The rag trade's fix-up man

L.A. still has a garment industry, but it's more of an adjunct to the major manufacturing that happens in China and elsewhere around the world. Case in point is Santa Fe Finishing, which fixes up the defective goods that arrive in the United States. Without the fix-ups, most of the merchandise would have to be junked. Santa Fe is the handiwork of Barry Forman, who made ladies' polyester pantsuits in the 1970s before selling the business once offshore competition picked up. Now he's back in the game and the subject of a P1 WSJ feature.

The resurrection of Mr. Forman's apparel career shows how the garment industry in Los Angeles has adapted in order to survive. No longer able to compete with low labor costs in Latin America and Asia, many L.A. apparel companies shifted gears to become specialty service businesses: They embroider stitching on jeans that are made elsewhere, or dye, wash or screen print T-shirts that come from abroad. Mr. Forman sees his business as an emergency room for garments. With a staff of about 100, he triages the different damaged goods that come in -- with stains, missing stitches and other maladies -- figuring out what can be saved and how quickly. The goal is to rescue a garment that would otherwise die. In late August, for instance, 17,000 denim pants made in a Chinese factory were confiscated at the port of Long Beach, after U.S. customs officials determined that zippers on the garments were counterfeits of a Japanese fastening brand called YKK.