In an industry long criticized for sweatshop labor, toxic dyes, and mountains of fast-fashion waste, one brand has quietly built a radically different model right in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles Apparel, founded in 2016 by Dov Charney (the controversial former CEO of American Apparel), has spent the last nine years proving that high-quality, trendy clothing can be made ethically, transparently, and profitably, entirely within the United States. While many brands slap “sustainable” labels on overseas production, Los Angeles Apparel manufactures every garment in its South Central and Hawthorne factories, paying workers an average of $20–$25 an hour plus benefits, and openly publishing wage data most companies keep secret.
The result? A vertically integrated operation that controls every step from knitting fabric to sewing the final stitch, cutting out middlemen, reducing transportation emissions, and, most importantly, treating garment workers like skilled professionals instead of disposable labor. In 2025, as “reshoring” becomes a buzzword, Los Angeles Apparel has already been living the reality for nearly a decade.
A Living Wage in an Industry Built on Poverty Wages
The average garment worker in Bangladesh earns roughly $113 a month. In Los Angeles Apparel factories, entry-level sewing machine operators start at $18–$20 an hour and experienced workers regularly earn $25–$30 with overtime and bonuses. The company employs over 1,500 people (mostly Latino and immigrant women) and offers health insurance, paid sick leave, free onsite childcare at one facility, and even interest-free payroll advances. In 2024, the company published a transparency report showing its highest-paid sewer earned $92,000 that year.
These aren’t charity wages; they’re the result of ruthless efficiency and vertical integration. By owning the dyeing, cutting, sewing, and distribution facilities under one corporate roof, Los Angeles Apparel eliminates the 30–40% markups that brands normally pay to overseas contractors. That savings is redirected into higher labor costs without inflating retail prices dramatically.
Vertical Integration: The Secret Sauce
Most clothing brands design in New York or Los Angeles, source fabric from China, cut in Vietnam, sew in Bangladesh, and ship through Long Beach. Each handoff adds cost, time, and carbon emissions. Los Angeles Apparel does almost everything within a 15-mile radius:
- Cotton yarn is knitted into fabric at their Vernon facility.
- Fabric is dyed in-house using low-water dyeing machines and GOTS-certified dyes.
- Garments are cut and sewn in South Central Los Angeles factories.
- Finished pieces are photographed, packed, and shipped from the same campus.
The lead time from design to door can be as short as three weeks (versus 9–12 months for most fast-fashion brands). This speed allows the company to produce limited runs, reduce overproduction, and respond quickly to trends without flooding landfills with unsold inventory.
Quality That Actually Lasts
Los Angeles Apparel has built a cult following for its heavyweight 100% USA cotton tees (6.5–8 oz fabric), substantial French terry hoodies, and near-indestructible leggings. TikTok and Reddit are filled with testimonials like “I’ve washed this Los Angeles Apparel tee 200 times and it still looks new” or “My American Apparel leggings from 2012 finally gave out, so I bought the Los Angeles Apparel version; same DNA, better execution.”
Because the company isn’t chasing the race-to-the-bottom pricing of Shein or Fashion Nova, it can use premium ring-spun cotton, double-stitch critical seams, and reinforce stress points. The result is clothing designed to be worn for years, not weeks, quietly pushing back against the throwaway culture that generates 92 million tons of textile waste annually.
Transparency Most Brands Won’t Touch
While Patagonia and Everlane publish glossy sustainability reports, few American brands disclose actual factory wages. Los Angeles Apparel posts minimum wage, average wage, and top-earner data on its website every year. It live-streamed factory tours during the pandemic and still allows scheduled in-person visits. The company even lists every single supplier (from thread to hang tags) with addresses and contact information.
This level of openness forces accountability. When activists criticized early overtime practices in 2018, the company responded by installing biometric clocks and publishing hourly data, turning a PR headache into a trust-building moment.
The Dov Charney Factor: Complicated, But Effective
No article about Los Angeles Apparel would be honest without addressing its founder. Dov Charney was fired from American Apparel in 2014 amid sexual harassment allegations (allegations he has always denied or framed as consensual). He started Los Angeles Apparel two years later with a $15 million personal investment and a non-disclosure-heavy employee handbook that emphasizes “adult workplace culture.”
The company has faced lawsuits (some settled, some ongoing), and critics argue it benefits from Charney’s past notoriety while trying to distance itself. Yet factory workers interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Vice, and smaller outlets consistently describe fair pay, safe conditions, and pride in building an American-made brand. Whatever one thinks of the founder, the model he built is now larger than American Apparel ever was at its peak.
Environmental Impact in the Real World
Producing in Los Angeles isn’t automatically “greener” than producing overseas; electricity rates are higher and water is scarce. Los Angeles Apparel counters this with aggressive efficiency:
- Solar panels on factory roofs generate 30% of electricity needs.
- Water recycling systems reuse 60% of dyeing water.
- All cardboard and fabric scraps are recycled; fabric waste is turned into cleaning rags sold to auto shops.
- Shipping distances are drastically reduced; a hoodie sold in California might travel only 300 miles total instead of 12,000.
The company isn’t carbon-neutral yet, but its per-garment emissions are significantly lower than comparable overseas production when transportation is factored in.
The Bigger Picture for American Manufacturing
Los Angeles Apparel is now one of the largest clothing manufacturers still operating in the United States. It proved that sexy, affordable, ethical clothing can be made domestically at scale. Brands like SKIMS, Savage X Fenty, and even some Reformation pieces now sew limited runs in the same Los Angeles ecosystem that Los Angeles Apparel helped keep alive through the offshoring exodus of the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2025, with new tariffs looming and consumers increasingly asking, “Where was this made?”, Los Angeles Apparel isn’t just riding a trend; it built the blueprint everyone else is scrambling to copy.
Image 1 (insert in article)
Caption: Inside the Los Angeles Apparel dyeing and cutting facility in Vernon, California [Alt text: Workers operating modern low-water dyeing machines surrounded by rolls of freshly dyed fabric in bright colors]
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Caption: A sewing floor in South Central Los Angeles, 2024 [Alt text: Rows of industrial sewing machines with mostly Latina workers producing heavyweight cotton garments]
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Caption: The iconic Los Angeles Apparel heavyweight tee wall at the Alameda warehouse [Alt text: Wall display showing dozens of folded T-shirts in every color, emphasizing the brand’s core product]
FAQ – Los Angeles Apparel
Q: Is Los Angeles Apparel the same as American Apparel? A: No. American Apparel went bankrupt in 2015–2016 and its brand/assets were sold. Los Angeles Apparel was founded independently by Dov Charney in 2016 and is a completely separate company.
Q: Does Los Angeles Apparel use sustainable materials? A: Most garments are 100% USA-grown cotton or cotton-poly blends. The company uses some organic cotton and recycled polyester lines, but the primary focus is ethical domestic manufacturing rather than organic certification.
Q: What is the average wage at Los Angeles Apparel factories? A: As of 2024, the company reports an average hourly wage of $22.50 across all production roles, with many experienced workers earning $25–$30+ with overtime.
Q: Where can I tour the factory? A: Scheduled public tours are available monthly. Sign up on the official website under “Factory Tours.”
Further Reading
- Wikipedia – Los Angeles Apparel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Apparel
- “How Los Angeles Apparel Pays Garment Workers Double the Industry ”Average”—Medium article (2023): https://medium.com/@ethicalfashion/la-apparel-wages-2023
- Official Transparency & Wage Report 2024: https://losangelesapparel.net/pages/transparency
In an era of greenwashing and performative ethics, Los Angeles Apparel’s stubborn commitment to making everything in-house, paying real living wages, and refusing to hide the messy details is nothing short of revolutionary. Whether you love or hate its founder, the numbers and the clothes don’t lie: ethical American manufacturing isn’t a fairy tale. It’s happening right now in South Central Los Angeles, one heavyweight tee at a time.
