California Apparel News

In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., apparel companies of all sizes have joined in the relief efforts with unprecedented contributions to aid organizations.

Liz Claiborne has donated $1 million to benefit the families of rescue workers, police officers and paramedics killed while conducting rescue operations, while Saks Fifth Avenue and Limited and Intimate Brands have each contributed $1 million to the September 11 Fund. Employees at Donna Karan have started a DKI911 fund that will benefit employees whose family members were killed.

Los Angeles-based Guess Inc. released a statement noting that all of its employees’ donations are being matched by the company and distributed equally to three organizations: NY State World Trade Center Relief Fund, NY Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund and United Way 9-11 Fund.The company has posted a disaster relief link on its Web site for the public.

Susan Tenney, director of human resources and relief efforts coordinator for Guess, said, “Our whole goal throughout this event has been to respond immediately and be in the forefront of this tragedy.”

Industry Support

American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund spokesperson Mitch Hibbs said it’s not unusual for the apparel industry to be so involved in relief efforts. He said the apparel industry has always been an extremely important contributor in times of need.

“The apparel industry has given us the supplies to provide to relief workers,” Hibbs said. “We don’t usually accept clothing gifts on disaster operations. This one is truly unique and unprecedented.”

A total of around $199 million has been donated to the American Red Cross, although Hibbs said it was too early to estimate how much of that represents contributions from retailers, manufacturers, textiles suppliers and designers, but he offered, “The Red Cross has had an overwhelming response with retailers, who, perhaps, don’t mind parting with extra stock.”

Levi Strauss & Co., Sara Lee Corp. and Payless Shoe Source Inc. are among the apparel companies that contributed clothing and shoes to the relief efforts.

“The apparel industry has been very compassionate in these situations by providing clean T-shirts and socks, sweatshirts, jackets and boots, which help get the job done, especially on occasions when relief workers can’t go home to change their clothing,” Hibbs said.

Gap employees delivered fresh clothes, care of Old Navy, to rescue workers in New York shortly after the attacks. More than 20,000 long-sleeved American-flag T-shirts, 10,000 pairs of socks, 20,000 changes of underwear and 10,000 sweatshirts were hauled to nearby hospitals. The company also distributed 14,000 nylon anoraks to keep rescue workers dry when bad weather approached the city.

Guess shipped about 107 boxes of jeans, socks and T-shirts to rescue workers at the World Trade Center site, according to Tenney, who noted that owners Paul, Maurice and Armand Marciano have been extremely supportive and, in some cases, ingenious in their efforts to provide rescue workers with the proper necessities, including respirators and cell phones.

“The first things Paul said we need to send to the rescue workers were respirators,” Tenney said, adding that the company purchased them through one of their vendors.

DuPont Joins the Efforts

Wilmington, Del.-based textile giant DuPont has pledged to donate $5 million to assist the victims of the terrorist attacks and their families. The funds will be used toward education of the children of firefighters, police officers and other emergency-response workers through several charitable organizations, according to a statement from the company.

Carol Gee, the company’s global brand manager for apparel and textile sciences, confirmed that none of DuPont’s employees were affected directly by the event, but that everyone has had some connection to it and felt a severe loss as a result.

“The magnitude of the human suffering inflicted on innocent people through these senseless acts is almost beyond comprehension,” said DuPont chairman and chief executive officer Charles O. Holliday, Jr. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. We hope that these donations can in some small way help the loved ones of these heroic individuals as they begin the long and painful process of healing and moving on with their lives.”

For DuPont, part of moving on is aiding in recovery efforts. The company has taken special measures to produce materials and products including gloves and work shirts for rescue workers and even their canine assistants.

The company donated material made of its Kevlar fiber for 100 sets of dog booties to protect the paws of rescue dogs searching through debris.

DuPont officials say the company is readily taking advantage of its global apparel connections by working closely with manufacturers and textile mills, including Anon Mills, an East Coast-based textile manufacturer that has the capability of producing enormous quantities of American flags.

Offering Aid and Remembrance

The devastation of the attacks was felt particularly by San Francisco-based Gap Inc., which lost two employees, Ron Gamboa and Deora Bodley, who were aboard hijacked airplanes that were crashed by the terrorists on Sept. 11. The company plans to donate well over $1.5 million in cash and clothing over the next few weeks, according to a company spokeswoman.

Gap Inc. will donate an estimated $500,000 to the September 11 Fund, a fund set up by the New York Community Trust and the United Way of New York to direct financial resources toward the needs of victims and their families, and provide immediate support to the American Red Cross. The company also has set up a $10,000 memorial scholarship in Gamboa’s name. The scholarship will be distributed by the Boys & Girls Club in Santa Monica, Calif. In honor of Bodley, the company is contributing $10,000 to America Reads, a volunteer program that improves the reading skills of elementary students.

The company has also created the Gap Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, which will allow employees to contribute to services that will help those who need grief-support counseling in New York and Washington, D.C., and help the children of firefighters and police officers killed as a result of the World Trade Center’s collapse.

Old Navy is joining the many retailers that are encouraging patriotism with their apparel. The retailer has produced a limited supply of American-flag T-shirts to be sold in Manhattan and area stores. Proceeds from sales will be donated to the September 11 Fund.

Other manufacturers raising funds through the sale of special items include Los Angeles-based Average Joe Inc., maker of the Mica brand, which is producing a special line of T-shirts to raise funds for the Red Cross. The T-shirts will each have a hangtag reading “Made with Pride in the U.S.A.” Los Angeles-based accessories manufacturer Sarah Shaw Handbags is producing T-shirts and a wallet to raise funds for the Red Cross and will donate a portion of wholesale sales to the organization in the company’s retailers’ names. The company will also donate a portion of retail sales from the company’s Web site [www.shopsarahshaw.com] to the Red Cross.

Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike has also contributed to the relief efforts. Nike chairman and chief executive officer Phillip K. Knight announced that the company plans to donate $1 million to the American Red Cross, among other relief organizations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, by matching funds with contributions from individual Nike employees and factory partners in the United States and internationally.

The company also shipped products to agencies that would distribute them to rescue workers and volunteers. So far, Nike says it has contributed more than 14,000 T-shirts, 11,400 pairs of socks, 1,200 pairs of Nike ACG work boots, 1,000 towels, hundreds of shoes, warm-ups, jackets, sweatshirts and gym bags for rescue workers. The company estimates that it has contributed approximately $300,000 in company products.

In addition, Feng Tay and Pou Chen—the company’s partner factories in Asia—have donated $100,000 each to the relief effort.

“The events of Sept. 11 have touched employees here like no other single event that I have seen in my lifetime,” said Bob Speltz, global grants manager for the Nike Foundation. “Everyone wants to contribute or give back in some way. At Nike, giving back to the community isn’t part of what we do, it’s part of who we are.”