Made in Downtown Los Angeles

This project is taking all sorts of exciting turns. The most recent took me to Los Angeles to meet with the guys at GOOD Magazine. GOOD has been a tremendous supporter since the very beginning, posting about the experiment back in April, and then writing a short piece in the September issue. While this blog will continue to chronicle my experiences traveling and meeting the individuals who make anything that I purchase, they’ve asked me to begin writing for their site as well, profiling the people I meet. More on that in the coming weeks!

As if coming to LA and putting faces and people behind a magazine that I subscribe to was not enough, I also took the opportunity to go to the American Apparel factory right in the downtown industrial area. Admittedly, I don’t tend to shop at their stores much, but a few things made this a relevant and necessary stop. Number one, I needed to allow myself the opportunity to get some new clothes – particularly shorts and jeans. To the best of my knowledge, American Apparel is one of the very few ‘basics’ manufacturers left in this country, and since LA is more accessible at this time than China, it made logistical sense. At the same time, most independent teeshirt designers doing work for local bands or organizations, are printing on AA’s cotton shirts. I have several, and plan to do more work like this myself soon.



I had heard about AA’s sweatshop-free manufacturing, of course, but I also had a heard a rumor that a lot of their goods were now made somewhere else (Mexico? China?) so I was not sure what to expect. I was pretty surprised to learn that every product is made right there in their seven story converted railroad factory. Despite controversy surrounding their advertising, their working conditions and treatment of their employees is pretty fantastic. Everyone from senior management to product developers, right down to the sewers and distribution workers are right there in the same building, encouraging interaction in the elevators and cafeterias. They’ve come to understand that putting a human face on production within their own company greatly benefits everyone. It’s hard to run a sweatshop if the owners ride the elevator every morning with the immigrant workers.

I got a two hour tour and personal treatment from Shawn, a young web-strategest-slash-all-around-assistant who is incredibly passionate about the company, their work for Legalize LA, vertically-integrated manufacturing, and the concept that they are a business first-and-foremost, not a charity, but treating people well and supporting local initiatives just makes sense.