SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — After working together for over two years to produce the highest quality, most comfortable 100% cotton t-shirt available on the market, Chapman Trading and FAM USA are coming together under one roof in Sandersville, Georgia as Rally Apparel. The company plans to be fully operational in the new space, the original Royal Manufacturing building located at 1006 South Harris Street, in early January 2025. Since 2021, the process of creating the infamous Magnolia Loom brand (a current subsidiary of Chapman Trading) 100% American-made, Georgia cotton t-shirt has involved a stop at seven different locations after leaving the farm. With this new partnership, two of those stops will be eliminated as FAM USA is moving its entire operation to Sandersville and the team is adding garment dyeing to its list of capabilities.
By moving the cut and sew process from Snellville and the dying process from Burlington, North Carolina, over 660 miles of a garment’s journey is eliminated. Through a partnership with Georgia’s Rural Center and the Washington County Economic Development Authority, Rally Apparel will secure the necessary equipment needed for garment dyeing of fabric to be done in house. The current process requires over 1,500 miles of travel. This merger will eliminate over 660 miles of that travel. Not only will this reduce the cost of production for the Magnolia Loom brand of apparel, it will enhance the economy of one of Georgia’s rural communities – Washington County. The new Rally Apparel will offer the same exceptional services that the two entities currently offer – custom sublimation, cut, sew, decorating, and embellishment. You will still be able to order promotional products and have items screen printed or embroidered. Additionally, this new cooperative will allow for enhanced research and product development.
The Partners
Torey Rose, owner of FAM USA in Snellville, Georgia has been in the manufacturing space for over 31 years. In high school, Rose apprenticed at a designer bridal shop where she learned to create patterns and size garments properly. She later began a bridesmaids dress business out of her home which she continued to run while raising her four daughters. Rose then began teaching and developed a two-year home economics course at the local high school where the students studied foods as well as apparel making. She also coached girls’ varsity volleyball for over 14 years and later served as the girls’ basketball coach. Rose, as well as most of the other coaching staff, remained frustrated with the uniform selection process. With a challenge from the school’s administrator, Torey began making the team’s uniforms. Questions from other teams led to her making lots of uniforms, and after three years, You’re Sew Special Athletics was born. YSS Athletics focused on enhancing the community’s economy by keeping the manufacturing of sports uniforms local. By doing this everyone benefited – schools, gyms, rec programs, and sports teams.
Over the years Rose has learned that it’s okay to not have all of the answers as long as you are inquisitive enough to keep asking the questions to learn the right way to do something. Torey has found mentors in the manufacturing industry and today is one of the few female-owned apparel manufacturers in the United States. In 2015, the company became FAM USA because their sole focus was no longer just on athletic apparel. This is when the company began offering wholesale services and began seeing its largest growth.
FAM USA is a family run business with all four of Rose’s daughters actively working as part of the leadership team. Over the years, Torey and the business have won many awards and she has been part of many local, state, and national organizations. Her no-quit attitude and desire to always do what is best for her employees and customers have led her to form partnerships that have continued to help her business thrive and advance when many in the industry have failed.
Zeke Chapman, owner of Chapman trading in Sandersville, Georgia has been an entrepreneur since he was 11 years old. A small cow herd bought with a youth FSA loan led to a little boy earning money to purchase a bull by selling produce to his friends and family. Several years later, he used the money raised from his cow herd and produce business to purchase screen printing equipment. By the end of 2015 he got serious about screen printing and 18 months later he had his equipment paid off. Chapman Trading Co. officially opened its doors in 2017 and expanded rapidly. The year 2020 brought about unexpected challenges that the team adapted to by helping small businesses and other non-profits raise money while also keeping their own rural business afloat. Through a partnership with Georgia FFA, a dream was realized in 2021 through what is now Magnolia Loom. This brand tells the story of how seeds in the ground become the finished product you wear.
The Magnolia Loom brand is rooted in transparency and support of small businesses, educational partners, and others in need. Since its inception, the company has given back over $275,000 to different causes. Chapman has a giving heart and defines success in his business by his ability to be able to give back, no matter the cost, because others have always given to him so that he could realize that success. The garments produced by Magnolia Loom tell a story – the seed, the cotton, the yarn, the fabric, and the shirt is handled from start to finish right here in the southeastern United States.
The Collaboration
Each year, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Grown sets out to enhance its signature building at the Georgia National Fair. Through a partnership with Georgia’s Rural Center in 2023, Magnolia Loom and FAM USA brought fairgoers an experience like no other.
The Seed to Shirt Experience at the Georgia National Fair takes visitors on an interactive tour of cotton – from seed to shirt. Consumers truly connect with agriculture and the industrial side of the business in this space. In 2023, this experience not only sparked a fire in those that visited the booth, but also those that worked in the booth. This spark led two entrepreneurs, Torey Rose and Zeke Chapman, to put their heads together to continue to nurture the dream of enhancing the textile and manufacturing industry in Georgia.
Now, just over a year later, the vision is becoming a reality. FAM USA and Chapman Trading are teaming up in 2025 to form a new cooperative bringing more of the textile industry back to Georgia. Torey Rose’s no-quit attitude and Zeke Chapman’s giving spirit are bound to find success in partnership as they embark on bringing the textile industry back to Georgia. With combined resources and talent, the duo are taking American-made garments to the next level. Consolidating the supply chain for a stronger local economy and less miles traveled with the same exceptional quality is the goal and that’s exactly what Rose and Chapman will do when they open their doors as Rally Apparel in Sandersville, Georgia in January 2025.
Additional Information
Georgia’s Rural Center works to rediscover all that is unique and extraordinary in the state’s less populated areas. Additionally, the Center reminds all Georgians of the vital role that rural people and places play in statewide success. Partnering with companies like Rally Apparel allows the Center to connect the entrepreneurial spirit of rural business owners like Torey Rose and Zeke Chapman with entities such as the Washington County Economic Development Authority.
With over $74 billion in economic impact every year, agribusiness is Georgia’s leading industry. However, due to decreased processing facilities and factories within Georgia, most of its raw commodities leave the state and/or country to be turned into a finished product. Where cotton is concerned, what were thriving textile communities in rural areas are now communities with little economic power and full of empty buildings because these towns saw the industry move the majority of its production overseas. Georgia’s Rural Center was created in 2018 to address issues such as this by building healthy, vibrant rural Georgia communities through collaborative partnerships.
–Rally Apparel Co-Op/Magnolia Loom
