The Trump administration’s threat to impose new tariffs on nearly everything that comes to the United States from China has sent American retailers scrambling. Many rely on China for some portion of their manufacturing, and the new tariffs — as much as 25 percent on the roughly $300 billion worth of goods that so far have been untouched by the trade war — could force the companies to change where and how they make their products.

It means costs could jump, and those higher costs could get passed on to the rest of us.

Everlane, a young brand that was built on the idea of selling luxury apparel at low and transparent markup prices, recently detailed to The New York Times how it’s bracing for tariffs on the garments it makes in China. The company produces about 500 items all told — a relatively small amount in the landscape of American retailers. But the challenges that loom for it illustrate what most chains are dealing with. If and when the American public starts to see higher prices on clothing, the issues that Everlane is grappling with will help explain why.