30-06-2025
Sportswear Brand Actively Black Reshores Operations to the U.S. as Juneteenth Launch Nears
Actively Black is shifting part of its manufacturing to the U.S. and out of China, aligning with broader national efforts to bring production stateside.
On Thursday, the sportswear brand, owned by former Sacramento Kings player Lanny Smith, will debut a new collection designed by an all-Black creative team. Unlike previous drops, every piece in the collection—which includes graphic T-shirts, shorts and hoodies—will be made from 100 percent certified Black-grown cotton and produced entirely in the U.S. through a fully Black-owned supply chain.
More from Sourcing Journal
Can Tech Plug the Gaps Between Immigration Policies and Reshoring Aspirations?
Veteran's Carbon Holdings Pledges $1.1 Billion to US Farmers for Carbon Soil Program
Trump Says US Should Produce Tech and Tanks, Not T-Shirts and Sneakers
This venture kicked into high gear earlier this year after Donald Trump's global trade war gave Smith the push he needed to pivot.
'The idea of working with a fully Black-owned, U.S.-based supply chain [first crossed my mind] last year, but it didn't really accelerate until all the tariff talk began. That's when we had to start looking at some pivots just for operational survival,' Smith told Sourcing Journal. 'But overall, so many industries in America were built off profits made from slavery and cotton. Our people unwillingly participated in the wealth generation that created the U.S. economy, but we never got to enjoy the fruits of that labor or share in the upside of that wealth creation. There are scars, there's trauma… but I see this venture as reclamation.'
To onshore its operations, Actively Black partnered with Bridgeforth Farms, a fifth-generation Black-owned and operated cotton farm and manufacturer.
Based in Tanner, Alabama, the farm was established almost immediately after the Civil War, when former slave George Bridgeforth began purchasing land in North Alabama to build a legacy. Together with his wife, Jennie, he laid the foundation for what would become one of the oldest Black-owned farms in the country.
Fast-forward to today, the farm is now run by Carlton and Kyle Bridgeforth—along with a few other family members—who were 'vital assets' in bringing the collection to life.
'The Bridgeforth family has been an amazing partner. Their capability to produce the products we're releasing is incredible, and the fact that they've kept this going for 150 years is just remarkable,' Smith said. 'We're also working with another company, Comoco Cotton, which is aggregating Black farmers in North Carolina. By working with both, we see an opportunity to hopefully scale [our operations] into an ecosystem.'
This collection was intentionally timed to drop on Juneteenth, the annual June 19th holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
'I think of Juneteenth and what it means for our people and the continued fight for freedom and equality…that's part of what this [collection] represents,' Smith said. 'We're not asking for a handout or for anyone to give us anything. We're building our own supply chain so we can generate wealth and power ourselves.'
