Public Thread is a textile recovery and re-use manufacturing and learning lab.

We are a cut & sew manufacturer, specializing in upcycled sewn products. We manufacture private label and customized products for companies, industry, higher ed, apparel retail, resale stores, and across multiple sectors to find solutions to surplus, scrap and textile waste. We offer scalable repair, visible mending and upcycled apparel in batches and volume.

We work with a wide variety of textiles including billboards, signs, banners, leather, upholstery textiles, vinyl, 3D Knit mesh, post-consumer apparel and industrial surplus textiles.

I started Public Thread in 2016 in my kitchen with one client and a sewing machine.
The business came after more than 16 years of working in the public and nonprofit sectors on large scale community change work. I wanted to create an entity that built systems to keep textiles from going to waste, and used that material as fuel to create living wage jobs, economic opportunity and made creative products here in the U.S.

We have been in existence for 10 years and have grown to a 13,0000 sq ft cut & sew manufacturing facility in Michigan. We work with recovered textiles coming from post-industrial surplus, and post-consumer apparel "waste". We also teach people how to sew, advance their sewing skills and support workforce development for those seeking employment in a U.S based manufacturing system.

This journey has been the most challenging and rewarding. I am so thankful for every client, every product and every partnership we have built over the last decade. This kind of work is definitely part of our future economy.