Japan or China.

But it’s not just limited to novelty, as linings, threads, snaps, zippers and even the hangers we ship the products on largely come from outside the country, due to there being no functioning supply chain for them here. We’ve scoured this country for alternatives, and they don’t exist at the level of quality or scale that we need. And in many cases, they don’t exist at all. Where we might be able to find a domestically produced hanger for six times the cost of the same item produced elsewhere, the question becomes, “Is that a cost our customers want to or should have to bear?”

The most devastating blow is a proposed 145 percent increase, on top of the existing tariffs and duties, on imported knit garments. Here’s what that looks like in real life. Seasonally, we place a knitwear order of around $300,000 with a long-standing overseas partner. That is a category we cannot make here in the U.S., not only due to lack of infrastructure, but also because the technique used only exists in China. When that order lands in the U.S., we’re now being told we must pay an additional $435,000 in tariffs due immediately. That means what used to cost us $300,000, now costs us $735,000 — four times a year. That’s not a manageable markup — it’s a cash flow death sentence for a small business.

This isn’t money paid by the exporting country — these tariffs are paid entirely by us, the American company, which then gets passed along to our customers, to our employees, and to the towns and cities where we do business.

We’re not some faceless brand — we’re a community comprised of 50 New York-based employees that specialize in design, patternmaking, cutting and sewing, sales, marketing, logistics, e-commerce, customer service and the list goes on, and that is only our immediate office. Beyond this, two of our U.S. factories rely on us as their only client. If we go under, they do too. That means job loss not only for the people who sew our garments, but for the delivery drivers, fabric vendors and packaging suppliers whose work supports ours. These are the hidden hands behind American-made fashion. Their livelihoods hang in the balance.

The truth is small businesses don’t operate in isolation. We support entire ecosystems — local economies, family-owned factories and multigenerational skill sets. I learned this firsthand, during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were moments when the headwinds were so strong, I truly considered walking away. But each time I looked around, I saw the ripple effect that would follow — not just inside our company, but far beyond it. I thought of the hundreds, if not thousands of people whose work and income are tied to ours. The tentacles of a small business are long. You may not see them all, but when one link breaks, the whole chain suffers.

I believe in bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. I’ve spent my career proving that it can be done. But you cannot restore American industry by destroying the very businesses that have stubbornly stayed here. We cannot simply wish manufacturing infrastructure back into existence — and we certainly cannot expect it to manifest in a matter of hours or weeks. Much of it, especially for knitwear, hand-embroidery and technical trims, left this country decades ago and is no longer available at scale or quality domestically.

Instead of levying arbitrary tariffs, let’s talk about real solutions: investment in domestic manufacturing infrastructure, workforce development and incentives for innovation. Let’s bring back jobs that offer skill, stability and dignity. If we truly want to revive American manufacturing, we need to support the businesses doing the work, and not punish them for participating in the only global supply chain available, because right now the system is stacked against us — and we’re running out of time.