Utah Shirt Startup Seeing Success Despite Pandemic

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Thanks to the pandemic, the last year became a time when business casual took on a whole new meaning with millions working from home, no doubt lounging in sweatpants and t-shirts during time that would have been spent at the office.

But as more people get back to work, they’re going to need to dress nicely — at least a new Utah startup sure hopes so.

If you’ve seen commercials of the stain-resistant stretchy shirts online, you’d think this was a major brand. But &Collar is basically brand new — started by local college graduates who wanted a more comfortable dress shirt.

And Utah seemed like the perfect test market.

“This shirt works awesome for people in Utah, why can’t it work for people like you who go to the office in a dress shirt every day in New York or L.A., or I mean anywhere in the U.S.? So we’ve been really fortunate seeing growth outside of Utah,” said Ben Perkins, &Collar founder.

The company has grown from a two-person team two years ago to now 10 people. &Collar touts shirts, pants, socks and shoes that won’t stain and move with your body.

KSL’s Dan Spindle wears dress shirts every day and has for about 20 years, and he wondered if he could recreate the outrageous ads and put a shirt to the test.

His children were all too happy to throw Kool-Aid all over him, and they wanted to show this from every angle.

But the question and the fear — would the fruit punch stain this white shirt?

At first, it looked like it did – but after a quick rinse, no stain remained.

Stain is gone! pic.twitter.com/IH0TLc8ASm

— Dan Spindle KSL (@DanSpindleKSL) April 13, 2021

The shirts are also made with 15 recycled plastic water bottles. You can find them online at andCollar.com or in local retailers, such as Mr. Mac.