Youth Monument Clothing, Inc. Dba Venley, Venley Clothing, Venley Apparel, Venley By Youth Monument

Youth Monument Clothing is [an] L.A.-based apparel maker that has learned the advantages of local production. Though its parent company is the well-established Antex Knitting Mills, Youth Monument started up less than two years ago, specializing in logo-licensed apparel for women. In this case, the production work has returned to Los Angeles from Mexico. "It's been a hard process to do everthing in the United States because of the cost," says company co-founder Nick Ventura, standing in a new sewing facility with 25 sewers, most of whom were hired in the last six months. "Retailers are always trying to beat you up as far as getting your wholesale pricing down. That's been a tough road to travel, but we sell the quality and the 'made in USA' nostalgia [and] we're creating jobs with living wages." On-site quality control and quick turnaround are also what drive Youth Monument to produce its more than 40,000 garments a month locally, but Ventura adds that the company also likes creating living wage jobs on its factory floor. A mainstay of its business is college and university apparel, so when a college sports team gets hot, the tank-tops and sweatshirts start to move quickly.