Transition to Made in Canada

Drink Canadian Beer. Eat Canadian Beef. Wear Canadian Clothes.

Since Local Laundry was started back in 2015, Building Community has been at the centre and the driving force behind everything that we do. It started with by simply giving 10% of all our profits back to local charities that our customers help choose, and has evolved into every single aspect of our company. When we are about to make a decision whether it be about marketing, strategy or even finance, we always have to ask ourselves “How will this help our goal of building community?”, and if it doesn’t help our goal of making a positive impact on the community, then we don’t do it. To see all the various ways we build community check our some of our earlier blogs.

Which is why recently, we wanted to take our commitment to building community one step further and we looked internally at our production. We have decided to make the transition to move all of our production and manufacturing of our gear to Made in Canada. We felt that in order to truly support local and those around us we needed to step up our game.

We as Canadians need start supporting all types of Canadian manufacturers such as clothing, food, beer etc. with our hearts and wallets as much as we can. Every time you decide to purchase something that is Made right here in Canada you are voting in favour of Canadian businesses and Canadian manufacturing of all types.

By supporting Made in Canada products, you are supporting products which are often of better quality, will last longer, and with the knowledge that you're typically supporting a small businesses, closer to home, which keeps more money in the country and goes a long way to help keep manufacturing alive here. Additionally, Made in Canada manufacturing companies are subject to familiar, comparatively transparent and Canadian labour and environment standards and these manufacturers are often less prone to corruption and subversion than in other countries.

Another driving force behind the switch is we believe in supporting a diverse economy here in Canada, and that the production of finished goods like clothing is something that should be encouraged throughout the country. We want to contribute to a more diverse economy in any way we can. By supporting Canadian Manufacturing it is one way to do just that. It helps keep money in the Canadian economy and helps ensure that money gets re-invested in the manufacturing industry, those that work in it, those that support or supply it and the Canadian economy as a whole.

So what does this mean? For starters, we have stopped making orders on anything that is not Made on Canadian soil. This transition and shift to Canadian made products will take some time and will not happen overnight. We will still have some products for sale that were sourced outside of Canada for the next few months and we will continue selling them online and through our Community partners until we have sold out of them. Once they are gone, we will not be adding any type of product unless it is Made in Canada

What does this mean for you and our community? Yes, our prices will be going up while our profits will go down. We will actually be making LESS money by using Made in Canada clothing. Manufacturing clothing here in Canada is not cheap. We will not aim to compete with overseas production in price, so our prices will quite simply never compare. Clothes manufactured in Canada is expensive because it is using Canadian labour and environment standards. We want to ensure that the production facilities we use are paying livable wages in safe working environments.

One way to deal with the increase in cost is to simply buy fewer items, and keep all of our wardrobes smaller. This is doubly beneficial in that it resists cancer that is fast fashion, and that it reduces the waste produced by our wardrobe choices. We are firm believers in the saying that we should all be buying better and buying less. We aren’t saying go throw out your whole wardrobe and only fill it with Made in Canada products by tomorrow. Instead, we are asking you to make a conscious effort to look at the labels of the clothes you buy and ask brands where they manufacture and why they choose to manufacture in Canada or why they choose not to. If everyone were to buy just one Made in Canada piece a year, it could go a long way in helping to revive and build the Canadian clothing industry, while weaning the Canadian dependence on overseas manufacturing.

So please help us with our goal to build more Community in Canada by supporting local, supporting Canadian crafters and those that are trying to build cool things in our country and make a positive impact. Check labels, ask questions and vote with your hearts and wallets on what is important to you. Drink Canadian beer. Eat Canadian beef. Wear Canadian Clothes. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to fire us an email or direct message.