The recent "trucker hat" fad didn't last, but the Panama hat is still drawing fans more than 350 years after its advent.
Now, Tucsonans looking for the authentic don't have to look far to pick up the woven straw chapeaus made famous by gangster Al Capone, Presidents Roosevelt and Eisenhower and various Hollywood starlets.
Pantropic Inc., a clothing importer, manufacturer and wholesaler of Panama hats and fleece accessories, has opened a factory showroom at its nine-month-old manufacturing plant on the city's South Side.
Company owners Donna Waldman and Armando Alvarez relocated the 25-year-old company last fall from Sebastopol, Calif., into the 10,000-square-foot building at 8420 S. Nogales Highway.
The privately owned company employs five full-time employees and annually imports and manufactures about 50,000 Panama hats, produced from weavers in Ecuador. About 10 employees, mostly seasonal and part-time, make up Pantropic's sewing ranks.
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The company also manufactures a line of fleece accessories made from Polartec fabric and sold to various retailers around the country.
"Fleece is becoming big in the U.S. now. You couldn't tell, being in Tucson," Waldman said.
After a decade of selling Panama hats, the company decided to develop a line of fleece hats, wraps, mittens and head wraps for women made from Polartec fabric produced by Malden Mills.
About 60,000 infant and toddler buntings, jackets, pants, car seat covers and accessories produced for Land's End are already big sellers for the company, Waldman said.
Though fleece accessories helped Pantropic reach revenues of just less than $1 million last year, Panama hats continue to pave the way for the company, Waldman said.
Customers and fans certainly exist across the country.
"Are they iconic? Absolutely," said Tom Miller, author of "The Panama Hat Trail," a book detailing the making of Panama hats in Ecuador.
In the last decade, women have especially taken to wearing Panama hats, said Miller, a Tucson resident.
"It makes a fashion statement. You're considered very dapper in a Panama hat," he said, citing 1940s and '50s film stars photographed in the hats.
The hats have definitely developed a following, he said.
"Nothing will change Panamas," he said. "(They'll) never go out of fashion."
Retailers that regularly order hats from Pantropic include Seattle-based REI, which accounts for about 10 percent of the orders.
Pantropic also sells other tote bags made from the same natural fibers and lightweight material as the hats, Waldman said.
The company produces three catalogs a year, sending them to various retailers around the country including Nordstrom and Plow & Hearth, a gardening retailer that markets fleece vests under a licensing deal, who order from Pantropic.
Jennifer Utken, owner of the Well Rounded Woman, 2940 N. Swan Road in Plaza Palomino, also carries various Pantropic hats and accessories — big sellers for the store.
"They breathe very nicely, and shade your head so you don't sweat," Utken said. "They offer good shade and offer lots of varieties. I'm pleased they're here in Tucson."
Pantropic receives about 3,000 hats a month woven by residents from the province of Azuay in Ecuador, using bleached leaves from the Toquilla palm, Waldman said.
Typically, weavers spend about five days making the hats, she said.
"It's a real labor of love. It's important to promote because there are only so many weavers left," Waldman said.
Though the company does not have a "Fair Trade," label — a certification that retailers follow fair trade policies — Waldman said it believes in socially responsible business practices.
Keeping fair compensation and child-labor issues in mind help keep good relations with Fair Trade retailers around the country, Waldman said.
The hats are shipped to the United States, where workers pull out irregular hats and add sweat bands and trims before shipment to retailers.
Since making the move, Waldman said the Tucson business community has been supportive of their efforts.
With rising worker compensation and insurance costs, soaring real estate prices in Sonoma County and lower production costs in Arizona, it made sense to move to Tucson, Waldman said.
"The city has been very welcoming," she said.
In the past year, six to eight other California-based companies, including clothing and aerospace firms, have expressed interest in moving to Tucson, said Lee J. Smith, vice president of business development and attraction for the Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc.
Most of the companies cite lower operating costs in Arizona, similar reasons Pantropic noted for moving operations to the region, he said.
"It's interesting to see more companies interested in Tucson," said Laura Shaw, vice president of communications for TREO. "We're close enough to the California market to service it without being too far."
● The Pantropic factory showroom is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday at 8420 S. Nogales Highway. Saturday appointments are available.
Prices for items range from about $20 for some hats to about $130 for the Montecristi style Panama hat.
For more information, call 295-1620 or view the company's Web site at www.pantropic.biz.