Vanished Makes: Hawkeye and the Burlington Basket Company, Burlington, Iowa

Above, from an old hamper in our house. The Burlington Basket Company was founded in 1888.  Iowa is known as the "Hawkeye State", hence the brand name.

The original factory burned down in 1928, in what was considered one of the city's worst fires.  The company moved to another location on the Mississipi River, but flooding of the first floor was a constant problem.  

Two factory photos above from The Hawk Eye, November 27, 2011.

The old looms were disposed of in the late 1950's, and curiously the company soldiered on for several decades without them.  However, in 1982 they bought 12 looms from a North Carolina firm.  Plastic was introduced into hampers in the early 1970's, but not in the bassinets until the 1990's.  They had supplied merchandise to Walmart as early as 1965, when that chain was still very small.  In 1983, Sam Walton decided that he wanted a wicker hamper to retail for $10, and Burlington Basket was given the contract for 6500 hampers a month.  The company also sold these items to Target and Kmart.  In the mid 1990's, at their peak, 220 people were employed in the Burlington factory.  However, conditions began to decline after this with competition from China, whose hampers were being sold for less than they could be made in the U.S.  So, the company decided to focus on the "juvenile" market, specializing in bassinets. The recession further bit into sales, and then came a 2010 recall of bassinets because they could collapse if not assembled properly. Rather than take the bassinets back, the company offered free repair kits to consumers.  This didn't go over well, and Walmart dropped the product.  So, 123 years after its founding, the company declared bankruptcy in 2011.  At this point in time, most of its products were being made in China and only 15 employees were working in the Burlington plant.  The factory has since been demolished.

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