Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley
“Heading out early on a brisk, bright Saturday morning, brilliant red, gold, yellow trees shimmered in every direction as Maine’s autumn temperatures recovered from near freezing overnight to warmish. It’s prime fleece season in New England and beyond, but Ben Waxman is losing business. Waxman is a co-owner of American Roots, a small clothing manufacturer, one of the businesses in the Dana Warp Mill, a restored 19th-century textile mill on the banks of the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, a Portland suburb. The firm makes T-shirts, hoodies, and specially designed casual wear, and proclaims its products ‘Union Strong, American Made, Proudly Sewn in Maine’. For months, the outlook has been any anything but robust, since the Trump administration launched a trade war against Canada and a shooting war against Iran.” (10/30/26)