Summary: What does it take to start an American-made garment factory? We talk with Soft Goods Detroit about their ambitious plan to bring high-end, American-made blanks to the market. "We're pushing American-made, custom apparel from the ground up, cut-and-sewn, printed, embroidered, the full spectrum," co-founder Josh York tells us. What began as a plan to give every homeless person in Detroit a beanie has blossomed into a retail and wholesale business. Based in Detroit, Josh has built a team of hard-working locals. "There are cool things you can do with a print shop. You can train people these skills. You can really make an impact. So I thought: why not do it here in Detroit?" From working as a production manager at Abercrombie and Fitch to learning to sew his own t-shirts, Josh York has put in the work and learned that the garment industry is a far-reaching machine. "I got perspective by making one t-shirt a day, seeing how hard it is and how long it takes. Millions of people do that every single day," he said. "There's a customer that wants that really premium American-made garment, and that's the problem we're trying to solve now," Josh explains. But when it takes 20+ minutes just to make a hoodie, there are few people willing to pay the cost. But Josh is certain there's a viable market, and we agree. Contents: 00:00 Buying an automatic folding machine 03:39 Intro 04:57 Getting into cut-and-sew 06:00 Starting with charity 07:07 Employing the homeless 08:48 About cut-and-sew 11:11 7 million pairs of underwear? 12:40 Scaling 15:00 Navigating the industry 16:11 How COVID changed business 17:50 What's next 19:50 Turnaround 21:00 How long it takes to make a hoodie 23:01 Finance and risk 24:50 Marketing blanks 26:50 Sample kits 30:28 Retail to wholesale 32:19 Sales 36:00 Selling at the mall 38:35 Niches 40:16 Sourcing fabrics
