In 2012 Atwood McIntosh was touring Cotton, Inc. in Cary, North Carolina and realized not one person there was wearing a shirt they could say without doubt was made using cotton grown in the South. He started thinking about what he could do with his cotton to be assured where it was used.
In the summer of 2014 he decided to produce polo style shirts with the cotton grown on his family farm and to have them made as local as possible. At Homegrown Cotton, each polo is born at McIntosh Farms in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. From there, it travels the Carolinas as it is ginned, spun, knitted, dyed, cut and sewn by local businesses.
The final shirt is completed just 40 miles from the fields where it was grown. It’s a shirt for the country gentleman that appreciates where the cotton was grown and manufactured. By being produced locally there are hundreds of of jobs that benefit along the way.
What makes it special is that it is very unique. I can tell you what field it came from. We can get in my truck and ride to the mill where it is sewn 30 minutes from the farm. I grew up with the grandchildren of the owner of the cut and sew factory. When we all work together we can produce a product that showcases the pride we have in our work in America.
Shirts are available in eight colors. “We use all natural, environmental friendly dyes and our Natural shirt has no dye or bleach, just raw cotton.”
They are working on a new color that will be hand dyed with indigo grown in South Carolina. Atwood is an eighth generation cotton farmer that has been working on his family’s farm since the age of 6.
“We have been farming in the same area since around the Revolutionary War. The first generation was William McIntosh who fought for independence from Britain at age 16 and was a founder of Midway Presbyterian Church in 1801 where I attend today. I also farm peanuts and corn but consider myself a cotton farmer first because I love the crop and it is in my blood.”
Purchase your polo shirts from Homegrown Cotton online at www.homegrowncotton.com and at 15 or so retailers in South Carolina.
