Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black during a press conference on March 20 at the Georgia State Capital presented Georgia State Governor Nathan Deal with a 100 percent Georgia Grown cotton t-shirt. The conference was held to announce a new line of Georgia Grown t-shirts grown and sewn locally in Georgia in partnership with the Georgia Cotton Commission, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency and Georgia’s cotton farmers. This 100 percent Georgia Grown t-shirts are available for purchase online at store.georgiagrown.com.

On this occasssion, Black also talked about celebrating National Agriculture Week in Georgia, and some of the activities he will be taking part in.

With the largest row crop industry in this state being cotton, it is an honor to present 100 percent cotton shirts grown and sewn in Georgia, said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. They are thrilled to identify a transparent supply chain to produce a high-quality, Georgia-made product that consumers will be proud to wear.

The 100 percent cotton shirts are sourced from South Georgia and ginned at Osceola Cotton Company in Irwin County, Georgia. Platinum Sportswear receives the finished fabric and sews the shirts at their facility in Wilkes County, Georgia. The entire process is completed within a 600-mile radius.

Georgia Grown has partnered with local screen printers, including Georgia Industries for the Blind, to complete the design process for local businesses and organizations. All shirts are completely customizable and feature a 100 percent Georgia Grown cotton tag.

With more than $73 billion in economic output each year, agribusiness is the largest industry here in the No. 1 state for business, said Gov. Nathan Deal. An important part of that industry, which is directly tied to this Georgia Grown project, is our cotton sector, as almost 20 percent of all American cotton comes from Georgia.

With this project, they are recognizing the farmers, growers and raisers who are ultimately responsible for so much other business all along the farm-to-consumer supply chain.

Creating a supply chain that occurs in three different agrarian regions of Georgia has helped to rebuild Georgia’s textile manufacturing industry and brought revitalization to rural Georgia.

Commissioner Gary W Black said that they are so proud of the effects this supply chain has had on Georgia’s rural regions. Being able to establish a process that begins and ends in Georgia reiterates that Georgia is indeed Nature’s Favorite State.