I’m a fan of the hoodies made in North Carolina by American Giant, an apparel brand that shouts its Made-In-America message in its marketing.
CNBC recently interviewed the owner of the company, who shared some comments about manufacturing that I thought rotomolders might find interesting or counterintuitive.
On changing the manufacturing process to improve quality:
Rather than do things assembly-line style, with one person specializing in a narrow piece of a garment – say, the sleeve – he is moving to a “team sew” model where each worker is more broadly responsible for product quality.
On the innovation of craftsmen:
A robot might be pretty good at laying down the same stitch over and over again to sew on a sleeve. However, it’s not so good at making sure each garment is put together exactly the way it should be in every proportion— and at figuring out ways to do it better.
On marketing your values:
There’s a really fundamental shift going on in the marketplace, driven by consumers – there’s this increasing awareness among consumers, and a desire to support brands that have values that they share, that reflect their own values.
You can read the article and listen to the hour-long interview here.
Adam Webb is the Executive Director of ARM.
The ARM Blog is written by a variety of leaders in the rotational molding industry. We encourage you to share your input in the comment section. If you’re interested in writing a post for the blog, email ARM staff at info@rotomolding.org.
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