Hocking Hills Garment Center brings Betsy Franjola’s 25-year corporate fashion career back to Southeast Ohio, producing apparel in a repurposed 150-year-old Catholic church in Buchtel. The center combines skilled local makers with one-piece-flow manufacturing to create thoughtfully made garments while reducing waste. Rooted in a former coal-mining village, it is building a renewed model for American apparel production through training, jobs, and craft.
Sew ValleyCincinnati’s Sew Valley is a zero-waste garment factory, sample room, and incubator that helps apparel brands and entrepreneurs develop and produce their designs locally. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit focuses on small-batch manufacturing while providing shared workspace, industrial equipment, education, and practical guidance for people building sewn-product businesses. Its sustainability work includes turning fabric scraps into fill and fiber boards, while its living-wage model and 513 Green certification reflect an effort to make apparel production more ethical and circular.CINCINNATI, OH
Found SurfaceIn Cleveland, Found Surface brings designers, engineers, operators, and technicians together around a more sustainable future for U.S. apparel manufacturing. The vertically integrated company develops and makes American-made soft goods for brands and makers, keeping its sampling and production work in-house while helping train Cleveland residents for garment-manufacturing careers.CLEVELAND, OH
Columbus Apparel StudioWomen-owned and led by Ohio native Denise Falter-Conklin, Columbus Apparel Studio brings more than 25 years of fashion-industry experience to its Columbus studio. The company works with designers, entrepreneurs, retail brands and boutiques to turn early ideas into production-ready apparel, with small-batch manufacturing handled in-house.COLUMBUS, OH
Friday ThreadsFamily-owned since its 2012 founding, Friday Threads has become a Mason, Ohio, shop known for giving local teams and organizations a personal hand with branded apparel. Its in-house work helps customers turn their ideas into finished garments, serving small groups as well as organizations with hundreds of employees.MASON, OH