Four states provided more than 70 percent of industry jobs: New York, California, Texas, and Connecticut.
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing apparel belts. Companies that produce all types of belts for clothing are grouped in this industry.
New York had the highest value of product shipments for this industry, followed by South Carolina, California, Florida, and Virginia.
St. John Knits Inc. of Irvine, California, and Lillian Vernon of Rye, New York, lead the industry.
In 1982, the industry employed 11,700 U.S. workers; by the late 1990s that number was down to roughly 5,000.
Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, together account for about 50 percent of the category's jobs.
New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have the most companies.
The American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) is the central trade association for the U.S. apparel industry. Throughout the 1990s, the AAMA represented three-fourths of the industry.
Nubuck suede has become an important material in the manufacture of apparel belts.
Leather belt shipments totaled $395.8 million in 2001, down from $408.8 million in 1997. Shipments of belts other than leather increased from $50.9 million to $84.5 million over the same time period.
Children's apparel production developed early in the twentieth century, concurrent with the emergence of the women's apparel industry.
It is difficult to provide an exact number of people working in the apparel accessories industry as it varies depending on the region, type of accessories, and size of companies. However, the industry employs millions of people worldwide, ranging from designers and manufacturers to retail staff and marketers.
The industry is concentrated in the auto-producing states of the upper Midwest and the defense and aerospace-oriented regions of California.