Brave Threads, a California-based t-shirt company, offers distinctive t-shirts with original artwork created by American artists, combining experience, entrepreneurial spirit and passion to give to the community something quite unique. Brave Threads t-shirts are printed on 100% organic cotton using environmentally friendly ink. The tees are not only grown, sewn and printed using American farmers, manufacturers and printers, but the company also reinvests a portion of the proceeds back into other American small businesses. Brave Threads is proud to have limited-run products that are created domestically, and each month they release a new theme of designs that has challenged the creativity of each of their designers.
The team behind the business is made of three people: CHERI LARSH ARELLANO (founder of Conscious Creative), MARK ARELLANO (writer, director and cinematographer) and JAKE BRERETON (founder of Green Town Toys). These three have teamed up to bring you T-shirts that you won’t find anywhere else and, equally important, shirts that support American entrepreneurs and artists from coast-to-coast. Brave Threads reinvests 10% of all proceeds into American entrepreneurs and small business owners via Kiva (a non-profit that provides micro-financing to new business owners). So even if you don’t buy a tee, you can still make a Kiva account and join their lending team to make a difference. In fact, if you use this link, all T-Shirt Factory readers can make their first $25 donation absolutely free! Simply sign up for Kiva and you will receive $25 to invest in a small business owner anywhere in the world. Pretty neat!
Their latest collection, which was inspired by the theme “Love,” really caught my attention. One design in particular, the HEART OF ROSES, came from marker drawings of roses, reminiscent of ancient Mayan glyph. The design is equally simple and effective, making it representative for the theme and for what we associate the word “love” with.
I know what some of you may be thinking – the price ($39) is high. I say we got used to a lot of cheap stuff and take quality for granted. American-made products can be more expensive, but this is often a result of a commitment to high standards of quality, and skilled, fairly paid labor. Yes, this point needs to be underlined! And every Brave Threads T-shirt bought supports farmers, manufacturers and designers across the United States.
Brave Threads also sell blanks and offers wholesale quantities of both graphic and blank tees, so if you are interested in collaborating with these fine people, feel free to contact them! For customers, you should know they’re now shipping to over 30 countries worldwide so check the site, choose your t-shirt or a sexy tank top and become an entrepreneur yourself.
Here is the entire set of t-shirts from the “LOVE” collection and see more on their Facebook page and Pinterest for the latest news and inspirational pins!
