When we say where a piece of our clothing is made, we'd like that to mean more than a place name on a tag. There's cotton to grow, fabric to make, a shape to cut and seams to sew. Those steps are part of the garment, even though most of them disappear from view once it's folded on a shelf.
For much of the clothing sold in the United States, those steps now run through global supply chains. That change happened over decades, through choices about cost, trade, capacity and distribution. Our own work takes a more specific route, and keeping that route understandable matters to us.
How making clothes became spread across so many places
A garment can involve several industries before it reaches a shop. Fiber production, yarn spinning, fabric making and finishing, cutting, sewing and distribution may each happen in different businesses and countries.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' historical look at the fashion supply chain records a substantial decline in U.S. apparel-manufacturing employment over the preceding decades. It also separates manufacturing from the wholesale and retail work involved in selling clothes. A company can be based here while its garments are made elsewhere.
Sewing cost is one consideration in sourcing, but fabric availability, equipment, specialist skills, order quantities and delivery schedules matter too. As production becomes concentrated in a region, the suppliers around it can become part of that network. Trade and transport connect the stages, with effects that differ by product and period.
That's why we'd be cautious about offering one explanation for every overseas garment, or treating every factory in a country as though it were the same place.
Ask about the stages you want to understand
Where was the cotton grown? Where was the fabric made? Where was the garment sewn? Those are useful questions to keep separate. The FTC's origin guidance explains the rules behind origin claims, including why broad advertising statements and textile labels need careful reading.
Organic is another part of the description. It doesn't establish the country where cotton grew or sewing happened; our GOTS and USDA Organic guide talks through those terms.
The places we can name in our own work
The Heart Tee uses organic cotton grown, milled and made in the USA. We block print the hearts individually by hand. For the Lemon Patch Pocket Play Jean, the U.S.-grown cotton denim comes from Mt. Vernon Mills in Georgia, and the jeans are sewn in San Francisco.
The Pato Five-Panel Hat has another connection: it was designed, cut and sewn in San Francisco with exclusive Colorful Bunch prints. That collaboration has its own making story, alongside the cotton clothes we make.
We also carry other brands in the shop. Their materials and countries of origin vary. We'd rather tell you about the actual piece than let the sourcing of our own clothing become a claim about everything on the shelves.
Our production and supply-chain page is a place to follow more of these connections. They give us something concrete to talk about when you ask about a fabric, a print or a shape.
Local making is a choice in our work, and the finished garment still needs to suit the person wearing it. If you're wondering how production and a small run relate to price, we've written more about what goes into a small-batch kids garment. We want you to know what you're choosing, including the parts you can't see just by looking at the front of a shirt.
Leave a comment