American Apparel

Current owner: Gildan Activewear, Canadian clothing company

California brand American Apparel made a name for itself with its “Made in USA — Sweatshop Free,” slogan, and claimed that it was the largest clothing manufacturer in North America. This business model worked for two decades, but in 2015 the company filed for bankruptcy and spent two years trying to recover.

It didn’t work, and in 2017, Canadian clothing company Gildan bought the intellectual property rights and some of its manufacturing equipment for $88 million.