AACA/AAPNetwork 'FIRSTS' THAT CHANGED THE INDUSTRY:

The Association was first organized in 1981 by a group of contractors in Georgia. That small group of factory owners soon grew beyond Georgia's borders to become a Southeast and then a National organization focused on Made in the USA. Today the AAPN is the only international trade association representing the entire textile/apparel supply chain.

1. Printed First Industry 'Guide to Sourcing' (1981) - Organization - organized members by what they made. Increased exposure and usefulness of the growing association to the sourcing industry.

2. American Apparel Contractors Association (AACA) Introduces Fax Sourcing Broadcasts (1992) - Convenience and Speed - Fax machines were becoming pervasive in small plants. The broadcast gave AACA a better responsiveness to industry, and eliminated phoning members for hours everytime.

3. AACA Members listed on Clemson Database (1994) - Technology - Increased the exposure of members to increasingly automated and technology-savvy sourcing managers. Went onto a private on-line database interim to own website in 1996.

4. AACA Members listed on Internet (1996) - Immediate Access - The Internet was becoming as pervasive as the fax machine, at a much lower cost. Also, those using the list didn't have to buy special software or call a special number. AACA was first on the Internet.

5. AACA Developed the First e-mail Sourcing Broadcast (1996) - Price and Speed - More and more members were getting access to the Internet. It was cheaper to broadcast than by fax, and much more responsive to the needs of those sourcing.

6. AAPNetwork (name change to American Apparel Producers Network) Introduces Member Websites (1997) - Marketing and Technology - Many members in small towns had no-one to make their websites, or to get them high volume traffic. By bringing web authoring in-house, AAPNetwork gave members an exclusive member benefit.

7. AAPNetwork has over 95% of Members on e-mail (1999) - Leadership - Technology brought those sourcing to AAPNetwork first, and got business for members. As a result, the membership 'plugged in'. No other trade group comes close.

8. AAPNetwork Introduces Product Management Worksheets (2000) - Standardization - Members work long hours, make too many samples, send too many FedEx's, lose too many faxes. One standard, Internet-based collaborative product and trim worksheet eliminates this expense and fingerpointing too.

9. AAPNetwork Approves Membership for NAFTA, CBI, and Americas Producers (2001) - Regionalization - AAPNetwork changes its mission from primarily 'sourcing' to 'networking' and extends full membership throughout the Americas to reshape the sourcing infrastructure of the hemisphere.

10. AAPNetwork Approves Membership for Global Apparel Producers (2002) - Globalization - AAPNetwork drops all reference to geography opening membership to the global apparel industry and, by year's end, has members in 28 nations all around the world.

11. AAPNetwork Creates new Forum for Central American Regional Coalition (2003) - Coalition - AAPNetwork hosts the first ever Central American "SUMMIT" of all members from all nations in the region to begin working as one region, one "Near South".

12. AAPNetwork Takes Collaboration "Best Practices" to Print (2004) - Journal - AANetwork publishes its first magazine ever, in partnership with TextileWorld, featuring articles written and compiled from member meetings.

13. AAPNetwork Becomes First True Global Supply Chain Network (2005) - Supply Chain - AAPNetwork reaches critical mass with one or more global players in every step and stage in the apparel supply chain "from the dirt to the shirt".

14. AAPNetwork Delivers US Industry to CAFTA (2006) - Industry Collboration - AAPNetwork coordinated the 2006 'Summit' in Central America with NCTO, CCAA, TC2, AAFA and Spesa to show the region that if we could work as one, they should also. The Managua meeting was the best in the series.

15. AAPNetwork Develops First Industry 'Wiki' (2007) - Web 2.0 - Leveraging a range of free Web 2.0 resources, AAPNetwork developed 'apparelpedia', 'sourcelist', on-line surveys, Linkedin groups, blogs, podcasts and other direct-to-the-industry channels of communications.