Something had to grow here eventually.

I'm Zech. I was born in Yakima and grew up moving around the Northwest, from the Oregon coast to Spokane to the Tri-Cities, before settling in Portland and then Milwaukie, Oregon. That's where Dead Ground started, a few miles from where the Clackamas meets the Willamette.

I've been an electrician since I was 20, installing conduit, cable, and control systems in heavy commercial, industrial, and agricultural work. I've been a proud union member since 2015, and I'm not the first in my family to work in the trades. When I'm not working, I'm usually behind a drum kit or a guitar, writing music.

The system was built to make it hard to choose differently. I found that out shopping for a t-shirt. I wanted one that wasn't dropshipped or made somewhere I'd never be allowed to see. Most brands wouldn't show me their full supply chain, and even fewer made anything in the USA. The few that passed those tests cost more than I could afford. I got worn out looking.

So I'm building what I wished existed: things made as ethically as they can be, sold at a price real people can pay. It starts with a tee and a cap. The plan is for Dead Ground to become a source you can trust for anything that can be made right and sold fairly.

Dead Ground is the other option.

What we make

Our tees come from Everybody.World in Los Angeles. They're made from 100% reclaimed waste cotton, fiber that falls off the line at yarn mills and used to get thrown out. They're knit, sewn, and finished within a few miles of each other by a fair-wage workforce. Look closely and you might find a small fleck of red or blue fiber in the fabric. That's the reclaimed yarn showing, not a flaw.

The cap is standard cotton twill, made with the same partner. It's not reclaimed, and I'd rather tell you than let you assume.

Where the money goes

$1 from every item sold goes to the Clackamas River Basin Council, which restores the river that runs past my town and supplies drinking water to more than 300,000 people in the Portland area. I donate quarterly and share the totals. EIN 91-1838169. Look it up.

Why the vulture

Vultures take what's been discarded and make it useful. They clean up what everyone else leaves behind. The mark was drawn by Anna, my longtime tattoo artist.

What we won't do

No greenwashing. No hidden supply chains. No paying for a name.

Better for real people.