Clothing and Gear Made in the USA and Canada

The readers of this blog are travelers and adventurers who enjoy the outdoors. So I know you probably buy a healthy amount of travel apparel, outdoor clothing, and luggage. If you are starting to pay attention to international shipping and its impact on our ever-hotter climate though, how can you help your fellow countrymen and women and cut down on how far your purchases have to travel?

One small way you can do that is to devote a little of that online shopping time to products made by domestic workers, clothing and gear made in the USA or made in Canada. (Take your pick depending on what side of the border you are on.) This is also one way to avoid the supply chain issues that often plague us when there’s a problem getting certain items from China. That’s only going to get worse, not better. 

Chances are if you go through your closet and start looking at the “Made in ___” part of the tags, you’ll see a lot of Asia, a little Central America, perhaps Mexico will make an appearance or two. You won’t likely find too many things made in your own country. There are valid reasons for this of course, mostly around price. It’s just far more costly to make things when paying people $20 an hour or more than when you only have to pay them $1 an hour. Easy math, even with the shipping costs.

Sometimes though, you’re still paying a hefty amount for that jacket or pair of shoes, which is why I always recommend watching for great sales and buying at the right time of year. One easy way to do that is to get on my Insider Gear Deals newsletter, which only goes out when the pickings are plentiful.

Understand though that you might have to pay a bit of a premium when going with domestic sources. Or you may have to buy direct from the company instead of assuming you can find everything on Amazon. On the plus side, you’re probably getting better quality, often backed by a better warranty. After all, the companies are in the same building where the goods are being manufactured, not half the planet away.

So here are some outdoor apparel and travel gear brands made in the USA: head, shoulders, knees and toes–plus some luggage and things to pack. Scroll down further for the ones made in Canada.

At the time of writing these companies were claiming to make all or most of their products in the USA or Canada, but I can’t promise they’ll keep doing that. Even Tilley and Filson’s have started quietly outsourcing some manufacturing to Asia, so you’ll have to look at the specific product descriptions on the pages. 

Made in the USA Clothing and Gear

On Your Head

Unique company baabaazuzu of Michigan wins the prize for doing double good. Their hats and scarves are made from upcycled sweaters that would have otherwise been thrown away. On a hipper vibe check out Battenwear hats, which are made in NYC and California. Overland has a great name for travelers and the New Mexico-based company has a variety of vented hats that are made for adventure.

Companies that make select styles of headgear on American soil include Carhartt, Filson, and Fox River. 

Also consider hat maker Stormy Kromer of Michigan.

Upper Body Clothing Manufactured in North America

Polarmax will keep you warm with base layers, turtlenecks, and jackets. American Giant makes durable shirts, jackets, and hoodies.

Your best bet for travel shirts is Filson, based in Seattle. They have a wide selection at their own site and you can find them at online retailers like Backcountry. 

Copper River Fleece of Alaska makes hoodies, vests and jackets. Battenwear, mentioned in the hat section, makes nice shirts and jackets that work for travel or the urban lifestyle. Pendleton Woolen Mills of Oregon makes most of its products in domestic factories.

Duckworth of Montana makes “sheep to shelf” merino wool shirts, jackets, and base layers 100% in the USA. 

Voormi of Colorado makes high-quality coats, jackets, hoodies, and shirts–mainly from wool–that I wish I had a few of in my closet. 

Lower Body in the Lower 48

The USA is the birthplace of blue jeans, so it makes sense that a lot of the quality ones are still made here. Search Imogene & Willie, Raleigh Denim, and Bullet Blues for starters. For rugged pants (and outerwear) that are more likely to be brown or green, check the Filson brand.

Hanky Panky produces American-made underwear, lingerie, and sleepwear for women.

Quite a few companies produce American-made belts including Overland and Bullhide.

For long underwear base layers, go straight to Polarmax. 

USA-made on Your Feet

A surprising number of sock brands are actually made in the USA if you go for quality when you buy hiking socks or running socks—which you should. Your socks can be as important as your shoes in cushioning your feet and avoiding blisters.

Darn Tough Vermont, Fox River, FITS Socks, and Farm to Feet are a few of the brands I’ve worn and liked that are American made. That last one really assures you on their home page which says, “100% U.S. materials, 100% U.S. manufacturing, 100% U.S. workers.”

Golden Touch Naturals makes nice ones from the wool of alpacas on their farm!

A lot of the American-made shoes are either work shoes (Red Wing), dress shoes (Johansen), or cowboy boots, but you can find some walking or hiking shoes here and there that are made stateside. The sure bet is SOM Footwear, which produces everything in Colorado. Munro Shoes makes some nice options for women that would work for walking or travel.

LL Bean has plenty of socks and some waterproof shoes on its page dedicated to American-made products. It’s also worth noting that a lot of New Balance footwear is made in U.S. factories, so check the description for what you like on their website. Others that make at least a few styles in domestic factories include Keen, Danner, and Wolverine.

American Made Luggage 

Two of the best bag companies to buy from has domestic sewing facilities and warranties that show they stand behind their product. See Tom Bihn of Washington State and Red Oxx out of Billings, Montana.

Besides the apparel mentioned earlier, Filson also makes some nice bags and backpacks you can keep using for decades.

Duluth Pack is “the oldest canvas and leather bag and pack manufacturer in the United States of America,” around since 1882. 

Made in Canada Clothing and Gear

On Your Head in the Great White North

Tilley is no longer Canadian-owned, but most of their famous hats are still made in Canada and still guaranteed for life. They’re one of my favorites: see my Tilley hats rundown here. (That post also runs down the process I had to go through to get a replacement for one that wore out.) They’ve started outsourcing some styles to Asia though, so you can’t be sure unless you check the specific model you have in mind. 

I’m usually wearing a Tilley hat

The land of toques naturally produces some cold-weather hats. Canada Goose, mentioned later, has a few hats in their offerings. You can also find them from Puffin Gear and Kanuk. 

String Theory makes some great scarves.

Upper Body in Upper North America

Possibly Canada’s best-known brand outside Tim Horton’s, the Roots sweatshirts and tees are seen around the world almost as often as a Canadian flag on a backpack.

Even better known among the adventure travel crowd is Canada Goose, which makes coats worthy of an arctic expedition and quality apparel for us less risk-averse outdoor enthusiasts as well. They’re made in Toronto and Winnipeg. 

Kanuk has been around since 1970, making coats and other items in Canada.  Bonnetier, based in Quebec, makes nice merino wool items that will keep you from getting stinky. 

Abaka (linked below) makes its casual tops in Canada. If you like to travel with workout clothing, check out Rise Gear that is “proudly Canadian.” Like many of their U.S. counterparts, they only sell direct in order to keep prices reasonable.

Lower Body Clothing

There don’t seem to be many Canadian companies making pants, but the exceptions are technical wear from Canada Goose and more fashionable urban options from Abaka. 

Arturo Denim  and Naked and Famous Denim both make their jeans for men and women in Canada. United Stock Dry Goods does as well, plus they make a wide range of shirts. 

If your tastes gravitate to “athleisure” and yoga items for women, check out the goods from Movement Global. 

On Your Feet From Canada

As in the USA, many of the domestic footwear options in Canada are either dress shoes, work boots, or cowboy boots. There are some exceptions though.

Some, but not all styles from Baffin and Kamik (73% of theirs) are manufactured in Canada. Martino Footwear employs about 90 Canadians making their snow boots and more casual styles under three different brand names. All the double-duty footwear made by MellowWalk is tagged as “Proudly Canadian.” 

The Great Canadian Sox Shop manufactures its J.B. Fields brands of heavy-duty socks in Toronto. 

Canadian Made Luggage and Gear

Unfortunately, you won’t find many bags that are made in Canada anymore unless you buy some expensive hand-made leather job or a one-off laptop bag from one of the companies covered earlier. Rise Gear used to, but now they seem to only sell workout clothing apart from one lonely duffel bag for the gym. If you know of one, get in touch and I’ll add it here. 

Got a recommendation for quality clothing or gear you’ve tried that didn’t ship across an ocean? Hit us up in the comments!

This post on travel gear and apparel made in the USA or Canada was updated in July of 2023.