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Stowe, Vermont - October 30, 2009

Katherine Sundstrom is more than a garment maker, more than a business owner, she's the vocal general in her personal war against foreign manufacturing. "To me, if you manufacture outside the United States, it's like prostitution," she says.

Sundstrom moved her homegrown fleece vest, jacket, and accessory company to Vermont from Colorado. There she was known as Gecko Gear, but a conflict with another company using the word gecko, reminiscent of the name fight this month involving Rock Art Brewery, ended with the business changing addresses, and changing its name to Col d'Lizard: a fancied-up pronunciation of the words "cold lizard."

Sundstrom explains, "I think we still have people that look for us under Gecko Gear, but they usually find us."

Consumers find a brand that buys raw materials from domestic textile mills and suppliers. "If I'm expecting these people to purchase from me, I should be employing these people," the businesswoman explains.

Sundstrom has held that opinion since she first got into the clothing biz. She used to work for a line of children's clothes as it was about to make a tough decision: "As soon as they took their manufacturing to Mexico, I quit," she remembers.

Now her own boss, she and her small team send customized cozy gear to athletes, ski resort employees, EMT units, and more nationwide from Stowe, where Col d'Lizard says it's found a good fit. Employee Barbara Bauman says, "It's a down to earth state. I think everybody's supportive in one way or another. If it's not helping a needy family, it's helping a business that is rooted here."

The company will keep pushing its U.S. manufacturing to customers willing to spend a little extra to support American jobs. "It's very important to me," Sundstrom says.

Col d'Lizard gets warm feelings from being "Made in Vermont." The company owner beams, "I love being Made in Vermont!"

Click here to visit Col d'Lizard's website.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont