Some of the Brooks Brothers shirts sold in New York were supported by a factory in the small town of Garland, North Carolina. Local reporting reveals custom work, long experience, and the relationship between the factory and its community.
Classics and orders made for one person
A 2018 Business North Carolina report described orders specifying shoulder width, sleeve length, neck size, and extra room in the left cuff for a wristwatch. It also reported that the shirt Barack Obama wore at his first inauguration was made there. Source: Business North Carolina
Thirty minutes of labor and a three-week process
The News & Observer reported in 2020 that the factory produced as many as 7,000 shirts a week at its peak, many of them Original Polo Button-Down Oxfords. A shirt involved about thirty minutes of labor, while fabric took roughly three weeks to pass through the factory and become a finished garment. These figures describe different kinds of time and apply to the reporting period, not every product or era. Source: News & Observer
Experience accumulated in people
WRAL's coverage of the closure and reopening introduced Katie Herring, who had worked at the factory for 34 years, and maintenance worker Joe Osorio. Their accounts show that restarting a factory involves the return of sewing and maintenance skills as well as preserving buildings and machines. Source: WRAL
About 150 jobs in a small town
WRAL reported that about 150 people lost their jobs in a town of roughly 600 residents. Not every employee necessarily lived in the town, so this should not be converted into a resident unemployment ratio. Nearby businesses nevertheless described the empty parking lot and the loss of local income.
The 2021 restart and a broader range of work
After the 2020 closure, Garland Apparel Group worked to reopen the factory. NEEdle's eye reported a formal reopening in October 2021 and 109 employees a year later. Brooks Brothers shirts were again among its work, alongside products for other customers and US Navy uniforms. WWAY reported in February 2023 that more than 100 people were making shirts, trousers, and suit jackets. These are records from those reporting dates, not current employment or customer figures. Source: NEEdle's eye Source: WWAY
The Brooks era and what followed
Sources differ on the beginning of Brooks Brothers' ownership or operation: one report gives a 1982 acquisition, the Korean official timeline says the factory was established in 1980, and a 2020 local report describes roughly 18 years of operation. Because that discrepancy remains unresolved, this article does not fix a single starting year. Source: Brooks Brothers Korea
The closure in 2020 and later reopening under Garland Apparel Group are clearer. Producing work for Brooks Brothers after reopening is different from being a factory owned and operated by Brooks Brothers.
From a vintage shirt to its makers
Made in USA or Makers wording alone cannot identify every shirt as Garland-made. That requires evidence tied to the individual garment. Still, the factory's story directs attention to the people who adjusted cuffs, connected production steps, and maintained machinery. It is a story of skills carried into new work under a different organization.