If you’re like me, you’ve either never heard of the Berry Amendment, or only heard it mentioned in passing.  For most of us, it has zero effect on our everyday lives, but for those in the military, it has tangible effects on not only much of what they eat, but also on their uniforms and gear.  The Berry Amendment requires that the procurement of food, clothing, and textiles must be of items that were entirely produced and made within the United States.

This rule is present so that if the United States is ever at war with another country, they will have the proper supplies to feed, clothe, and shelter troops already within the United States.

The Berry Amendment is really a great strategy- make sure everything you need for war is made at home so you don’t lose the war due to being cut off from foreign suppliers. Just think if we were to go to war with the country that is our largest supplier of something!

While it may not seem intuitive that this impacts the use of zippers by the military, it actually does.  The common zipper is fabric, with metal teeth and a metal slider attached.  This means that any zippers used in the clothing and gear of the United States military must have the textile base produced in the United States.  Given that the zipper industry in the United States is rather small, this limits the range of selection. Zipper companies in the United States typically outsource components like fabrics in order to be cost competitive with zipper industry giant, YKK.

As you can see, a Zipr Shift zipper does not necessarily include fabric.  While fabric can very easily be applied to it, it’s entirely optional. And, we plan to produce them with the same elastomer or thermoplastic material that covers the interlocking part. This means that no matter where we produce our zippers, they are always Berry Amendment compliant for fabrics for military garments, boots, sacks, backpacks, shelters, and other tactile gear and equipment.

No fabrics, no problem.