Sacramento State is among several California campuses that recently acquired a new clothing line, called Alta Gracia, in its campus bookstores.

The Hornet Bookstore now has all the women’s Alta Gracia items and some of the men’s items in stock. The rest of the men’s items will arrive within the next weeks, said Merchandise Manager Susan Gallo.

For this first order, the Hornet Bookstore will have 492 items of Alta Gracia clothing available, in both women’s and men’s style, with prices ranging from $18 to $36, Hornet Bookstore Director Pam Parsons said in an e-mail to The State Hornet.

Other universities, such as CSU Los Angeles and the University of San Francisco are already carrying the Alta Gracia clothing line in their bookstores.

According to Alta Gracia’s website, there will be a total of nine different California State University bookstores selling its apparel, as well as other California colleges by December.

Alta Gracia is a new brand that sets itself apart from any other apparel makers because the Dominican Republic-based factory that produces its clothing pays its workers a living wage, said Donnie Hodge, president & CEO of Knights Apparel, in a tele-press conference held earlier this month.

A living wage gives the workers the ability to afford sufficient food, shelter, education, healthcare and supplies for themselves and their families, Hodge said.

“Follett has been at the forefront of these programs since 1995 when we introduced our labor code,” Hodge said. “This is certainly a new concept that has come with work and investment from Knight’s Apparel,” Parsons said. “We’re proud to be part of it, and hope it succeeds in-store.”

Theresa Haas, director of communications for the Worker’s Rights Consortium, said the minimum wage rate for factory workers in the Dominican Republic, when converted into U.S. currency, is 84 cents an hour. This adds up to $148 a month.

The workers at the Alta Gracia factory are paid about $2.83 per hour, which adds up to about $497 per month.

The Workers’ Rights Consortium is a labor rights organization which is responsible for writing up the labor standards that Alta Gracia follows.

As of July, Alta Gracia already had orders submitted from 400 different college campuses across the nation to have the new apparel in their bookstores.

Alta Gracia has a line of hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts made of higher quality fabric, design and printing than most other brands sold at college bookstores, according to a press release.

Due to the higher wages, the profit margin for Knights Apparel, the company that owns the Alta Gracia factory, will be lower than usual, said Joseph Bozich, CEO of Knights Apparel, in a tele-press conference held earlier this month.

But the students who buy Alta Gracia apparel will be paying for more than just the clothes when they make their purchase, Hodge said.

“We’ve become convinced that there’s a lot of students that want to buy something that ties to a socially responsible cause they care about,” Hodge said. “They want to know that their purchase is doing more than providing them with something that they need, it’s making a difference in the world in some way.”

Cayla Gales can be reached a [email protected]