Inspiring Conversations with Brina Thomas of 5 Pound Apparel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brina Thomas.

Hi Brina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I acquired 5 Pound Apparel in 2017. I have a degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing from Missouri State University. I was actually negotiating the acquisition of 5 Pound Apparel my last semester at MSU.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always bumps in the road, however, 5 Pound Apparel has been very fortunate to have such a supportive community that shows up every time we need them. Specifically, during the closures in 2020, Springfield showed up to support us and other small businesses in the area.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our story begins in 2010 when a group of college students in Springfield, Missouri decided to found a company dedicated to the principle of offering quality products that help make the world a better place. We started with Global Tees, a custom screen-printing business. The countless sleepless nights printing shirts provided the foundation for us to create Five Pound Apparel. Both our house brand and retail offerings remain firmly committed to our core principles.

The name, Five Pound Apparel, comes from the fact that for each of our branded items sold we will donate 5 pounds of food to Ozarks Food Harvest. Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving more than 200 hunger-relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches nearly 30,000 individuals weekly and distributes more than 16 million pounds of food annually. We use Alternative Apparel for the vast majority of our shirts, a company with a strong commitment to socially responsible production. Our in-store retail offerings consist of products from like-minded companies (including United by Blue, Krochet Kids, Out of Print Shirts, and many more) so that when browsing our products, you can feel good knowing that each one helps someone, somewhere.

We do our best to select companies that commit to socially responsible and/or fair-trade practices. When a company we carry does not make its own donation to the charity we make our own donation to Ozarks Food Harvest for each unit sold. Each product description you’ll read in our store will let you know how your purchase will help make a positive difference. Online you’ll find a constant rotation of our own products including Missouri is Awesome shirts and our limited-edition exclusive offerings. We print our own shirts so supplies are often limited but we’re always thinking about new designs.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
It’s okay to feel as if you don’t know what you are doing, no one does. Everyone is learning as they go and that is totally okay. You just have to keep going and you will get there.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.5poundapparel.com
• Instagram: 5poundapparel
• Facebook: 5poundapparel
• Twitter: 5poundapparel
• Youtube: 5poundapparel