People make our product, not “factories.” It is a priority that we work with quality people along the entire supply chain. It was especially challenging to find the right factory to manufacture technical gear for a small startup like ours. Many months of research and many unanswered emails brought us nowhere. It was our talented young Vietnamese tech-pack designer who led us to a small factory south of Ho Chi Minh City. There we found just what we were looking for: a factory that is technically proficient in making outdoor gear, willing to make just a small number of items for us, and ready to find and hold on to raw material for us to repurpose. All that in a place that fosters a good work environment for employees who are paid a fair living wage for reasonable working hours.
