Molly Hemstreet has seen the up and downs of American manufacturing growing up in Morganton, North Carolina.

“Like many rural, North Carolina towns, our community was really decimated when the furniture and textile industries left,” said Molly Hemstreet, Co-founder and General Manager of Opportunity Threads. “But we saw this as an opportunity to rebuild and recapture the voice of the individual in the workplace.”

Founded in 2009, Opportunity Threads, is a full scale worker-owned, eco-textile cut and sew plant in the heart of South­ern Appalachia’s tra­di­tional tex­tile coun­try. “Most labor in Appalachia has tra­di­tion­ally been ten­u­ous and extrac­tive,” said Hemstreet, “We use a worker-ownership model to build assets, pay fair wages, and retain and grow cap­i­tal in our own local communities.”

Since 1994, the U.S. textile and apparel industry has lost over a million jobs to outsourcing according the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. The USDLS estimates that 25% of the remaining jobs will be lost this decade.

“We know how hard this sector has been hit. There are lots of people here in the U.S. who want to work and we are doing our best to make that possible,” said Yura. “When we discovered Opportunity Threads, and saw how the are empowering individual workers, we knew we had to find a way to do something together.”

“Partnerships with sustainability-driven companies like SustainU are key for our growth and rebuilding the manufacturing foundation of our country,” said Hemstreet. “And we are excited for the growing audience a company like SustainU provides for this new wave of American workmanship.”

Opportunity Threads is currently manufacturing 1000 units of the Alpha Wik performance shirt for SustainU.

“Our company is constantly looking for partners in our supply chain that share the same values that can also grow with our brand” says Yura.  “Opportunity Threads jumped out as being a quality cut and sew with an incredible story.”

Nov 15, 2012 – Morgantown, West Virginia – SustainU, a leading producer of clothing using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials that are manufactured in the USA, today announced that it will be previewing its Spring Collection with The Clymb.

“The Clymb caught our attention because of their drive to inspire adventure in people and deliver member-exclusive deals from premium brands. They are an innovative and cutting-edge company and their love for the outdoors and people is a great fit for us” said Chris Yura, CEO and founder of SustainU. “We are really excited to preview our Spring Collection with The Clymb’s 1 million-plus members.”

SustainU’s collection of men’s and women’s crew and v-neck graphic tees, a performance shirt and a pullover hoodie is made entirely in the USA and from 100% recycled material.

“The environmental and social impact of clothing is significant,” said Mike Wright, Senior Buyer for The Clymb “The fact that one shirt made from recycled materials can save over 700 gallons of water, a half a gallon of gasoline, 12 kg of CO2 is both incredible and significant. But we are just as excited about the social importance of what SustainU is doing; bringing jobs back to the U.S.”

Since 1994, the U.S. textile and apparel industry has lost over a million jobs to outsourcing according the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. The USDLS estimates that 25% of the remaining jobs will be lost this decade.

“We know how hard this sector has been hit. There are lots of people here in the U.S. who want to work and we are doing our best to make that possible,” said Yura. “When we discovered Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned cut and sew in North Carolina, we knew we had to find a way to do something together and so now they are sewing our Alpha Wik performance shirt that will be previewing on The Clymb.”

“Like many rural, North Carolina towns, our community was really decimated when the furniture and textile industries left,” said Molly Hemstreet, Co-founder and General Manager of Opportunity Threads. “But we saw this as an opportunity to rebuild and recapture the voice of the individual in the workplace. Partnerships with sustainability-driven companies like SustainU are key for our growth and rebuilding the manufacturing foundation of our country. And we are excited for the broad audience a company like The Clymb provides for this new wave of American workmanship.”

A selection of SustainU tees, performance wear and hoodies will be available in limited quantities for 96 hours on TheClymb.com beginning November 15, 2012.

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About The Clymb (theClymb.com)

For those who find their passion in the outdoors, The Clymb inspires human-powered adventure by delivering member-exclusive pricing on premium brands and experiences, hand-picked by our team of fellow enthusiasts and experts. Membership is free, allowing users to shape the community by inviting like-minded friends. The company is based in Portland, Ore., and was founded in 2009 by a seasoned team of outdoor and sport industry veterans. For more information, visit: theclymb.com

For media inquiries, please contact Britt Hermanski at 503.334.3565 or britt@theclymb.com

About Opportunity Threads (OpportunityThreads.com)

Opportunity Threads is a worker-owned, cut and sew plant based in Mor¬gan¬ton, North Car¬olina. We partner with innovative companies to create true triple bottom line impact- providing jobs and long-term economic advancement for workers, space for leadership development, and environmentally responsible practices in production. We value and pro¬vide qual¬ity, reli¬a¬bil¬ity and a per¬sonal rela¬tion¬ship with clients who want to know the story and face behind the prod¬ucts that they sell. We are proud to be part of the movement and the next generation or workers revitalizing the US textile industry.

And often a t-shirt becomes a symbol, a canvas upon which you can write and share about those thing that really matter. Clothing brings us together, it unifies us around a common cause.

And SustainU is working hard to protect the environment and bring jobs back to the devastated textile regions of the US, by making 100% recycled, 100% American-made clothing and apparel.

SustainU and the Clymb want to hear your story and we want to help you wear an even better one.

Share how your organization is making a difference in the world by commenting on our FACEBOOK POST. Get your friends to “LIKE” your post and we will pick one group to win 100 SustainU custom-printed tees. A blank canvas to share your story.

We will also pick a few of the best stories to feature on our Wear a Better Story page at SustainUclothing.com.

Wear a better story.

All comments and “likes” must be posted before Monday, November 19.

CLICK HERE TO SHARE YOUR STORY

Hurry, hurry, hurry folks! Step right up and get them while they’re hot.

No we’re not talking about those delicious Bridge Day funnel cakes. We wanted to let you know to be sure to get your Official Bridge Day 2012 apparel as soon as you step foot on the Bridge.

For the third consecutive year, SustainU Apparel has partnered with Bridge Day to provide the official T-shirts for the event. And we think it’s a great fit. No pun intended.

Bridge Day 2012 Shirt Design

SustainU, a West Virginia company headquarted in Morgantown, is a leading producer of high quality apparel, using 100% recycled materials in their fabrics. And what’s even better is that the shirts are made right here in the USA (just like our favorite Bridge).

Why SustainU?

Using a West Virginia clothing company that makes shirts right here in the US just makes sense. Bridge Day is a great fall festival, thanks in large part to theAmerican ingenuity and hard work that went into building our amazing New River Gorge Bridge. When it was completed in 1977, it was the longest steel single-span arch bridge and the highest vehicular bridge in the world. It’s no wonder we still celebrate this marvel every fall.

Another reason SustainU is the right company for Bridge Day shirts? The use of recycled materials in its clothing. One of West Virginia’s greatest assets is its abundant natural resources, and protecting and conserving them has become much more of a priority in the past decade. Bridge Day is serious about recycling. This is just another way to show it.

Want One?

SustainU will have three tents on Bridge Day. They will be offering short and long sleeve shirts and hoodies at these locations. Make sure you don’t wait to grab yours; shirts have sold out the past few years.

It’s also important to note that half the profits from the sales of the shirts will be donated to theFayette County Chamber of Commerce. This helps them continue to make Bridge Day bigger and better every year.

Are you planning to pick up a shirt?

Source: OfficialBridgeDay.com

Morgantown, WV–October 11, 2012 SustainU, a leading producer of clothing using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials that are manufactured in the USA, today announced that it will be supplying the Austin City Limits Festival volunteer shirts.

“We are very excited to be working with the Austin City Limits Music Festival. They are a premiere music event and their sustainability efforts are setting a great example for many across the country” said Chris Yura, CEO and founder of SustainU. “We are excited for their volunteers to be outfitted in our shirts and to know they are helping to create jobs and protect the planet in the process.”

Since 1994, the American textile and apparel manufacturing sector has lost more than 1 million jobs, 65% of the entire industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an additional 25% of the jobs (53,7000) will be gone before 2020.

One T-shirt can require up to 712 gallons of water, 12kg of CO2 and half a gallon of gasoline to produce. Using recycled material can makes a significant environmental difference.

“When throwing an outdoor music festival, there’s a lot more to think about than putting on a great rock show,” said Emily Stengel of the Austin City Limits Festival “We’re really happy to be able to work with SustainU and provide a uniquely sustainable shirt to our volunteers. This is a small part of our commitment to ensuring a greener future for Zilker Park and Austin.”

The Austin City Limits Music Festival occurs October 12-14 and features headliners, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, The Black Keys, Jack White, The Avett Brothers as well as more than 100 national and regional acts.

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Austin City Limits Music Festival (http://www.ACLfestival.com )
Austin City Limits Music Festival is one of the nation’s premiere music festivals, presenting over 130 bands on eight stages over three days. ACL’s 70,000 fans per day experience a diverse lineup, incredible eats from local restaurants, an art market where artists and artisans showcase their wares, and ACL Cares, a showcase of local and national causes where fans can make a difference. ACL’s award winning commitment to greening ranges from powering the festival with biodiesel generators to front and back of house composting. The festival employs 500 volunteers daily, 200 of which are dedicated to greening efforts.

“Every year, from the beginning of the first days of September, the entire country is immersed in a cotton hysteria,” said Hakim, a human rights activist based in Tashkent, who asked his last name not be used for fear of persecution. “Urban residents are in a panic looking for a way to escape slavery and not be sent to work.”

“Rural residents have long been resigned to it, and cotton is seen as an integral part of their lives,” he added.

Across the country, state-run institutions from banks to hospitals have closed or are working with skeleton staffs. Posters hang on locked doors, and shuttered windows bear the words “Hamma pahtada,” which translates to “Everybody’s gone cotton-picking.”

Uzbekistan is the world’s third-largest exporter of raw cotton, behind the United States and Africa, and generates about $1 billion in annual revenue in exporting the material.

Prime Minister Shankar Mirziyayev has failed to keep his promise to end child labor in the cotton fields, according to human rights observers who monitored working conditions in the countryside.

The Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan has reported seeing children as young as 13, as well as college students, at work in the cotton-growing regions of Jizzakh and Kashkadarya.
Read more: Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

September 24, 2011

Read full story at: Outdoor USA Magazine

Starting this fall the two organizations will be working towards promoting and delivering a new member benefit directed towards the college, university, and military markets.

“We are very excited to be partnering with AORE their many college and university outdoor programs and students,” said Chris Yura, CEO and founder of SustainU. “It is vitally important to instill sustainable practices and values in the next generation and we are very happy to be able to provide 100% recycled, made in the USA products that reflects the good values of AORE and its membership.”

“The majority of participants who frequent our member programs are young and impressionable. Participants are also educated and are learning about their purchasing impact and power, as well as are cultivating an environmental awareness. AORE is ecstatic that SustainU is demonstrating their commitment to the Association by generously donating a portion of sales back to the Association. This joint partnership furthers the influence of members and their purchasing in the industry of outdoor recreation and education,” said Jeannette Stawski, AORE Executive Director

Some of the joint benefits for members of both organizations include:

• An avenue to provide high quality US made, 100% recycled clothing options to AORE member programs.
• AORE members will enjoy a 10% discount on their first SustainU Custom order placed between now and December 31, 2012.
• Sustain U will donate back to the AORE 5% of total sales to help further the AORE.

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About AORE (AORE.org)
The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) is an organization developed by and for outdoor recreation and education professionals and students. Founded at the International Conference on Outdoor Recreation in 1993, AORE is a grass roots organization dedicated to advancing the field of outdoor recreation and education. AORE is the only organization dedicated to serving the needs of recreation and education professionals in non-profit settings. Through AORE, members have a mechanism to interact with and affect decisions made by public land managers and the human powered outdoor recreation industry. AORE is committed to promoting ecologically sound stewardship of the natural environment and serves as a collective voice for its members regarding topics of regional and national concern.

September 19, 2012 – Morgantown, West Virginia – SustainU, a leading producer of high quality apparel using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials manufactured in the US, has been named the official apparel provider for the Bridge Day Festival, an annual extreme sports event at the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette County, West Virginia.  This is SustainU’s third year collaborating with Bridge Day.

“It is an honor for SustainU to provide Bridge Day attendees with products made with American labor and recycled technology,” said SustainU CEO, Chris Yura.  “West Virginia has tremendous natural and human resources. We all have to work together to make the most of what we do have.”

Predicated on the message of social, environmental and economic sustainability, SustainU is focused on changing the way clothing is made by creating new jobs and a more environmentally-conscious alternative in clothing.

“We are proud to partner with SustainU because we understand the positive impact something as simple as a t-shirt can have on the environment and in bringing jobs back to the US,” said Cindy Dragan, Chair of the New River Gorge Bridge Day. “With the philosophy of ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” fast becoming the industry standard for events large and small, Bridge Day is stepping up to the plate to lead the way in working toward a sustainable and environmentally friendly event.”

SustainU will have three tents set up for festival goers to purchase official Bridge Day long and short sleeve t-shirts and hoodies.  SustainU will also be providing shirts to Bridge Day volunteers.

SustainU will donate half of the profits from Bridge Day apparel sales to the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

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About Bridge Day (officialbridgeday.com)
Bridge Day is an extreme sports event held annually on the third Saturday in October in Fayette County, West Virginia.  The 876′ tall New River Gorge Bridge, serves as the launch point for safe, legal BASE jumps.This is the only day of the year that traffic is shut down and spectators can safely and legally walk across the world’s second longest single arch bridge.  The 2012 festival will take place on Saturday, October 20th.

September 12, 2012 – Morgantown, West Virginia – SustainU, a leading producer of clothing using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials that are manufactured in the USA, today announced a co-brand program with Eastern Mountain Sports, which will carry men’s and women’s graphic tees in 49 of its leading stores beginning September 17. The co-branded collection will be distinguished by an “EMS, Powered by SustainU” hangtag. 

“We are very excited to be working with EMS. They are a ground-breaking company, looking to offer their customers both environmentally and socially sustainable clothing options,” said Chris Yura, CEO and founder of SustainU. “Less than 2% of the clothing sold in the US is actually made here. It is vital that we begin to bring this part of our economy back and the jobs that go with it.”

Since 1994, the American textile and apparel-manufacturing sector has lost more than 1 million jobs, 65% of the entire industry. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an additional 25% of the jobs (53,7000) will be gone before 2020.

“As an outdoor retailer, Eastern Mountain Sports is committed to doing everything we can to preserve and protect our planet,” said Eastern Mountain Sports CEO Will Manzer. “That’s why we’re proud to partner with SustainU to reduce the environmental impact of our graphic t-shirts while supporting a small, American business.”

Eastern Mountain Sports will offer the co-branded collection in two men’s and two women’s graphic tees in retail locations, including its online web store (EMS.com). “We look forward to growing our 100% recycled, made in the USA programs in the near future as consumers get more and more on board with these products,” said Jen Edes, EMS Sr. Director Sourcing & Product Development.

A complete list of stores carrying the SustainU line can be found at SustainUclothing.com/EMS.

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About SustainU (SustainUclothing.com)

SustainU produces high quality apparel using fabrics made from 100% recycled materials that are manufactured in the USA to provide extraordinary comfort and wear, while reducing environmental waste, carbon emissions and water use. Our mission is to change the way clothes are made to improve the environment, reinvigorate America’s manufacturing sector, and educate the world about how clothing can positively impact people’s lives.

About Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS.com)

Founded in 1967 by two New England rock climbers and based in Peterborough, N.H., Eastern Mountain Sports is one of the nation’s leading outfitters of outdoor gear, clothing, footwear and accessories with 69 retail stores in 12 states.  Eastern Mountain Sports designs and sells products for outdoor adventurers who participate in a variety of sports, such as mountaineering, backpacking, camping, hiking, adventure racing, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and snow sports. More information is available at www.ems.com.