Next week is the SPESA (Sewn Product Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas) Expo, an expo for garment manufacturing technology and practices.

The actual garment manufacturing side of the fashion industry hardly exudes glamor, with a history that's remarkably similar to all manufacturing in America with tragedy, labor uprising, and now overseas manufacturing, which is significantly cheaper than producing it domestically. Currently, 95% of industrial sewing is done outside of the United States (Schmatta, HBO Documentary) with most garment production currently in China (Plunkett's Apparel & Textiles Industry Almanac 2008). The U.S. Census estimates that some labor sectors in the apparel industry will shrink at much as 600% in the next 10 years.

Garment manufacturing practices that have remained relatively unchanged since the industrial revolution are changing in a large part due to technology, which facilitates change in process leading to lean manufacturing, fast fashion, custom and mass custom apparel manufacturing. SPESA will cover it all.