Buy Less But Better: The Joey Pocket Tee

Some of you have asked about our pricing. My main objective is always to make beautiful, quality and sustainable clothing that I would want to wear. It turns out that is hard to do cheaply. So here's a bit of background on what contributes to the price of our Joey Pocket Tee.

1. Quality fabrics. Our Joey is made from 100% pima cotton. Pima cotton is a long staple cotton that costs twice as much as short staple cotton. Due to it's long fibers, it produces a smoother fabric that is soft to the touch, resistant to fraying, tearing, pilling, wrinkling and fading.  It will hold up well over time which means that great fit you love won't change. Cheaper cotton blends and synthetics have a tendency to pill and lose their shape quickly, and that means you won't be able to wear them for very long.1 So there's greater long-term value in the Joey Pocket Tee verses something made with lower quality fibers or blends that will need to be replaced sooner. 

2. Small batches.  Producing fewer garments at a time means less textile waste. An average American throws away approximately 80 pounds of used clothing per person per year, much of that going to landfills.2 And high-volume production (so-called "fast fashion") contributes to the creation of harmful greenhouse gases. I'm proud and committed to "slow-fashion" and small-batch production - I only produce 100 Joeys at a time. But that means my per-unit costs are much higher than Zara, JCrew or The Gap.  

3. Made in the USA. There's something about investing locally that has always excited me. (Maybe it's because I'm the child of restauranteurs who served our small town for generations.) Making my products in the United States brings me joy and helps my community (and is good for the earth as well since it reduces transportation and coal pollution.) But manufacturing in America is more expensive than some other countries.