When Designers Want Their Clothes 'Made in the USA'

In the nearly four decades since Cody Campbell’s family began hand-blocking fedoras, porkpies, and straw hats in New York’s Garment District, the domestic apparel industry has shrunk dramatically. But when it comes to marketing and sales, things aren’t much different from 1974, when Campbell’s mother opened Makins Hats. “Most of the companies are not online, or they have awful, awful websites. Your grandpa might still own the company. He’s still taking orders by hand over the phone–what the hell does he care about the Internet?” says Campbell, 34. “Factories are hidden away on upper floors of buildings. You have to get referrals from this guy, who calls that guy, who knows another guy, before you can even find them.”

A new online directory of domestic manufacturers, Maker’s Row, is tackling these problems by giving U.S. manufacturers an easy way to market their goods and services and help entrepreneurs find them, say founders Matthew Burnett, 28, and Tanya Menendez, 24. The pair—with a third partner, 29-year-old Scott Weiner—launched the venture in June 2012 as part of accelerator program Brooklyn Beta Summer Camp. So far, they have raised $75,000 in angel investment and have listed 1,200 manufacturers, large and small, across the country.