With the simple premise of making a quality sweatshirt at a competitive price, delivered in a timely fashion, wrapped up in great customer service, Independent Trading opened its doors. There was a need and Independent filled it. To this day we are still providing sweatshirts for some of the finest action sports companies in the world. Quite possibly that favorite surf, skate, or snow sweatshirt of yours was made by us!

As the times have changed, so has Independent Trading. The custom side of business is a fluid process – what is new and fresh today is not tomorrow. Every season brands are pushing for new exciting styles. That basic two color chest print evolved into multi-media processes and the body fabrics are made of a wide range of contents, weights, brushed, un-brushed and treated with a variety of wash and dye applications. We are continually meeting these demands. Besides the designs our customers bring to the table we recognized that it is imperative to be proactive and source new techniques, fabrics, etc. We are constantly pushing our factories and expanding our R&D resources.

As our customers grow with us, we see that our production dept is paramount in the growth of our customers. As the number of styles each brand adds and the complexity of these styles grow, so has our staff of production managers and assistants. For seamless production, we added a Shanghai office, which helps in several areas such as communication and quality assurance.

On the production side, our factories have added, and continue to add, more personnel, machines and management in all areas of production. We currently can produce over a million units a month.

Since price and delivery will always be an issue in off shore production, we made it a point from the beginning that our factories be vertical so we can always be cost competitive and offer desirable turn times. Knitting, dying, cutting, sewing, washing, embellishing and all packing and finishing are done on sight.

We are continually importing large numbers throughout the year and we always keep a large amount of greige goods on hand to help expedite turn times. All facets of production are done under one roof, which in turn helps us meet anticipated delivery dates.

We also have our own in-house import/export department. USA orders are all handled on an LDP basis, so we control all aspects of shipping, customs clearance and delivery to your warehouse allowing us to take care of this, therefore fewer hands in the process, equal less work, delays and cost for you the customer. For international destinations, we offer drop-ship services on an FOB or CIF basis.

We currently have over 120,000 feet of warehouse in Southern California – if your order comes in and you’re not ready to receive it, we’ve got you covered. If your order is for a large retailer, we are set up for prep and delivery. Our in house trucking company can handle all southern California deliveries with its large fleet of trucks.

Some ten years ago we started our stock program beginning with a true heavy weight men’s basic hood, which today is still the benchmark that all others are measured against. We started with only a handful of colors and shy numbers, but the seed was planted and the demand was there. From that first day of operating out of a 700 square ft garage to the 120,000 square feet of warehouse and over 25 stock styles with close to two million units on the floor today, we are pushing to be a nation-wide leader in quality sweatshirts.

We are not a seasonal sweatshirt company. We are continually bringing in large numbers and the factories always keep greige goods on hand to meet any need. Call us any time of the year and I think you will be impressed on what we have in stock or in the works. Independent Trading prides itself on being the leader of high volume stock blanks.

Our stock program goes well beyond the basic hood or zip. We are constantly offering new styles and brands. In addition to the Independent styles of basics, we have also created brands to meet specific needs in the market place. In 2003 we launched Standard Supply, which is our mid-tier men’s basic hood and zip, to fulfill the needs of such customers as the growing music license business. Since then, we have added our APX premium line of men’s hood, men’s zip hood and girl’s zip hood. APX offers the finest in fit, fabric and price. We have also added the Expedition Series all heavy weight sherpa-lined styles. These come in a wide range of bodies from jackets to zip hoods to innovative designs like the girl’s faux simulated leather jacket. Most recently we launched Eco I consisting of men’s zip hoods, men’s pullover hoods and jrs zip hoods all made with 100% organic cotton.

In the last few years, the demand for our fleece has grown greatly from outside our normal action sports market. Printers, retailers, schools and ad specialties have all had great success with our fleece. To keep up with the increasing demand, we have added distributors to assist with our growth. In 2003 the Southern California distributor, Mission Imprintables, started with our men’s basic hood and zip and today they carry over six of our stock styles in large numbers. In 2006 the distributor, Golden State, located in San Francisco Bay area, started carrying our product with great success.

We have built the machine and we are waiting for you! Quality Sweatshirts – it’s who we are and what we do and all we do! Your favorite sweatshirt company!