RESPONSIBLE SOURCING
At Glades Wear we do our best to balance a viable business model with sustainable practices. We’re always looking for ways to lessen our environmental impact while being mindful of the people and communities upstream of our little venture. Quality of materials is our top criteria when sourcing new products. We also have an admitted bias for U.S.-based suppliers, but the North American textile industry is a fraction of the size it once was which limits our options. We will keep exploring domestic manufacturers.
Like most clothing companies we do not own farms, mills or factories, but we carefully investigate the practices of our partners. On that note:
- The materials in our performance shirts and hoodies are currently sourced from Colombia, South America and provided by an apparel company located in South Carolina, USA. Our supplier in Columbia gets top marks for sustainable development and ethical practices, and generates most of their electricity from non-fossil fuel sources, principally hydro- and geothermal electricity.
- Our short-and long-sleeve cotton and blended tees are manufactured in California, USA by a company that uses newer, more efficient dye machines that save literally millions of gallons of water each week. They also emphasize solar energy to reduce co2 emissions and produce almost no landfill because they recycle practically all material that does not end up in t-shirts.
- Our hats are all presently made in China because, simply put, they create the superior quality hats for the best prices we can find. Our Chinese suppliers are hard-working and talented and we feel fortunate to work with them. That said, we are very open to moving our hat production to a U.S. manufacturer—provided we can make the numbers work. We are, in the end, a business, and businesses need margins to survive.