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Governor Shapiro,

I am writing to express concern regarding Pennsylvania's efforts to secure incentives and public resources for URBN. While economic development and job creation are important priorities, we believe those resources could have a greater impact if directed toward strengthening local manufacturers, small businesses, workforce development programs, and regional textile systems throughout the Commonwealth.

Across Pennsylvania, many small and family-owned textile and apparel businesses are struggling to survive. These businesses face rising costs, global competition, and supply chain challenges, forcing some to move operations out of state or overseas to remain viable. Unlike major corporations, these local businesses often receive little to no public support despite their contributions to local communities and the state's manufacturing economy. 

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Pennsylvania Fibershed works directly with farmers, fiber producers, mills, manufacturers, designers, and business owners across the Commonwealth to help relocalize and rebuild Pennsylvania's textile and garment manufacturing industry. Through this work, we see firsthand the challenges facing Pennsylvania businesses as they compete in a global marketplace while working to create jobs, strengthen local supply chains, and keep production in our region.

We have several concerns regarding the use of public resources to support URBN, including:

• Labor practices and the treatment of workers throughout its supply chain.
• The environmental impact of textile waste generated by fast-fashion business models.
• Philadelphians throw away roughly 35,000 tons of clothing each year. Rather than subsidizing business models that contribute to growing textile waste streams, public funds could support textile recovery, recycling, and circular economy solutions that create jobs, strengthen local supply chains, and keep valuable materials in circulation.
• Concerns regarding inventory management practices, including reports of merchandise destruction within the retail apparel sector and allegations involving URBN brands, rather than prioritizing reuse, repair, resale, or donation.
• Heavy reliance on synthetic materials that contribute to microplastic pollution and environmental degradation.
• The lack of investment in critical segments of the domestic textile supply chain, including farmers, fiber producers, spinning mills, weaving and knitting operations, cut-and-sew manufacturers, designers, textile recovery infrastructure, and other small businesses that need support to remain competitive.

Pennsylvania has an opportunity to become a national leader in textile circularity, regional manufacturing, and sustainable fiber systems. Strategic investments in local production, workforce development, textile recovery infrastructure, and small businesses would strengthen the state's textile supply chain, create long-term economic benefits, and ensure that public resources support a broad network of Pennsylvania businesses rather than a single corporation. 

We encourage your administration to prioritize policies and funding that support Pennsylvania's small businesses, local manufacturers, agricultural producers, and emerging circular economy initiatives rather than providing incentives to corporations that have access to substantial private resources.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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