Hao Zeng

"Working at the intersection of reentry support for formerly incarcerated women and garment production, Threademption’s mission is to empower formerly incarcerated women with skills and connections to quality work in the NYC creative economy by providing sustainability-focused, trauma-informed training and supported employment pathways. This concept was developed as a capstone project of Pratt’s Arts & Cultural Management MPS program.

The Thredemption workforce development program is a year-long engagement, including 6 months of structured training leading into an apprenticeship, followed by 6 months of supported job placement. Together, the core aspects of this program are structured to provide essential skills for garment production jobs in a supportive and stable environment.

This model presents an integrated, innovative workforce development program for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals. Primarily, the initiative combines trauma-informed design with creative industry-specific workforce training in a supportive and stabilizing environment. The initiative prepares participants for real-job placement with its explicit focus on circular fashion and upcycling production, which will be in demand for NYC’s new Green Economy jobs.

Formerly incarcerated women need unique support navigating reentry after incarceration, often facing employment discrimination and unstable economic conditions. While there are resources for this population, none combine creative industry-centric workforce development with job placement. This initiative was also designed to address a workforce gap in NYC’s garment production sector. By cultivating a new class of trained garment workers, garment production facilities can increase production scale, generating more economic activity for the entire region.

If formerly incarcerated women gain technical skills, real work experience, and industry connections, then they can access stable employment and career pathways in production. Ultimately, this results in economic mobility and reduced barriers to workforce participation. This is Threademption’s impact: increased quality of life for formerly incarcerated women, while strengthening the local garment industry."