Information herein is based on a press release posted by SGB Media on May 29, 2019.

Outdoor Research (OR), a very well-known apparel and outdoor brand based in Seattle, Washington, has added a new U.S. facility in El Monte, California. In doing so, it has doubled the number of employees manufacturing apparel and gear in the U.S. to 200 employees.

Now granted OR has been creating products for the U.S. military and tactical markets for 25 years (that’s 1994 for those of you who are doing the math) with its U.S. manufacturing capabilities, but this is a story of a successful outdoor gear manufacturer doubling down on U.S. manufacturing and continuing to enhance the capabilities of its products that are 100% American-made.

The beneficial economic impact of this type of investment to the U.S. economy is very large when considering the direct, indirect, and induced economic effects. I’ll save the economics lesson, but here is a brief example from a Penn State University project that will shed some light on the concepts. This is a big deal, so I had to help spread the word!