Tariff Impacts

Helping your business thrive is our first priority. That’s why we’re working to minimize the effect of tariffs. Check this page for the most current updates.

April 18, 2025 – June 1 Price Increase: Tariff impacts on SanMar products

Partners and friends,

Thank you for being patient through the challenges of the last few weeks. Our team has worked to minimize the impacts of tariffs on pricing by negotiating with our suppliers, importing containers before tariffs went into effect and managing internal costs. 

With that in mind, here’s what’s changing—I’ll explain our decision-making process below.

Starting June 1:

•    Prices on all private label and retail products will increase 3.5%.
     We’ll follow up next week with a price list.

•    Prices on Volunteer Knitwear will not increase
     This brand is made in Tennessee and not subject to any tariffs. 

•    Customers paying by credit card will see a new 3% surcharge.
     This will offset credit card transaction fees we currently pay and has long been a standard practice among many industry suppliers.

While we don’t have final details yet, we do expect to receive some price increases from industry brands including Gildan, Hanes, Jerzees, Bella+Canvas, Next Level, Stanley/Stella and A4. We will share when we know more.

How we made these decisions 

We always try to keep price increases modest and manageable for you. To achieve this, we can adjust product costs and manage operational expenses.

-   Product Costs
As we communicated last week, all foreign countries are now subject to a 10% base tariff. We’ve negotiated with our factory partners to have them absorb some of the tariffs. We’re optimizing our supply chain to ensure we are producing products in the lowest-cost countries. And SanMar is absorbing as much of the tariffs as we can. Finally, we’ve ceased production in China and are working to mitigate any costs associated with purchase orders we have already placed.

-   Operational Costs
We’re taking a hard look at costs across our organization. We are weeks away from going live on our first automated distribution center, which will allow us to service you with higher accuracy and at a lower cost. In addition, by adding a 3% surcharge on credit card payments, SanMar is able to offset the interchange fees we pay on credit card transactions. 

We don’t want this to cost you, either.  Our dedicated credit team is happy to help you apply for credit terms to avoid charges related to credit card payments. You can reach them at CreditAppsTeam@sanmar.com.

We know this isn’t welcome news for some of you, and we didn’t make the decision lightly.  Ultimately, we felt the best solution was to minimize the price increase from tariffs and offer you a way to avoid credit card costs.
 

Work on tariffs continues.
 

Our work on controlling operational and product cost enables us to continue to offer great prices on our products even during this time of elevated tariffs.

Like everyone, we’re watching to see what plays out during the 90-day pause. Our sourcing team continues to build a strong and diversified global network that gives us the flexibility to respond to rapid changes.  While we hope further price increases aren’t necessary this year as result of reciprocal tariffs, some of our larger retail brand partners have shared they expect further price increases for January 2026.  We will share more information as it becomes available.

We’ve had the same core values since Day 1: Be Nice and Tell the Truth. We’ll continue working to live up to those every day.

Thank you,

Jeremy Lott
President & CEO

April 10, 2025 – Take 2: Tariffs and SanMar – Our response to the latest news

Partners and friends,

“Pivot” was an overused buzzword during the pandemic, and I promised myself I’d never use it again. But given the events of the last several days, I’d say pivot is back.  Pivot we must, so pivot we will. 

As I’m sure you know by now, the White House has announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs. During the pause, the tariff amount will be an even 10%. The one exception is China, where the rate has increased to 145%.  

Because of this, we’re changing our plan from last week to the following:

•    We’ll still raise prices June 1 on all private label and retail brands. This will be a very modest increase—as opposed to the “not insignificant” amount I mentioned previously—to offset the 10% base tariff. We’ll share an exact number as soon as we can. 

•    Prices on our basics brand Volunteer Knitwear, which is made in Tennessee and not subject to any tariffs, will stay the same.  

•    After the 90-day pause, we’ll decide if we need a second price increase. I realize this contradicts what I said before, but circumstances have changed. We are hopeful that countries can come to an agreement with the U.S. and additional price increases are not needed.

That said, SanMar is not a spectator. We’re actively engaged with our partners in manufacturing, trade and policy to minimize the impact tariffs have on your business. We entered the year with less than 7% of our products sourced from China, and we’re very close to ceasing all production in China.

We’ll continue to communicate with you as we learn more and as the situation develops. Regardless of what’s happening in the world, our focus is on our long-term partnership and supporting you every way we can.

Thank you for trusting SanMar through the good times and the pivots.

Best, 

Jeremy Lott 
President & CEO