Garrett Leight to Move All Production to Japan From China

Garrett Leight California Optical is making the jump from China to Japan for its future production.

The Los Angeles-based eyewear brand has been manufacturing nearly all of its collection in China since its founding 15 years ago. But the additional tariffs placed on the country by the Trump administration earlier this year led the company to search for alternatives.

Starting with the fall ’25 collection, all Garrett Leight eyewear will be made in Japan, a country widely considered to be the pinnacle of eyewear manufacturing worldwide, Leight said.

When he started his independently owned brand, Leight used Chinese factories because of their sharp pricing. But over the years, his company was one of the only luxury eyewear brands to continue manufacturing there. Most of his competitors were using factories in Europe or Japan.

As early as 2021, he began researching moving his production out of China, so when the tariffs hit this spring, he’d already done his homework. “The tariffs played a huge role,” he said. “So on April 1 when the announcement was made, I became an absolute tariff expert.”

He had already begun testing Japanese production, notably for the Garrett Leight Blue collection, a reimagined line of the company’s Forever Classic pieces that was introduced earlier this year.

“This step represents more than a production upgrade,” said Leight. “It’s a reflection of everything we’ve learned and loved over the past 15 years — our deep respect for the art of eyewear, our dedication to timeless style and premium materials, and above all, our gratitude to the loyal community who has grown with us since Day One.”

The decision to move all production to Japan will result in a small price increase, he said, with opening price point product retailing for $395, up from $355. The materials will remain the same, and he said all indications point to the fact that his wholesale customers will be OK with the price increases.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that the increase in pricing remains minimal,” Leight said. “Because we still believe in offering the best value in luxury eyewear — a balance of style, brand, service, quality and price that no one else delivers quite like we do.”

The fall 2025 collection will commemorate the company’s 15th anniversary and celebrate its heritage by bringing back some of its most popular styles in fresh colorways with refined construction.