Melanzana

Founded 1994 and still majority-owned by founder Fritz Howard, with no outside investors, PE, or debt on record. Howard has set up an employee stock program, 20-plus longtime workers hold equity, with a stated goal of eventual full employee ownership, though it is not a formal ESOP.

Founder-owned since 1994, no PE, no debt, no outside equity of any kind. All cutting and sewing happens in two company-owned facilities in Leadville and Alamosa, Colorado. Nothing is contract-manufactured. The fleece itself comes from Polartec, knit and finished domestically; Melanzana is Polartec's largest buyer outside the US military. Entry-level pay starts at $21 an hour against a roughly $15 state minimum, on a four-day week with full benefits and profit sharing. Howard has set up an employee stock program: 20-plus longtime workers already hold equity, with a stated goal of full employee ownership. The company turned away the fastest path to more revenue on purpose: no outside capital, no wholesale, no advertising, a two-item purchase cap, and a contractual restriction on buying to resell for profit. Smelly Melly and ReMelly'd keep textile waste inside Colorado instead of shipping it anywhere. None of the usual enshittification triggers are present: no acquisition, no management swap, no manufacturing migration, no warranty rollback. Approved.