Tag: Made in America

Made in America, social enterprise

United Sewing and Design 2021 Social Enterprise Report

United Sewing and DesignEach year in CT, social enterprises are required to report their progress toward fulfilling their social impact goals for the previous year. (Click on the 2020 report to see how far we’ve come.) This post is the United Sewing and Design report for 2021 reviewing our progress toward meeting our social mission goals.

They are:

  • To employ highly skilled, formerly incarcerated individuals in production processes
  • To divert materials from the waste stream into our business and prevent materials from our manufacturing processes from entering the waste stream

Goal 1:  Employ highly skilled, formerly incarcerated individuals in production processes

2021 was an event filled year for United Sewing and Design and all of our team members! On March 9th, we moved into our workroom in the reSET Social Enterprise Trust incubator space on Bartholomew Ave. in Hartford, CT. This supported our growth from a decentralized manufacturing model employing independent contractors to a centralized manufactory with employees. Since then, our team has grown to 4 full time and one part time employee and a local technical designer.

We are fortunate to have three returning citizens on our team. They all graduated from the State of Connecticut’s training program in the construction of products using flexible materials. The State has two training programs, one in Suffield and one in Niantic. In these programs, inmates learn the basics of pattern making. The also use a variety of industrial cutting and sewing equipment and learn quality control. Our employees, also received advanced training in sample making and sewing machine maintenance. Our current projects focus on knitwear, gear bags, dog beds, table linens, high end bridal veils and re-enactor costumes.

Grant award

In November of 2021, United Sewing and Design was awarded a grant of over $9300 from the CT Women’s Business Development Council. The funds are designated for the purchase of a new computerized lock stitch machine and a new computerized cover stitch machine. We are extremely grateful to receive this grant. The machines will greatly speed up our processes, improve our quality and offer opportunities for our employees to upgrade their skills.

Training Opportunity

Additionally, because of the location of my business and our social mission of hiring returning citizens, I was nominated to enter the Inner City Capital Connections training program designed by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. In this program, executives prepare their businesses for future success and for the process of seeking capital. Participating in this training has helped boost my marketing program, and improved my leadership and financial management skills.

 Goal 2:  Diverting materials from the waste stream into our business and preventing materials from our manufacturing processes from entering the waste stream

In 2021, we collected equipment and materials from all over the state of CT. We distributed it to various non-profits such as Chrysalis Center in Hartford.  Because of our increased manufacturing capacity, we have stored more than 500 pounds of material and paper scraps. We will be recycling all of that during events this spring. Stay tuned to our social media to find out more about our upcoming textile recycling event to support our neighbor, Hands on Hartford.

2022 and Beyond

Last year, we added four new industrial sewing machines, two new pieces of cutting equipment, a new 5′ x 10′ cutting table, plus multiple storage units. We continue to focus on improving work processes to produce our best work at the fastest pace possible to fill the needs of our customers. To that end, we will continue to add new equipment and new skills throughout 2022.

Follow my Instagram feed to find out what projects we’re working on (that aren’t patented) Subscribe to my YouTube channel for classes such as this video on choosing textiles for your products. In my emails to customers, I include a variety of business advice and info about trends in soft goods manufacturing. Join my email list by going to our Contact Us page and entering your info. You may also find the info in my blog useful. You can subscribe to that here.

 

 

Ethical Consuming, Made in America

Five Reasons Why You Should Use Latex Foam

Nancy and Dick Coffey of KTT Enterprises look forward to helping you pick the right Talalay foam for your project.
Nancy and Dick Coffey of KTT Enterprises

Sometimes, you find a product that revolutionizes the way you think about your life. At KTT Enterprises, in Hamden, CT, I found such a product–natural latex foam. If you’re not using natural latex in your own home or in the products you manufacture, here’s five reasons why you need to do so.

I’ll introduce you to the friendly and knowledgeable folks at KTT first. Nancy and Dick Coffey helped me chose the right foam for my customer’s bedding project from among the many types of Talalay latex they stock. All of their foam is made in the U.S.A.. Latex foam is a naturally based rubber material made out of liquid harvested from the Havea brasiliensis tree. These rubber trees have a 25 year productive life.  Nancy, Dick and their employees will cut and modify the latex foam they stock to your specifications. In addition to the sheet foam I purchased, they specialize in making cosmetic “puffs” and packing foam for items such as cameras.  They also make “cricket donuts”, which are foam rings made to help keep crickets alive while they’re being shipped to your favorite pet lizard. Who knew…..

Five Reasons Why You Need Talalay Latex Foam

  •  Latex foam doesn’t give off harmful gasses into your household environment, unlike other foams, including some memory foam. All Talalay Latex products are certified OEKO-TEX Class 100; the healthiest classification in the leading global testing and certification process. This certification ensures textile materials and home furnishing products do not contain harmful substances or pose a health risk to consumers.

  • Talalay latex is made in Shelton, CT with an all natural, renewable resource produced by trees that are helping remove CO2 from our environment.

read more!

business ownership, Fair Wage, Made in America, manufacturing, social enrepreneur, social enterprise

The Minimum Wage of $15: A Case Study

 

Industrial sewing machine used in manufacturingThe Minimum Wage Debate

The CT State Legislature finally passed a $15/hour wage after a contentious debate as reported in this article by and of the CT Mirror. The debate was contentious, of course, because of the sharp divide between Republicans who put the concerns of business owners at the top of their agendas and majority Democrats who favor the cause of workers. This debate is essentially about what constitutes a “fair Wage” in CT.

A Case Study

I have closely followed this process because of my commitment to basing the pay of the contractors who work with me at a minimum of $15/hr. I have made this commitment because my business, United Sewing and Design, is a social enterprise which focuses on workers first in addition to customers. However, like any business owner, I have to balance the needs of my workers against the opportunities to earn income. l won’t do anyone any good if I don’t stay in business. For example: as a manufacturer, the work we do is often for resale. Therefore, simply put, there is a limit to what our customers can afford to pay us. Often, our customers allow the retail market in which they compete to determine their price and thus, the amount they can afford to pay for manufacturing. This is not anything new.

So far, in order to reach and sustain my pledge to pay a $15 an hour wage, I have had to turn down work from several customers because the retail price of the item being discussed was not high enough. This hasn’t negatively affected our bottom line up to this point. Additionally, I have begun to actively seek out work that sells at a higher retail price and am investigating manufacturing fields where retail price is not a factor. These haven’t been difficult decisions, but I’m making them during the formative stages of business development while I am still scaling up.

Many business leaders are not happy about the gradual increase to a $15 wage. They have legitimate concerns, which I share. But, I feel that the $15/hr wage which approaches a fair wage, is a necessary start to strengthening our entire state economy.

To frame this debate and the action by our legislature, pick up this book by Zeynep Ton, read this about what counts as the “middle class” in CT according to the Census Bureau, and this about what supposedly is a “living wage” in Hartford County. Hint: it will take until fall of 2021 to reach a so called “living wage.” Also, $15 an hour will in no way approach a middle class income in CT.

 

 

 

Ethical manufacturing, Fair Wage, Made in America, manufacturing, social enrepreneur, social enterprise

Why Successful Apparel Manufacturers Should Create “Good Jobs”

The Good Jobs Strategy by Zeynep TonA few years ago, I wrote a blog post on the concepts in Zeynep Ton’s insightful book, “The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs and Boost Profits.” Here’s an updated version with links to more meaty info.

Frequently, the expenses associated with hiring in the United States (a fair wage, predictable hours, a respectful workplace) are given as reasons not to attempt apparel manufacturing in the U.S. How can we change this mentality?

Read, internalize, then apply “The Good Jobs Strategy.” Ton’s research and conclusions are sound.

In “The Good Jobs Strategy”, Ton details methods for becoming a company that uses a “virtuous” cycle instead of a “vicious” cycle as the heart of a business. As a graduate of the Sloan School of Management, and an adjunct associate professor in the Operations Management group at MIT Sloan School of Management, Ton researched companies with successful methods honed to perfection such as Trader Joe’s, and Costco.

She breaks down the virtuous strategy into four “operational choices,” proving that these “allow (industries) to deliver value to employees, customers and investors all at the same time.” Although her book primarily uses retail businesses as examples, these methods could easily be adapted to manufacturing. They are:

Read More!

Made in America, Role Models, Women Entrpreneurs

Planning to Thrive, Not Just Survive

Get out of your entrepreneurial cave! Seek out mentors for branding and other essential business topics. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
Get out of your entrepreneurial cave! Seek out mentors for branding and other essential business topics. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

It’s so easy, when you’re an entrepreneur, to keep your head down and just plow forward. There’s so much to do! Lead generation; contracts to complete; meeting with customers, vendors, and contractors; sorting out what government programs are right for your business, etc., etc. We often forget to take the time to step back and reflect, evaluate, and seek advice when necessary.

On Twitter, I follow several sources of business info of which inc.com is one of the best. No window dressing, no big egos, no verbosity; just concrete, unfluffy, get-to-the-point info that you really need. This recent article by Emily Richett, “These Aren’t Survival Tips. 5 Ways to Actually Thrive in Your New Business” is an especially useful one.

Find out more!

Made in America, manufacturing, quality, sewn manufacturing

Hiring a Sewing Contractor? Ten Things to Do to Get the Best Results

ake time to prepare for your meeting with a sewing contractor by doing these 10 tasks.
Take time to prepare for your meeting with a sewing contractor by doing these 10 tasks. Photo by alejandro-escamilla

You’re really excited about the new product you’ve envisioned and rightly so! It’s made of a flexible material (fabric, vinyl, felt, rubber, leather, etc.) so you know it needs to be sewn.  You don’t know how to sew but you’re sure you’re ready to take the next step to have it manufactured. At this point, you realize you want to maximize your investment in time and money but you’re concerned about how to explain what you want and get the best quality result. What to do?

There are ten things you can do before you meet with United Sewing and Design or another sewing contractor to insure that you are prepared. These tasks are what I wish all of my customers had done ahead. Thought invested doing these will save money during the consultation period and speed up the time it takes to get started. Sketches do not need to be attractive or perfect. None of the answers to these questions need to be exact at this point. Actually, it’s better if you’re open to suggestions from the sewing contractor you are hiring. They should be able to suggest changes that are right for your product and might save you materials, time and money while delivering the best possible results.

Find out more!

Ethical Consuming, Fair Wage, Made in America

Four Easy Rules You Can Follow to Create Positive Change in the Apparel Industry

victorian jacket 1
Upcycled Talbots jacket embellished with lace, trims, beads, button, more from our White Horse Style line of apparel, personal and home accessories. Check out http://bit.ly/2sJw5BI for more info.

I just retweeted a post on Twitter from Trusted Clothes this morning about the consequences of buying cheap fashion. My previous post on what buying clothing on sale really means, discusses why you should care about where and by whom the clothes you consume are made. Something to always keep in the back of your mind:

Your impact on the apparel industry can be controlled by you! Your purchasing habits directly impact wages and working conditions for garment makers, the health of the environment and the volume of waste that ends up in landfills.

For starters, here are four easy rules to follow to create positive change in the apparel industry:

  • Understand your personal style so that you aren’t sucked in by the latest fast fashion trend and end up purchasing a garment that you only wear once.
  • Purchase clothing that is timeless. Timeless doesn’t mean boring! Timeless means outside of current trends or fads, part of your personal style and constructed to last.
  • Consider purchasing through a consignment shop or service retailer such as Goodwill where you will find items diverted from landfills and can get better quality at a lower price.
  • Buying American made items will reasonably ensure that wages are fair, production occurs in a safe place for workers and the environment is undamaged.

To make it even easier for you to choose well when making your next apparel purchase, here are some shopping resources to help you find out where your clothes are made.

This list of U.S.A. made apparel and footwear from ratherbeshopping.com is from 2016 but I recognize numerous brands on the list as still American made.

The Brothers Crisp is a Hartford handcrafted shoe brand, calling Park St. home, which employs local talent to create beautiful, outside-of-the-trend, shoes and boots for men and women.

Impact Mart, also a CT company, sells apparel and shoes as well as personal and home accessories. Everything sold on the site is manufactured in a sustainable way. Profits benefit causes such as education, the environment and ending human trafficking.

Hartford Denim Company, HARDENCO, hand crafts items of such good quality, that they come with free repairs for the life of the product.

Green America’s Green Business Network is a resource for certified environmentally supportive and anti-sweatshop brands of clothing and more.

Mashable.com posted a very useful list of 5 resources that help you search for ethically made apparel.

 

Happy shopping!

 

 

 

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Ethical Consuming, Fair Price, Fair Wage, Made in America, quality

Can I Get That on Sale??

sale sign

Everyone loves a “deal,” right? We rarely purchase anything that isn’t “on sale.” We love getting one over on the store, bargaining down a vendor or stocking closets full of discounted items that we’ll never use. We are rewarded for this behavior by our peers, the media and the stores themselves.

Insisting on a low price or a markdown on everything is a recent invention. Decades ago, when we knew the seamstress who made our clothes and the man down the street crafted our furniture, we expected to pay a “fair” price for the things we bought from them. However, we don’t remember or haven’t been taught that we should expect to own well-made objects, use them in our daily lives and then pass them on. If things wear out, we don’t know how to refurbish or re-purpose. In a few weeks, we get tired of things that are labelled as “out-of-style.”

Find out more!

Made in America, manufacturing, sewn manufacturing

Four Strategies You Need to Use for Sewn Manufacturing Success

The global apparel and textile industry began to change about 9 years or so ago.  Back then, I noticed several trends beginning to mature. Notable among them were developing technologies for production, a growing interest in made in the U.S.A., and awareness of labor and environmental issues in production overseas.  Connections began to form between these trends leading to thoughts about strategies that the apparel industry in CT (the U.S.A.) should concentrate on to be most competitive. I believe they are:

·         innovationhanging sweaters

·         high quality

·         educating consumers

·         dedication to “Made in America”

This week, I’ll be discussing innovation. I would love to hear what you have to say on these subjects.

Technological Innovation

The inclusion of the latest technology, such as robotics, in the production of apparel is the single most powerful and expedient addition we can make to create a competitive industry in the U.S. After all, that’s what we here in CT do best, right? Innovation and a can do attitude are the core of “Yankee ingenuity!” The cost lowering affects of technology are one of the factors that are creating the “tipping point” between making the choice to manufacture in China or the U.S. This tipping point represents a call to action that has been growing from a whisper to a clamor so loud that even Walmart is hearing it!

Innovation in Manufacturing Methods

Lean manufacturing, a set of production practices developed in the auto industry to cut waste in manufacturing, is currently being used to advantage by manufacturers such as Joseph Abboud in RI.

It is not so much a hardware innovation as an innovation in thought from the problematic assembly line where workers are isolated to a reorganization of the manufacturing floor into “pods” or groups of workers who complete garments together. Lean manufacturing can cut production time from days to hours, especially when coupled with the computerization of printing, pattern drafting, marker making, cutting and sewing steps.

Software Innovation

Software such as Yunique PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is only one of the products created by Gerber Technology, one of the world’s leaders in computerized manufacturing support located right in Vernon, CT. Yunique PLM makes it possible for designers and manufacturers to communicate accurately and quickly to insure high quality and profits. 3D body scanning, being spearheaded by [TC]2rd the world leader in body scanning software and hardware located in Cary, NC, is making it possible to easily create a garment fitted to an individual’s exact measurements. AM4U (Apparel Manufacturing for You) located in Palo Alto, CA has created a digital printing process for fabrics which drastically cuts the time needed to print, eliminates the costly, environmentally unsound  practice of dyeing in water and produces a print that is impervious to bleaching and fading.

Employing these products in the manufacturing of apparel in CT falls right in line with the state initiatives to enhance high tech manufacturing. This level of manufacturing  generates professional careers in high paying jobs and the development of training opportunities and apprenticeships for our technical high schools and community colleges.

I am extremely excited about the position in which we find ourselves! The technological innovations being originated in our country, the growing interest in made in the U.S.A., and the economic tipping in our favor are creating an opportunity which we must seize. Please see the links below for more information.

Next week: how quality impacts competitiveness.