by Kate Feldhaus – DU Today

March 23, 2011

Fred Scott (MBA ’00) had a simple idea to help save the planet: produce T-shirts with sustainable business practices. It turned out to be a good idea, too. Scott’s company has more than 60 locations in 13 states and he’s gone from a small-time T-shirt salesman to Chief Executive Officer.

Scott’s Locally Grown Clothing Co. currently offers a basic mix of men’s, women’s and children’s T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps and bags. Current designs on www.locallygrownclothing.com celebrate the company’s home state of Iowa as well as California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. All products are made in the United States with non-toxic, environmentally friendly, water-based ink for all graphic printing.

“We utilize organic products as often as possible to help minimize our impact on the environment while maintaining comfort and style,” Scott says. “Locally Grown offers several organic styles made from 100 percent USDA-certified organic and pesticide-free cotton.”

Scott, originally from Spencer, Iowa, got the idea for his company while selling licensed collegiate T-shirts to sporting goods stores for the University of Iowa and Iowa State University in 2006.

“I was looking for a new venue to sell Locally Grown shirts and decided to give the downtown farmers market a try. Once there I began to learn about sustainable agriculture and the local food movement,” Scott says. “The message of ‘Locally Grown’ resonated with so many people on several different levels between local producers, chefs, moms, dads, kids and just about everyone in between.”

He then trademarked the phrase “Locally Grown” and the word “Locavore” — a person who eats locally grown food — for use on apparel. Scott launched Locally Grown Clothing Co. in 2010. His business partner, Kelsey Byus, joined him in branding, marketing and developing the line as it exists today.

“I saw the real potential for the brand, particularly from the wholesale side,” Byus says.

As president of Locally Grown, Byus manages operations and inventory and runs the majority of the wholesale division of the company.

“[Scott] is a visionary,” Byus says. “He sees and knows where he ultimately wants to take this company and all the good work it can do and needed someone to help execute his vision.”

One of the company’s messages concerns the future of agriculture and the environment. Scott allows that his company makes it easy to publicize grassroots messages in a format he calls “wearable awareness.”

“It takes us back to a simple way of life and reminds us of who we are and where we come from,” Scott says. “It connects us to a greater good and empowers us to make informed decisions about the food you eat and clothes you wear. This aims to help create positive environmental and social change.”

Steve Savage, president of Ellie’s Eco Home Store in Boulder, Colo., started selling Locally Grown products in the store in fall 2010 after receiving a catalog in the mail.

“I instantly knew that I would like this product in the store,” Savage says. “We really don’t have another product like them, so as any retailer would do, it’s good to have a unique product for your customers. We really like the local messaging and the fact that they use organic cotton and dyes is an added benefit.”

The things that make Locally Grown unique to small retailers are also reflected in the company’s core values, which include supporting local communities and local farmers, protecting the environment and buying and eating healthy food.

Locally Grown donates 1 percent of sales to Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects the natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families. Locally Grown has also established a partnership with Niman Ranch, a network of more than 650 sustainable U.S. farms and ranches. Locally Grown produces a line of Niman Ranch T-shirts. A portion of the profits — $5 per shirt — goes towards the ranch’s Next Generation Scholarship Fund.

“Locally Grown captures the voice of a movement and embraces the rise of the organic products and the renaissance of local agriculture across the country,” Scott says. “It provides a way for you to connect to this movement and show support for your local community.”

BY JEFF ECKHOFF • JECKHOFF@DMREG.COM • JUNE 13, 2010

The first seed began to germinate one day while Fred Scott was running.

What if he printed some “Corn Fed” T-shirts with Hawkeye and Cyclone logos? People would buy them, Scott decided, and he would make money.

The second seed was planted several years later, during a beverage after the Downtown Farmers Market as Scott and friend Kelsey Byus reflected on a morning’s worth of T-shirt sales: What if the men fully embraced the intersection of civic pride and ecological sustainability? How far would this go?

This month, six months after Scott and Byus quit their jobs to form Locally Grown Clothing Co. in a downtown Des Moines loft, their predictions of profitability are expected to come true.

Locally Grown, by chasing an unusual combination of wholesale, direct retail and franchise sales, expects to make more cash than it spends this month while simultaneously positioning the company for broad but steady long-term growth.

“We’re trying to keep that grass-roots feel by going after where our customers shop,” Byus said.

Fifteen health, nutrition and food-themed retailers recently began to peddle Locally Grown’s organic, pesticide-free, cotton T-shirts. The list include health, fitness and outdoor stores throughout Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin, none of them major retail chains.

“We don’t want to be in the high-end department stores,” Byus said. “We want to be at the grass-roots level.”

A study released in April by the National Marketing Institute estimates that American consumers spent nearly $300 billion in 2008 on products and services related to a “lifestyle of health and sustainability.” That total includes everything from eco-tourism and electric cars to organic food and “natural lifestyle” home furnishings. Survey authors called it “the hottest trend in the marketplace,” and it appears to be still growing – even in Iowa.

“If I had to put a percentage on it, I would say about 40 percent of our customers are hard-core and the rest just trying harder” to live healthy, said Diane Lahodny, owner of four Campbell’s Nutrition stores in Des Moines that sell Locally Grown shirts. “I’ve been doing this going on 25 years now, and I think it’s definitely heading mainstream,” she said.

“We used to be fringe, and actually we quite enjoyed that. But now I think we’re heading for mainstream,” Lahodny said.

Locally Grown, which uses a rooster’s silhouette as its logo, hopes to tap into that growth by offering high-quality, American-made T-shirts and sweatshirts. The clothing is produced by American Apparel of California, under a Locally Grown label, with messages that, among other things, proclaim the wearer to be “locally grown” or a “locavore.”

Company owners say the trademarked slogans fit with Locally Grown’s stated desire to be a “message-driven, lifestyle apparel company” focused on “sustainability and the local food movement.” The shirts are activist enough to resonate with 20-somethings worried about the carbon footprint of produce trucked to local supermarkets.

But they’re also aimed broadly enough to take advantage of simple pride in being from Iowa or any of 18 other states.

“We’ve noticed that the ones with the outline of the state have certainly been the most popular ones,” said Jason Juehring, owner of Active Endeavors in Clive. “But they’ve all sold pretty well.”

Scott’s original “Corn Fed” shirts first sold well at Scheel’s sporting goods stores in Iowa. But a trademark infringement letter from a shirt maker in California eventually forced a company name change.

Locally Grown, then a sideline to Scott’s main job at Hubbell Realty, started selling shirts at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market in the summer of 2008. Byus, whose wife is a friend of Scott’s wife, happened to be a wholesaler for Ralph Lauren and gradually became more involved with Scott’s hobby.

“He was helping me a little bit with the merchandising,” Scott said. “He started helping me on Saturday mornings, then it grew.”

They raised money from investors, added some of their own money, and quit their day jobs last December.

Scott and Byus say they will continue to sell $28 T-shirts themselves over a website and at the increasingly lucrative Downtown Farmers Market. Sales are up more than 80 percent since last year, from an average 80 shirts per Saturday morning to 150 on the first weekend this year.

But the fledgling company also wants to build a wholesale business to sustain Locally Grown during the colder months.

A final one-third of the revenue is intended to come from the sale of franchises, so entrepreneurs around the country can tap into their own version of the sustainability movement and sell Locally Grown shirts at their own farmers markets.

Franchises, which range from $7,500 to $55,000, depending on the market size, are intended to fuel company growth both by injecting new capital and by boosting the wholesale demand for shirts, Scott said.

One Locally Grown “ambassador,” former University of Northern Iowa and NFL player Justin Sandy, a Sioux City native, has been testing a franchise at a Denver farmers market. Other interest has come from California, Oregon and Texas, although no deals have been done.

If it all works out, owners predict Locally Grown will grow in a broad, sustainable way that means the company will never lose sight of the people who want its products.

“It allows us to keep growing it organically – I hate to keep saying it that way – to take it to the next level,” Scott said.

Scott and Byus traveled last week to Bonnaroo, a four-day music and arts festival in Manchester, Tenn. They hoped to both sell clothing and recruit young, enthusiastic people willing to spread their messages.

“I think personally that this is a real nice fit for a young person,” Scott said of the franchises.

They do not sound worried about being part of a hot marketplace trend. There are hazy plans to expand beyond T-shirts and sweatshirts, but no interest in forsaking their plan to be “the apparel arm of the movement.”

“No one’s going to go back” to unhealthy lifestyles, Byus said simply, when asked about the dangers of being trendy. “Once you’re awake to it and understand what’s going on. … We’re a piece of that.”

View the story on WHOTV here

You may have noticed shirts with a local message around town. A new clothing line created in Des Moines is taking off around the country. You’ve probably heard of locally grown food. Now, there’s locally grown clothing. And, it has an environmentally friendly message.

The shirts really say it all. Kelsey Byus and Fred Scott say locally grown food inspired the locally grown clothing. Scott says, “It was my wife’s suggestion that I sell locally grown tee shirts at the Farmers’ Market.” Scott started selling the shirts as a hobby a couple years ago.

Byus says, “The phrase and the shirts really resonated with the market goers and we just found something that was really working and really resonating with people down there.”

Now, it’s a full time business. They launched the line five months ago and are selling five times what they did when they started. Scott says, “There is certainly a big movement toward locally grown food, but also supporting local and understanding what our dollars can do for local communities by spending local.”

You’ll find the locally grown message on men’s shirts, women’s shirts, toddlers, and even something for the babies. The clothing line is made in the United States, half with organic cotton and all with environmentally friendly water based inks.

Scott says, “More and more people are now looking at labels and asking tough questions, not only where their food is coming from, but where their clothes come from as well.”

You’ll also see the shirts in other states, like Colorado and California, where the homegrown message resonates as well. Scott says, “Farmers’ markets have doubled in numbers around the country. More and more people are concerned about where their food is being produced and where it is coming from and how it gets to the table.”

Locally, you’ll find the shirts at Gateway Market, Campbell’s Nutrition and the Downtown Des Moines Farmers’ Market on certain Saturdays.

View on DesMoinesRegister.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Company Encourages Consumers to Show Locavore Pride and Support Local Retailers

Locally Grown Clothing Co.’s Message-Driven, Organic Apparel Now Available in More Stores

DES MOINES, Iowa – May 13, 2010 - Locally Grown Clothing Co. (www.locallygrownclothing.com), a grassroots lifestyle apparel company, today announces new partnerships with more regional retailers and specialty grocers, further expanding the reach of the message-driven apparel company, and consequently, support of sustainable agriculture and local farms.

“We are thrilled to have so many new retailers partnering with us to sell Locally Grown apparel and spread the word about the importance of going local,” said Fred Scott, founder and CEO of Locally Grown Clothing Co. “Our expansion is a sign that people are getting on board with sustainable agriculture and locavorism and that they see Locally Grown as a way to demonstrate local pride and connect to the local food movement.”

Consumers can purchase Locally Grown® apparel, including U.S. made organic t-shirts, sweatshirts, onesies and tote bags with messages like “Locally Grown,” “Locavore” and “Urban Farmer” online (www.locallygrownclothing.com), at their local farmers market and now at more retail and specialty grocery stores including:

• Back Country Outfitters, Gateway Market and Campbell’s Nutrition –Des Moines, IA
• Active Endeavors and Suite Dreams – Clive, IA
• Three Sons – Milford, IA
• Moorman’s Clothiers –Mason City, IA
• Oneota Coop- Decorah, IA
• The Perk – Arnold’s Park, IA
• Buckhorn Clothing Company – Long Lake, MN
• Local D’Lish – Minneapolis, MN
• US Outdoor Store – Portland, OR
• Atticus – Madison, WI

For a complete list of stores, visit www.locallygrown.com.

“Being part of the local movement is important to us. People are really starting to understand that buying local and eating locally grown food is good both for the economy and for their health,” said Kelsey Byus, President of Locally Grown Clothing Co. “The local food movement represents a lifestyle that links the joy of good food with a commitment to community and the environment. We plan to continue expanding into shops across the country, so we can reach more people who want to sport their support with our local messages.”

Wearing Locally Grown apparel lets people express their pride and support for local food producers, their community and the environment. Current designs celebrate the company’s home state of Iowa, as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. More state-specific designs will continue to emerge as the company expands nationwide. The company’s website also lists resources for people who want to support sustainable agriculture and family farms at many levels. Locally Grown® donates part of each sale to the nonprofit organization Food Democracy Now! to raise awareness around issues impacting the family farm.

About Locally Grown Clothing Co.
Locally Grown Clothing Co. is a grassroots, message-driven, lifestyle apparel company promoting messages related to sustainability and the local food movement. Consumers can purchase Locally Grown items at farmers markets, in specialty retail and grocery stores, and online at www.locallygrownclothing.com. Franchise opportunities are available to people passionate about bringing Locally Grown Clothing to their own communities and spreading the word about the importance of buying local. The company began its journey in 2008 at the Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market.
Locally Grown® products are made in the USA with pesticide-free organic cotton whenever possible. Designs are printed using environmentally friendly water-based inks and all hangtags are made with post-consumer use paper products. The Locally Grown® and Locavore® messages and designs are trademarked by Locally Grown Clothing Co.

Contacts:

Andrea MacLean

415-593-1400, ext. 214

andrea@atomicpr.com

Fred Scott and Kelsey Byus of Locally Grown Clothing Co. quit their full-time jobs last year to focus on building a sustainable business plan.

View on BusinessRecord.com

BY TODD RAZOR
Fred Scott’s apparel business has a new name, a new brand and a new partner.

In December, Scott and Kelsey Byus resigned their positions with Hubbell Realty Co. and Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., respectively, to form Locally Grown Clothing Co. LLC, a grass-roots company that promotes messages related to sustainability and locally grown produce.

Scott, 38, has trademarked the phrase Locally Grown and the word “locavore,” which he said refers to a person who eats locally grown food, and the partners are moving ahead with an aggressive business plan.

In the past four months, after raising start-up capital from friends and family members last fall, Scott and Byus designed a product line of clothing and accessories, manufactured it and constructed a website.

On May 15, they set up shop for the first time this year at the Downtown Farmers Market, where they will spend 12 Saturdays this summer peddling shirts, hats, tote bags and other accessories that display phrases such as “Urban Farmer,” “Certified Organic,” “Grass Fed” and “Local Baby Local.”

“We saw a really big opportunity to expand the line and bring other messages that are important to us,” Scott said. “We had that intellectual property behind us before we started building the business model,” which includes a retail and wholesale component, as well as national franchise opportunities.

In addition to selling directly to consumers online and at the farmers market, Scott said Locally Grown products landed last week on the shelves of retailers such as Back Country Outfitters, Active Endeavors, Gateway Market and Campbell’s Nutrition.

A Portland, Ore., company that prints with water-based earth-friendly inks is handling orders for Locally Grown products, said Byus, 40, who for the past 10 years managed the wholesale distribution of Ralph Lauren’s line of men’s clothing in the Midwest and Canada.

A rooster serves as the company’s logo, which Scott said represents the Midwestern values of honesty, pride, courage and vigilance that he and Byus stand for.

Scott said Locally Grown Clothing donates 1 percent of its sales revenues to Food Democracy Now!, an advocacy group for sustainable agriculture and family farms.