Most lists of clothing manufacturers in San Francisco promise ten names. Federal data suggests how thin that claim is. San Francisco County had 36 apparel manufacturing sites and 379 jobs in 2025. In 2014 it had 93 sites and 1,336 jobs, so employment fell by about 72% in eleven years (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW). That works out at about ten people per site, which describes studios, sample rooms and small shops far more often than production floors.
So this is a short list, and we checked each name on its own website. Seven companies make apparel in San Francisco or the wider Bay Area. Five describe taking work for other brands. Below you will find what each one says it does, what it publishes on minimums, which well-known San Francisco names do not belong on a list like this, and where to take a run the Bay Area cannot carry.
Heads up: We're OneAim, a group of documented United States clothing factories. The companies below are independent Bay Area businesses listed from their own websites, not members of our group. OneAim's role is separate: we place your production with a documented factory in our group built for your product.
Key Takeaways
- The data is the story. San Francisco County apparel manufacturing fell from 1,336 jobs in 2014 to 379 in 2025, and from 93 sites to 36 (BLS QCEW).
- We list seven makers, not ten. Five describe taking outside work, and only one publishes a minimum: ljoSew, at 100 pieces per run.
- The best-known name is not a sewing floor in the city. American Giant labels its T-shirts as made in Middlesex, North Carolina, and in Los Angeles.
- Development is the Bay Area's strength. Pattern, sample and small-run work is available locally. Published capacity for large runs is hard to find.
- The nearest large cluster is Los Angeles, about 380 miles south by road, with roughly 50 times San Francisco County's apparel jobs.
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Does San Francisco still have clothing factories?
Yes, but far fewer than search results imply. The county reported 36 private apparel manufacturing sites and 379 jobs in 2025, with average annual pay of $67,549 (BLS QCEW). For scale, California reported 1,764 sites and 23,770 jobs, and the whole United States reported 6,194 sites and 78,794 jobs. San Francisco County holds about 1.6% of California's apparel manufacturing jobs and about 0.5% of the national total.
Los Angeles and Orange counties together account for 21,142 of those California jobs, or about 89%. Anyone sourcing in California is really choosing between Southern California and a small handful of shops everywhere else.
One caveat on the data. QCEW classifies each workplace by its main activity, and an establishment can be a one-room studio as easily as a plant. The count tells you the scale of the local base. It does not tell you which of those 36 sites would take your order, which is why the rest of this guide relies on what companies publish themselves.
How fast did the city's apparel base shrink?
Steadily, with one sharp break. Jobs went from 1,336 in 2014 to 799 in 2019, dropped to 493 in 2020, recovered to 676 in 2022, and then kept falling, to 429 in 2024 and 379 in 2025. Sites never recovered at all. They fell every single year, from 93 to 36.
Average pay moved the other way, from $31,386 in 2014 to $67,549 in 2025. BLS does not explain why, and we would not over-read it, because a small base moves easily when one employer opens or closes. It is consistent with what remains being smaller, more specialized work rather than a large base of basic sewing.
The federal data records the decline but not the cause. The most direct account we found comes from The Sewing Mills, a Bay Area brand that says it watched local sewing shops close around 2012 as rents rose and other brands went overseas. Wage floors rose too: the city's minimum wage went from $10.74 in January 2014 to $19.61 in July 2026 (City of San Francisco).
The city's most famous apparel name shows the same shift at a larger scale. Levi Strauss & Co. was founded in San Francisco in 1853 and now sources nearly all of its products through independent contract manufacturers around the world (Levi Strauss & Co. 10-K, fiscal 2025).
Citation capsule: San Francisco County had 36 apparel manufacturing establishments and 379 apparel manufacturing jobs in 2025, down from 93 establishments and 1,336 jobs in 2014, a decline in employment of about 72% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, NAICS 315). At about ten workers per establishment, the typical site is a small shop rather than a production plant.
How did we choose these manufacturers?
We required a live company website that says, in the company's own words, what it makes and where. We read those sites on 5 November 2026. Search listings and directory scrapes do not count, because a listing is not proof that a sewing floor exists. Anything we could not confirm on the company's own site, we either removed or labeled as coming from another named source.
None of this is an audit. Every capacity claim, founding date and client name below is the company's own unless we say otherwise. Several of these sites have not been updated recently. Footer dates on them run from 2021 to 2026, so treat each profile as a starting point and confirm capacity directly before you commit.
Who actually makes apparel in San Francisco and the Bay Area?
Seven businesses, and they are not alike. Three are based in San Francisco and work for other brands. Two East Bay companies do the same, one as a full in-house sewing shop and one as a development studio. The last two are small labels that make their own product and take some custom work.
Golden Bear Sportswear (San Francisco, CA)
Golden Bear is the longest-running name here and the clearest answer to "does anyone still make clothes in this city?" Its site says it was established in San Francisco in 1922, making leather jackets for dockworkers, and that it is now both a premium outerwear manufacturer for other brands and the maker of its own line. Its home page describes jackets as handcrafted in San Francisco, and its contact page lists a factory and offices in the city, by appointment only.
This is a specialist. Think varsity, motorcycle and bomber jackets in wool and leather, not tees or fleece. Its collaborations page offers full custom work and names labels including Kith, Todd Snyder and Reigning Champ. It publishes no minimum or pricing and asks you to call or email for both. Expect that client list to set the price level.
ljoSew (San Francisco, CA)
ljoSew offers contract sewing, private label and product development, and it publishes more detail than anyone else here. Minimum production is 100 pieces, up to three colors and four sizes. Sample runs start at six pieces. Terms are 50% on order and the balance on completion, and you supply fabric, trim and labels, though the company will help you source them. Listed garments include jeans, shirts, activewear, intimates and swimwear.
Read two details closely. The site says ljoSew will place and oversee your production in the Bay Area and refers to "our facilities", so ask which building your order will actually be sewn in. The site footer also dates from 2022, and a wage reference on the contract page looks older than that, so confirm the terms are current.
Synergy Apparel (San Francisco, CA)
Synergy Apparel calls itself a cut-and-sew contractor with more than 30 years of production in San Francisco, run by a husband-and-wife team. It says one partner has managed sewing factories for over 30 years, including work for Jessica McClintock, and that many sewers have been with it for over 20 years. Its services page lists dresses, men's and women's shirts, tops and skirts, says it specializes in emerging designers, and puts sample prices at $50 to $100 and up.
It refers pattern making, grading and embroidery to other providers, so arrive with a pattern or budget for one. No minimum is published. Its contact page lists an address on Mission Street, which makes a visit before any deposit easy to arrange.
Maylin Sewing Company (Oakland, CA)
Not San Francisco, but the distinction matters less than what it offers. Maylin says it has been a Bay Area garment manufacturer since 1988, with complete in-house production: cutting, sewing, quality checks and packing. Its site publishes a full address on San Leandro Street in Oakland and lists previous clients including Athleta, Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs and Chubbies. That makes it a strong first call for activewear and outdoor styles. No minimum is published.
Bay Thread (Alameda, CA)
Bay Thread was founded in 2011 by Eloisa Serrano, who says she has more than 20 years in fashion, including work for Levi's and Margaret O'Leary. It offers pattern making, sample sewing, grading, tech packs and sourcing, plus consultations and paid classes for new designers. Its home page also describes made-to-order, low-minimum manufacturing and says it can handle larger orders, without giving a figure for either.
This is the natural first stop if you have a sketch and no pattern. Before you place a run, ask how much is sewn in-house and how much goes out to other shops, because the site does not say.
The Sewing Mills (Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, CA)
The Sewing Mills is primarily a brand. It says 100% of its textiles are sewn in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley, by people paid a real living wage. Its tees and canvas tote all showed as sold out when we checked. It also has a wholesale form, and its collaborate page invites custom projects and manufacturing-partner enquiries, mainly around tees. Treat it as a small option for tee projects rather than a general contractor.
11 WRKSHOP (Bay Area, CA)
11 WRKSHOP runs an online shop and a custom printing quote form on its own site. The SFMade directory describes it as a design studio focused on experimental screen printing and cut-and-sew garments. It publishes little else, so we would approach it for printing or a small creative run, not for contract production.
| Company | Location | What it actually is | Published minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Bear Sportswear | San Francisco, CA | Outerwear manufacturer and own brand, since 1922 | Not published |
| ljoSew | San Francisco, CA | Contract sewing, private label, development | 100 pieces per run (samples from 6) |
| Synergy Apparel | San Francisco, CA | Cut-and-sew contractor: dresses, shirts, tops, skirts | Not published |
| Maylin Sewing Company | Oakland, CA | In-house cutting, sewing, QC and packing, since 1988 | Not published |
| Bay Thread | Alameda, CA | Patterns, samples, tech packs, made-to-order runs | "Low minimum", no figure |
| The Sewing Mills | Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco | Own tee and tote brand, some custom projects | Not published |
| 11 WRKSHOP | Bay Area, CA | Design studio, screen printing, cut and sew | Not published |
Source: company websites, read 5 November 2026; SFMade directory for 11 WRKSHOP. All figures are self-reported and unaudited. "Not published" means no figure appears on the site, not that no minimum exists.
Why does everyone say American Giant is a San Francisco manufacturer?
Because the address and the sewing floor are different things. American Giant was founded in 2012 by Bayard Winthrop and is known for its heavyweight hoodie. It is widely described as San Francisco-based, and its retail page lists a store and a showroom in the city. But its own T-shirt page labels styles "Made in Middlesex, NC" and "Made in Los Angeles, CA".
One nuance is worth keeping. Its first products were reportedly made at a factory in Brisbane, California, in San Mateo County (Wikipedia). That is a piece of Bay Area history, not a place to send a purchase order. If you want a hoodie built the way American Giant builds them, you are looking at North Carolina or Los Angeles. Our guide to the types of hoodie covers the construction choices first.
Left Coast Tee is a smaller example of the same confusion. It was founded in San Francisco in 2009 and lists a San Francisco office, but it presents itself as a premium Peruvian Pima tee label sold through its own site and retailers, and it says nothing about taking outside production. An office in the city tells you where a company is based, not where its garments are sewn.
Why does Timbuk2 keep appearing on these lists?
Because it makes bags, not clothes, and because of a real San Francisco story. Timbuk2's site traces its messenger bag to the Mission District in 1989 and says its San Francisco team repairs over 6,000 bags a year. A corporate catalog hosted by the company says custom bags are sewn in its San Francisco factory, with a 50-piece minimum and a four-week lead time. Its current pages do not repeat that detail, so check it if it matters to you.
None of that makes it a contract apparel factory. It does show which kind of product can carry city costs: a branded, custom, premium item, sold at a price that absorbs them. A basic tee usually cannot. If a list files Timbuk2 under clothing manufacturers, it probably did not check.
Where in the Bay Area does the sewing actually sit?
San Francisco County is still the largest published figure in the region, which surprises people who assume the work has all moved to Oakland. It holds 379 of the 847 jobs in the six counties with published data, or about 45%. Alameda County, which includes Oakland and Alameda, reported 27 sites and 172 jobs in 2025, down from 259 jobs in 2024.
Two warnings on reading this chart. Santa Clara and Solano are suppressed by BLS to protect the small number of employers, so they are unknown rather than zero. And a county figure can include makers of anything classified as apparel, so it does not tell you how many shops would accept a contract order for your style.
The practical point is geography. A brand in the city can visit most of the shops above in a day. If you value being able to walk a floor and check a sample in person, that is what the Bay Area offers. It does not offer depth: if your one shop is full, there are few like it nearby to turn to.
What does Bay Area labor cost a brand?
Wage floors alone do not explain the gap, but they are a useful starting point, and all of these figures are public. San Francisco and Oakland set their own minimum wages above California's.
| Jurisdiction | Minimum wage per hour | Effective | 20 minutes of sewing at that wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $19.61 | 1 July 2026 | $6.54 |
| Oakland | $17.34 | 1 January 2026 | $5.78 |
| California | $16.90 | 1 January 2026 | $5.63 |
| Federal | $7.25 | Since 2009 | $2.42 |
Sources: City of San Francisco; City of Oakland; California DIR; U.S. Department of Labor. The last column is our own arithmetic on an assumed 20 minutes of labor. It is an illustration of the wage floor, not a quote: real shops pay above minimum and add overhead, cutting and margin.
Look at the middle of that table. Between San Francisco and the California minimum, the wage floor on 20 minutes of sewing differs by about $0.91 a garment. On a 300-piece run that is about $273. That is real money but rarely decisive. Rent, overhead and how few shops are competing for your order may matter more, and you only learn those through quotes. Get at least two, on the same tech pack and the same quantity.
California adds a legal layer that applies wherever in the state you sew. The state's Labor Commissioner says every entity engaged in garment manufacturing must register, and defines that to include contracting with a contractor for the work. It also says piece-rate pay has been illegal for garment workers since 1 January 2022, and that parties contracting out garment work are responsible for proper pay regardless of the layers of contracting (California DIR, Garment Work in California). Ask any California shop for its registration, and take legal advice on what the rules mean for your brand before you place a first order.
Where should a Bay Area brand actually produce?
Split development from production and decide each on its own. The Bay Area is good at one and thin on the other. Do your pattern, tech pack and first samples locally if being close is worth it. Then decide where the run goes, based on volume, product type and whether a domestic label really carries weight for your brand.
| What you need | Sensible first call | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A pattern and first sample from a sketch | Bay Thread, ljoSew | Both describe development work for new designers |
| A short run of dresses, shirts or tops | Synergy Apparel, ljoSew | Published product range; ljoSew publishes its 100-piece floor |
| Activewear or outdoor apparel | Maylin Sewing Company | Past clients and in-house cutting through packing |
| Premium wool or leather jackets | Golden Bear Sportswear | Outerwear specialist with custom collaborations |
| Volume, or a wider choice of US factories | Los Angeles or our US factory group | Deeper capacity than the Bay Area publishes |
Our own reading of what each company publishes. Confirm capacity and fit with the company before committing.
If you need real US volume, the nearest deep cluster is Los Angeles, about 380 miles south by road. Los Angeles County reported 1,288 sites and 18,842 jobs in 2025. Our Los Angeles clothing manufacturers guide is the practical next stop, and our guide to clothing manufacturers in the USA widens it nationally. OneAim places production with a documented factory in our US group for a flat fee, with no markups.
If lowest unit price is the only thing that matters, a US factory will rarely win, in the Bay Area or anywhere else. That is a separate decision, and our comparison of made in USA versus offshore production lays out the trade-offs honestly. If the US label is part of your pitch, read the FTC rule before you print it: an unqualified Made in USA claim requires the product to be all or virtually all made in the United States (FTC).
How do you verify a Bay Area maker yourself?
Small shops rarely have audit reports, so verification comes down to a few direct checks. These take an afternoon and they will tell you more than any list, including this one.
- Go and see it. Maylin publishes its address, Synergy lists one, and Golden Bear offers factory visits by appointment. Being close is the main reason to use a Bay Area shop, so use that advantage.
- Ask what happens in the building. "Do you cut and sew here, or place production with partners?" Either answer can be fine, but it changes what you are buying and who you are relying on.
- Check the date on the website. Some sites here carry footers years old. Call and confirm that the terms, minimums and services are still current.
- Ask for California registration. A shop doing garment work in the state should be able to show you its registration with the Labor Commissioner.
- Cross-check SFMade. Its Manufacturers' Directory lets you filter by industry and county, which is a better start than a search-engine list. A missing entry proves nothing, and a listing is not an audit.
Then run normal diligence. Sample before volume, get a written spec, and agree the inspection standard up front. Our clothing sample rounds playbook covers how many rounds to budget. If you have no spec yet, our tech pack service is one place to start.
What else exists locally that isn't a factory?
SFMade is the group every Bay Area founder should know. It describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting local manufacturers since 2010, offers free one-to-one advising, and runs the Manufacturers' Directory. It states a network of over 800 local manufacturers in San Francisco, San Jose and the East Bay, sustaining more than 10,000 jobs (SFMade). Those figures are its own and cover all manufacturing, not apparel alone, so they do not contradict the BLS apparel count.
Screen printers, embroiderers and sample makers also operate across the Bay Area. We would start with the SFMade directory rather than name shops we have not checked.
What does a higher-cost domestic market buy you?
Proximity to the decision, mainly. In an expensive production market the unit price is rarely competitive, so the case rests on how much a short feedback loop is worth to your particular product. For a style still finding its fit, seeing a sample in person the same week is worth real money. For a settled repeat order, it usually is not.
That is why many Bay Area development relationships are worth keeping even after production moves. A local pattern maker who knows your block can fix a fit problem faster than anyone reachable only by courier. Decide each stage on what it needs, and you avoid paying city prices for work that does not benefit from being in the city.
Frequently Asked Questions About Clothing Manufacturers in San Francisco
Are there any clothing manufacturers in San Francisco?
Yes, but very few. San Francisco County reported 36 apparel manufacturing sites and 379 jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW), about ten workers per site. We checked seven apparel makers in or near the city on their own websites. Five describe taking work for other brands: Golden Bear Sportswear, ljoSew and Synergy Apparel in San Francisco, Maylin Sewing Company in Oakland and Bay Thread in Alameda.
Does American Giant manufacture in San Francisco?
Its own T-shirt page labels styles as made in Middlesex, North Carolina, and in Los Angeles, California, not San Francisco. The brand is reported as San Francisco-based, and its retail page lists a store and a showroom in the city. Its first products were reported to come from a factory in Brisbane, California.
What is the minimum order for clothing manufacturing in San Francisco?
Only ljoSew publishes a number among the makers we checked: 100 pieces per run, up to three colors and four sizes, with sample runs from six pieces. Bay Thread describes low-minimum, made-to-order work without a figure. Golden Bear, Synergy and Maylin quote per project.
Is Timbuk2 a clothing manufacturer?
No. Timbuk2 makes bags, packs and luggage. Its corporate catalog said custom bags were sewn in San Francisco with a 50-piece minimum, and its site says a San Francisco team repairs more than 6,000 bags a year. Neither makes it a contract apparel factory.
Where is the closest real garment manufacturing hub to San Francisco?
Los Angeles, about 380 miles south by road. Los Angeles County reported 18,842 apparel manufacturing jobs in 2025, about 50 times San Francisco County's 379. Inside the Bay Area, San Francisco County is the largest published figure, followed by Alameda County, which includes Oakland, with 172 jobs.
Why did San Francisco lose its garment factories?
BLS counts the jobs, not the reasons. The Sewing Mills, a Bay Area brand, describes shops closing as rents rose and brands went overseas. The city's minimum wage also rose from $10.74 in 2014 to $19.61 in July 2026. County apparel jobs fell from 1,336 in 2014 to 379 in 2025.
Do California garment rules apply if I order from a Bay Area shop?
They can. California's Labor Commissioner says anyone engaged in garment manufacturing must register, and defines that to include contracting with a contractor for the work. Piece-rate pay has been illegal for garment workers since 1 January 2022. Take legal advice on your own position.
We're a group of 80+ documented clothing manufacturers in the United States. Tell us your product, volume, and timeline. We'll place your production with the factory in our group built for it, usually within 24 hours. You produce directly with the factory. Flat fees, no markups, no pitch.
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Sources
- BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, San Francisco County (area 06075), annual files 2014 to 2025, private ownership, NAICS 315: jobs, establishments, average annual pay.
- BLS QCEW, NAICS 315 by area, 2025 and 2024: national, California and county figures.
- Golden Bear Sportswear: about, contact and wholesale pages, read 5 November 2026. Self-reported.
- ljoSew, Contract Sewing, read 5 November 2026. Minimums and terms self-reported.
- Synergy Apparel: about, services and contact pages, read 5 November 2026. Self-reported.
- Maylin Sewing Company, Oakland, read 5 November 2026. Founding year and clients self-reported.
- Bay Thread, Alameda, home page read 5 November 2026. Self-reported.
- The Sewing Mills: home and collaborate pages, read 5 November 2026.
- 11 WRKSHOP, read 5 November 2026, and its entry in the SFMade directory.
- American Giant, Greatest American T-shirt and retail locations; Wikipedia for founding and the Brisbane factory.
- Left Coast Tee, About.
- Timbuk2, About and corporate catalog.
- SFMade, About and Manufacturers' Directory. Network figures are the organization's own and cover all manufacturing.
- Levi Strauss & Co. 10-K, fiscal 2025.
- City of San Francisco, Historical Minimum Wage Rates; City of Oakland; California DIR; U.S. Department of Labor.
- California DIR, Garment Work in California.
- FTC, Complying with the Made in USA Standard.
Every company named above appears in this source list. Minimums, founding dates, client names and capacity claims are the companies' own published statements, labeled as such in the text, and we did not independently audit them. No company in this article is a OneAim group member, and none paid to appear. Reviewed and updated 5 November 2026 by Will Godax.
