Musings on tariffs, fashion, and why I started Firebird

Hi, I’m Vasi—founder of Firebird.

Last week’s tariff news hit close to home. It’s had me thinking—about this industry, about Firebird, and about the choices we all make around what we buy and how it’s made. So here are a few musings—not a statement, just reflections.

Since the beginning, Firebird has been committed to manufacturing everything here in the U.S.—mostly in New York City, with some pieces made in Los Angeles. It’s one of the hardest decisions we’ve made as a business, and one we revisit constantly. Producing in the U.S. costs at least twice as much—sometimes more. There have been moments where it felt like financial malpractice to keep doing it.

But we’ve stuck with it, because we believe it matters.

We also source the best materials we can find, wherever that search takes us. That’s led us to soft, organic cotton from Peru, beautiful knits from Italy, and exceptional denim from Japan. These are the materials that make our clothes feel the way they do. And many of them will now be subject to new tariffs.

This is going to be incredibly hard for small businesses.  I think we’ll see a lot of thoughtful, independent brands go under. That’s a very bad thing—for the economy, for consumers, for communities.

The reality is that unlike Firebird, most fashion brands manufacture abroad, no matter what the messaging says. Just check your tags. The fashion industry has long been a masterclass in greenwashing—beautiful campaigns masking truly awful practices. 

Still, I don’t think it’s all on them. Surveys have shown for years that while most people say they want to shop sustainably, very few are willing to pay more. And that gap between intention and reality is what makes it so hard to build something different.

We all do it. We’ve gotten used to clothes being cheap and endlessly available. We wash them after one wear, toss them in the dryer even when we know it shortens their life, and replace them without much thought. Kids grow fast, so we tell ourselves it makes sense to keep buying more—for less.

But maybe that’s not the only way.

Firebird was built around a different idea. That kids’ clothes could be made with care. That knowing where and how something is made adds meaning. And that even if a child only wears something for a year, that doesn’t make it disposable. These pieces can be passed down, resold, or simply cherished a little longer.

These tariffs aren’t the reason I’m writing. They just brought all of this back to the surface. A reminder of why we’ve made the choices we have—and why we’ll keep trying to make things that last.

Thanks for reading,

– Vasi

Founder, Firebird Kids