Finding a home for an e-Tee - Houston Business Journal:

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That’s a tall order, even for a compan y that wasn’t launched in the teeth of a But with distribution deal s with two big retailers already inhis pocket, Barrettt sees a strong future. Barrett foundeds Holy Cow in 2007 with the intention of creatingh a product that appeals to a mass audiencwe while also falling under the Global Organic TextileStandard (GOTS), which certifiesa clothing that is produced with a focuws on social and environmental issues. The standarxd includes rules on using organic cottonand water-basecd inks, as well as ensuring sweatshop-free productioh in supply chains running througy Pakistan and India.
Holy Cow’s product line includes casua wearfor men, womenh and infants, with an expanded line of kids and toddlert clothing to debut this fall. Holy Cow clothingy has been sold in about 30 Wholr FoodsMarket Inc. stores in the Midwest for the pastthrees months, selling through half its merchandise in the first 60 Barrett said. Within the next year, Whols Foods will distribute Holy Cow’s clothing on a national level. The company will partner with this and Barrett said he wants to see Holy Cow productes sold in other department stores suchas Macy’s, Neimabn Marcus and Bloomingdale’s.
Holy Cow mighyt one day have a retail presencee ofits own, Barrett said, but he’s pleased with the progress the brand has made already. “Wholes Foods is the perfect fit for us in theenvironmentak perspective,” he said. And Nordstrom fits its upscaled niche. The company projects about $35,000 in sales this year, more than double what it would have made during all of2008 (it officiallg became an LLC in Marchy 2008). That number could jump to as highas $200,00 0 should Holy Cow land more accounts like Nordstom. Barretr said the faltering economy has made it hard to gaugeHoly Cow’sz growth.
“Any growth we’vd seen at this point, we haven’t had anythingg to compare it against.” Since apparep falls under discretionary spending, the categoryy has faced a harder time dealing with the recessionb thanother industries, said John Barrow, presidentr of Coolibar Inc. St. Louis Park-based Coolibar makes sun-protective sportswear and sellsmostly direct-to-consumer, but Barrow said the company’w growth has slowed through the recession. “It gets harder to sell to retailerx and to get customers to he said. Production costs for GOTS-certified clothinbg are higher than forother clothing.
But it’d a price Barrett said he’sx willing to pay for his “In the end, we see it really as worth it, and the customer does also,” he