How The L.A. Apparel Industry Became Mask Makers

bdul Rashid Dadabhoy knew he had a critical problem when Orange County supervisors shut down all nonessential businesses on March 17 in response to the coronavirus, forcing him to halt production at AST Sportswear, one of the nation’s biggest makers of T-shirts. But he also had a nearly instantaneous solution. After hearing of the critical shortage of face masks, Dadabhoy sat down with his three brothers the next morning and prototyped a cotton version, which workers at the company’s vertically integrated Brea factory churned out 1,200 pieces of the next day. The company has made more than 10 million masks since. “We kept doing that and we are still doing that,” said Dadabhoy, chief operating officer of the family-owned business, which prides itself on its “Made in the USA” label and ability to fill orders faster than its overseas competition. Read more at Los Angeles Times.