From the fields to your closet, Magnolia Loom is changing how we think about our clothes. This Georgia-based apparel company is taking a ‘farm to fiber’ approach, ensuring transparency, supporting local farmers, and creating American-made products. Recently, Scott Chapman, co-founder, spoke on the company’s mission.
Magnolia Loom, a Sandersville, GA based apparel company, is making strides in redefining the Georgia cotton supply chain, advocating for local jobs and increased farmer profitability through its “farm to fiber” business model. The company’s co-founder, Scott Chapman, spoke at the Bulloch County Farm City Week breakfast on Tuesday, issuing a call to action for the local agricultural community to support their vision.
Chapman detailed the company’s commitment to creating a fully traceable, Georgia-grown, and American-made t-shirt. He explained that a central goal of Magnolia Loom is providing transparency for consumers, noting that every shirt includes a neck label and QR code linking the garment back to the specific farm and county where the cotton was grown.
“We want to know the farmer that grew it. We want to know the whole process that goes through to come back and be a Magnolia Loom T-shirt,” Chapman said. “To those people out there who are not us… they find it pretty cool to be able to meet the farmer that grew the cotton that made their shirt.”
Local value and farmer premium
The company’s model is designed to maximize local economic return. Chapman stated that 90% of the money from a typical $35 Magnolia Loom t-shirt remains in the state of Georgia. Furthermore, the company offers its cotton growers a financial incentive that exceeds market standards.
“We’re always gonna pay 20% more in market, never less than $1.00,” Chapman shared, stressing that this premium helps sustain local cotton farming operations. The goal, he said, is to “add local value, not world value.”
Andrea Whitfield, who introduced Chapman on behalf of the Bulloch Ag Council, highlighted the importance of supporting this local initiative by announcing that the council had purchased a Magnolia Loom t-shirt for every attendee. The gift, she said, helps “tell the story about buying local, buying USA.”
A call for internal support
Despite the company’s strong local commitment and current annual production of 35,000 to 40,000 shirts, Chapman said that they require increased support from the agriculture community itself to scale their operation.
“If only 20% of [the people who make their living from agriculture in Georgia] bought one t-shirt from us… it would max out our current production capabilities,” he explained. Reaching this threshold would necessitate buying more cotton, working with more growers, and expanding their facility, thereby fulfilling their mission to be a “bigger part of the solution” for Georgia cotton farmers.
Chapman concluded by encouraging local citizens and businesses to participate in this bottom-up solution.
Source: https://www.griceconnect.com/