Good plain ethical t-shirts

Beyond "Made in the USA"

This week I’m airing some of the best fashion reporting I have ever heard. No joke!

If you check the feed, you’ll see a story called Made in the USA- which is an augmented version of a story called Made in America that aired originally on Planet Money. It’s about what it really means for a garment to be made domestically…and it’s not what I imagined at all.

This story struck me as a perfect little addendum to the military series, which was very much about American manufacture as it relates to the Berry Amendment (which stipulates that all military clothing needs to be made in the US).

However, I didn’t report this brilliant piece, so its not like I have extra pictures or links to add to the conversation. That was all Sarah Gonzales over at Planet Money. But! Here’s what I can contribute.

Sarah first started her research into clothing when she began looking for a plain, simple, ethical shirt. Something she could feel good about wearing, and letting her baby rest on. She still hasn’t found her perfect shirt yet….

And while none of these shirts are perfect- I think they are pretty great.

These are not affiliate links! Just genuinely sharing some shirts I really like. And please, weigh in the comments (or the subscriber chat if you’re a paid member) and let me know other brands you trust. I always like to learn about new companies.

Right off the bat, I’ll say my favorite plain white shirt was NOT made in the USA (so points deducted for shipping etc)- but it was designed and made in Australia, which is home to one of my favorite brands, Art Club. I love that their pieces are numbered in editions and often signed by the sewists who made them. I mean this cotton waffle t-shirt is not cheap, but I find it very chic and I wear it over and over again.

Another standby of mine that I wear constantly is the Little T Shirt from FM 669. Again, I’m not saying Made in the USA is perfect but I do like that the cotton actually comes from Texas (ingredients matter!) and it was designed and made in New York. It has this sleek edgy boxy fit that makes me feel like Patti Smith. It comes in other moody colors like black, grey, and taupe.

Did you know our friends over at Buck Mason took over a shirt factory in Pennsylvania? That’s where they make this super soft plain T shirt. It comes in many colors other than white.

I also love that American Giant is very honest about its entire domestic supply chain: they use domestically grown raw cotton, which is cleaned and prepared at Enfield Gin (Enfield, NC), spun into yarn at Parkdale Mills (Gaffney, SC), and then the yarn is knit into fabric at Clover Knitting (Cover, SC), and cut and sewn into a finished product at Eagle Sportswear (Middlesex, NC).

Spoiler- I’m planning on joining them for a future cotton harvest and following their supply chain. But ultimately, their final product shirts are also extremely soft and comfy

There are a number of black cotton farmers who are reclaiming their connection to the crop. The leader of this movement is Julius Tilley, who is a 5th generation cotton farmer from North Carolina. While his t-shirts are not plain, they make a statement. But if you’re looking to support black cotton farms with a plain shirt, the multi-hyphenate journalist Stephen Satterfield’s new project COMOCO is also supporting black-grown cotton

Do you have a favorite plain, simple, relatively ethical t-shirt? I am all ears. But in the meantime, listen to the latest episode. It’s amazing. I won’t lie, I’m a little jealous and I wish I made it.

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Update: Ok! Thank you all so much for weighing in! These are some of the shirts that you have written in the comments or sent to me:

Goodwear has been making their t-shirt since 1980s (comes in many cuts and colors!)

Everybody.World seems to be picking up where American Apparel left off, with lots of multicolor made in usa basics

Imogene and Willie’s cotton t is grown and sewn entirely within a 400-mile radius from nashville.

Faan tees are made of organic cotton grown in the US and they’re EXTREMELY ethically sourced, even publishing a list of all their partners and how much they were paid (really interesting)!

Another cradle-to-cradle, made-to-measure Australian brand is Citizen Wolf, who apparently uses AI to make sure that you have a good fit?! (They also use recycled cotton) - makes mens and womens.

Lady White USA-grown cotton shirts come in a two pack! (And it’s not for ladies, despite the name- its unisex)

Wol Hide mades undyed, comfy slouchy shirts and basics (and some of their other styles have an American Apparel sexy vibe to them):

House of Blanks shirts and crewnecks come in a lot of colors and can be bought wholesale (if you are, say, looking to print shirts):

And last but not least, a stylish recco from our friend Audrey Kalman, in her own words.

Despise Gossip is a very much on-the-rise small operation based in North Carolina, USA, run by a young guy named Jackson Underwood. Here’s DG’s Patreon and Instagram.

This t-shirt of theirs is superb. I feel confident calling it the best white t-shirt I’ve worn. It’s made of linen and just transparent enough. Here are some on-body fit pics I greatly enjoyed modeling:

I’ve been doing this move where I wear a semi-transparent shirt (mainly one of my Gnuhr shag t’s) over a vintage graphic t. It’s a lot of fun and creates dare I say a neat effect, as pictured above.

With this white t, you can customize the torso length and sleeve length which are very nice options to have. Here’s a photo that illustrated the level of sheerness: