Made in America
We strongly believe in keeping things local; helping to create and maintain American jobs. It’s tempting sometimes to want to move our production overseas, in order to compete, but we’re committed to staying-put right here in the United States.
Chemical-free organic products especially deserve storage and manufacture in our country… eliminating the possibility of contamination when brought from overseas. Stricter labor laws and industry standards assures soft-goods that are offer more purity, and a reduced carbon footprint.
“My first real job was working for an American Sportswear Company”, says Cheryl Hahn, “and they did everything in-house. Patterning, cutting, sewing, packaging, shipping. It was a very impressive operation. I worked in marketing alongside merchandising – prototyping and testing new products in the market. Fabric swatches and sample goods were strewn all over the office – very similar to how my office looks today!”
“In the mid-eighties they decided to move most of their manufacturing overseas. I remember thinking ‘why on Earth are they doing this when they have a full-scale factory right here?’ Of course, I was young and not involved with the financials of the company. But even at that young age I could see the devastation from the loss of jobs, the factory supported many many people who lived in the neighborhood. It really was very sad.”
This background in American manufacturing was a driving force for Hahn to produce her products here domestically, on American soil.
While so many companies are outsourcing overseas, Hahn’s commitment to continue manufacturing in the USA is often a struggle.
“It’s definitely more costly and harder to be competitive on certain products, however I think we offer our customers something they can’t find elsewhere; we treat our customers like family and value our relationship with them. Since most of our products are handcrafted it’s not uncommon for requests to create custom sizes or even a custom product. You won’t get service like that from the large corporations who mass-produce in China.”
In addition to stiff competition from overseas, American textile mills are going out of business and less workers are knowledgeable about sewing, making the USA manufacturing business for soft goods extremely challenging.
Even so, Hahn is optimistic about the future and believes people appreciate products made in the USA.