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Oct 30 - Devium Profile
David Shuck
October 30, 2024
Devium – A New Wave of Truly Made in USA
Our look into Devium, a brand totally committed and totally transparent about being 100% made in USA.
David Shuck
The made in USA boom of the the late 2000s represented the highwater mark for domestic manufacturing post-NAFTA. Since then, many brands that began as American-made boosters have moved production overseas as they ran into the limitations and the expenses of what can still be produced within the US border.
Others have refused to give up on that dream and worked tirelessly to create fully American made goods. Devium is the most of those others, with every single item in their line completely sourced and created in USA.
Their collection of “small batch originals” spans the gamut of not just well-cut tees and knits, but also outerwear, shirts, chinos, and even footwear that’s all 100% made in USA.
A Snowboard Brand Evolves
No one in this business takes a straight line to the present, and the founders of Devium are no different. Mom and son Sheri and Cody Benjamin first set out to create snowboard jackets in 2014, Cody was an avid rider and Sheri had the business acumen from growing and selling a marketing agency.
When they began to investigate what production would entail, they realized technical outerwear would need to be done in China. But at their scale (or most anyone producing less than 100,000 units), the sourcing, labor, and quality control was a total black box, and they would have little to no ability to make something true to their vision. And if they wanted to get there, it would take years of flying back and forth and Duolingo. On the deadline of making that first order, the team had a crisis of confidence and pulled the plug.
On Flag Day, June 15, 2015, the new vision for Devium was born. Cody and Sheri set their sights closer to home, where, even if they couldn’t make something as technical as a ski jacket, they could make something that aligned with their values and the scale they wanted to produce. And what American production in 2015 were best set up to produce was high-quality workwear, often made from natural fibers.
They pledged that, from fiber to tag, Devium would only sell 100% American made clothing.
Sourcing in a Post-NAFTA Landscape
Making clothing in the United States in theory is a very different thing that making it in practice. If you’ve read this site for some time, you may be familiar with the globalizing policies like the North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA) of the 1990s that decimated domestic manufacturing. In the 1960s, we produced about 95% of clothing consumed in this country. As of 2022, it’s less than 3%.
The manufacturing world that Cody and Sheri entered was sparser and more difficult to navigate than it ever had been. They soon discovered that you simply couldn’t make technical outerwear in the United States without it costing as much as a cabin next to the ski hill. But what American makers can still and do very well is hardwearing knits and wovens from natural fibers: tees, flannels, sweatshirts, canvas chinos, and terry cloth shorts.
So all over the country they went, touring knitting mills, zipper manufacturers, cut and sew houses, piecing together everything you need to create clothing within the US border.
To legally say your product is “made in USA,” it needs to have a domestic value of at least 70%, and many companies skirt very close to that line to the point of litigation. Devium’s standard is 100%, ensuring everything they make is Berry Amendment compliant, the 1941 law that states all clothing sourced by the Department of Defense is entirely made in USA.
And they’ll be the first to tell you exactly where in USA where it came from. On the Devium webstore, you can see the provenance of every single aspect of every garment, from the fabric, to the sewing, to the buttons and labels. It’s a level of transparency we haven’t seen anywhere in the garment industry before and should set the standard for informing a consumer what exactly they’re buying.
A Lifelong Guarantee
Their first product was a trucker jacket, which they produced in Southern California. Since then, they’ve expanded to flannels, tees, chinos, sweats, windbreakers, and even footwear; all of it made with the same commitment to domestic manufacturing and representing at least a half dozen trips to mills and manufacturers all over the country.
Sheri, Cody, and the team continue to develop the collection from their HQ in the mountains of Truckee, California, but if you find something you like from them, you can be assured it will be around for many seasons to come. They’ll repair or replace anything with their label on it if there’s an issue. And the majority of their offerings are available year round, year after year, so you can return to the same flannel again and again.
Our Devium Picks
A standard fit, do everything flannel, in 100% cotton with cat-eye buttons. Comes in 11 different colors.
Available for $158 at Devium.
Devium’s modern update to the classic double-knee pant. Theirs comes in a stretch canvas with triple-stitch construction and over 50 bartacks to complement the extra hammer loops and utility pockets.
Available for $198 at Devium.
Devium’s first offering was a trucker jacket but it certainly wasn’t their last. This zip-up is like a hard-working Harrington that’s sure to see many seasons and much patina on its 10oz. waxed sailcloth canvas.
Available for $338 at Devium.
We’re usually not ones for washes, but one has to appreciate the lengths they went to to get this vintage acid look just right. Devium calls it a tee, but this super heavyweight 9.5oz. knit is heavier than some sweats.
Available for $128 at Devium.
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If you want to see more of what Devium has to offer, check out the full collection on their website. And if you want to know what it’s like to produce clothing 100% in USA in 2024, give their great “Concrete Thread” blog a read where they document what they’re up to.
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