For those that follow Gold Medal Awards you know that nearly all our posts are about our customers and the awards and clothing they may have received. Of course, this benefits GMA as readers see some of the many products we offer. That being said, it is rare that we just post about a product or company without a customer involved (not sure that we ever have done that so far).
Sometimes you have to make an exception to the way you always do things and today is that day for us. The catalyst for today is that we are super impressed by a company in our industry that provides shirts for imprinting. That company is
It is not just the quality of their products that impress us because many companies make quality shirts. It is the way this company operates to make this clothing. They founded their company with goals centered around breaking the cycle of poverty for workers and reducing the environmental impact of producing shirts. Unlike many companies who have aspirational goals, they are doing what they set out to do in meaningful ways.
They have set up their factories in a tight geographic location to reduce the environmental impact of shipping while at the same time making a significant impact on the people they are working with in each of their locations. They work with Volunteer Knitwear in Tennessee, a company that has survived the downturn of the apparel industry in what used to be the heart of textile work. In Haiti, they work with Life S.A., a non-profit factory that pays employees three to four times the prevailing minimum wage and contributes all of its earnings to orphan care initiatives. There are similar success stories at their other plants as well.
The products they provide from these plants are also more environmentally friendly than most clothing being produced today. The make-up of one of their t-shirts is 50% recycled polyester (about six plastic water bottles), 25% Tencal MODAL, an environmentally friendly alternative to rayon that is sourced from sustainable beech trees, and 25% organic cotton.
All this means less water and oil being used to make t-shirts, work being provided to United States textile workers in Tennessee, a fair wage to employees at their supplier locations, and tremendous work being done to provide orphan care on a daily basis.
And by the way, they make a great shirt! Thank you Allmade for making a difference!
GOEX