Riding the current zeitgeist is the Made in America movement. “It’s sweeping the nation!” to steal a phrase.   I have to say I saw it coming (like Al Gore saw the information superhighway) and I love it.  Two years ago I swore off buying new apparel for a year.  I know, the idea sounds downright scary in retrospect.  At the time, however, I wanted to get some distance from the consumer gluttony that spawned our most recent financial crises.  I was interested in examining my own consumer frenzy and to learn more about what was behind my rush to buy, buy, buy.  My clothing fast ignited a movement from women all over the globe who had a similar interest and eventually what started as a very little idea blossomed into a very popular and well publicized international community blog.  Who knew?

What came out of my year of abstinence was a desire to learn more about the products I was buying and to make conscious choices about how to spend my money.  In other words I wanted to spend not just with my hard earned cash but also with my values.  I found I wanted to move as far away as I could from disposable apparel and instead to discover and learn about companies that had a commitment to quality and lasting design.   These realizations lead me to the Made in America movement where I uncovered for myself a vast array of small, super cool businesses (like our very own Longshot Apparel) that are committed to manufacturing beautiful quality product here in the United States.

Every week now I am reading about a new startup company, making apparel, furniture and appliances here in America—it’s like one big snowball effect!   This week I stumbled upon Raleigh Denim and last week it was Civilainaire Denim, super cool companies out of North Carolina and Los Angeles respectively.  Now this is something to get excited about.