【Epoch Times News, December 31, 2024】 “The Wall Street Journal” reports that this holiday season, Walmart’s shelves are stocked with products, but one item stands out: a cotton T-shirt made in the United States, priced at only $12.98.
The U.S. market is flooded with cheap imported goods, which has had a severe impact on the domestic apparel industry. In 2023, less than 4% of clothing in the U.S. was manufactured domestically. According to data from the American Textile Association Committee, in the past 18 months, 23 textile factories in the U.S. have closed.
To reverse this trend, during his first term in office in 2018, Donald Trump imposed tariffs on “Made in China” imported goods, and proposed further tariffs on all imported goods in his upcoming second term, including those from neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico.
However, Bayard Winthrop, CEO and founder of American Giant, the U.S. clothing company producing the $12.98 T-shirt, stated that the reason this T-shirt became economically viable is not due to tariffs but is attributed to Walmart’s influence and guaranteed orders.
The largest U.S. retailer and consumer goods importer Walmart pledged in 2013 to purchase more products made, grown, or assembled in the U.S. By 2021, Walmart raised the bar, committing to spend billions more annually by 2030, purchasing “Made in America” products. Over half of Walmart’s sales are groceries, most of which are produced domestically.
Winthrop pointed out that it is because of Walmart’s reliable support that American Giant suppliers have the confidence to invest in automation and other cost-cutting production upgrades, enabling them to compete with rivals from countries like Vietnam and China. The wages of workers in these countries are only a small fraction of the minimum wage in the U.S.
As a descendant of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop initially worked as an investment banker on Wall Street. In 2011, he founded American Giant with the aim of recreating the soft, thick Champion sweatshirts and flannel shirts made in the U.S. that he wore in his youth.
“If you had asked me a year ago if it was possible to make a T-shirt in the U.S. for $20, I would have said it’s impossible,” Winthrop said. American Giant sells T-shirts on its website and in select retail stores, priced at $40 to $60.
The $12.98 price is based on data analysis provided by American Giant to Walmart, predicting how many T-shirts can be sold at different price points.
These T-shirts arrived at 1,700 Walmart stores before the July 4th holiday, priced at half the cost of other 100% cotton T-shirts with no American branding.
Currently, American Giant is producing 100% cotton sweatshirts for Walmart, set to retail at $38.98 in January. Similar-looking pullover hoodies sold directly to American Giant customers have a retail price of $148.
Winthrop stated that he is receiving more inquiries from major brands looking to engage in strategic partnerships.
“If an old man like me can kick off a big project for Walmart,” he said, “then a powerful big brand should also be able to do similar things.”