Our Made in USA Easy collection is launching later this week, which inspired me to write about my thoughts on the tariffs. I feel like I have a unique perspective because I produce products fully in the USA, from seed to garment, not with imported materials.
My decision to produce in the USA comes from my appreciation and respect for the domestic textile industry. In addition, I like having the ability to easily call my producers, know that I could easily visit them if I had an issue and reduce the distance of shipping materials as much as possible. I like clearly knowing and feeling good about the government regulations on worker safety and environmental protection. I also just have a general interest in how textiles are made, I like to meet people who work with the raw materials and the machinery and see it for myself. While I do make products that can be produced in the USA, not everything I make could be made here as easily.
I would love for the textile industry in the USA to be revived. I’ve been hoping this for years but it’s not reasonable to expect it to be rebuilt it in at an instant. The infrastructure is very fragile - the workforce, talent and knowledge barely exists anymore, and the machinery isn’t here anymore.
What do we need to start to rebuild domestic production, from my point of view? Education, funding, planning and time. This isn’t something that can be forced, it needs to be fostered.
The products made here are not exempt from cost increases because tariffs don’t affect them. I just placed material orders for our Fall production and already there are price increases, longer lead times and uncertain availability on raw materials. Not to mention that nothing happens in a vacuum and if everyone is hurting financially, no one will be doing well.
In terms of sustainability, while I do support changes to make it more difficult for fast fashion to flourish, I don’t think that pulling the rug out from under an entire global supply chain will make those changes happen. I believe this will only enable manufacturers and big brands to invest less in labor and safety, less in environmental regulations and less in sustainability initiatives.
My brand is small but I do what I can to support domestic manufacturing. I remain realistically optimistic and while I do hope that some of the domestic textile industry can be rebuilt here, I think in order for it to be successful, it needs to look different than it did back in the hey day of domestic textile production.
Like all small businesses right now, I truly appreciate your support and appreciation for what this brand stands for.
xo Leah
