Roots

Michael Budman and Don Green founded Roots in 1973, inspired by their shared love of Algonquin Park and the Canadian outdoors. The first Roots store opened on Yonge Street in Toronto, selling a single product: the negative-heel shoe, designed to mimic the feeling of walking barefoot in sand. That shoe became a sensation, and the brand quickly expanded into leather goods and apparel that would define Canadian casual style for the next five decades.

The Sweatshirt That Built a Brand

Roots became a household name in the 1980s and 1990s through its iconic leather jackets, varsity-style sweatshirts, and the beaver logo that became as recognizable as any symbol in Canadian fashion. The Roots sweatpant and hoodie, crafted from heavyweight fleece at the company's own leather factory in Toronto, achieved a status somewhere between luxury and everyday essential. Celebrities and politicians wore Roots prominently, and the brand outfitted Canadian Olympic teams in 1998, 2002, and 2004, with the red Roots beret from the Nagano Olympics becoming a collector's item.

Made in Canada

Roots operates its own leather factory on Caledonia Road in Toronto, one of the few remaining garment manufacturing facilities in the city. The factory produces the brand's signature leather bags, jackets, and accessories, maintaining a level of domestic production that most Canadian fashion brands abandoned decades ago. While some apparel items are manufactured overseas, the leather goods remain a point of pride and a tangible connection to the brand's roots in Canadian craftsmanship.

From Canada to the World

Roots operates over 100 stores across Canada, from standalone boutiques to outlets, plus locations in the United States and Asia. The brand went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2017 under the ticker ROOT. Despite facing the same headwinds as all brick-and-mortar retailers, Roots has maintained its identity as a quintessentially Canadian brand. The Roots Cabin collection, inspired by cottage country living, and the brand's continued association with the Canadian landscape keep it anchored to the outdoors heritage that Budman and Green established over 50 years ago.