About Us

COTTON BASICS has been manufacturing their products in Oakland, California since 1982. We have specialized in small batch production and natural dyeing since our founding days. This allows us to provide our custom designs and exclusive color formulations as well as our legacy designs year-round. We make everything with care and with our end customer in mind. We preshrink & prewash all our custom clothing. We handle 90% of our processes in house, from production, screen printing, garment dyeing, packaging and fulfillment. Because of all this, we can truly say that our process is unique. But our proudest accomplishment is the loyalty of our customers. Our loyal customer base recognizes the knowledge, pride, and commitment of our brand and serves as a constant reminder that we're doing something right and inspires us to keep striving and to keep the legacy alive.

HISTORY

COTTON BASICS was established in the San Francisco Bay area in 1982 by Susan Ciochetto. Rapidly the business expanded to offer a wide variety of apparel, including screenprints and clothing designed by Susan and manufactured in-house, all made with natural fibers.

COTTON BASICS quickly gained popularity among both locals and tourists alike, becoming synonymous with the vibrant and unique spirit of San Francisco. At one point, the business had expanded to up to 8 stores in the Bay Area. Today, after 40+ years of successful operation, COTTON BASICS continues to thrive, now under new ownership. As of November 2022, Susan passed the business to local designer, entrepreneur and Bay Area native Rebecca Cahua, who is now the new sole owner of Cotton Basics.