American Giant is a San Francisco-based manufacturing company that makes American made clothing and sells direct to its customers. American Giant was founded in February 2011 by Bayard Winthrop, to address what he saw as a lack of affordably priced high-quality American Made products in the market. He believed that by changing the economics of distribution and marketing, a business could re-deploy those savings into product made in America sold at mainstream prices.
The company was named one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2015 and cited for "a breathing new life into U.S. apparel manufacturing".
Made in America
In 1960, 95% of clothing bought in the US was made in America. However finding a “Made in America” tag stitched into a garment is a rare thing to find today. In fact, 97% of clothes bought in the US are imported.
The trend to outsource manufacturing overseas took off in the 80s and 90s when free trade increased, opening companies up to cheap labor markets in countries such as China or Vietnam.
Recently, bringing back manufacturing to US soil has become a hot political topic, intensified by the recent tariff increases. While many want to reshore, it has proven to be difficult. Not only is the cost of labor much higher in the US, there are also no longer modern facilities nor a population of skilled factory workers. Further, new generations don’t want manufacturing jobs. However, automation is quickly making reshoring possible.
