Tariffs hit hard, but queer-owned brands push back with transparency and community

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3 days ago

At the start of President Donald Trump's second term in January, his administration quickly followed through on his promise to increase tariffs on U.S. trading partners. It began in February with a 10% tariff increase on all Chinese imports and a 25% increase on steel and aluminum products. Tariffs escalated between China and the U.S., with the highest reaching a 145% tariff for Chinese imports.
After a 90-day pause starting March 14, during which tariffs on both countries' imports were reduced by 115%, the U.S. and China reached an agreement on June 10. Tariffs on Chinese imports settled at 55%, while U.S. import tariffs settled at 10%. For many U.S. businesses, the damage from the initial rise in tariffs has had a profound effect, especially for those in retail and apparel.
News Is Out looked at how queer-owned businesses have begun speaking out about the effect of the tariffs and what they are doing to combat rising costs, or at least how to bring consumers' attention to them.
Queer-owned apparel brand tomboyX shared a statement from CEO Leslie Garrand about the tariffs on its social media channels:
'If you're uneasy about the whole Tr*mp situation–yeah, same.
'These are unpredictable times, and we want to be real with you. Trump's wild-@ss tariffs are creating serious challenges for small businesses like ours–and starting this May, we now face sky-high tariff costs.
'The good news: Many of our products (like swim!) are less affected. So go ahead, shop away.
'The not-so-good news: Products we sustainably produce in China are now hit with tariff rates of + 145%. To help offset just a portion of this cost increase, we're introducing a temporary 'Tr*mp Tariff Surcharge' on those items starting May 1. You'll see a clear note on the product page and in your cart. (The amount varies by item, and we'll remove the charge as soon as we can.)
'Thank you for sticking with us and supporting a small business doing its best to responsibly weather the chaos. Built to endure.
-Leslie Garrard – CEO'
Since then, items on the tomboyX website that are affected by tariffs now feature a note in red that says 'Tr*mp Tariff Surcharge.' The additional fees range from around $1 up to $7.
'TomboyX has always done things the right way—high-quality underwear, sustainably made, and inclusively designed,' Garrad shared with News Is Out. 'But the new Trump tariffs put extra pressure on small, values-led brands. These added costs are major and unplanned, and shifting our manufacturing footprint takes time and money. For small businesses, it hits hard. We're grateful to our community for standing with us as we adapt.'
Queer- and female-founded apparel company Wildfang based in Portland, Oregon, has also spoken out publicly about tariffs. Wildfang CEO Emma McIlroy was interviewed on 'CBS Mornings' on April 9 about tariffs, which heavily impact the company. When asked how the steep rise in tariffs would impact her company, McIlroy shared an example.
'We had our summer order—so we make apparel, we make fashion—arrived on Monday this week. If that order had arrived today, it would have cost us $178,000 more to receive it. I don't have that money.'
When asked if those increases could be passed on to customers, McIllory said, 'I do think you're going to see businesses have to pass this on to consumers. If you were trying to maintain the same structure you have right now, it would mean an 83% increase in consumer prices. I don't think you'll see that full price increase, but that's how aggressive this would be for consumers.'
However, McIlroy shared that Wildfang is doing everything they can to mitigate the rising costs.
'So, as a small business, we're going to try everything in our power not to pass that along,' McIlroy said. 'That's going to include working with our factory partners, looking at new factories and locations to manufacture, and that's going to include cutting our own costs. Every business will try to do that. But as a small business, there aren't that many places to cut. I think a last resort is going to increase prices.'
After speaking out publicly about how Trump's tariffs could affect Wildfang, McIlroy said the response from the community and customers has been overwhelmingly supportive.
We've had tons of lovely messages of support from our community,' McIlroy told News Is Out. 'We've also had lots of notes from other business owners sharing their frustrations and fears and thanking us for speaking up and raising awareness about the topic.'
In terms of next steps, McIlroy said Wildfang is working with factories to fast-track orders during the 90-day tariff pause. 'Additionally we're working with our factories to sample in Vietnam and Indonesia to diversify our manufacturing base,' she said.
For Gay Pride Apparel owners Sergio Aragon and Jesus Gutierrez, the rise in tariffs hasn't hit the business directly, yet much remains to be seen. Gay Pride Apparel does much of its business with American printers, but tariffs could affect them in other ways.
'There is a lot of uncertainty for us about whether they'll raise their prices because they're being hit with tariffs,' Gutierrez said in a Zoom interview with News Is Out. 'And it's also very timely for us, because obviously, it's about to hit Pride. So we're trying to figure out: will our production partner raise our prices? Does that mean that we have to raise our prices on our end?'
It's not just tariffs giving Gutierrez and Aragon pause, it's also a challenging economy.
'We know the economy is a little bit rough right now to begin with,' Gutierrez said. 'Our pricing is already pretty high compared to a normal T-shirt. So we're trying to juggle it all. And I think it's all been so volatile—just changing every day—that it hasn't really hit us in one way or another. It's almost kind of still up in the air for us.'
Gay Pride Apparel's partners have been working with the company to keep shipping costs down and keep lines of communication open.
'But the good thing is, our business partners and our suppliers have been really transparent with us and working with us,' Aragon said. 'There are different workarounds they're doing to help us avoid it.'
When asked their thoughts on tomboyX's approach of including a clear note about tariffs, Gutierrez applauded the company's transparency.
'I love it,' Gutierrez said. 'I mean, as you mentioned earlier, we're very transparent with our customers, and I think it's because it's just us two. We have a two-way conversation with our customer and our community. So seeing tomboyX do that was really fun and felt like something we would do. We actually saw it and were like, 'Oh, should we consider doing something?' But we don't know how it's going to affect us yet.'
Gutierrez and Aragon are considering what to do next and if tariffs really begin to negatively impact the company. While some companies are looking at having to pass on increases, Gay Pride Apparel is also looking at an alternative.
'But as people are raising their prices and responding to this, we were talking about maybe lowering our prices and making less money per sale per product, but becoming more accessible,' Gutierrez said. 'Because truthfully, we're struggling. Everyone struggles. How do we meet our customers where they're at?'
On a positive note as a queer-owned business, Gay Pride Apparel is seeing an increase in consumers supporting the company as an alternative to those that have changed their stances on support for Pride, diversity and inclusion, like Target and Walmart.
'They'll straight up call it out,' Gutierrez said. 'On Threads specifically, we'll get tagged randomly in posts that are like, whether it's a boycott post or it's a Pride-related kind of 'tag your favorite queer business.' And then people are like, 'Oh, I only shop at Gay Pride Apparel now because the rest of them are abandoning us,' or 'I only stick to companies who are here all year, such as Gay Pride Apparel.' They'll even say, 'I'm trying to support, even if it's 20% more, 30% more, to buy the shirt—I'll support Gay Pride Apparel over XYZ.''
While not U.S.-based business, Canadian company GrrrlL Spells does a lot of business with consumers in the U.S. Last year, Grrrl Spells made headlines as one of the queer- and trans-owned businesses when their partnership with Target was drastically reduced and their labels were removed from remaining products.
Creator and designer of GrrrlL Spells, En Tze Loh, shared their experience as a Canadian brand.
'Even though we're a Canadian business, the majority of our online customers are from the states,' Loh said. 'The de minimis exemption allowing orders under $800 to enter the U.S. tariff-free was removed specifically for products manufactured in China, now subjecting them to an absurdly high tariff fee regardless of where it's shipped from. We design all of our own products but get them manufactured both locally and abroad including China, and unfortunately many of our products will now be subject to those tariffs when delivered to U.S. customers.'
As a result, Grrrl Spells has pulled back on shipping certain products to the U.S.
'We have decided to stop shipping any of our items that were manufactured in China to the U.S. as we don't believe anyone should have to pay these extreme fees, which drastically decreases our sales. Enamel pins, which are our most popular product, do not have any North American manufacturers at all and they are mostly produced in China, so sadly there isn't an alternative.'
During a time that should see the company's biggest spikes, Grrrl Spells is preparing for a slower season.
'We are definitely anticipating a much quieter Pride month and year due to the tariffs and decline of the economy in general as we've already been feeling the effects of it since the year began. We're trying our best to adapt to the changes and find alternatives in order to keep going but it has been challenging.'
Loh also wants consumers and LGBTQ+ people to know how grateful they are for their support.
'We would like to send so much love and strength to every queer and trans person during these wild times and thank you so much to everyone who has supported us throughout all these years,' Loh said. 'We need the support of each other more than ever right now. While we may not be able to ship many of our current goods to the U.S. at the moment, we're working on a new collection for Pride with items that we will be able to ship tariff-free, so please stay tuned!'
This story was produced by News Is Out and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.