No Compromise On Quality

Yesterday we got a “top of production sample” set of pants back from a factory in India that we would really like to work with. We would really like to work with them because they’re fair trade certified, wrap certified, the tax/trade agreement between the US and India is workable and because they offered us a price for our pants that seems like it could work. So we've been holding our breath for a few months, moving this “launch date” sticky note around on our calendar with the idea that we will get to sell pants again maybe in the spring. 

They look good! The color is nice! The material feels soft but a little too light. The pants ripped when I tried to adjust the straps on the waistband. Fuck. 

I can’t lie. It’s painful, but it’s a good reminder of why we’re different. Why we’ve made our own stuff for so long, why we’ve tried to control all parts of the process. We use tex 80 thread. Most folks think that’s overkill when we work with new sewing places. But it’s not. It’s super durable and it makes our products really solid. Sure we could get away with less. But we’re not here to get away with that sort of nonsense. Our products must be badass. That’s the whole point and if you can’t be certain they’re badass, they’re not for us. 

This is why we have not made things overseas by and large. Not because the quality is so different, but because there’s such a long waiting period between the initial design submission and the final outcome. If we’d waited 2 weeks and the sample wasn’t good enough we’d just start again. When we’ve waited six months it’s more disappointing for some reason. Ripping pants is obviously not going to cut it. We will go back to them and see if they can adjust the material. But if they can’t, we’ll start all over again. Good material is the basis of a good product. Ours has always been solid and there’s no way we’re ever launching a product that busts open when you try and squeeze your (my) butt in! 

I know we will get this sorted out. We have successfully made 2 products overseas with 2 separate new factories. We will have to keep learning who does what well. It is not always fun to learn new things. Let’s keep going. 

Onwards and Upwards.