The State of A50 2022

If you’re familiar with our brand or have shopped with us before, you know that we’re all about being transparent and honest with our customers and fans. We know you enjoy learning about what’s going on each year with our company, and that you appreciate getting a behind-the-seams look at what’s happening.

The State of A50 is your yearly view into the good times, the bad times, the changes, and the challenges that we’re working through on our mission to make the best bedding and bath goods 100% Seed-to-Stitch® in the USA. 

Our American-made small business

We’re extremely proud of Authenticity50 and hope that you are too. It’s a testament to people seeing a problem in the world and starting a business to address those issues. We believe Authenticity50 addresses all the largest social issues that we now face - income inequality; a breakdown in communities; a lack of opportunity for people to improve their place in the country with good jobs; and a healthier planet, with manufacturing that’s local and better for the environment. We always try to do the right thing and while we’re not perfect, we strive to continually improve, and re-orient towards our North Star. 

And when we say ‘we’ we really mean ‘YOU’. You put us in business and also put your hard earned money where your mouth is by purchasing American-made products. We’re eternally grateful for your support and proud to have you as customers. 

Free 2-Day Shipping on most orders

We're excited to bring you free 2-day shipping on most orders! How this works is, similar to Amazon, we distribute our inventory around the country so that it is close to you. Shorter shipping distances brings faster deliveries! It does depend on us having inventory distributed around the country and occasionally speeds will change but we'll do our best to minimize this. Regardless ALL shipments will always ship within one business day! 

Additional good news is that all deliveries are carbon neutral! We care about the environment and want to minimize our impact (more on this below) so we pay for carbon offsets on your orders!

On the road

We love to spend time on the road meeting with our manufacturers - they are the heart and soul of our business, and keep us inspired to do what we do. Earlier this year, we did a long road trip where we put about 1,000 miles on a rental car and visited 5 states! We wanted to do another summer trip but it was derailed by life events in June. 

We started our trip in Georgia visiting several mills that are weaving different types of fabric, including our sheeting. These factories are very impressive to see. You truly can understand the scale and enormity of these textile projects when you witness 10,000 pounds of yarn on a beam ready for weaving. And the skilled technicians that work on these products safely, efficiently and with care are so proud of what they do. They are exciting to meet and spend time with. 

We also visited new manufacturers to discuss and develop additional products and tour their facilities. Of the four we visited this trip, we’ve already started working with three of them. They’re all enthusiastic to have ‘fresh blood’ companies like Authenticity50 to collaborate with, and have as a new customer! We really appreciate the opportunity to work with partners big and small, who are the best at what they do.

Our production partners

We’re always talking to our manufacturers and in the loop on what's happening in the supply chain. While it seems to be balancing out a bit, costs are still elevated compared to where they were pre-pandemic. We don’t like having to raise prices - despite having to increase prices on most products this year.

We’re hoping and praying for lower costs across the board in the coming years so we can deliver more affordable products. The cost of cotton, yarn and other raw materials skyrocketed in the past year - with Supima cotton tripling in price. So we’re making adjustments - trying to find the best value while creating the best products, so we can deliver that to YOU.

We don’t believe American-made should be CHEAP but we DO BELIEVE that it should be attainable by most people. We know you agree - good value is never cheap and good ethics costs money but delivers over the long run. The reality is that providing premium products with a 100% Seed-to-Stitch American supply chain simply costs much more than anything made overseas. But we always aim to give you the best possible value we can.

Better for the environment and for people

One of the greatest misconceptions out there is that all these ‘green’ imported products are beneficial to the environment. Whether it’s organic cotton, recycled polyester, sustainable bamboo, or some other fancy new term - they’re missing the mark. Experts reveal that container ships create more pollution than all the cars on the planet by a large margin. In international waters, where pollution is unregulated, container ships run on the excess sludge fuel that can’t be refined into clean burning gas for cars. It’s horrible for the environment, and since it's 'out of sight, out of mind' most people do not realize this enormous problem exists. 

Not to mention many of the ethical issues associated with overseas production, including child labor and extremely poor working conditions. Don’t just listen to us - look at this factory in Bangladesh that collapsed, killing more than 1,000 workers in the process! 

By contrast, Authenticity50 doesn’t use any container ships. And our manufacturers all pay their workers good working wages and offer them clean, safe working conditions. They’re bound by the EPA to follow environmental rules and OSHA for worker safety. We’ve learned that cheap isn’t cheap and it’s terrible for the environment and people’s lives.

Authenticity50 is better for people, better for our communities, AND better for the environment. 

A50 Renewed 

We're so proud to offer our customers a chance to purchase our great products at an exceptional value, via A50 Renewed. Collaborating with an amazing renewal team (that also works with brands like Patagonia and The North Face), we've created a program to revive returned, used or defective products. We’re hoping to do A50 Renewed drops every 4-6 months! Quantities are always extremely limited, and items go very quickly - so check your email and phone (if you’re on our SMS list) for early access to these items.

New Products

It’s exciting to work on new products and we continue to push the envelope! This always means days on the road meeting manufacturers, telling them our story and learning about how they work. It’s a constant back and forth with our design ideas and their expertise in the real world of weaving and textiles. We don't stop until we create something that our whole team absolutely loves and that we think you will too. It’s great and we love to do it!

New Heritage Blanket Colors

Our super popular made in Maine blankets continue to be a big hit, and won a Good Housekeeping 2022 Best Blanket Award! We're so proud to offer our customers a heirloom product like this, and we're continuing to add new colors! This summer we launched Island Sand, and in December, we'll be adding Cascade Gray! Be sure to keep an eye out when they hit our shelves - they'll be available in time for holiday gift giving!

An ALL NEW Throw

We’re in the process of developing a new throw blanket… The first of its kind in decades, in the USA. It’s super plush with a 3D character to it that makes it unlike any other on the market. We’ve been cuddling with the prototypes for months and making tweaks. This project is not easy as it simply hasn't been done before, but the time and effort will be worth it. We’re working with new manufacturers on this program and building a solid relationship with them. We hope to launch this new throw in Q1 of 2023, so stay tuned!

Ultra Smooth Sheets

In development for over a year now, we’re excited to be working on a new, ultra-smooth bed sheet to complement our Signature Series Percale Sheets. We’re fortunate to work with the best in the business - literally the only weavers left who can weave this type of sheeting. And the finishers that have been finishing our sheets from Day 1 will be onboard to make these the smoothest, most comfortable sheets you’ve ever used. We think you'll love this new addition to our sheeting line and we'll be sure to let you know when it's ready to purchase in 2023!