We manage full production for fishing and coastal brands past the proof of concept stage. You have a hero sun shirt that sells out, a dealer or two asking about wholesale, and a reorder you cannot afford to get wrong. What you need is a factory that holds fit across a wide size range, a UPF rating you can defend on the hangtag, and one person accountable when a container slips a week.
That is the work. We source the fabric, develop and test the samples, run production, classify the duties, and land the goods. You get a US point of contact on US hours and a platform where every style’s status is visible without chasing anyone.
Charter merch is not a brand
Most of what surfaces when you search for fishing apparel manufacturing is decoration. Shops that print your artwork on a stock microfiber blank, in one weight, one fit, one cut, and ship it in two weeks. That serves lodges, charters, and tournaments well, and it is a different business than yours.
A branded line is a manufacturing problem, not a printing problem. It needs fit blocks you own, a fabric spec that repeats across drops, grading that holds from S through 3XL, a UPF claim backed by test results, and construction that survives salt, sun, and a wash cycle every day of the season. A blank with your logo on it cannot get you there, and the shop that prints it is not equipped to try.
We work with brands building the second kind of program.
What we produce
Our coastal and fishing clients ship:
- Hooded sun shirts and long sleeve performance tops in UPF 50+ knits
- Vented and caped-back button-down fishing shirts
- Short sleeve performance tees and polos
- Fishing shorts and pants with tool pocket and gusset construction
- Neck gaiters, sun masks, and sun sleeves
- Quarter-zips and mid-layers for shoulder season and offshore mornings
- Coastal lifestyle tees and hoodies in cotton blends for the off-water half of the line
- Headwear, performance socks, and bags, run through our accessories program
We do not pretend to do everything. Waders, bibs, and foul weather shells belong at a different kind of factory, and we will tell you that before you spend money developing them with us. Hiking and climbing lines are a different fabric problem as well, and those run through our outdoor apparel program.
Where your production runs
We are a US company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Production runs through a vetted factory network, matched to the product rather than to whichever factory has open capacity.
China. The broadest fabric library and the deepest bench for technical synthetics, four-way stretch, and multi-trim programs. The default for a full seasonal line.
Vietnam. Strong on wovens and shirting construction. The right call for vented button-downs and technical woven bottoms.
South Korea. Premium technical knits and finish quality. Smaller batches, higher sophistication, for brands where fabric hand is part of the promise.
Peru. Premium cotton and cotton blends with nearshore lead times to the US. Best for the lifestyle side of the line rather than the performance side.
Every partner factory has been visited in person by our supply chain team. We require BSCI or WRAP certification at a minimum, and we run inspections with the same third-party agencies used by major retailers.
The details that decide whether a fishing line works
UPF is a test result, not a marketing line. A UPF 50+ claim is measured under AATCC 183 and rated under ASTM D6603. It comes from fiber, knit density, and finish working together, and a fabric that tests at 50+ in white may not in a lighter heather. We test before bulk so the number on your hangtag holds up. Nothing goes on a label here that we cannot show you a report for.
Fabric weight sets the price perception. Most of the category lives between 110 and 170 GSM in poly-spandex and microfiber knits. Too light and it reads promotional and shows through. Too heavy and it stops breathing on an August deck. That call gets made at fabric selection, not at fit sample.
Salt and sun are the durability test. Color retention, seam strength, and finish life are what generate returns in this category. Antimicrobial and DWR finishes wear off at different rates than the garment does, and it is worth knowing which claims will still be true in year two.
Sizing runs wider than performance apparel usually does. The customer base spans a broad age and body range. A size run that stops at XL leaves real revenue behind, and grading it properly is a pattern decision made once, early, not a fix applied later.
Hood and cuff geometry is the whole product. On a sun shirt, the hood opening, thumbhole placement, and cuff width are what a customer notices in the first thirty seconds. Those measurements should be yours and consistent, not whatever the factory’s house block happens to be.
How it works
- Quote. Send tech packs, sketches, or reference samples. We come back with pricing, a factory recommendation, and a dated timeline. No fee, no commitment.
- Development. Fabric sourcing, lab dips, pattern work, and UPF testing. Sample fees are charged at factory cost and quoted before development starts.
- Sampling. Fit samples, then a pre-production sample you approve before bulk begins.
- Production. Inline and final inspections, with third-party QC on production runs.
- Freight and customs. Air or ocean, with duty classification and clearance handled end to end. You get one delivered price.
- Delivery. Landed at your warehouse or routed into our fulfillment operation.
What it costs
Production cost is laid out style by style, never as a blended figure. Sample fees are charged at factory cost. Duties are classified per style before development and calculated on FOB. Freight is quoted with the order.
A small margin is built into pricing, based on the discounted rates we hold with our factories. Because we negotiate across a large number of brands, our rates typically beat what a single brand gets going direct.