12/22/2025
Sharing to bring attention to this Maine business specializing in clothing for women post-mastectomy!
Becky is the co-founder of FlatWear, clothing designed for women who choose flat closure after mastectomy. Her company is based in Mid-coast Maine, where she also works as a realtor. Becky launched the brandâs first line of clothing this year, just as the Trump administrationâs tariff plans began.
âIt was always my hope that we could have everything made in Maine. This is a Maine company â thatâs what we wanted. We first tried to go through a manufacturer in Westbrook, but they turned us down. Then we broadened the search to New England. But itâs like a secret club, trying to find a manufacturer. Itâs so, so hard. A lot of manufacturers wonât touch small orders. We found one really great company in upstate New York, but our cost was going to be $190 per dress. These are clothes for women whoâve had breast cancer. Weâre trying to keep things affordable. We canât be charging them $350 for a cotton dress! So, thatâs when we started looking overseas.
We started working with a manufacturer in India last year. When tariffs were first announced, we thought we were so smart since India wasnât initially included. But with other bigger companies rushing there to avoid tariffs, production on our small line almost completely ground to a halt. Then in August, there is a 25% tariff. By that point we were already way behind in production. We had five boxes on the way, the bulk of our inventory. Then, the day before our inventory arrived, tariffs on India doubled to 50%! Tariffs are charged when the products arrive in the US, not when theyâre shipped. More than half of the total price we paid for all our inventory was our tariff bill. And there was nothing we could do.
We categorically decided we would not increase our prices, but weâre really skating a fine line. We now have a much smaller inventory, and we abandoned plans for seasonal lines. We wanted to rent a production space, but we canât afford to do that now. Weâre getting creative with everything and trying to be as scrappy as possible. Iâm optimistic about our future, but weâre in this weird tariff land. There are so many unknowns.
Itâs such a catch-22: we canât afford to order more inventory from India, because the tariff is too high. Even if we make the clothes here, itâs almost impossible to find affordable, high quality fabric in the US. Itâs much cheaper to order it from overseas, but then youâve got this huge tariff when it comes in. And you still have to find people with the skills to make the clothes.
People always say, "Manufacture in the United States! Make it in Maine!" But how? I mean I thought that, too. I want the cute little âMade in Maineâ tag on our clothes. But you know, itâs just not affordable. Thatâs the bottom line. And I donât know how to make it affordable. I donât know how you do that.â
Becky shared her story as part of this year's State of Working Maine report. Read the report here: https://www.mecep.org/jobs-and-income/state-of-working-maine-2025/
