When Steph and Jimmy Macdonald first got married, they were on a mission to find only Made in America products for their home. They searched all over for American-made home goods to add to their home – bedding, towels, blankets, and more – because they wanted high quality items that would last. But they just couldn’t find anything on the market.
So, they started to research and network in the textile manufacturing industry and looked for partners who could make products that were top quality. It took a year of that but finally, they had the pieces in place to assemble the supply chain to launch their first product: bed sheets.
Jimmy said, “The problem was, we didn’t know if there was even an audience for locally-made bedding, and we needed lots of money to produce our first fabric run. We decided to create and launch a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to see if it would even be a viable and worthwhile endeavor. To our surprise, we doubled our funding goal and found that many people were interested! They identified with our mission: to bring back premium American-made home goods and wanted to buy the products we were trying to make.”
Today, Jimmy and Steph have five members on their direct team, and they create products that are ‘seed-to-stitch’ – meaning every single aspect is grown, woven, cut, and sewn locally, from the cotton seeds in the ground to the final stich sewn. They have over a dozen partner manufacturers – both big and small – located from Washington state to Maine. For example, all labels and SKU stickers are made just a few hours from Clark County, pillows are crafted in Los Angeles, yarn is spun in Georgia, tags and sheeting in the Carolinas, and blankets in Maine. Authenticity50 supports more than 1,000 domestic workers via its manufacturing supply chain.
Steph explained, “We created this term to create awareness around a truly local and authentic production process that literally supports thousands of US textile jobs – and emphasize to our customers that they’re getting a 100% American-made item when they shop with us. We believe in consumer transparency and education, so customers can make an informed decision when buying from us.”
Authenticity50 only sells their products via their website, which allows them to cut out the ‘middleman’ and keep costs down. In fact, the company’s product pricing beats other online luxury bedding brands, proving that Made in USA products aren’t always out of reach financially.
Jimmy explains that there is a huge environmental impact of buying domestic and they are proud that their manufacturing efforts are clean and responsible.
He said, “Our production is truly local – items travel hundreds of miles between states, versus thousands for overseas manufacturing. Our partner factories also have strict environmental regulations to adhere to as well as strict worker regulations to observe. This is not the case when working with other countries known for cheap labor.”
While helping contribute to America’s economy is important to Jimmy and Steph, giving back to other organizations is also at the heart of their company and who they are as people. Annually, they raise money for the EOD Warrior Foundation and have donated over $10,000 and counting to help military Veterans. They also have donated to victims of natural disasters (Hurricane Harvey, Maui wildfires, Hurricane Helene) and during the pandemic, raised over $30,000 and donated more than 20,000 masks to hospitals nationwide.
“It’s very humbling for us as we’re just a small, family-owned business, but we’ve been able to have a larger impact due to our amazing, loyal customers! They always step up and generously support our efforts to donate, and we’re so grateful.
Looking ahead, the team at Authenticity50 is excited about what’s ahead and they will continue to provide the best of the best. They plan to offer more sheeting colors in 2025, along with other products that are still in the works.
Jimmy shared, “We know our customers take great pride in purchasing our home goods – the quality is the best around, and their purchase supports skilled workers and local communities. What’s better than that? We’re committed to always making our products in the USA – no matter how hard it gets. Because keeping jobs here is vital to the longevity of our country and the families that work so hard to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. We owe it to our kids and future generations to create things here.”
