The California company works with suppliers across the country to make its small-batch clothing, all of which is made in the US.
Sheri Benjamin has spent most of her career in marketing, running her own company and advising CEOs and business leaders. But now at 55, the self-described serial entrepreneur wasn’t ready to retire and wanted to find her next career challenge.
At that time, she unexpectedly DeviumAn American men’s clothing brand.
Devium does not have its own manufacturing facilities, but Benjamin brings together American manufacturers and suppliers to produce apparel that is 100% made in the USA. Devium supports small manufacturers that have endured an influx of cheap Chinese products and is outraged by fast fashion companies such as Shein and Temu. Benjamin founded Devium in 2015 with her son Cody. She eschews the title of CEO, preferring to be called the “wrangler in chief.”
We spoke with her about Devium and why she’s so committed to Made in America.
Q: Your background is in marketing and consulting, how did you end up running a clothing company and do you have any experience in clothing production?
answer: The interesting answer is no. I’m a serial entrepreneur. I owned a marketing company that had nothing to do with fashion. I spent 15 years coaching and consulting executives, and I started Devium in a very roundabout way. A brand I knew was going out of business, and we were originally going to make snowboard outerwear made in China. I love what I do, and I spent almost a year working with China to create and develop a line of snowboard outerwear. China did all the development and manufacturing. It was supposed to be a small business. We were 10 people, and right before we placed the order, some of us had a moral crisis and said, “We’re not doing this.”
Q: What made you change your mind about manufacturing in China?
answer: As I got further into the apparel industry in my first year, I started to understand what people kept telling me: “This business has moved to China” or “This has moved overseas.” I wondered what happened to the American guys. I noticed a group in the American apparel supply chain. So the three of us started a new company and named it Devium, which means “the road less traveled” in Latin. We decided to make it our mission to help rebuild the American apparel supply chain, one American-made garment at a time.
question: How challenging was it to use a completely American-made supply chain?
answer: Well, it’s crazy for a small, bootstrapped company to think it could be David against Goliath. But it seemed like the right choice, and nine years later, through all the trials and tribulations, I have never regretted making that decision. It’s hard, but you have to stick to what you believe in.
question: Doing the right thing can be hard sometimes, but when you take action and believe in it, it feels amazing. Have you ever felt like this?
answer: That’s absolutely true. I’ve spent most of my time for the last nine years trying to find the right US partner to work with because we’re what we call small-batch originals. We don’t make thousands of garments at a time. We make less than 500 of each. That in itself is a challenge to find someone in the supply chain who will sell you fabric when you want to buy fabric by the thousandth of a yard instead of 10,000 yards. Or a sewing factory that will make you less than 500 pairs of hugger pants instead of 10,000. But what I’ve found is that the supply chain is full of small family-owned businesses that have somehow weathered the crisis. In many cases, it’s family-owned businesses that have been around for generations, and half of them don’t do marketing in a very sophisticated way, so they’re not the kind of businesses you’d find by Googling them. They’re the ones I found by blood, sweat, and tears, by networking, by asking people I shouldn’t ask. And I found a little metal manufacturing company that’s been around for 50 years that makes grommets and snaps, but they don’t even have a website. That’s how you find those people. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but we’re prepared to find the needle.
question: Are all your garments made in small batches?
answer: Yes, everything from shirts to pants to bottoms to jackets is made in small batches. Everything we make is made in small batches because our customers are guys who are probably in their 30s to 50s and don’t want to wear what everyone else is wearing. Our customers are, frankly, more discerning guys who are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Everyone talks about Made in the USA, but it’s a select few who actually buy Made in the USA. Our job is to bring our partners’ stories to life and help our customers understand why they’re supporting the causes they’re supporting.
question: Do you see any bright spots for the American-made textile business?
answer: There are still a few textile companies left in Vernon, California. The majority of what we call textile mills that are left, although there aren’t many of them, are on the eastern border in North Carolina. I went on a tour of the mills about a month ago, and I was very encouraged by the CEOs of these pretty large mills coming up to me and saying, “I know you guys don’t make much, but we’ve got to figure out how to work with you,” because they’re producing 5,000 yards for one customer, and the CEO of one of the companies said, “There must be a way we can hook your order up to the end of their larger order and make it work for both sides.” So I was encouraged by the management’s willingness to work with us on our mission.
question: How many employees does the Devium team consist of?
answer: It depends on how you look at it. We have four full-time employees, many part-time employees, and many people who join us for this mission and work on the side.
question: Where is your company based?
answer: Our headquarters are in Truckee, California. Fulfillment is done in Truckee and all products are completed and shipped to Truckee.
question: Can you explain the production and manufacturing process?
answer: All of our products are made in the USA. We start with design and development in Truckee. We then find the trims and fabrics. The designs and materials are sent to a sewing factory and then shipped back to Truckee once completed. In the rare event that we are unable to make the product because no one in the USA has the materials we need, we will pick another product to make.
Q: What is Devium’s approach to sustainability?
answer: If I can support American fabric manufacturers, if I can support American zipper manufacturers, if I can support American family-owned garment factories, that means everything. Our products are made in California and in the United States, they don’t come here on polluting ships from places like China.
question: I love the country of origin labels sewn into each item. This type of accountability is something we at the Alliance for American Manufacturing want. Why did you put this label on your clothing?
answer: Well, I’m a marketer by trade. I used to run a marketing company, so I know you have to let people know why they should care. And you have to personalize it by telling them the name of the field in North Carolina where the cotton comes from. You have to personalize it by telling them the garment factory that’s run by Greek immigrants. And it’s starting to get attention because people are saying, “Oh, it’s really made in America. I love the country of origin label that tells them exactly what’s going on here.”
question: Your company is in the same market as fast-fashion giants Temu and Shein, who sell dress shirts for $8 each. How do you compete with these companies that are subsidized by the Chinese government?
answer: I am appalled and intrigued by these companies. Our market is not the kind of people who buy their products at Costco or Amazon. We don’t have to worry about child labor or slave labor going on in China or Indonesia. This is awful.
question: Where can I buy Devium products?
answer: We sell exclusively online. We do not have second tier distribution, except for a few specialty stores that love our products and stock them. We are primarily an e-commerce company.
question: What is your commitment to American-made apparel?
answer: Our commitment to Made in the USA is life or death. There is no reason for us to be in business if we didn’t do this. We will never be one of those companies that says “Made in the USA” and then says “it’s too hard” and moves to China or Indonesia or anywhere else. We would close our company down first if we did anything other than Made in the USA. This is a labor of love.
Devium men’s clothing is available to purchase Visit our website.
