AAFA on the American Fashion Podcast: AAFA President and CEO Rick Helfenbein joined Charles Beckwith and Cathy Schepis on the American Fashion Podcast to discuss all things AAFA - from trade and supply chain priorities to the upcoming American Image Awards.

What a Summit! Last week, AAFA hosted 200 industry executives at The Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. with fantastic insights from business leaders inside, outside, and alongside the industry! Read more about the Summit and topics from artificial intelligence to retail innovation from Footwear News and Sourcing Journal (login required). Stay tuned for a video recap next week.

SAVE THE DATE! We invite you to join us next year at the MGM National Harbor March 13-15, 2019.

AAFA welcomes new Chairman, Board members: The ceremonial transition and passing of the gavel from outgoing Chairman Paula Zusi to Tom Glaser took place on March 1. Following the 2018 Board of Directors elections, these individuals were confirmed as AAFA's Board of Directors leadership for the 2018-2019 term:

Chairman: Thomas Glaser, Vice President, VF Corporation & President – Global Supply Chain
Vice-Chairman: Gary Simmons, President and CEO, Gerber Childrenswear, LLC
Treasurer: Kurt Cavano, President, Infor GT Nexus Commerce Network
Secretary: Colin Browne, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Under Armour, Inc.

Halide Alagoz, Ralph Lauren Corporation
Ted Dagnese, Lululemon Athletica
Todd Kahn, Tapestry Inc.
Sarah Clarke, PVH Corp.
Frank Sauceda, Luen Thai International

AAFA supports resumption of east coast port labor talks: On March 2, AAFA signed on to a letter with more than 100 other federal and state trade associations urging port management and labor to resume talks and conclude a new contract before the current East Coast port labor contract expires on September 2018.

A busy time for the AAFA Government Relations (GR) Committee! AAFA’s GR Committee directs lobbying and advocacy efforts on policies affecting the U.S. apparel and footwear industry. With near-constant new threats on international trade, the team is working furiously to advocate for the best-interest of this industry and the U.S.

To take part, contact Membership at membership@aafaglobal.org. The team will meet on April 24 at the Spring Committee Meeting in D.C. (in conjunction with AAFA’s supply chain innovation conference on April 25)

See all of AAFA’s latest letters, comments, and testimony here.

Congress and government agencies solicit comments on a range of issues that may affect your business – find a list of comment opportunities here.