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Walk through Ridgewood today, along the Brooklyn-Queens border between Maspeth and Glendale, and you'll find quiet streets lined with converted warehouses and residential buildings, bakeries and shops with a hipster vibe. But between 1920 and 1960, this neighborhood hummed with the rhythm of knitting machines, the chatter of factory workers, and the pride of an industry that clothed America.
At its peak, Brooklyn and Queens were home to up to 500 knitwear factories—an integrated ecosystem of spin houses, yarn suppliers, needle and dye manufacturers, showrooms, and mills that formed the backbone of American fashion. By some estimates, three out of every four sweaters worn in the United States came from mills right here in Brooklyn and Queens.
Historic mills like Derlath's G&E Knitting Mills, Jamco Knitwear, Paris Knitting Mills, Mary D Knitting Mills, and Ricke Knitting Mills provided solid blue collar jobs for tens of thousands of workers and offered opportunities for the constant influx of newcomers to the United States seeking the American Dream.
Between 1920 and 1960, the neighborhood hummed with industry. The area was a whole ecosystem with small factories, yarn, dye, and needle suppliers. It is estimated that three out of four sweaters worn in the United States was made in this area of New York at one time.
By the mid-1980s, the industry was in crisis. Competition from abroad, especially Asia, where lower wages and different labor standards allowed for mass-produced knitwear at dramatically lower costs—began flooding the American market. The impact was devastating.
A December 1, 1985 New York Times article by Joseph P. Fried, "Trade Issue Hits Home in a Queens Community," chronicled the decline in real time. New Yorkers in the garment and textile industry overwhelmingly favored Congressional action to reduce textile imports from Asia, contending it was unfair competition when workers abroad were paid low wages and worked in substandard conditions.
The debate reached a fever pitch in Congress. The Textile Trade Enforcement Act (also called the Jenkins Act), passed in 1985, would have reduced apparel imports from Asia by 25-30% and imposed smaller cuts on imports from other countries. But President Reagan vetoed the bill, criticizing it as protectionist legislation that would hurt consumers and encourage foreign retaliation. There was a bi-partisan effort in Congress to override the veto, but it failed. A 1988 article in the New Yorker by James Lardner provides a detailed and dramatic telling of an industry in crisis and the policies that helped bring an end to what was once a robust industry. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost.
The influx of cheap imports didn't just impact Brooklyn and Queens—it decimated New York City's historic Garment District as well, causing countless factories and shops to close there as well.
While some argued that the influx of cheap goods helped American consumers who wanted to buy them, the trade-off came at an enormous cost: the loss of an entire industry, the erosion of middle-class stability, and the end of a proud manufacturing tradition. The deluge of imports also gave rise to a bigger and bigger trade deficit along with the massive job losses.
Fast fashion did allow for cheap clothing, but quality suffered. Many fast fashion companies elected to use synthetic materials instead of natural fibers like wool and cotton and began making generic shaped products that stretched out and did not hold their shape. They used cut-and-sew methods that resulted in textile waste and lower-quality garments.
Not everyone lost faith in American manufacturing. Today, efforts are underway to bring industry back to Brooklyn powered by 21st century technology. At Noyac Knits, our sweaters are knit in Brooklyn on modern knitting machines using the latest 3D technology. We are proud to be part of bringing back this historic industry to Brooklyn.
And what is special about 3D knitting you ask? There are many advantages. It allows for the design of one-of-a-kind knitwear without bulky seams like fully fashioned knitwear. It allows for knit on demand, meaning it is eco-friendly, reducing the waste of creating unnecessary textile waste. In fact, less than 1% of material ends up as waste in the 3D knitting process (compared to 20-30% for other methods). Of course, when high-quality yarn is used, the 3D knitting process results in a high quality sweater that is vintage quality.
At Noyac Knits, we believe in American-made products and American workers. We make a conscious choice to manufacture here, honoring the tradition of those Brooklyn mills that came before us and embracing modern technology and the highest quality yarns to create premium knitwear.
We also honor American ribbon makers of the past—and those who remain—by using American-made ribbon in the striped patterns that the United States was once famous for. Our signature pearlized buttons are crafted right here in NYC's Garment District by a master button maker, keeping alive the artisanal skills that defined an era.
Every detail matters. Every choice counts. Every stitch is a statement.
