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Feature: PBS Newshour featuring Custom Collaborative
“In the 1980s, about 70 percent of clothes sold in the U.S. were made in the country. Today, it’s down to just three percent. One of the casualties is traditional craftwork like weaving fabric, cutting leather and polishing gemstones. The fashion industry is now trying to preserve these crafts. Special Correspondent Pavni Mittal reports for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.” - PBS
Press Archive
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Good Day New York (FOX5): Ngozi Okaro on Good Day New York | Custom Collaborative Founder Shares Sustainable Fashion Vision (Aug 8, 2025)
Sourcing Journal: “Rip Seams, Not Communities”: New York’s Garment District Fights for Survival Amid Rezoning Battle (June 18, 2025)
WWD: Garment District Rally Held to Challenge Midtown South Rezoning Plan (June 18, 2025)
The Impression: Garment District Rallies to Stand Against Midtown Rezoning Plan (June 18, 2025)
W42ST: “Don’t Kill Fashion” — Garment Workers Rally to Stop Rezoning Unraveling Their District (June 18, 2025)
Apparel News: Continuing Responsible Manufacturing Amid Tariff Confusion (June 12, 2025)
Sourcing Journal: Harlem’s Fashion Row Puts Culture at Core of Sustainability (April 23, 2025)
Public Interest Registry: Org in Action: Custom Collaborative’s Story (March 17, 2025)
WWD: Gucci Launches Sixth Chapter of Gucci Changemakers North America (January 15, 2025)
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Rolling Out: Custom Collaborative transforms women’s lives with fashion (December 28, 2024)
Amsterdam News: Immigrant women are next generation of sustainable fashion designers (December 19, 2024)
PBS: New York fashion industry tries to preserve artisan craftwork as factories move overseas (November 8, 2024)
The Midtown Gazette: New government grants encourage sustainable fashion (October 21, 2024)
Forbes: Behind The Seams: Empowering Women Through Sustainable Fashion (Sept 30, 2024)
Apparel News: Collaborating on Responsible Apparel Without Compromise (August 8, 2024)
Vogue Business: The $1 million boost for New York’s garment district (June 20, 2024)
Vogue Business: Can 2024 Deliver Radical Change for the Fashion Industry? (Jan 11, 2024)
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The Boston Globe: How Fashion Designers Can Offset the Impacts of Climate Change (Nov 21, 2023)
WebWire: I&D Commitment No. 9 – One Year Progress Report (September 18, 2023)
Marie Claire: The Fashion Changemakers (Aug 30, 2023)
CA Apparel News: U.N. Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network Annual Meeting Addresses Industry’s Challenges (July 27, 2023)
WWD: Picnic-ready Botanical Dyed Linens, Crochet Creations for Summer: Short Takes (July 19, 2023)
The Spin-Off: Be Ready for Next UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network (May 24, 2023)
PR NewsWire: Multifaceted Partnership Will Support Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs Pursuing a Career in the Sustainable Fashion Industry (April 27, 2023)
WWD: Dior Taps Haerin of NewJeans, Candice Swanepoel, Custom Collaborative Team for Anne Klein (April 26, 2023)
WWD: Anne Klein, Candice Swanepoel Partner With Custom Collaborative to Impact Women and the Planet (April 25, 2023)
CFDA: Women’s History Month: Ngozi Okaro (March 2023)
WWD: Fashion Has a Say at U.N. Status of Women Conference (March 2023)
NYC ETC: Custom Collaborative Membership Spotlight (March 2023)
United Nations: Help Us Design the Fut(HER) of Fashion (February 2023)
Harper’s Bazaar: Custom Collaborative Wants to Change the Fashion Industry (Jan 20, 2023)
Fashion Impact Fund: Grant Recipient (Jan 2023)
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North Six: Platform 6 Custom Collaborative (December 2022)
Vogue Business: Here’s What a Sustainable, Inclusive Photoshoot Can Look Like (December 8, 2022)
The New York Times: Open Thread Newsletter by Vanessa Friedman (June 17, 2022)
Non-Profit Quarterly: Building Worker Co-op Infrastructure: What Knowledge Does the Field Need? (June 1, 2022)
PVH: The PVH Foundation Makes Global Investments to Amplify Awareness and Access in Fashion (May 23, 2022)
WWD: Sen. Gillibrand’s ‘Fabric Act’ Is Fashion’s Big Federal Pro-Labor, Domestic Reshoring Effort (May 13, 2022)NY Women’s Foundation: Advancing economic justice for women, families, and communities (April 2022)
Conscious Life & Style: How Custom Collaborative is Paving the Way for a Better Fashion Future (March 22, 2022)Vogue Business: Where Fashion Is Failing Women, and Where It’s Showing Up (March 10, 2022)
WWD: The Newest Times Square Billboard Stars? Women Leading Conscious Fashion (March 1, 2022)
CFDA: Ngozi Okaro On An Equitable Fashion Industry (February 23, 2022)
Pioneer Post: Trailblazing Fashion Social Entrepreneurs See Their Names in Lights during New York Fashion Week (February 17, 2022)
Musings Magazine: A More Just Fashion Industry Starts with Community Support (February 15, 2022)
University of Fashion: Custom Collaborative’s Designer-preuners Strut Their Stuff (February 6, 2022)
Vogue Business: Deconstructing New York’s Fashion Act (January 13, 2022)
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The Story Exchange: A Fashion Entrepreneur Who Works with Immigrants Gets a Times Square Billboard (December 6, 2021)
WWD: Conscious Fashion Campaign: New York Announces 10 Women-led Honoree Organizations (November 16, 2021)
Vogue: What Fashion’s New Interest in B Corps Means for the Future (October, 29, 2021)
PORTER: The Women Reshaping Society - One Community At A Time (August 23, 2021)
Urban Manufacturing Alliance: Sewn Trades Manufacturing in the United States (2021)
PRNewswire: The New York Women's Foundation Announces Almost $3 Million in Funding in Latest Round of Grantmaking Efforts (June 28, 2021)
Fast Company: 6 ‘jugaad’ principles that could rebuild the post-COVID-19 U.S. economy (June 8, 2021)
Vogue Business: Fashion’s relationship to planetary boundaries, explained (June 3, 2021)
Refinery 29: 2021 Has Already Shown Us The Power Of Grassroots Organizing — Here Are 5 Leaders To Watch (March 3, 2021)
Women's Wear Daily: All Birds, ThreadUp and More Push Biden to appoint a 'Fashion Czar’ (February 18, 2021)
Vogue Business: How to create a positive impact with natural materials (February 17, 2021)
The Zoe Report: Fashion's Environmental Racism Problem Is Still Pervasive, But Innovators Are Prototyping Solutions To Solve It (January 8, 2021)
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The Guardian: Could the pandemic make fashion more sustainable? (December 28, 2020)
Footwear News: Hanky Panky Face Mask That Will Elevate Any Outfit (December 28, 2020)
CFDA Newsletter: How A Conscious Design Initiative Is Pushing The Fashion Industry Forward (December 17, 2020)
Harper’s Bazaar: One x One Pairs Designers With Scientists to Create the Conscious Design Solutions We Need Now (December 11, 2020)
Nylon: How Science and Technology Can Save Fashion (And Hopefully, Our Plant) (December 11, 2020)
Vogue: One X One Incubator: Growing Sequins and Sneakers in a Lab With Phillip Lim and Public School (December 8, 2020)
AARP: AARP Purpose Prize Fellow Ngozi Okaro (November 1, 2020)
WWD: Designers Create Special Masks For New York State Initiative (October 27, 2020)
Vogue Business: The science missing from fashion’s sustainability goals (October 15, 2020)
Vogue Business: The voices missing from fashion’s sustainability goals (October 8, 2020)
Common Impact: Pro Bono Perspectives S2E21: Fashioning a Pathway to Success and Equity (September 29, 2020)
WWD: ‘Introspection’ Is Key to Equitable Partnerships (September 24, 2020)
NY1: Fashion Designer Kimberly Goodson on Project Runway, Being Bold and Diversity (September 16, 2020)
Fashion Manuscript: Fashioning a Way Forward (September 1, 2020)
Sourcing Journal: Can Smarter Manufacturing Solve Fashion’s ‘Mismatch’ of Supply and Demand? (August 28, 2020)
WWD: Landmark Garment Worker Legislation Could Redefine Sustainable Fashion (August 25, 2020)
Fashion Theory: Upcycling as a Practice for Decolonializing Fashion: An Interview with Ngozi Okaro (July 31, 2020)
The Today Show: New York-based Nonprofit Empowers Women to Create Careers in Fashion (July 24, 2020)
StyleCaster: Fashion Face Mask: 12 Stylish Mask to Pair with Your Going Out Top (July 24, 2020)
Harper's Bazaar: Black Fashion Creatives Outline What Needs to Happen Next (July 17, 2020)
StyleCaster: These Fancy Face Masks Will Keep You Safe & Stylish (July 13, 2020)
WWD: A Look at Fashion’s Most Enduring, Creative and Overlooked New Graduates (July 1, 2020)
New York Magazine: 35 Fabric Face Masks (June 16, 2020)
New York Magazine: 125 Black-Owned Businesses to Support (June 5, 2020)
Atmos: Reaping & Sewing (May 13, 2020)
Vogue: A Few Ideas About Where Fashion Can Go From Here (April 15, 2020)
Nest Artisan Guild: Masks Made by Makers (April 17, 2020)
Nest Artisan Guild: Supporting the Nest Guild During Unprecedented Times (April 17, 2020)
WWD: Fashion Fights Coronavirus: Designers Create Masks, Hospital Gowns and More to Fight Pandemic (April 14, 2020)
Daily Front Row: The Lions Partners With Custom Collaborative (April 14, 2020)
Culturess: Rinat Brodach pushed through the uncomfortable on Making the Cut (April 14, 2020)
Teen Vogue: The Coronavirus Is Exposing Holes in Our Current Fast Fashion Model (April 9, 2020)
NBC: This Organization Is Empowering Women From Low-income Communities, One Garment At A Time (March 6, 2020)
Vogue Business: The UN Set 17 Sustainability Goals. It Needs Fashion’s Help Meeting Them (February 20, 2020)
InStyle: Want a Truly Sustainable Fashion Industry? Look to Couture (February 12, 2020)
Forbes: A Global Initiative To Highlight The Fashion Industry’s Sustainable Practices (February 4, 2020)
OZY: Stitching A Fashion Future For ‘Invisible’ Women (February 3, 2020)
WWD: Gucci Changemakers Impact Fund Names First Round of Grant Recipients (January 27, 2020)
Hypebae: Gucci Awards Grants for its First-Ever Changemakers Impact Fund (January 27, 2020)
Complex: Gucci Announces 2020 Recipients of Its $1 Million Changemakers Grant (January 27, 2020)
Avenue Magazine: Fashionable Harlem (January 14, 2020)
Women’s Wear Daily: Brands Exploring ‘Conscious Design’ in One X One Program (January 14, 2020)
Conscious Company: 43 World-Changing Women In Conscious Business (January 6, 2020)
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Women’s Wear Daily: Garment District Alliance Selects 10 Programs to Improve Economic Vitality (December 18, 2019)
Susty Soul Podcast: Ngozi Okaro & Custom Collaborative (December 2, 2019)
Fashion Revolution: Empowering Women Through Making (November 1, 2019)
NiLu: Social Change Through Fashion: A Conversation with Ngozi Okaro of Custom Collaborative (October 22, 2019)
LA Fashion Film Festival: Sustainable Fashion: An Inclusive Way of Life (September 20, 2019)
New York Nonprofit Media: Six Nonprofits are Getting Consulting Help from Community Resource Exchange (June 28, 2019)
Community Resource Exchange: CRE Awards $75,000 in Pro Bono Consulting Services (June 27, 2019)
Women’s Wear Daily: Biotech Materials, Innovation and Fashion Collide at Inaugural Summit in Stamford, CT (June 25, 2019)
Style & Substance: Ngozi Okaro, Social Entrepreneur and Advocate (June 25, 2019)
Magnanimous: Celebrating New York's Ethical Enterprises (June 24, 2019)
Spring Bank: Custom Collaborative: A Worker-Owned, Women Run Fashion Cooperative Comes to New York City (May 15, 2019)
Women’s Wear Daily: LIM College, Fashiondex Partner for Sustainable Solutions Summit (March 29, 2019)
Fashion Mingle: Custom Collaborative’s Small Batch Manufacturing Services Help Immigrants and Low-income Women Build New Skills (March 13, 2019)
Melanin & Sustainable Style: 47 Badass Womxn of Color Influencers Unapologetically Changing The Landscape of Sustainable Fashion (March 8, 2019)
Melanin & Sustainable Style: This Sustainable Fashion Organization Is Shifting Conscious Conversations Through Their Work As An Incubator Program For Low-Income and Immigrant Women (March 6, 2019)
THR3EFOLD: Custom Collaborative: The Sewing Program for Immigrant Women in NYC (March 5, 2019)
Re/make: 11 Questions With Custom Collaborative (December 7, 2018)
Knowledge Leader: Exploring Conscious Consumerism (February 13, 2018)