On a 12 June deadline, Sourcing Journal reports new sourcing opportunities in the Western Hemisphere.
SJ Studio | June 12, 2026
Fashion teams are feeling the need for speed. Disruption has quickly become the new norm, with macro-scale events happening consecutively and concurrently rather than sporadically, requiring heightened risk management. By condensing development calendars and lead times, companies can achieve a closer response to demand, thereby improving inventory management. This means reducing markdowns and discounting while simultaneously preventing lost sales from slow trend adoption or stockouts.
A key way to accomplish this agility is through nearshoring. In the United States Fashion Industry Association’s Benchmarking Study from 2025, 47 percent of respondents said they are planning to expand sourcing from Mexico in the next two years, a steep increase over the 26 percent that stated the same in the 2024 survey. Additionally, half plan to increase sourcing from Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) member countries in the same timeframe. Due to this trade deal and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), these regions have been largely exempt from the Trump administration’s tariff hikes, raising the appeal of the neighboring sourcing destinations.