The investments will allow for capital equipment upgrades and improvements to drive increased productivity and quality and reduce lead times for the fabrics. These improvements are important to ensure the US government continues to have access to this domestic supplier of Berry Amendment-compliant dress uniform fabrics. The Berry Amendment (USC, Title 10, Section 2533a) requires the DoD to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home-grown products, most notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals, the DoD said in a press release.

The United States’ Department of Defense (DOD) has entered into a shared $6.8 million agreement with Burlington Industries, LLC to sustain and strengthen the domestic clothing and textile industrial base. The firm will invest in equipment and infrastructure necessary to sustain and stabilise the supply chain of dress military fabrics for the DoD.

By using funds authorised and appropriated under the CARES Act, this Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III investment will help to offset financial distress brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and enable Burlington Industries, LLC to provide a stable supply of dress military uniforms.

The DPA Title III programme for the DoD is dedicated to ensuring the timely availability of essential domestic industrial resources to support national defense and homeland security requirements now and in the future. The programme works in partnership with the uniformed services, other government agencies, and industry to identify areas where critical industrial capacity is lagging or non-existent.

Once a need is identified, the programme engages with US and Canadian companies to mitigate these risks using grants, purchase commitments, loans, or loan guarantees. By executing its mission, the DPA Title III programme reduces the nation’s reliance on foreign supply chains, ensures the integrity of materials supplied to the American warfighter, and helps create a resilient, robust, and secure defense industrial base.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)