Bayard Winthrop

As I began to get into the business, Part of my hope was that, you know, when I was a kid, you could get American-made products at places like Caldor's. And, you know, working class families, families that were throughout the economic spectrum could afford really good made, well-made American-made sweatshirt or American-made t-shirt or American-made blue jeans. That's not available today anymore.

As I began to get into the business, Part of my hope was that, you know, when I was a kid, you could get American-made products at places like Caldor's. And, you know, working class families, families that were throughout the economic spectrum could afford really good made, well-made American-made sweatshirt or American-made t-shirt or American-made blue jeans. That's not available today anymore.

You really can't. And in our case, I hoped that I was going to change that with American Giant. But eight, nine years in, I began to realize, like, you know what, as hard as I've tried, my cheapest T-shirt is $30, $35. And that's out of reach for a whole swath of Americans. And that was hard for me to swallow because it was a big part of what I was trying to do as a business.

You really can't. And in our case, I hoped that I was going to change that with American Giant. But eight, nine years in, I began to realize, like, you know what, as hard as I've tried, my cheapest T-shirt is $30, $35. And that's out of reach for a whole swath of Americans. And that was hard for me to swallow because it was a big part of what I was trying to do as a business.

You really can't. And in our case, I hoped that I was going to change that with American Giant. But eight, nine years in, I began to realize, like, you know what, as hard as I've tried, my cheapest T-shirt is $30, $35. And that's out of reach for a whole swath of Americans. And that was hard for me to swallow because it was a big part of what I was trying to do as a business.

You know, everyone likes to pound on Walmart, but Walmart has actually taken a stand on this issue. And they've made a real commitment to domestic production.

You know, everyone likes to pound on Walmart, but Walmart has actually taken a stand on this issue. And they've made a real commitment to domestic production.

You know, everyone likes to pound on Walmart, but Walmart has actually taken a stand on this issue. And they've made a real commitment to domestic production.

You might think on the face of it that I would be an anti-Walmart person, but boy, do I value a company like that that has taken a stand.

You might think on the face of it that I would be an anti-Walmart person, but boy, do I value a company like that that has taken a stand.

You might think on the face of it that I would be an anti-Walmart person, but boy, do I value a company like that that has taken a stand.

They reached out and said, would you fly out to Bentonville and talk to us? We were having a hard time on the textile side of things. We'd love to, you clearly have figured something out. We'd love to learn from you. And so I went and we had this conversation that began, you know, what ended up being a year and a half long process.

They reached out and said, would you fly out to Bentonville and talk to us? We were having a hard time on the textile side of things. We'd love to, you clearly have figured something out. We'd love to learn from you. And so I went and we had this conversation that began, you know, what ended up being a year and a half long process.

They reached out and said, would you fly out to Bentonville and talk to us? We were having a hard time on the textile side of things. We'd love to, you clearly have figured something out. We'd love to learn from you. And so I went and we had this conversation that began, you know, what ended up being a year and a half long process.

What they did is they said, listen, we're going to have purchase orders that you can count on. And you can take those purchase orders down into your supply chain and talk to your suppliers that this isn't just words, this is real. And that changed the conversation fundamentally.

What they did is they said, listen, we're going to have purchase orders that you can count on. And you can take those purchase orders down into your supply chain and talk to your suppliers that this isn't just words, this is real. And that changed the conversation fundamentally.

What they did is they said, listen, we're going to have purchase orders that you can count on. And you can take those purchase orders down into your supply chain and talk to your suppliers that this isn't just words, this is real. And that changed the conversation fundamentally.

Things like automated label setting machines, buying screen printing machines so we could bring that in-house and have that piece of the business verticalized. Things like that that allowed us to be more cost efficient faster.

Things like automated label setting machines, buying screen printing machines so we could bring that in-house and have that piece of the business verticalized. Things like that that allowed us to be more cost efficient faster.

Things like automated label setting machines, buying screen printing machines so we could bring that in-house and have that piece of the business verticalized. Things like that that allowed us to be more cost efficient faster.