When it comes to getting your brand’s imported merchandise through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Not knowing exactly what’s in your textiles or apparel — from where the raw materials were sourced to what type of labor was or wasn’t used along the supply chain — is a costly gamble amid CBP crackdowns over forced labor regulations. Meanwhile, willful ignorance won’t get seized shipments out of CBP detention, nor will it prevent future withhold release orders.
Costs start incurring as soon as goods are detained under suspicion of forced labor or other violations, including legal fees, container fees, demurrage fees and the like as importers scramble to produce often hundreds of documents from numerous global suppliers along the supply chain. In addition, detained garments might mean missing a crucial fashion selling season. With approximately $468 billion of garment imports in the G20 at risk of modern slavery according to Fashion Revolution’s 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, it pays to be vigilant — and verified.
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Register for our webinar “The True Cost of Detention” on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. ET to learn how to preempt detentions.
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Speakers include:
 | Ana Hinojosa, adviser and former CBP executive director, Oritain |
 | Sam Lind, solutions architect, Oritain |
 | Richard Mojica, member practice lead, customs and import trade, Miller & Chevalier |
 | Liz Hershfield, founder, Green-ish |
 | Peter Sadera, editor in chief, Sourcing Journal |
Tune in to learn about:
- Why apparel and textiles are particularly susceptible to CBP examinations.
- Why fashion importers have such a hard time verifying goods past Tier 1 and 2.
- The tangible and intangible costs of having goods detained at the border.
- What the detention process is really like for brands that experienced it.
- Why traditional and digital methods of traceability should be augmented by forensic testing that verifies a material’s origin.