5 Reasons To Buy Made In The USA Textiles
Manufacturing of wide woven fabrics is almost completely extinct here in America. What remains is MAYBE 3-5 manufacturers left. Just one plant shut its doors in 2018 and caused a huge disruption in this fragile industry.
We estimate our supply chain influences roughly 1,000 US jobs... and we are a SMALL business! Every purchase from an American manufacturer MATTERS!
It takes a lot of money to live here and it takes a lot of money to make a product here BECAUSE we employ people who make AT LEAST minimum wage if not more!
Not only is everyone paid fair wages but they work in clean and safe work environments. Our facilities meet all state and local environmental regulations, from air quality to wastewater quality.
a lot of us have forgotten the work that goes into providing the fabric of our lives or the food on our tables. That's why it was so important for us to share about our farm and what it takes to grow this crop we all enjoy in a safe and sustainable way.
Fast forward to 2019, that number is now at 2-3. If you are wondering if that makes us nervous, the answer is, "Yes". Weaving is a key part of our product offering (See more about that process here) and if we were to lose this piece of our supply chain we would be in trouble.
BUT, that's why we are doing what we are doing. There should be more people and companies like us who are choosing to make products here and use the resources still available HERE. We don't want to wake up one day and not be able to manufacture a bed sheet here in the United States.
Our farm employees 5-15 people during the growing and harvesting seasons, our weaving partner employees around 300 people, our finisher employees approximately 100 people and our cut and sew employees 12-15 seamstresses. That's not even mentioning the supply chains for our towels or quilts. In total, we estimate our product influences roughly 1000 US jobs.
That is only the direct manufacturing, not including the other companies it takes to keep those facilities running. Everyone then supports their community, from locally-owned stores and restaurants to little league sports and local Churches. It all builds on a solid job base. That's a lot of lives folks.... here in our country and in our communities.
I completely understand the negative comments we receive on the price of our product.
To us, it's important that our employees can make enough to let their son play football, their daughter take ballet lessons or that they can take that family vacation to the beach this Summer. We believe a rising tide lifts all ships and when a standard is set it raises the bar for everyone.
Our facilities meet all state and local environmental regulations, from air quality to wastewater quality. In fact, our weaver has an ongoing commitment to shut down their facility any time that energy is short. For example, if there are exceptionally high temps, they will shut down and conserve that energy.
Further, our supply chain is local so there is less oil used in the transportation of products through our supply chain. We manufacture in Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Missouri. That's a pretty small area and doesn't require tons of trucking. When you think about companies that transport their raw materials overseas to be manufactured and THEN shipped back... that's a lot of carbon emissions my friends... much more than the cows on our family farm could ever think about producing. ;)
Red Land customers should feel good that the footprint is truly sustainable, socially, economically, and environmentally.
Mark Yeager started his farm in 1983 and has grown from a few hundred acres into a few thousand. We also own our cotton gin which allows us strict quality control over our fiber. Only our best goes into Red Land Cotton and we are proud of that quality standard.
Some of us have seen it in the headlines... the plight of the American farmer has been getting more and more difficult. We have seen floods out west, hurricanes in Texas and the Carolinas and in some areas we are seeing tough droughts this year. And all of that is really the name of the game for farmers — a lot is left in God's hands when it comes to planting a crop over thousands of acres.
But I think a lot of us have forgotten the work that goes into providing the fabric of our lives or the food on our tables. That's why it was so important for us to share about our farm and what it takes to grow this crop we all enjoy in a safe and sustainable way.
Our cotton isn't hand-picked and it isn't hand weeded either. We farm thousands of acres of cotton in a climate that is a hotbed for pests and weeds but it's a hot humid climate and cotton loves it. So we spray herbicides and pesticides ONLY when we have to... but sometimes in order to produce a crop and make a living... we have to.
It's important that we support our farmers... not demonize them. They are trying to not only feed and clothe their families but feed and clothe the world.