What It Means to Truly Be American-Made

We got a comment today on a Facebook post that struck a nerve.  It read, “you just say American Made so you can charge more, it’s still a $2 shirt from China”.  I don’t know how to be more clear about who we are, I guess haters are just gonna hate.

We are now in our 10th year as a company.  In those 10 years, we’ve had one shirt that wasn’t American made.  We kept it around for about two years before discontinuing, as it just felt dirty having it in our line.

In my opinion, being a patriotic brand while using imported goods, it’s just not convincing to me.  I look at it two ways, there is the “easy buck” and there is “making a difference”.  We strive to be the difference maker.  The rewards aren’t great in the beginning, but there is value to keeping your eyes on 10 years down the road.  Looking back, I’d say we are exactly where we hoped to be.  Looking forward 10 years, that’s a whole new picture.

“Designed & Printed” in America is a catchy tag, we see it all the time with similar brands. Props to them for at least doing some of the process in America, but that Ain't us.  While it’s “just a t-shirt”, going to that next level, and actually manufacturing that garment in the USA, it impacts so many more lives.  It’s not easy, it has daily headaches, but the impact we see on our end is so worth it.

American made creates jobs.  It improves lives.  It takes power away from countries that hate us.  It makes us independent from the “norm”.  It builds self reliance and networks many like minded people with the same goals.  There is a whole world that exists with Made in America who would be out of a job if we all just “Designed & Printed”. 

Yarn production, weaving fabric, dying fabric, cutting, sewing, packaging, and all the warehouse, transport, and office staff that manages it.  It’s an entire industry we support with our mission to keep it American.

In our short ten years as a company we’ve gone from “new customer” to “largest customer” for many of our partners.  Our business at one point contributed nothing to their bottom line, but as we grew, so did they.  We’ve watched our partners buy buildings, new equipment, hire workers, promote employees, and add new services to accommodate us and other brands like us.  All because we stand by our mission to produce our products in this country.

A short story for you:

In March of 2020, the world closed.  That meant our fulfillment closed and our print shops closed.  One print shop and two sew shops remained open because they also made masks.  I refused to close this company.  I’m sorry but I decide what’s essential, not our governor.   We moved our entire operation to my basement, 1000 boxes of apparel.  We packed orders there for the next 4 months until the insanity let up.

We doubled down when it made sense take a step back. 

Just one month ago I visited one of those partners.  The owner took me aside and thanked me for the orders through that time.  He wasn’t sure how they were going to pull through, but our determination to keep going kept us ordering, and them producing.  That wouldn’t have ever been possible if we just bought imported blanks and slapped a design on them.  American made goes so much deeper than that, it means so much more.

So to answer that comment, I say American Made because it stands for something.  Its commitment to a belief, no matter the difficulty. 

American made makes a difference.

- Jake