I encourage everyone to watch the two short videos above, which provide an excellent wrap-up for FASH455 and remind us of the meaning and significance of our course.
Firstly, I hope students can take away essential knowledge about textile and apparel trade and sourcing from FASH455. As you may recall from the videos, in FASH455:
- We examined the phenomenon of globalization and the debate regarding its profound social, economic, and political implications.
- We discussed various trade theories and the general evolution pattern of a country’s textile and apparel industry and its close relationship with that country’s overall industrialization process.
- We further explored three primary textile and apparel supply chains in the world (namely the Western-Hemisphere supply chain, the flying geese model in Asia, and the phenomenon of intra-region textile and apparel trade in Europe).
- Last but not least, we looked at unique and critical trade policies that matter significantly to the textile and apparel sector (e.g., the U.S.-China tariff war, the yarn-forward rules of origin, forced labor and UFLPA and the most recent de minimis debate) as well as the complicated factors behind the making of these trade policies.
Whether your dream job is to be a fashion designer, buyer, merchandiser, or marketing analyst, understanding how trade and sourcing work will be essential and beneficial to your future career, given the global nature of today’s fashion industry. And indeed, apparel trade, sourcing, compliance and trade policy offer exciting career opportunities for our college graduates, both in the public and private sectors.
Secondly, I hope FASH455 helps students shape a big-picture vision of the fashion apparel industry in the 21st-century world economy and provides students a fresh new way of looking at the world. Throughout the semester, we’ve examined many critical, timely, and pressing global agendas that are highly relevant to the textile and apparel industry, from how to effectively expand near-shoring from the Western Hemisphere, and the debate on the textile and apparel provisions in U.S. free trade agreements to the controversy of forced labor in the apparel supply chain. As the fashion industry moves toward sustainability and non-conventional factors like geopolitics play a more significant role in fashion companies’ sourcing decisions, we might see apparel sourcing and trade patterns continue to evolve substantially.
Therefore, it is critical to keep in mind that we wear more than clothes: We also wear the global economy, international business, public policy, and trade politics that make affordable, fashionable, and safe clothes possible and available for hardworking families.
Thirdly, I hope FASH455 can put students into thinking about why “fashion and apparel” matters. A popular misconception is that “fashion and apparel” are just about “sewing,” “fashion magazines,” “shopping” and “Project Runway.” In fact, as one of the largest and most economically influential sectors in the world today, the fashion industry plays a critical and unique role in creating jobs, promoting economic development, enhancing human development, and reducing poverty. For most developing countries, textile and apparel typically account for 70%–90% of their total merchandise exports and provide one of the very few opportunities for these countries to participate in globalization. Likewise, maintaining a robust and competitive domestic textile and apparel manufacturing capacity in the US could also be strategically important—just consider the urgent demand for surgical masks and medical textiles during the pandemic.
Additionally, I hope that by taking FASH455, students will take away meaningful questions that can inspire their future studies and even life’s pursuits. For example:
- How to make apparel sourcing and trade more sustainable and socially responsible? What are the roles and responsibilities of fashion companies, policymakers, and consumers?
- What policies and regulations could be enacted at the national and international levels to incentivize sustainable apparel production and trade?
- How will factors such as AI, digitalization, the sustainability movement, and geopolitics continue to shape the future landscape of apparel trade and sourcing? Who will emerge as the new winners and losers?
- How can trade policy be utilized as a tool to address challenging global issues such as forced labor and climate change?
- How could courses like FASH455 further challenge students’ perceptions, deepen their insight into the global nature of the fashion apparel industry, and prepare their global citizenship?
So what do you take away from FASH455? Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments.
Dr. Sheng Lu
FASH455 Global Apparel & Textile Trade and Sourcing 
I want to preface this by saying how grateful I am to you, Professor Lu, for making this a wonderful semester full of eye-opening information and new opportunities to interact with industry professionals. My take-aways from FASH455 are many in number. I discovered that so much more goes into owning a t-shirt than I ever thought before. Beyond the simple steps it takes to even manufacture that t-shirt, the apparel company must decide how and where to source based on trade agreements and tariffs, lead times and international politics. I really enjoyed the opportunity to not just hear from former UD graduates but also from individuals like David Spooner who has actually been responsible for helping to form trade agreements between the US and other countries. It is one thing to read about how they work in class but its another thing to hear someone with real experience give deeper insight into how negotiations are formed. Opportunities like these are incredibly valuable to my future career development and I’m very glad to have been able to be a part of this class.
Similar to Matea, I would also like to say thank you Dr. Lu, you were truly an incredible professor and through your methods of teaching I was able to learn so much in this course. As I reflect back on what we have learned I think one of my biggest takeaways is how complicated the topic of sourcing is. I have always had an interest in sustainability within the industry and always trying to figure out ways for improvement, especially in terms of where products are coming from. However, this course has opened my eyes to how intricate sources is and it involves so much more than just switching what factory or country you produce in. Specially, I always wondered why companies aren’t moving away from producing in Asian countries and I simply believed it was just because they didn’t want to pay higher prices. Although something we discussed in class was the yarn-forward rule which showed me there’s much more that plays into it. I have been able to see how many rules and regulations are currently in place that have major impacts and control over the way sourcing operates.
Similar to Grace and Matea, I would also like to take the time to thank you Dr. Lu for an amazing semester. Your class has broadened my knowledge of many aspects such as textile manufacturing, global trade agreements, production management, sustainability, economic policies, and more. I enjoyed collaborating with my classmates about these topics and hearing different viewpoints and perspectives. I was able to understand this material more effectively through our discussions and strategize resolutions to fashion industry problems. In this class, I learned a lot about trade with the Western Hemisphere and global trade. Specifically, how the yarn-forward rule and Section 301 benefit US textile manufacturers, but do not benefit US brands and apparel retailers. I also learned about the 5 elements of criteria that brands and retailers consider when choosing a sourcing destination. From this, I was able to understand which countries have a competitive advantage over others. In addition, I very much enjoyed our guest speakers who came to talk to us this semester about their roles in the industry. I learned about the many different career paths we can take in the fashion career sector, and am excited to explore different opportunities. Thank you so much for all of your help throughout the semester, and I look forward to our last few classes!
Like my previous classmates said already and I’m sure my future classmates will also agree but I too wanted to say thank you Dr. Lu, for being the memorable and creditable professor I’ve had here at the University of Delaware. Before I came into your classroom, I had no idea about trade policies nor why I would need to know about them. After taking your course, you have opened my eyes to the world of global policies and everything that is taken into account when making these laws. I appreciate your extensive and elaborate learning model including these blog discussion comments but of course the guest speakers that shared their additional expertise and experience with the class. Even hearing how these established speakers and business professionals admire you and your published works made this class even more engaging and intriguing. My favorite topic was globalization and how it affects everyone more than we are all aware of. Similar to this, I also enjoyed learning about competitive advantage and how certain countries are more competitive over others. Overall, such an informative class and I cannot recommend it enough to fashion students and anybody who is interested in trade in general. Thank you again Dr. Lu!
As my classmates’ previous comments mentioned, I thank you, Dr. Lu, for an amazing semester and for being a memorable professor! This course has successfully allowed me to understand topics such as trade policy, opportunities within the sourcing industry, manufacturing, and much more. Reflecting back, it was great to participate in a collaborative learning environment through lectures, in-class group discussions, and this blog site. I also appreciated being able to speak with industry professionals who gave great insight into their experiences. One of my favorite topics we discussed was the concept of near-shoring and sourcing from the Western Hemisphere such as CAFTA-DR. This was interesting to me because I was able to learn about it in many aspects and connect them together to form an understanding. For example, we heard insight from Kim Glas, it was involved in class lectures and required readings, and discussed in our second case study in terms of the Section 301 tariff. Through all of these elements, I gained knowledge on near-shoring and the pros and cons that come with it within both the textile and apparel industries. Moving forward, after this class, I will definitely look out for updates and news on the US textile and apparel industry’s updates on near-shoring policies. Overall, this course greatly expanded my knowledge as well as increased my interest on globalization, sourcing, and how complicated and complex it all is.
Similarly to the previous comments under this post, I want to thank you, Dr. Lu, for a lovely semester in Fash455. It has been a very memorable experience to be taught by you. This class has expanded my knowledge in an area of the fashion industry that I was previously quite unaware of. Between all the impressive guest speakers, case studies, blog articles, and more, I now feel like I have a good understanding of the politics behind the fashion industry. One of the most memorable assignments in this class for me was the recent assignment in which we examined the effects of the US-China trade war, specifically the 301 section tariffs, due to its pressing relevance and complexity. It was so interesting to hear what the rest of the class thought about this issue, and all the innovative ways that my classmates suggested to alter the 301 section tariffs. Overall, I really enjoyed this class, and learning so many new things.
I would first like to start off my comment by thanking Professor Sheng Lu for creating an interactive and exciting semester for us 455 students. This course was completely different from any other course in the fashion program here at UD. It opened my eyes to a completely different part of the fashion industry that I had no idea existed. From learning about trade and tariffs to updating us about real time events that can affect we as consumers will shop in the future, this class filled us with insights about the global retail sector. Something that will really stick with me was the most recent guest speakers from the WITA academy workshop. I found it so interesting hearing about jobs related to the fashion industry in the public sector that I had no idea about. Although this is a sector I would not pursue a career in, it was still so interesting to hear about how the speakers got to where they are now and the amazing advice that they provided us. I also really enjoyed learning about Section 301 tariff, I enjoyed participating in the class discussion and hearing my classmates insight about the topic as well. It was so interesting learning about current topics that are present day issues. Overall, this class gave me a totally different perspective on the fashion industry and opened my eyes to trade, policies, tariffs and expanded my knowledge on globalization. I am extremely grateful for FASH455 and everything Professor Sheng Lu taught me!
I wanted to start by saying thank you Dr. Lu, for being an amazing professor. I learned a lot from Fash455, the class was filled with topics I had never even heard about. Some of these topics included trade policy, sourcing industry opportunities, fast fashion, and manufacturing. Not only was it great learning about these topics, but it was also great collaborating with my peers and hearing everybody’s different viewpoints. If I hadn’t had my peers to collaborate with, I think some of the topics would’ve been much more confusing. Another one of my favorite parts of this class was hearing from all the different industry professionals. Something specific that stuck out to me was learning about the Western Hemisphere. I learned that Section 301 was good for the textile industry, it however did not benefit US brands. I didnt know that different countries had advantages and disadvantages when it came to this industry. I have always loved fashion and although I wasn’t planning on pursuing a career in the fashion industry, this has me open to the idea. Learning about deeper things than what any of my other fashion classes ever dove into was very exciting. Thank you again, Dr Lu, for teaching an amazing course.
I wanted to start by saying thank you Dr. Lu, for being an amazing professor.
I wanted to start by expressing my gratitude for being such a wonderful professor, Dr. Lu. Fash455 was a great class. I learned a lot about subjects I didn’t know much knowledge on. Textile manufacturing, global trade agreements, production, and sourcing were a few of these subjects. Your open and collaborative classroom atmosphere made it easier for all students to participate actively and promoted inclusion which improved our group’s overall learning experience. Furthermore, I had a great time listening to our guest speakers this semester as they discussed their jobs in the industry. I am eager to learn about multiple possibilities after learning about the wide range of job pathways available in the fashion industry. Thank you for a great semester!
First off, I would like to say thank you to Professor Lu for teaching this course in such an engaging and effective manner. This course truly exposed me to another sector of the fashion industry that I had never learned about previously. My main takeaway from this course is how complex the world of trade and sourcing is, specifically for the textile and apparel industries. Many of the topics that were discussed had controversial viewpoints making it difficult to find effective solutions that would satisfy every party involved. The topic that stuck with me the most was the Yarn-forward rules of origin. After becoming familiar with this topic, it was extremely interesting to hear about how these rules promote near-shoring as well as the benefits of doing so. It was also interesting to learn about why US brands that rely on imports from other countries do not support these rules. Lastly, I thought that the Zoom calls and activities that we participated in over the course of the semester were incredibly insightful. They really opened up my eyes to the potential that accompanies a job in sourcing.
FASH455 was unlike any fashion class I have taken during my time at UD. Professor Lu, it’s so refreshing to have a teacher so engaging and passionate about what they teach, and in return that makes me want to learn as much as I can. Before this class, I was unfamiliar with any kind of global trade issues going on, with the exception of forced labor laws. One of my favorite topics we learned about this semester was the near-shoring sourcing strategy in the CAFTA-DR region. There are a lot of benefits that the U.S can gain from this strategy, such as reduced tariffs, shorter shipping times, and less transportation costs, but I found it most interesting how the US textile industry and the US apparel industry don’t always have similar views on sourcing. This is especially true when it comes to the Section 301 tariff action, since the textile industry tends to support it to protect domestic manufactures, yet the apparel industry often opposes it due to supply chain dynamics and competition. I always assumed these two industries followed the same perspectives on trade rules until this class, but now I see how different they can be.
Thank you for an amazing semester!
I have found this class extremely informative and I have learned so much. Thank you Dr. Lu, for being such an engaging professor and always wanting the best for your students. I always found the topics of global trade and the economy to be too complicated to grasp, but after taking this class, you have made such complicated issues more understandable and intriguing. Honestly, my biggest takeaway is that there is not always a solid answer to every question. In most topics for this class, a question brings another question, and there is not always an answer. Another insight is that there are so many steps when it comes to sourcing, and trade agreements and tariffs are complicated matters. Another huge takeaway is the fact that sourcing from China is a massive debate. There are pros and cons to sourcing from there, as it is fast paced and has unlimited resources, but the trade agreements and working standards are bad. I really enjoyed our “graded learning activities” when industry professionals talked to us on zoom and gave us their real life perspectives on the industry. All in all, I really enjoyed this class and look forward to continuing to work with you.
FASH455 has been one of the most memorable courses I have taken throughout my time at the University of Delaware. I want to thank you, Dr. Lu, for showing your genuine interest and desire to expand your students knowledge on the world of trade and sourcing in the textile and apparel industry. At the beginning of this course, I had very little knowledge of the laws and controversies going on in the world of sourcing and trade. I have learned that there are numerous perspectives while negotiating trade practices. This has taught me that there is no clear answer surrounding sourcing in the textile and apparel industry. In order to come to the best possible decision people need to be open minded and consider all aspects of what may be effected when promoting different opinions. Specifically, one main takeaway I have learned from the course is the deeply complicated debate of sourcing from China. Through our lectures and reading assignments I have broadened my understanding of the different perspectives of the US textile industry, US apparel industry, the textile and apparel factory owners in China, and many more. The statistics, readings, interviews, and guest speakers have led me to leave this class with my own educated opinions on the debate while also going into the workforce curious to learn more and stay well informed with what changes may be coming for the textile and apparel sourcing industry.
As my previous classmates already stated, thank you Dr. Lu for an amazing and educational semester! I am a Marketing Major with a minor in Fashion Management, so up until your class, I wasn’t very educated on sourcing and trading in the apparel industry. I am also taking a class this semester called “Global Business Environment” where we have been learning about the impact of globalization in history and in today’s day and age. Our final essay for the class is to argue whether or not globalization has had a mainly positive or mainly negative impact on people around the world. We are able to focus it on an industry, so I decided to focus it on the fashion industry. Your class has offered me so many insights to be able to discuss in my final essay, and I feel very well versed to discuss the sourcing and apparel trading laws and regulations. I wanted to answer the question of “How can trade policy be utilized as a tool to address challenging global issues such as forced labor and climate change?” I would say that governments across the globe could (and should) propose tariffs on goods that are produced using forced labor. The issues going on around the world need to not only be spoken about more but have laws put in place to keep these workers safe while also keeping trade reliable since it is one of the foundations of our world. There also needs to be more supply chain transparency, which we discussed in class. A lot of work needs to be done within the fashion and apparel industry as issues such as forced labor and climate change are becoming more apparent. I applaud you for the work you have put into educating our class on these issues and for always keeping the class very engaging.
Reiterating what everyone else has already said, I want to thank you Dr. Lu for being an incredible professor and providing us with such an informative and worthwhile class to be a part of. As a marketing major and a fashion management minor, this is only my sixth fashion-based class that I have taken. However, I can confidently say that I have learned more than I ever imagined since enrolling in this course. Being able to discuss with classmates complex topics like nearshoring within the CAFTA-DR region, the yarn-forward rule under de minimis and the Section 301 tariffs were all areas that I was completely unaware of previously. I have learned so much about numerous trade policies and more in-depth about the U.S.-China trade war that plays such a vital role in the industry. I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing from the array of speakers held throughout the semester, getting to hear from top professionals in sourcing what their jobs are along with advice for future college graduates. The knowledge taken from this course will always stay with me. Thank you Dr. Lu for everything!
I have learned so much from this class. I am super grateful for all of the information that I have gathered throughout this course. One of my favorite things was learning about international trade agreements. The United States- Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a newer agreement made for North America. This trade agreement allows for North American supply chain to be more agreeable. This agreement has allowed the textile and apparel industry to flourish in the Western Hemisphere. Know more than ever, I believe that it is important to know the ins and outs of current events. In previous internships, I have gathered knowledge from my production team at Kendall and Kylie. After taking this course, I understood more of the negations my merchandise team and our vendors had. My merchandise team had vendors from China ( mainIy), Vietnam, Bangadelsh, and Italy. also really enjoyed from hearing from the guest speakers.
I would like to start by thanking Dr. Lu for an incredible semester, and an even more incredible learning experience that will truly resonate with me as I wrap up my education at UD. This course taught me more than I could have imagined about globalization, supply chains, and sourcing. I would have never expected to learn this amount of information in such a short time period, but with the interactive classroom environment, we achieved so much! I feel after taking this course I am prepared to enter the workplace with a stronger understanding of sourcing, and how exactly retailers make sourcing decisions based on tariffs, regulations, and cost factors. Much more goes into sourcing for a retailer’s side than one would think prior to taking a deeper dive as we did in this course. One of my favorite aspects of the course that Dr. Lu incorporates is a number of guest speakers. It is really fascinating to hear more about their careers, and the advice they give to as as many of them were UD alum! This is an awesome course, that teaches you not only about globalization but prepares you for your future, thank you, Dr. Lu!
I am so grateful that I took this class, especially at this point in my college career. After graduation I’ll be working full time in sourcing at TJX, and I have been working remotely part time this semester as well. Taking this class as I train fro my new role has been extremely helpful because there are so many things to consider when it comes to sourcing that someone in an entry level position like myself doesn’t really see or hear about much. I feel like I am at an advantage because I am able to talk in depth about things like sustainability and ethical sourcing with the other people on my team. I found the topics of nears shoring and CAFTA-DR to be extremely interesting as the discussion around Western Hemisphere will surely become more and more popular as the years go on. I think as my peers and I enter the sourcing part of the industry it is our responsibility to ensure that we are encouraging ethical and sustainable sourcing that is economical for the companies we work for.
Something that I found very interesting from Fash 455 is the differing viewpoints of textile manufacturers and clothing retailers. Textile manufacturers want to keep the production line domestic and close by meanwhile clothing retailers would prefer to source from abroad in places such as Asia. If I think about it, this differing viewpoint makes a lot of sense. Both textile manufacturers and clothing retailers have the same goal in mine, to make the most money they can, but how they go about it is different. Textile manufacturers can make more money when they get more companies to utilize their textiles, which means incentivising nearby fabric manufactures and garment makers to use their textiles. Clothing retailers make more money by sourcing from the cheapest retailers, which means sourcing from Asia where labor costs are lower. These two parts of the fashion industry have battling viewpoints when it comes to trade rules.
To begin, thank you so much for a wonderful semester Professor Lu. Having a professor who truly cares so much about what he does and is so invested in sharing as much information as possible with students is one of a kind. Watching you win the award for being an outstanding professor and seeing just how above and beyond you go for your students was a wonderful experience. A key takeaway I had from Fash455 is really just how much government involvement goes into the fashion industry. Going into this class I was aware of government involvement in the industry, especially for things like imports and exports and tariffs. However, I was astonished to see how much deeper the involvement goes into every aspect. The articles and discussions we had in class really opened my eyes as to how many different ways there are to be involved in governmental presence with fashion. Seeing the different arguments for tariffs and restrictions was also really interesting. Our most recent discussion about the tariff war and Section 301 was really interesting because I got to see just how many effects came from these rulings. There were consequences I would have never guessed that occurred and it was really informative to see just how much work goes into these things that majority of consumers would have no idea even occur.
There were many ideas I have taken away from FASH455. I gained useful and insightful knowledge about how the fashion industry works and the importance of the supply chain. When we first started learning about the meaning and driving forces of globalization, I didn’t understand the complex implication of this idea. I learned that globalization is the driving force of trade agreements, new legislation and some geopolitical issues. I also was able to see the necessity that is understanding supply chains, and how supply chain look and continue to change in our current day. A main takeaway from this course for me is how being a good export country depends on two things; capital and labor. These two things determine what stage of the development a country is, but also what they are able to produce. FASH455 put in to perspective the need for capital in a country to be able to produce and export textiles. It also shed light on why certain countries produce garments, because of how labor abundant they are. This idea of labor vs. capital explains a lot about our current FTAs and supply chain issuesI was able to evaluate by the end of this course which countries will soon be able to move up in development in the next decade. I also have learned the conundrum that is sourcing from a country that uses bad labor practices, or unethical behavior and how it is not as black and white as we would hope it to be. There are many moving parts to fully understanding global supply chains, and what has made them become what it is today. I believe this course is one of the most educationally beneficial courses I have had the opportunity of taking in my career at the University of Delaware. I wish we had more time to continue to learn about these complexities, because I have learned so much already that it is hard to list my key takeaways.
I have absolutely loved getting to learn about global trading and sourcing in this class with Dr. Lu! It has been amazing getting to learn from someone so highly regarded in his field. Some of my key takeaways have been learning about NAFTA and CAFTA-DR, hearing from our guest speakers, analyzing the US-China tariff war, and learning more about geopolitical issues happening on around the world. I have loved our group discussions, enjoyed reading about the contents of our case studies, and love to hear about current events from Dr. Lu’s blog! We are so lucky to learn from you Dr. Lu, thank you so much!
First I would like to thank you Dr. Lu for the best semester! Being a marketing major with only a minor in fashion management, I felt like I was missing something when it comes to my knowledge about fashion! Being in your class has helped me learn so much and grow as a fashion student. I was able to discuss new topics and challenge my perspectives on the fashion industry. One topic that stood out to me during our semester was globalization. I specifically remember two things we did in class that stuck with me. First, when we all looked at our tags on our clothing and accessories, it was interesting to see how many products were made from all around the world. Second, the video about the journey of products was very interesting because it showed how just one article of clothing could travel all around the world before it gets to the customer. Very insightful! Something else I will takeaway from this class is some of the career advice from professionals who spoke to us. It was great getting career advice and learning about possible careers within the sourcing industry. Before I took this class, I didn’t really know you could have a sourcing job. I will definitely take some of the advice from the professionals to help me in my future careers. Thank you again for an amazing semester!
This course truly opened my eyes to a completely new aspect of the fashion industry that I had no prior knowledge of whatsoever. Thank you, Dr. Lu, for being such an inspiring and engaging professor! While I had learned previously of the importance of the supply chain when it comes to sourcing, transparency, and sustainability for fashion brands and retailers, I never truly knew the complexities of the global supply chain and all that goes along with it until this class. I found it eye opening to learn about trade agreements such as CAFTA-DR, the importance of the geopolitical environment and how it impacts the supply chain (such as the US-China tariff war and Section 301 action), and other complex issues like the de mimimus rule here in the US and how we can combat it. Post-grad I hope to work for a fashion company, and I will most definitely take this knowledge with me no matter the role I end up in. I feel that I have gained a truly broad and critical understanding of the global complexities of the textile and apparel supply chain, and understand the importance of having this knowledge when it comes to future decision making in sourcing. This class was like no other FASH class I have ever taken, and it truly left me with a completely new perspective. I hope that in the future, this knowledge will help me to create a brighter future in the fashion industry.
Like the previous classmates already said, I first want to thank you Dr. Lu for a memorable and insightful class! Prior to this class, I had very minimal knowledge on the topic of global apparel and textile trade/sourcing. Through class lectures, in class activities, guest lectures and blog posts, I feel as though I have learned so many new things when it comes to this topic. Something that stuck out to me was learning about section 301 tariffs and how it effects countries differently, some more positive than others. It was very interesting to learn everyone’s perspective on this issue and potential solutions as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and learned so many new things!
FASH455 has taught me more about current events than any other college course. As a fashion student, I feel as though other classes danced around these subjects, while FASH455 really brought them to light. In the future, I am excited to apply my sourcing knowledge to my future career. With an insight on current events and the practices in each country, I feel more equipped to work amongst these problems firsthand.
One of the main takeaways that I learned from 455 was the trade policies. Trade policies are a major part of our economy and shape our consumer market. Finally learning about CAFTA-DR and the 301 tariffs has taught me so much about the state of our national trade department.
In addition, I am excited to apply this knowledge to my own personal “sourcing”. I would love to pay more attention to the products that I buy and where they are produced. As I said before, with a deeper knowledge of the production strategies in each country, I feel much more enlightened on these subjects. I will definitely look at price tags and origin labels more closely and refer it back to what we have discussed in class. Ultimately, I would love to start supporting brands who practice more ethical sourcing strategies.
FASH455 has really become an eye opening experience providing insight and depth into the world of global textile and apparel trade. I feel more connected and willing to learn not only about the textile and apparel side of fashion, but the trading and sourcing side of the fashion industry as well. One of the main takeaways from the class would be the idea of free-trade and the agreements that are made between different countries and regions. CAFTA-DR and NAFTA have shown me how apparel companies can receive their product for a lower price than competitors.
FASH455 has been one of my favorite classes at UD. As a Marketing major with the Fashion Management minor, most of my fashion classes do not begin to address to textile and apparel trade industries. Incorporating this factor into my knowledge of the fashion industry has changed my opinions, provoked thoughts, and broadened my understanding of the impact of current events. Professor Lu has been the best professor since he has so much knowledge and so active in increasing his learning as well. His effort to make sure us students understand topics taught in class is above and beyond, and I could not ask for anything more than what he gives to us.