The Story of Opportunity Threads

Growing up in Morganton, North Carolina, Molly Hemstreet witnessed the economic unraveling of her community as one textile mill after another closed or sent production offshore. Molly wanted to explore a business model where industrial work was not so easily extracted. In 2008 she started Opportunity Threads, a cut-and-sew textile firm. OT is now one of the strongest worker-owned, immigrant-led manufacturing companies in the US.

Most of the workers at OT are currently Mayans from Guatemala and have a long and vibrant history in the Morganton community. Everyone is hired with the expectation of becoming a sustaining member. They are voted in by the founding members of OT after a vetting process of 2 - 5 years. Ultimately, the workers themselves and their families are the beneficiaries of the success and growth of Opportunity Threads.