WEAR LA

Creating an ethical garment industry by supporting small businesses in the City of Los Angeles

Background

WEAR LA empowers garment workers and ethical small garment businesses by bringing together Los Angeles city stakeholders to support the advancement of one of the city’s largest creative economies. LA is home to the nation’s largest apparel manufacturing hub, employing over 20,000 skilled garment workers and serves as a critical center for domestic fashion production generating $1.5 Billion in revenue. To retain this essential industry, support quality job growth, and capitalize on emerging policies, theCity of Los Angeles must act now.

WEAR LA will develop initiatives that expand good job opportunities in the garment industry by ensuring more factories are operating under ethical conditions, especially while producing Olympic merchandise and goods for the City of LA. Workers deserve a dignified wage and future generations deserve access to these opportunities as the Olympics International Organizing Committee generates billions of dollars in revenue in their city.

The Problem

This vital industry now faces a paradox. Global instability—driven by disruptive tariffs and climate-related supply chain issues—presents a historic opportunity to reshore production and invest in Los Angeles. Major brands are actively seeking ethical, stable, and tariff-free manufacturing partners. Simultaneously, this opportunity is threatened by violent immigration enforcement tactics as well as local inaction.

The industry as a whole is trapped in a race to the bottom driven by global volatility and unfair competition from bad actors. Local ethical businesses are caught in this trap. They cannot compete on price against sweatshops, they lack the infrastructure and resources to navigate tariffs, rising material costs, and compliance burdens, and they are left without a support system from the City. Currently, the average wage for garment workers in this industry is $8.45 per hour and the average work week is 54.3 hours long. Wage theft and exploitation are not the root of the problem; they are the predictable outcome of a system that rewards the lowest-cost producer and punishes those who try to do the right thing. The City’s role, therefore, is not just to punish bad actors but to create a market and infrastructure that makes ethical production economically viable. That is the problem WEAR LA is designed to solve.

The Solutions

Major events like the 2028 Olympics represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break this cycle. LA28 is expected to generate billions of dollars in procurement spending on apparel, uniforms, and merchandise. The City of LA spends millions of dollars on apparel goods. These public dollars should not replicate the same race to the bottom that has devastated the industry. Instead, the City and LA28 can use their purchasing power to create a stable, sustainable market for high-road businesses and the workers they employ.

The City must build lasting infrastructure to support this industry by supporting the following:

#1. The City of LA must hire a “Garment Industry Intermediary” within the Community Investment Department (CID) to oversee LA City’s work with the Garment and Fashion Industry

In May 2023, the LA City Council created a task force to support the local garment industry, following advocacy by the Garment Worker Center (GWC) and Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez (CD1). The task force, formed in September 2023, brought together diverse stakeholders, including garment workers, ethical businesses, property owners, city departments, and county representatives. The task force developed recommendations to strengthen the industry, culminating in the LA’s Garment & Fashion Industry Pilot Program.

Since then, the pilot program has been at a standstill. A “Garment Industry Intermediary” role would be tasked with assisting emerging and existing garment businesses in thriving and remaining in LA, as well as attracting new businesses to the industry. This role would focus on:

Creating a campaign and website that promotes ethical, local designers, manufacturers, and creative entrepreneurs and elevates the industry’s history, services and talent
Seeking private funding for the City to work with the Garment Worker Center to co-develop an upskilling program and pipeline to employment including through worker ownership and apprenticeship programs for future generations of garment workers
Overseeing industry incentive programs that support businesses in scaling up production and upskill workers
Coordinating program development with WorkSource and BusinessSource centers
Supporting data collection and analysis on the industry to identify future policy needs

CD14’s Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has presented a motion asking the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to report on the feasibility and cost of adding one Management Analyst I position within the Community Investment Department (CID) to oversee the City’s work with the Garment and Fashion Industry. While we applaud these initial efforts, LA’s garment workers deserve meaningful progress and tangible results. Mayor Bass and Councilmember Jurado must prioritize this motion and support the creation of this critical role.

#2. The City of LA must create a “Made in LA Program” which sets aside a portion of the City’s purchasing budget to purchase apparel goods manufactured ethically in LA

On May 5, 2026, LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell introduced a motion directing the Internal Services Department and the Department of Economic Opportunity to design a twelve-month pilot that uses the County’s $6–8 billion in annual purchasing power to support local manufacturers meeting responsible labor standards.

The Garment Worker Center is working closely with the county to design the requirements of the program ensuring that local manufacturers who pay fair wages, use sustainable practices, and follow health and safety standards are rewarded these county contracts. LA City has the power to do the same! The City of Los Angeles spends upwards of $9.2 million a year purchasing apparel goods. Those dollars should be pipelined directly to local businesses!

LA City should follow the leadership of the County and create a “Made in LA City” Program that funnels public dollars to local, responsible garment businesses. It is imperative that the City ensure our tax dollars go to garment manufacturers who adhere to labor laws and pay fair wages. Wage theft continues to be pervasive in the garment industry and the Garment Worker Center and its partners are eager to partner with the City to combat labor violations and uplift businesses doing the right thing!

#3. The City of LA and LA28 must commit to purchasing 2028 Olympics Merchandise from responsible local apparel manufacturers

The 2028 Olympics are expected to generate billions of dollars in procurement spending across many industries including apparel manufacturing. Mega brands such as Nike and Ralph Lauren have signed deals valued at up to $200 million with LA28 to produce US athletes’ apparel and footwear, yet these brands are not required to purchase from local and ethical manufacturers. LA28 has identified a need for vendors who can produce sheets, uniforms, and towels. Although there is great potential to funnel these contracts directly to apparel manufacturers in LA, LA28’s procurement plan includes a loose target of ensuring 75% of their procurement spending goes to “the Greater Los Angeles region” and only 25% to small business. This is not enough and misses the mark in supporting some of the City’s lowest wage earners.

If LA City is hosting a mega event that creates sweeping impacts for the city and its residents, workers and local businesses absolutely must be intentionally and meaningfully included in the process and distribution of contracts and benefits. The Garment Worker Center and its allies call on LA28 to:

Require apparel manufacturing procurement contracts go to garment manufacturers in the City of LA where garment manufacturing is most concentrated
Ensure all procurement is sourced from ethical and responsible manufacturers with:
1. No outstanding wage claims
2. Valid registration with the state of California
3. Current workers compensation insurance
4. Dignified wages of $25 an hour

WEAR LA calls on all LA City Council offices who desire to purchase LA28 apparel for their staff to purchase exclusively from ethical and responsible garment manufacturers in the city of LA. The Alliance for Responsible Apparel Manufacturing and Purchasing (ARAMP) is a coalition that bridges the gap between ethical garment manufacturers and institutional purchasers committed to responsible sourcing. ARAMP would serve as a partner to LA28 and the City by identifying, vetting, and connecting high-road employers who meet the above criteria to produce Olympics merchandise.