Fitflop FDRA Review

Fitflop USA – Thank for for considering membership with FDRA. FDRA is the footwear industry’s trade and business association. We support our members throughout their entire business from making shoes (design, development, and production) to importing shoes (customs rulings, classifications, and lowering duty costs) to selling shoes (retail data and analysis, and consumer trends). That is why over 80% of the entire footwear industry are members from fashion to athletic, flip flops to slippers — both small companies and global corporations, including the majority of domestic manufacturers, importers, brands, and retailers. You can click here to see our full member list.

Below are examples of issues FDRA works on for its members – feel free to forward this around to various departments, we help all backroom operations staff. A top line overview of membership benefits can also be found here.

Ask me questions about any of this! apolk@fdra.org

Design, Product Development and IP:

– Materials and innovation summit – over 100 designers, product development/materials professionals (from nearly 30 brands) attended our material summit last year, we expect an increase this year. Click here to see the type of speakers and topics we cover: http://conta.cc/2vIIvNv The 2018 Summit will again be at NC State in September.

– Footwear Design Summit: https://conta.cc/2LsdUHU

– Monthly Design and IP digest: http://conta.cc/2ksP1Av

– Monthly Material costs: http://fdra.org/footwear-materials-cost-report/

– Smart Shoe Series – over 2018 we will hold a number of seminars, webinars and some workshops on 3D design and development to a number of innovations impacting how we design, develop and produce shoes. An example: http://conta.cc/2GPOTUY

– Material Exchange Project – we are helping to build a digitial material database for brands…making it easier to select the right material and communicate with suppliers…cutting costs and man hours, while increasing certainty. See the Intro to ME video here.

Customs:

– Rulings Booklet 2017: http://conta.cc/2jbCCAL

– Customs Report (monthly): http://conta.cc/2Et3OWR

– FTDC – annual traffic and customs conference where 200 supply chain and customs professionals network and learn: http://fdra.org/ftdc/

– Total footwear import and customs center – from classification of samples, to labeling requirements to
trade agreement info, its all here, free for members: https://www.footwearcustoms.com/

– Annual Customs Meeting: http://conta.cc/2ErBJ23

Product Safety:

– quarterly updates: http://conta.cc/2ksNYkb

– FDRA’s Global Footwear Testing Guide (online): http://globalfootweartesting.com/

– Risk Management (chemical fail rate) report: http://files.constantcontact.com/569ca1a9001/a69dd886-61ae-463b-b526-0e6bfc4e7eeb.pdf

– Summit: http://conta.cc/2G9dHXB

Sourcing, Supply Chain and social compliance:

– Monthly newsletter: http://conta.cc/2kiJXg0

– Material costs: http://fdra.org/footwear-materials-cost-report/

– Import data by category: http://fdra.org/footwear-imports/

– Yearly Sourcing Report: http://fdra.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FDRA-Footwear-Sourcing-Report-2017.pdf

– Factory Training online (FDRA provides members with a set of compliance courses for its compliance team and/or factories): https://store.elevateelearning.com/

– RFP/Code of Conduct: http://fdra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Code-of-Conduct-Final-March-2015.pdf

– Annual Summit: http://conta.cc/2ueMs7o

– Quarterly update calls: http://conta.cc/2ksXynd

– Trade and Politics Newsletter: http://conta.cc/2EqwfVw

Working Groups:

– http://fdra.org/workinggroups/

– http://conta.cc/2ksBNUt

Retail:

http://fdra.org/fdras-footwear-sales-analysis/

http://fdra.org/u-s-shoe-store-employment/

http://fdra.org/footwear-retail-price-monitor/

Shoeconomy: