Searching the world for hat manufacturers

“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

Starting a company is never easy. That’s why Eric Bauer bought one. This past spring, he bought Turner Hat Company, based in Notasulga, Alabama. Bauer had hoped to focus on managing customer relations in 2025, but looming economic changes have flipped the script.

“We were going into 2025 thinking about the customer relationship, and that is now kind of a number 1B priority,” said Bauer. “And so, the big thing that we’re worried about are large tariffs on products from Mexico and then increased tariffs on products from China.”

This presented Bauer with a challenge early in his tenure at Turner Hats. He’s planning on passing price increases onto customers, but he’d rather keep prices the same. So in the meantime, Bauer is searching the world for the best option.

“So we are literally day and night seeking other suppliers across the world,” Bauer said. “Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Colombia, basically anywhere that’s manufacturing hats just on the on the chance that these tariffs kind of come to play.”