FutureStitch touts a charitable cause beyond its premium socks.
The San Clemente-based startup—which works with brands such as Nike, Under Armour and Toms—employs formerly incarcerated women at its recently expanded manufacturing facilities in Oceanside.
Its workforce is expected to grow after the company in May secured a lease for 622 Airport Road, next door from the 9,000-square-foot warehouse it opened last year, according to sister publication the San Diego Business Journal.
The roughly 9,000-square-foot facility will open in May.
Social Accountability
About half of FutureStitch’s Oceanside staff of 21 are formerly incarcerated.
They joined the company through its program, Boss Stitch—a name chosen by participating employees.
FutureStitch’s founder and CEO Taylor Shupe was inspired to start Boss Stitch after he watched a documentary that showed how children are more likely to get in trouble if their parents are in prison.
Beyond employment, Boss Stitch offers formerly incarcerated individuals courses in herbal medicine and gardening done in collaboration with Moon Valley Nurseries, self-defense classes, motivational sessions with Olympic gold medal weightlifter Laura Eiman, meditation classes and a book club.
Nonprofits San Diego Workforce Partnership and North County Lifeline assist with recruitment for Boss Stitch.
The program advances FutureStitch’s goal to rehabilitate “justice-impacted individuals” to help end “the cycle of incarceration,” the company says on its site.
FutureStitch also touts a SA8000 certification, a credential created by human rights nongovernmental organization Social Accountability International (SAI).
SA8000 signifies that a company conducts business “in a way that is far and decent for workers” and demonstrates “adherence to the highest social standards,” SAI says on its site.
Domestic Expansion
While FutureStitch aims to expand its Boss Stitch program, the company appears to be done planting roots in SoCal.
It plans to build out its domestic footprint, setting sights on a new facility in the South, such as in North Carolina or Alabama.
“We’d like to acquire or create a joint venture with an existing mill,” Shupe told the San Diego Business Journal.
The company also operates facilities overseas, including a manufacturing plant in China and a joint venture operation in Turkey.
Revenue Miss
With multiple manufacturing sites across the globe, FutureStitch produces tens of millions of socks, compression sleeves and knit shoe uppers every year.
Socks, which range from casual, dress and performance, go for $10 to $20 a pair.
Despite its high volume, the company fell about 10% short of its goal of $50 million in revenue last year. Shupe attributes the miss to “weaker demand” in the second half of 2022, as a result of customers’ high inventories.
Retail Entrepreneur
Shupe previously co-founded San Clemente apparel company Stance, which serves as the official sock supplier of the NBA, among other notable partnerships.
Stance, which FutureStitch supplies, is reported to do well over $100 million in sales with a valuation cited around $500 million pre-pandemic.
