In 1965, 95% of American clothing was made in the U.S.A.; by 2009, only 5% is manufactured here.

On Monday night at 9 pm (EST), HBO will debut the documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags which offers a firsthand look at the history of New York’s Garment District and the decline of the once-robust apparel manufacturing industry in the U.S.

Manhattan’s Garment District, an eight-block area on Manhattan’s West Side, is the epicenter of the fashion world. Schmatta offers accounts of how the industry helped generations of Americans march out of poverty to the present day where the Garment District has experienced a huge decline within the last 30 years. In 1965, 95% of American clothing was made in the U.S.A.; by 2009, only 5% is manufactured here.

This film tells some of the stories of the workers, labor organizers, designers, fashion execs and manufacturers who built their careers in the Fashion District, including: Joe Raico, a fabric cutter who took great pride in his workmanship, and laments that America doesn’t produce anything anymore; Charles Kernaghan of the National Labor Committee, whose open letter to Kathy Lee Gifford caused a media circus in 1996; Irving Ruosso, owner of Russ Togs, one of the U.S.’s largest sportswear companies; Stan Herman, a designer who has worked in the District for five decades, and others.

SaveTheGarmentCenter.com was recently launched to help preserve New York’s quality manufacturing and keep New York the FASHION CAPITAL of the world. The organization has spread the word regarding the issues facing New York’s Garment District and provides a forum where fashion industry workers can unite to inform other business owners about the situation and to get them involved.