Helping Preserve an American Industry

Many Americans understand the importance of preserving American manufacturing. Strong American manufacturing means a more balanced economy and greater independence. However, most concerning to us here at Todd Shelton is the risk of our population losing the resources necessary to make things and innovate. We believe that as American manufacturing deteriorates, so does our creativity and imagination, and our work ethic. If we can preserve our American manufacturing base, we can preserve our unique spirit of self-reliance and innovation.

Our Made in the USA history

We tried making our clothes overseas, and it never felt genuine. In the beginning, we made our clothes in China. We were a world away, communicating via email and FedEx packages. There were no relationships built. China was about numbers: specs, delivery dates, and payments. We decided to make some sacrifices, and change the way we do business. In 2006, we began making Todd Shelton in the USA.

The decision changed the course of our brand. Today, we are connected to our product like never before. We have our hands on the product daily, enabling us to control, learn and improve. We purchase and understand every component and material. And we build meaningful relationships with the people that make our clothing. By making in America, we make a better product.

Imported fabric

The United States no longer produces the different fabrics necessary for us to exclusively use American fabrics. We can make world-class t-shirt fabric here. Denim is available. But we know of only one mill that produces khaki fabric in the States - and only one mill that produces wool trouser fabric. Dress shirt fabric mills simply do not exist in the USA.

Because domestic fabric options are limited, we must import fabrics. When choosing the international mills we support, we look to countries that have a culture of craftsmanship, countries whose population views Americans as friends, and countries with governments that have similar labor and environmental standards as ours.

We buy denim from Japan, the world’s most respected denim artisans. We buy shirting fabrics from Portugal and Italy; trouser fabrics from Germany and Italy. The manufacturing sectors of these countries face the same challenges from outsourcing that we face in the United States. We want to see their mills survive and we’re proud to be able to use their fabrics to make Todd Shelton products.

Prices

We make a world-class product, in the United States, and we support it with genuine customer service. It’s a different product than what you’ll find in a department store at half the price. It's a different experience than what you'll find in a high-end boutique, where your purchase is from a retail store owner, not the product creator.

We're confident our product quality competes with brands that sell in higher price brackets. Yet we’re sensitive to high prices and we want our product to be accessible, that's one of the reasons we choose to sell direct to our customers. We eliminate the retail store markup. If we chose to wholesale to high-end stores and boutiques, the price of our product would increase substantially.

American Made Matters

American Made Matters is an organization formed and supported by a group of American made businesses and supporters; with the purpose of aiding the American consumer to make purchasing decisions that support their interests as American citizens. Todd Shelton serves on the AMM board of directors.

Please look for the American Made Matters logo on products. For more information on how you or your business can support American Made Matters, please visit the AMM website