RIDE BACKWARDS is a firefighter owned and operated company. Our mission is to bring the "best to the bravest"; for us that means quality athletic wear for firefighters. We offer designs that begin as hand-drawn originals before they are digitized for print or embroidery. Our focus is on sportswear, and our goal is to combine our proud firefighter history and tradition with new performance wear technology. It is also very important to us to offer high quality firefighter gear in a variety of price ranges. Not everyone is on the same budget, and we don't want anyone to be left out.

We are very blessed to be able to work within our own firefighter family and have our gear printed and embroidered right here in the Midwest. We like it that way because we believe personal relationships/family go a long way in ensuring quality and accountability. It's good to be able to poke your head in the shop and see what's up.

It would be misleading to imply that all our gear is assembled (i.e. the fabric of the shirts & shorts are actually dyed, cut, and sewn into shape) in the U.S.A. A lot of them are, some aren't. The truth is, very few garments are 100% "Made in the U.S.A." from start to finish. Our commitment is to high standards in our RB products, and we expect the same from the compaines we work with.

We can confidently state that all of our athletic wear suppliers are committed to workers rights, fair labor standards, and improving their environmental impact. We care very much about how people are treated, and how we treat people and our planet. It matters.

If your job has a specific Made In the USA/Union Made policy for their garments, that is totally cool. We work with Union print & embroidery shops, and have access to American-made clothing including hoodies, tees, shorts, hats, etc., from vendors like American Apparel, Bayside, Platinum Sportswear, Toolshed & more.

Our primary suppliers include the following. Click on their names for more info.

Nike

     Based in Portland, OR; manufacturing in U.S. and worldwide.

Anvil Knitwear

     Based in New York City, NY; manufacturing in U.S. and worldwide.

Gildan

     Based in Montreal, Canada; primary manufacturing in Honduras.

Soffe

     Based in Fayetteville, NC; primary manufacturing in U.S.

Richardson Caps

     Based in Eugene, Oregon; manufacturing in U.S. and worldwide.

TOW Caps

     Founded in 1986 in Norman, Oklahoma, TOW is the #1 source for collegiate headwear. Manufacturing in U.S. and worldwide.

Toolshed

     Toolshed USA's patented Aero Technology utilizes mesh used for gussets in athletic shorts providing the ultimate ventilation.
     Based in Huntington Beach, CA, manufactured in the USA.

AK Knit

     Since 1962, has been at the forefront of team sportswear manufacturing. AK is a full service athletic uniform factory with state of the art
     onsite fabrication & customization technology. Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees Local 437, Toronto, Ontario

Bella/Canvas

     Founded in 1992 and based in Los Angeles, CA. All design and much of our production happens in their solar-powered downtown
     Los Angeles headquarters. All organic tees made in the USA.

If you ever have any questions or concerns about our business practices, or have valuable information you'd like to share, PLEASE don't hesitate to contact us at info@ridebackwards.com. We want to be informed, and care greatly about what matters to you.

We are firefighters first and foremost, and we are here to serve.