AARP Hearing Center
“When you bring together different generations, ethnicities and genders to imagine and execute a project, you send the message that all people have value. It promotes equity and inclusion.”
Garment manufacturing in the United States relies heavily on immigrant workers, but many are paid way below minimum range and work up to 12 hours a day without adequate breaks. In 2015 I launched Custom Collaborative, a workforce development and incubator program that trains women from low-income immigrant communities to launch careers as seamstresses, designers and even fashion entrepreneurs. Today our graduates are in high demand, and most have seen their income at least double.
The problem I’m trying to solve
In New York City the garment industry accounts for 14 percent of all manufacturing jobs; yet the immigrant workers employed in some of the factories are harshly exploited. Custom Collaborative aims to ensure that these women are afforded dignified, meaningful work and are paid a fair wage. Since 2017 we’ve enrolled 65 women in our Training Institute. Virtually all of them are minorities and have income below the U.S. poverty guidelines. When they graduate, our business incubator gives them access to a network of skilled professionals, training, equipment and marketing resources to give them the best shot possible at finding a decent-paying job.
Finally, our wholly worker-owned cooperative, Fashion That Works Production, enables participants to pool their resources and generate more income by selling to commercial clients. This is particularly important for women who don’t have a U.S. work authorization: Because it’s a cooperative, they can still legally earn income even if they’re undocumented.
