A crazy number of styles on demand, including top visor embroideries and the world’s largest selection of mesh back color combinations. We’ve lowered minimums to 24 blank and 48 embroidered and now stock blank caps for next day shipping of 12 units or more.
Everything from our new value-priced union made event giveaway bags to high end duffel and messenger bags. Keep us in mind for small batch custom jobs like 300 backpacks, and styles you need to reshore for USA manufacturing.
The last union shop in America sewing knit ski caps and beanies. Our in house sewing and embroidery enables us to embroider the hats before folding and sewing, leaving a clean finish on the inside.
The only union shop in America making high end, stitched-edge binders and portfolios now in four finishes and dozens of fashion colors. Our in house embroidery enables us to embroider faux leather covers before the products are completed.
Unionwear embroiders its own hats, bags, and binders before production for cost savings, larger imprint areas, no registration problems, and sharper details. This process allows Unionwear to embroider products generally considered unembroiderable: The top of a plastic baseball cap visor. The pocket of a tote bag. The front of a leather portfolio folder.
Unionwear now offers contract embroidery services on 80 or more garments (or fewer with a minimum run charge of $615 (s)). Embroidery prices depend on the actual number of stitches it takes to duplicate your design, not on the number of colors. All baseball caps listed at unionwear.com are priced to include up to 4,000 stitches. For an estimate email artwork to sales@unionwear.com.
The Reshoring Initiative issued a new report saying, “Rising Risks from Offshoring Drive Reshoring to a New Record High.”
According to the report, 2021 was a stellar year for U.S. reshoring and FDI, with 260,000 jobs announced by more than 1800 companies. Manufacturers looked to fill supply chain gaps of essential products, especially semiconductors, EV batteries, pharmaceuticals, PPE and renewable energy, which propelled the most-recent surge.
The article goes on to quote our very own President Mitch Cahn, citing Unionwear’s YouTube video about the costs of offshoring and benefits of reshoring manufacturing. Quoting the article:
If he [Cahn] can reshore labor-intensive apparel, readers should be able to reshore their products – and Unionwear is a great place to buy Made-in-America caps and bags for employees, customers and giveaways at conferences and trade shows.
The article has a lot more great information. Have a look.
And, here is our video on reshoring.
According to a press release from the White House, President Biden took executive action to spur domestic clean energy manufacturing. This includes authorizing the Defense Production Act to lower energy costs, strengthen our power grid, and create good-paying jobs.
Last year marked the largest deployment of solar, wind, and batteries in United States history, and our nation is now a magnet for investment in clean energy manufacturing.
The US is also now on track to triple domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2024. The expansions to domestic solar manufacturing capacity will grow the current base capacity of 7.5 gigawatts by an additional 15 gigawatts. This would total 22.5 gigawatts by the end of 2024 – enough to enable more than 3.3 million homes to switch to clean solar energy each year.
He is also taking executive action to:
Voice of America wrote an extensive piece on Unionwear, highlighting how American manufacturers have fared during Covid and the ongoing supply chain crisis.
As China’s COVID-containment lockdowns stall goods en route to price-conscious U.S. consumers, New Jersey manufacturer Mitch Cahn is finding traces of gold in the snapped links of the global supply chain.
Eleven miles from Manhattan, business is surging at Cahn’s textile company, which boasts a 100% local supply chain.
“We manufacture everything from scratch right here in north Newark. We have been in business for 30 years, we now have about 155 workers, and we are hoping to hire another 25 immediately,” said Cahn, founder and president of Unionwear.
Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of more than 311 million people. VOA produces content for digital, television, and radio platforms. It is easily accessed via your mobile phone and on social media. It is also distributed by satellite, cable, FM and MW, and is carried on a network of more than 3,500 affiliate stations.
The SCM Talent Group recently wrote an article about the chip shortage and quoted our very own Mitch Cahn about the supply chain.
In essence, the article discusses how the chip shortage, due to supply chain disruptions, will probably impact our Christmas gifts for 2022, and will have rippling effects throughout the world.
Unfortunately, it also looks like these supply chain disruptions will resonate beyond 2022.
In fact, Unionwear’s Founder Mitch Cahn doesn’t believe the global supply chain will be stabilized until at least 2023. “People have always said that making things in America is cost prohibitive, but that’s just not the case. There are A LOT of hidden costs beyond just unit price.” Cahn goes on to cite costs like tariffs, product development costs, inventory level requirements, transportation and more as obstacles to affordable global supply chains, and argues for more reshoring of manufacturing. Only time will tell if this happens on a large scale.
Design News says that the way out of the current supply chain crisis is with reshoring manufacturing.
Global supply chain chaos continues to threaten nearly every American company in some capacity as consumers lose patience with product delays and low inventory.
As the U.S. grapples with the ongoing chaos, manufacturers and nonprofit organizations alike are pushing for reshoring to bring production back to the states and meet the needs of their customers.
Rosemary Coates, a leading voice in national reshoring conversation, has this to say:
The pandemic has had a significant impact on global supply chains. With factories closing and opening and then closing again, first in China and then in the rest of the world, shortages and inconsistent deliveries were felt across the globe. Production stopped at some factories due to a lack of parts. Airlines stopped carrying cargo and passengers from Asia. Container ships reduced their sailing schedules and ports of call. Huge swings in demand for products caused havoc for manufacturers. As consumers, we suffered shortages of everyday products such as toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, and toys for the holidays.
There is a lot more at the link. Have a look / listen.
Plastics Today reports that reshoring manufacturing is set to have a banner year.
Reshoring of US manufacturing is poised to surge 38% year over year, according to the Reshoring Initiative. “If 2H2021 progresses at the same rate as 1H2021, reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) job announcements for 2021 are projected to be over 220,000 — 38% above an excellent 2020 and, by far, the highest yearly number recorded to date,” according to the organization’s website.
“We’ve seen an uptick in domestic companies wanting to reshore manufacturing over the last couple of years and anticipate a 10 to 15% increase in production in the next 12 months due to reshoring,” said Tammy Barras, President of Westec Plastics of Livermore, CA. “One company we’re working with currently has products running overseas, but they’ve recently decided to build molds and run production domestically. They have seen production delays and increased costs due to inflation and supply shortages overseas. Several customers have requested only domestic tooling to avoid the uncertainty of the current economic climate.”
“I’ve been in the plastics business for 28 years and the tide is changing,” said Jon Hubers, Sales and Operations Manager for Crescent Plastics in Evansville, IN. “The phone is ringing with customers wanting to source USA parts because of the headaches with long lead times and increased shipping costs from China. We have two major OEMs reshoring parts and have found their costs to be lower. These positive changes make me very optimistic about future business.”
Unionwear’s Youtube video, which helps educate ad specialty distributors on which industries buy USA made promo products, just hit 100,000 views! This is further proof that the supply chain crisis, general global chaos, and more Chinese lockdowns are shaking up the swag business and sparking real interest in made in America promotional products
Yahoo News reports that New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the pro-labor federal ‘‘Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change (FABRIC) Act.’’
The bill tackles reshoring tax incentives, the piece-rate pay system, joint liability and more in one fell swoop.
Among the features in store, the bill would create a $40 million domestic garment manufacturing support program with incentives like a 30 percent tax credit for reshoring garment manufacturing as well as a handsome grant program included in the package.
The bill would extend protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit employers from paying employees in the garment industry by piece rate (guaranteeing minimum wage as the floor to build upon incentives) — a loophole Gov. Gavin Newsom closed in California by signing the Garment Worker Protection Act, or SB 62, into law last year after a crusade by the GWC.
In its current draft, manufacturers and contractors in the garment industry would also be required to register with the Department of Labor. Registration fees to the Labor Department will help stoke the revitalization of the domestic manufacturing landscape. Meanwhile, manufacturer information gathered will aid recordkeeping and transparency measures.
“The bill is quite simple. It just mandates a fair work environment and fair worker treatment, and it authorizes some resources to do this,” said Gillibrand. “The combination of that investment plus the fact that it’s asking for broader, better treatment of workers [is] a combination that has appeal, and so we’re going to ask for a vote between now and end of the year.”
It’s always a little surprising to see us in the news. ROI NJ recently named Unionwear president Mitch Cahn a top-100 manufacturing influencer in New Jersey.
To quote the posting:
Cahn started Unionwear in 1992 with six sewers and a contract to make baseball hats for Ralph Lauren. Now, the company is one of the largest private employers of Newark residents, is the leading manufacturer of union “Made in the USA” hats, bags and binders for the promotional, fashion and uniform markets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Unionwear stepped forward and shifted production to manufacturing face masks for the frontline health care workers.
We proudly employ over 150 unionized manufacturers right here in Newark and are excited about the future. Thank you again ROI NJ for the distinction.
ASI Central reports that contract talks involving unionized West Coast port workers could lead to slowdowns or stoppages that ultimately delay inventory replenishment, exacerbating stock gaps.
Importers in the promotional products industry are concerned that antagonistic negotiations could cause slowdowns or work stoppages at the ports, which have already been plagued by backups in the rampant importing rush that’s occurred in the economic bounce-back from COVID-19.
Negotiations began this week between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). ILWU represents 22,000 dockworkers that labor at 29 West Coast ports, including the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, through which about 40% of cargo containers imported to the U.S. flow.
Teresa Fang, vice president of supply chain at alphabroder — the second-largest supplier in promo — told ASI Media that, should slowdowns or stoppages occur, importers will scramble to reroute shipments to other ports, such as those on the East Coast. That comes with potential challenges and complications.
“East Coast port congestion will then be something to watch for as everyone makes moves to mitigate the risks on the West Coast,” said Fang.
If you are thinking about reshoring manufacturing, especially from China, you should be worried about your intellectual property.
According to the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, companies are finding out that leaving China raises intellectual property protection concerns among other things.
Why? According to Rosemary Coates, who was on the forefront of helping companies leave the US for Chinese manufacturing, put it bluntly. “You’ve taught the Chinese manufacturer how to manufacture your goods. You’ve sent them the blueprints. You’ve told them what the processes are. You’ve told them who all of your suppliers are across China. They’re not going to go to sleep at night, wake up in the morning and forget how to make your goods. They’re going to come to work in the morning and keep making your goods and put a different label on it.”
Now that companies are looking to reshore their manufacturing, they find themselves competing against their own items with different labels on them — for a lot less money.
So, it seems that the big push to manufacture overseas was not a great long-term strategy.
In any event, if you are looking to reshore your manufacturing, you might want to be mindful of this unintentional side-effect of cutting costs at any cost.
Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, recently interviewed Unionwear president Mitch Cahn on how having a unionized manufacturing facility in Newark, NJ gave him a strategic advantage for 30 years. Below is a quick summary of the podcast.
Getting started
Mitch got his start in 1992 when he started manufacturing hats to fashion brands as well as hemp-made hats – both of which were basically non-existent at the time. Once manufacturing largely went offshore by the mid-1990s, Unionwear started selling products mainly to unions. Then in 2000, the Al Gore for President campaign ordered hundreds of thousands of hats which revolutionized the company. The headcount peaked at 175 before the pandemic and now has around 160 people, making hats, bags and other items for the federal government as well as private companies selling made in America products.
Newark’s manufacturing history
Mitch went on to say that he is a proud fifth-generation Newark-area resident whose family-owned large businesses in the late-19th century in the area. Upon doing research, he learned that there were hundreds of manufacturers in Newark, and he led the charge in highlighting the role that manufacturing continues to play in the city. Given Newark’s location near one of the largest ports in the US and direct access to New York City, Unionwear probably could not operate as it does today if it moved to a lower-cost, more rural area of the country.
Surviving the Great Resignation
One of the biggest advantages Unionwear has been that they haven’t had to bid-up wages to retain staff during the current talent crunch. They were already paying good wages and benefits, so they did not need to raise prices to compensate. And, they have worked closely with the union literally from the very beginning. Thanks to their close partnership, the union has provided referrals to other unions, contract opportunities, and much more. In certain circumstances, it is actually cheaper to buy union-made American goods compared to China, especially when it comes to custom, small-batch orders.
Now, Unionwear is investing heavily in business process automation to reduce the need for more labor during this labor shortage, which will make Unionwear a much more competitive and efficient manufacturer if, and when, the supply chains return to normal. This automation will likely not result in job losses. In fact, as the automation takes hold, Unionwear will likely repurpose current staff into different positions. For example, instead of spending years training someone to get to the top of their sewing ability, Unionwear will be investing in machines to automate those processes and, again, move those employees into more interesting positions in the company.
Even with the labor shortage, Unionwear is well-positioned to bring in top talent. As a union shop, Unionwear offers 20 days of paid time off (PTO), good health benefits, and of course highly competitive wages. Unionwear also has very low turnover – that’s because the longer someone stays, the more benefits they will receive, including an increase in wages over time.
Pivoting during the pandemic
When the pandemic hit, nearly all of Unionwear’s work stopped, and ended up nearly going out of business. After speaking with the head of the union, the team quickly pivoted to making PPE – face shields and washable gowns – for front-line healthcare workers who were coming to work wrapped in trash bags. Since we had most of the raw materials available and were located right in the shadow of New York City, Unionwear was making and distributing PPE to frontline healthcare workers fairly quickly. One important lesson: our team can make just about any item, quickly. It gave our team a lot of confidence to take risks which will help operate more efficiently.
Advice for future manufacturers
When asked if he has any advice on starting a business, Mitch said they should read “The Lean Startup” first. Then, he recommends they plan to lose money at first and find a subcontractor to manufacture at first, then simultaneously build their manufacturing, peeling some manufacturing away to their own facility bit-by-bit, so you can grow without the pain of paying payroll. He would also recommend connecting with their local Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP.) It helps to not figure things out on their own.
Finally, it is exciting for Mitch to see how people frequently wear Unionwear’s hats. In fact, nearly every Democratic and Republican presidential convention is filled with people wearing Unionwear hats. It is very gratifying to know we are making a real impact while providing good-paying jobs here in New Jersey.
Listen to the full podcast here.
Note: an earlier version of this post incorrectly said the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s name was Scott Hall. The correct name is Scott Paul, and the post has been changed to reflect this. We regret the error.
Thomas explains that large companies, including General Motors, Lockheed, Micron, Intel, and more are reversing the offshoring trend and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the USA.
Although the supply chain crisis has driven home the need to reshore manufacturing, other factors are also involved. Many companies have realized that keeping processes closer to home can be much more reliable and secure.
General Motors, for example, will be investing $7 billion to build four electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facilities in Michigan. The decision to build a new battery factory, convert an existing factory to focus on electric pick-ups, and upgrade two vehicle assembly plants, will create 4,000 jobs in Michigan, where GM was founded.
GM views this as a key tenet of their overall strategy, given that they have the largest EV portfolio of any automaker. The investment includes forging stronger links with reliable suppliers to ensure a more resilient and North American-focused supply chain.
Not only that, but there are also foreign-direct investments (FDI) coming in as well. Toyota is investing $1.29 billion into a battery factory in North Carolina, which should create 1,750 new jobs, and initially produce enough lithium-ion batteries for 800,000 EVs and hybrid vehicles a year, with plans to expand to up to 1.2 million.
OutdoorHub has a list of five top-quality, made in America items you can buy right now.
These items are not just made in USA. They are also rugged, dependable and durable. The article above lists the following five:
Of course, we have to add a sixth option:
6. Unionwear promotional products
Visit OutdoorHub for more information on the first five items. And click here to get in touch with a sales agent at Unionwear — especially if you work in promotional products.
According to Freightwaves, Chinese lockdowns will create shocks to American supply chains.
Since the earliest days of COVID, China has practiced a zero-tolerance policy to prevent COVID from spreading.
After the initial onslaught of cases around Wuhan and pockets throughout China, the government declared victory and boasted about its superior method of containment compared to Western democracies.
This approach made sense in the earliest days, when we didn’t understand the risks of the virus and there was a general lack of understanding of how it virus spread.
Now, two years later and billions of doses of vaccines in arms have allowed Western countries to open back up. Indeed, additional draconian lockdowns seem impractical and an overreach.
China still hasn’t changed its approach, however. They recently locked down two of its three largest cities: Shanghai, a global financial center, and Guangzhou, a massive manufacturing and distribution city. Shanghai’s port is the largest in the world, and Guangzhou is the fourth-largest. Combined, the two cities alone handle nearly three times the amount of cargo that the entire U.S. imports each year.
Chinese lockdowns, furthermore, are not like Western lockdowns. Not leaving the house means not leaving the house. There are reports that if you become sick, you suffer without medical care, no matter how dire your condition is.
Basically, Chinese people are held prisoners in their own homes. If you leave, you are subject to arrest and egregious penalties.
Shanghai’s lockdowns began on April 2, and Guangzhou’s began on April 11. According to a report in Reuters, at least 373 million people – who contribute 40% of China’s GDP – have been affected.
This has obviously crippled China’s supply chain, not to mention the rest of the world. Container volumes out of Chinese ports began to drop on April 6th and as of April 15th, have declined by more than 31%. This will have a ripple effect which will impact not just China, but also the rest of the world, possibly forever.
Unionwear president Mitch Cahn was recently recognized in the NJ Biz New Jersey Power 100.
Mitch joins other New Jersey awardees, including Governor Phil Murphy, Sen. Cory Booker, the CEOs of Campbell Foods and NJ Transit, just to name a few.
Here’s a quote from the article:
“If it’s got to be Made in America, there’s a good chance it was made in Newark. That’s where Cahn‘s company Unionwear is based. The manufacturer makes uniforms, hats and other promotional clothing, serving as the go-to source for political candidates who cannot be caught wearing or hawking anything marked Made in Some Other Country. Like many, Unionwear saw higher-than-average turnover during the past year, dropping its employee count down to 155. But, Cahn said the company is aiming to get to 180 employees by May. While local partners work to build manufacturing capacity here in New Jersey, a measure making its way through Congress could lend support to the industry at large. Following the breakdown of supply chains over the past year, Cahn – who also serves on the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program’s board of directors – explained the proposal could help to move certain manufacturers out of the shadows. “It is easy to find products,” he told NJBIZ this month. “It is next to impossible to find capabilities. When there is a national emergency and the federal government needs supplies immediately, there is currently no way to locate who has the capability and capacity to fill gaps in critical infrastructure.”
Congratulations again to Mitch and all the awardees!
DW reports that companies have indeed been reshoring and are starting to view our previous offshoring initiatives with a bit of confusion.
Thanks to the coronavirus and other unexpected challenges, especially the resulting (and ongoing) supply chain crisis, have sparked lots of unexpected issues, including inflation. As a result, more and more firms are cutting their costs and reshoring production to the US. As early as 2019, when the trade spat between China and the US was in full swing, American firms sought to decrease their dependence on the Asian market.
According to industry organization Reshoring Initiative, some 1,800 US firms are intending to reshore parts, or their entire, businesses this year. Some 220,000 new jobs are to be created in the US this way. Over a decade ago, only 6,000 new jobs were created in the country as a result of reshoring activities.
For instance, in March of this year, Intel announced it would pump some $20 billion into two new semiconductor plants in Arizona. General Motors is reshoring its battery production to Michigan where a new hub for lithium-based products will soon emerge. As steel prices have skyrocketed, producer US Steel has decided not to build its new $3 billion factory abroad, but rather in Alabama or Arkansas. Reshoring activities are also being considered by Lockheed, General Electric and ThermoFisher Scientific.
Still, more needs to be done. Reshoring expert Harry Moser thinks the US administration needs to step up to make this transition viable. “Our manufacturing costs are about 15% higher than Germany’s and 40% higher than China’s,” said Moser who headed a medium-sized engineering company for 22 years.
A study from Kearney, a global management consulting firm, shows that large portions of offshored manufacturing may soon be returning thanks to companies combining their nearshoring production to Mexico, Central America, and even Canada, with manufacturing and assembly in the United States.
According to Kearney’s ninth annual reshoring index, a unique barometer for tracking the extent to which America is reshoring manufacturing back from low-cost countries, US imports of manufacturing goods from the tracked countries totaled 14.49 percent of US domestic gross manufacturing output, up from 12.95 percent in 2020.
Instead of simply reshoring every manufacturing facility to the USA, Kearney takes a look at “nearshoring” manufacturing, where certain aspects of manufacturing are set up closer to the US.
Redefined, reshoring is likely to catch on faster in some industries than it does in others. “We are seeing a significantly increased focus from apparel and footwear companies on finding reshoring and nearshoring opportunities as a way to both mitigate supply chain disruptions and increase sustainability,” said Brian Ehrig, partner, apparel sector lead, and consumer practice sustainability lead.
Pet Business reports that, somewhat unsurprisingly, customers are prioritizing pet food that is made in the USA. While this has been popular for some time, they report that since 2020, the call from consumers for these products across industries has skyrocketed.
The inspiration for domestic manufacturing isn’t entirely based on a desire to make a better product. Some view made in USA as a strategic advantage, according to Elena Kalogeropoulos, chief executive officer at Chasing Our Tails.
“I would like to see people talk about, not only things that are Made in the USA, but a great differentiator—if your manufacturer can share with you—is finding out what states we are celebrating,” Kalogeropoulos explains. “It might be a handshake between the Carolinas and Florida or Texas and Colorado. What would be a great thing is if we could celebrate our states. It could give brick and mortars a little bit of a push if they find out who in their store is from their area.”
That company views American manufacturing as an opportunity to remain transparent, allowing consumers to trace the source of their products.
One big reason for the increase in demand for Made in USA has been the supply chain challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic. While conditions at ports around the U.S. have improved over 2021, the backlog has created enormous delays and caused costs to skyrocket.
In January 2022, Tom Brady — arguably the greatest quarterback of all time who retired for about six minutes — announced his Made in America BRADY collection. As the line suggests, everything made under this banner is manufactured in the USA. This latest lineup includes a mix of sweatshirts, shorts, T-shirts and more in four colorways and seven styles.
Brady said the following on his Instagram account about the new clothing line:
We’re very proud to release our Made In America collection…which you guessed it…is all made in the USA. Did I make it all myself with the sewing machine in the laundry room? Maybe…who’s to say?
All items from the new collection are available exclusively on the company’s website.
Business Insider shares a press release from Meijer highlighting their first-ever sustainability supplier summit. The event will be held virtually June 20-23 and comes on the heels of a recent survey Meijer conducted to identify environmental issues relevant to the retailer and its customers. The summit will give vendors nationwide the opportunity to showcase their sustainable products – from food to pets to home goods – for Meijer merchants to consider offering on shelves.
“At Meijer, we understand that to be a good company, we must be a good neighbor, which is why we integrate environmental sustainability into our daily operations,” said Peter Whitsett, Meijer Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing. “But so much of what we do in this space extends beyond what customers see on our shelves, which was why we felt it was time to seek out sustainability-focused vendors to help us expand our significant base of sustainable product offerings.”
In 2021, Meijer launched its first sustainable own brand clothing lines made from recycled polyester and 100 percent organic cotton. Half of the MTA Sport assortment in men’s, women’s and kids’, as well as half of the men’s Lake & Trail line, is made with at least 30 percent recycled polyester.
It’s good to see companies like Meijer take the lead on sustainability. Read the rest of the article here.
If you work in local government and are looking for green procurement solutions, American City and County has a great resource for you: the ICLEI, otherwise known as Local Governments for Sustainability.
ICLEI is a large global network of local cities, counties and other regional or public agencies devoted to solving the world’s sustainability challenges.
The group offers standards, tools and programs that can help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve lives and livelihoods and protect natural resources.
Angie Fyfe, executive director of ICLEI USA, says she is seeing more cities and counties taking action on the sustainability front in 2022.
“Leading local governments are evaluating the environmental and social impacts of their purchases, and developing goals, policies and tracking mechanisms related to sustainable and innovative procurement,” Fyfe says.
She goes on to say that these public agencies are including their purchasing operations within their sustainability initiatives, and her group is ready to assist local governments.
“ICLEI USA’s technical advisers support local and regional governments through quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their supply chains. They can help public agencies develop strategies to reduce GHG emissions and improve operational efficiency.” She adds that ICLEI can help facilitate the sharing of best procurement practices with an agency’s peers.
If you work in local government, or know someone who does, and is interested in sustainable procurement, have a look here.
Business Chief has an article on how business leaders must advocate for a transition to sustainable business practices.
The article argues that sustainability needs to be front-and-center when it comes to strategic business decisions, and that leaders should try to avoid getting caught up in paralysis by analysis. However, companies need to embrace the urgency of the moment to execute quick change. Unionwear has learned over its 30 years in operation that flexibility is key to success, a lesson we re-learned when the pandemic struck in 2020 and risked losing 150+ union jobs due to production slowdown.
Finally, the article argues that
…sustainability is not just a bolt-on activity, a tick-box exercise, or a matter of compliance. It must be central to the way the entire business is structured, operates, and communicates with its staff, suppliers, investors and with society as a whole.
Read the entire article here, as well as some resources on how to get started.
KTVQ in Montana reports that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make available a $250 million grant program to support independent, innovative and sustainable American fertilizer production to supply American farmers.
Additionally, to address growing competition concerns in the agricultural supply chain, USDA will launch a public inquiry seeking information regarding seeds and agricultural inputs, fertilizer, and retail markets.
The price of fertilizer has more than doubled since the same time in 2021.
The United States is a major importer of, and is deeply dependent on, foreign fertilizer. In fact, the US is the second or third top importer for each of the three major components of fertilizer. The top producers of the major components of fertilizer include China, Russia, Canada and Morocco, with Belarus also providing a significant share of potash.
The new program will support fertilizer production that is:
– Independent – outside the dominant fertilizer suppliers, increasing competition in a concentrated market.
– Made in America – produced in the United States by domestic companies, creating good-paying jobs at home and reducing the reliance on potentially unstable or inconsistent foreign supplies.
– Innovative – improve upon fertilizer production methods to jump-start the next generation of fertilizers.
– Sustainable – reduces the greenhouse gas impact of transportation, production, and use through renewable energy sources, feedstocks, formulations, and incentivizing greater precision in fertilizer use.
– Farmer-focused – like other Commodity Credit Corporation investments, a driving factor will be providing support and opportunities for U.S. agriculture commodity producers.
As the supply chain continues to be in chaos, individuals and organizations — especially in the promotional products industry whose shipments are not arriving on time, if at all — are looking to buy made in USA products. In addition to not being stuck at a port in Los Angeles, made in America is likely more sustainable environmentally, and of course it creates jobs right in your community. Also, contrary to popular belief, buying made in USA is not necessarily more expensive.
Even though it can be difficult to find items that are exclusively made in USA, it’s not impossible. Here are a few ways for you to get started.
1. Search Amazon. By doing a simple search for products made in America or, similarly, made in USA, you can begin looking for items manufactured domestically. The search might not be 100% accurate though, so be sure to research items before buying.
2. Buy union. When you buy union-made products, they are made in USA. And they provide good-paying jobs too. The United Mine Workers of America has a handy list, as does this great site. Surprisingly, Amazon has a list as well. (You can always buy from Unionwear, of course.)
3. Search for lists. There are countless resources on the web on buying made in America. One quick Google search came up with this result.
4. Read the labels. When shopping, be sure to read the labels on items that say made in USA. Look for made in USA whenever possible. If all else fails, ask.
Buying domestically is good for your community, the environment, and frequently for your wallet as well. Let us know if you have any sources that you prefer.
ABC reports that younger workers are giving labor unions reason for hope.
The percentage of workers ages 25-34 who are union members rose from 8.8% to 9.4% between 2019 and 2021, or around 68,000 workers, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In fact, workers in their 20s —— and even in their teens —— are leading unionization efforts in a wide variety of companies, including Starbucks, REI, cannabis dispensaries, and even Alphabet, the parent company of Google. In fact, the Alphabet Workers Union, formed in 2021 and representing 800 Google employees, is run by five people who are under 35.
One main reason for this is that young people have seen a lot of economic hardships. They lived through the great recession of 2009 and the pandemic, and economic insecurity is a very real fear.
Read the article here for more information.
Unionwear president Mitch Cahn recently appeared on The Lean Effect podcast.
On this episode, Mitch explains how lean methodologies has aided Unionwear, describing how they have been so successful, despite producing in one of the most expensive locations in the world.
Without lean principles, it would be difficult for Unionwear to stay competitive with over 150 unionized employees in the shadow of New York City. However, he’s managed to do it.
Have a listen to the podcast here to learn how.
According to Forbes, America’s supply chains are facing many challenges. One bright spot in the report, however, is fiber optic manufacturing.
The Departments of Commerce (DOC) and Homeland Security (DHS just released the report “Assessment of the Critical Supply Chains Supporting the U.S. Information and Communications Technology Industry,” part of a larger Biden Administration effort on critical supply chains.
The report describes many sobering challenges for the US in the production and manufacture of information communications technologies (ICT). High end ICT products are less likely to be made in USA, a key problem for strategic technologies like semiconductors for which domestic manufacture has declined from 37 percent of the world’s total to just 12 percent in the last 30 years. Moreover, the US share of global electronics manufacturing has decreased from 30 percent to 5 percent in the last 25 years, creating critical cyber-risk.
However, US-made fiber optic production remains a bright spot, mainly because US manufacturing of broadband is subsidized and assisted by the government. There remain risks, mainly from China, who could flood the market with their fiber optic equipment, causing prices to drop quickly.
Still, this means the US government can, and should, step up helping domestic companies boost their manufacturing in every sector, not just fiber optics.
The New York Times issued a report saying that, while the organic cotton industry is booming, you might think you are buying organic cotton when, in fact, it is not.
Nearly half of the world’s cotton comes from India, and there has been a huge surge in demand for, and supply of, organic cotton from that country.
Turns out though, the cotton coming from India might not be organic.
At the heart of the problem is an opaque certification system that is rife with opportunities for fraud. Consumers are assured of “organic” material by brands, which rely on stamps of approval from external organizations. Those in turn rely on reports from opaque local inspection agencies that base their conclusions on a single planned yearly inspection (in the case of the facilities) or a few random visits (for farms).
In recent months, the credibility of these inspection agencies has been destroyed.
A small consulting firm that helps brands source organic cotton has spent the past year hunting down organic cotton, only to see suppliers disappear when they start asking for proof of authenticity. They estimate that between one half and four-fifths of what is being sold as organic cotton from India is not genuine.
Read more about the sobering report here.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing reports that President Biden is working to shore up the domestic supply chain. To that end, the Biden Administration announced a $35 million investment in a California-based rare earth facility, with the aim of creating a fully domestic supply chain for the magnets that power vehicle motors, wind turbines and more.
Just about everyone knows that the US is facing serious supply chain disruptions. But that doesn’t just mean items stocked at the store. It also involves rare earth materials which we use to manufacture a wide range of items. Indeed, the bulk of America’s supply of these critical minerals is imported. China produces around 90% of the world’s supply of rare earth elements.
That’s not all the administration is doing. The Department of Interior also announced a new interagency working group that will focus on reforming mining laws, regulations and permitting policies “to promote the sustainable and responsible production of critical minerals.”
Venture Beat reports a little disconcerting: 90% of U.S. semiconductor-grade neon comes from Ukraine which, as of this writing, is being invaded by Russia. Naturally, this is putting additional pressure on the supply chain that is already strained.
According to the article, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said “the semiconductor industry has a diverse set of key materials and gases, so we do not believe there are immediate supply disruption risks related to Russia and Ukraine.” Nevertheless, the long-term impact of the conflict remains unclear.
Demand for chips that specialize in artificial intelligence for machine learning training and inference is predicted to grow at over 50% annually across all computing categories, while the U.S. government has warned that the global chip supply chain remains weak. Among many other things, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to make it more difficult to acquire raw materials to make these chips.
To reduce risks in the future, the House of Representatives put forward its version of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) with $52 billion in domestic semiconductor funding. Let’s hope it’s enough.
The Biden-Harris administration recently announced new actions across agencies to support American leadership on clean manufacturing—including low-carbon production of the steel and aluminum we need for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels, and the clean concrete we need to upgrade our transportation infrastructure.
Among other items, the administration announced the following:
We applaud the administration’s stance on bringing sustainable manufacturing back to the US. There’s a lot more. Have a look here.
For nearly three decades, Unionwear has employed unionized labor to make its specialty hats, bags, binders, PPE, and other items, including products for the Federal government. And, we have been making the case that domestic, union manufacturing is a viable alternative to buying from overseas, especially since the outset of the pandemic.
Thus, we welcome the news (courtesy the Advertising Specialty Institute) that a Biden administration task force issued a report with 70 recommendations to facilitate unionization efforts. One task force recommendation would have the Department of Labor (DOL), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) help “ensure that federal contract dollars are not spent on anti-union campaigns and that the anti-union campaign activities by federal contractors are publicly disclosed.” You can read the entire report here.
This is great news for union shops, and we support the federal government efforts to level the playing field for unionized manufacturers. These kinds of recommendations will help create better paying American jobs and help mitigate our ongoing supply chain issues which will likely continue through the rest of 2022, and possibly beyond. After all, there might be future pandemics, or more Covid-19 variants may emerge, or some other unforeseen supply chain disruption.
We applaud the administration’s efforts to shore up our supply chain and look forward to working more closely with our Federal partners to bring union manufacturing back to the USA.
According to an analysis by Reuters, the global supply chain crisis could finally start to unwind towards the end of 2022.
But trade channels have become so clogged up it could be well into next year before the worst-hit industries see business remotely as usual, even assuming that a new turn in the pandemic doesn’t create fresh havoc.
Kellogg CEO Steve Cahillane told Reuters, “I wouldn’t think that until 2024, there’ll be any kind of return to a normal environment because it has been so dramatically dislocated.”
Time to accelerate reshoring manufacturing.
News station 11Alive sheds light on how Team USA’s uniforms were made.
In a statement, the company said the uniforms are a “modern and fresh take on sportswear,” created with sustainability in mind. With the help of a company called Skyscrape, the outfitter added intelligent insulation.
According to the company, the outfits are comprised of a mid-layer jacket, pant, gloves and boot. All of the garment pieces are made in the United States and include recycled polyester fiber made with post-consumer plastic bottles.
Furthermore, Ralph Lauren said the apparel to has the ability to transition through three-seasons, and from indoor to outdoor environments.
Great news for Made in USA and Made in New Jersey: some of America’s Olympic apparel will be made right in our own back yard in nearby Clifton.
Team USA’s opening ceremony uniforms in Beijing for the 2022 Olympics will be assembled and manufactured by Better Team USA, designed by Ralph Lauren.
NJ Governor Phil Murphy said, “I am proud that when fans of the Games across the world tune into the Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Games, they will be seeing Team USA athletes outfitted in Ralph Lauren parkas manufactured right here in New Jersey by Better Team USA.”
However, there is a great deal of controversy regarding China’s use of forced labor in the Xinjian province. In fact, the Biden Administration will not be sending an official U.S. delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki cited “the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”
According to E&E News, President Biden’s plan to deploy a half-million U.S.-made electric-vehicle charging stations across the country could face a major roadblock.
The problem is that few manufacturers who make EV chargers comply with the president’s “Buy America” requirements, while the demand for these ports is about to skyrocket.
Part of the issue is that DOT has not yet specified how manufacturers would be expected to comply with the Buy America provision and whether or not states can apply for waivers. That guidance is expected in the coming months. In the meantime, DOT is reviewing stakeholder comments.
This is an opportunity for American manufacturers to start making EV charging stations now.
Everyone knows that America’s supply chains are in crisis. Nearly every business that has relied on imports has been impacted since the pandemic snarled everything to a halt. We have been speaking about it for a while as well.
One company notably got it right, and they are benefitting from their supply chain resiliency.
Because of this, Apple is now valued at some $3 trillion, a number unheard of just a few years ago.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And when it comes to the current state of supply chains, “weakness is evident everywhere,” says Per Hong, partner with Kearney.
Prior to Omicron, there had been signs that some supply chain bottlenecks were beginning to clear up. But the new variant has presented global supply chains with yet another test of resilience.
The problems with ocean shipping, including soaring freight rates and tight capacity, are likely to persist into 2023. Much depends on the Chinese government, which as of the new year had placed thousands of citizens under quarantine due to the Omicron outbreak. Further, they are discouraging travel during the lunar new year break in February, when millions of Chinese travel home to celebrate with family.
Hong believes the pandemic will trigger some permanent changes in the design and execution of global supply chains, including a greater reliance on buffer stock and a shift in sourcing patterns away from China. We would add that reshoring manufacturing to the US will become a new, more permanent feature of our supply chain.
According to Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau, Intel will be building a $1 billion semiconductor chip near the town of New Albany, OH.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown (D) notes that he and fellow Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R) have urged passage of bipartisan legislation on reshoring jobs back from overseas, investing in manufacturing and cracking down on unfair trade practices.
The Intel project has been described as at least the biggest economic development deal for Ohio since Honda built its 4 million square foot manufacturing plant near Marysville in the early 1980s.
Read more at the article here.
This was unexpected.
Yahoo! News is reporting that thousands of boxes are littering Union Pacific’s train tracks in downtown Los Angeles. These boxes, largely due to a wave of recent thefts, are creating endless delays for consumers and merchants that likely cost millions, if not more.
Thieves have been raiding cargo containers, taking packages that belong to people from all over the country from retailers like Amazon, Target, Macy’s, Skechers, and others, leading to viral images on social media.
Data from the National Retail Federation found that the average loss from organized crime topped $700,000 per $1 billion in sales in 2020.
Making matters worse, reporters witnessed people picking through the boxes left behind by the thieves in the hopes of finding something left behind.
The robberies appear to be a byproduct of a widespread breakdown in pandemic-era public safety, which has bedeviled officials across major cities.
Read the wild article here. The Guardian also has reporting on this issue.
Fast Company has a terrific article on how Made in America is not only feasible, but really not that tough.
Bayard Winthrop, American Giant’s CEO, says it’s not as hard as you might think to manufacture in America.
Since he launched the brand a decade ago, he’s been building out a local supply chain, using American factories and sourcing locally materials whenever possible.
In the midst of the pandemic, when most brands were scrambling to stay afloat, American Giant launched a new product category—high-performance outerwear—which required finding new factories and suppliers who could make them from start to finish.
While many fashion executives anxiously waited to see if their collections would arrive in time for the holidays, American Giant shipped products from factories to customers quickly. This domestic supply chain is part of the reason the brand grew revenue upwards of 30% each year of the past two years, while many fashion brands struggled. Some, like Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers, and J.Crew, went bankrupt.
Really great stuff worth reading. Click here for more.
C-NET has been running a regular series on what it means to be Made in USA. In this article, they take a trip to a massive Clean Room, run by government contracting powerhouse Lockheed Martin, where Lockheed is building a new kind of satellite.
It’s called the GOES-T, a massive weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The satellite will enter geostationary orbit, about 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface. It will collect huge amounts of data about weather here on Earth and in space.
Set to launch in February 2022, the satellite will track meteorological events in precise detail, mapping lightning strikes, following fire lines and tracking extreme weather in real time. All this data beamed down from space could potentially be life-saving, helping scientists and meteorologists better predict natural disasters and protect all of us here on the ground.
GOES-T also can track solar flares, changes in the magnetosphere and radiation hazards, all of which can affect not only the planet’s weather, but also electronics and communications equipment on Earth and in the International Space Station. In fact, one of the tasks of the GOES satellites is to provide warnings to astronauts on the ISS about incoming solar activity that could affect their operations or interfere with their instruments.
Have a look at the article HERE
Five years ago, The Purple Aardvark opened on Main Street in Chatham, NJ. From day one, their goal was simple: sell only made in America items. At first, they were focused on selling locally-made items, but later they expanded to other states as well.
According to the Chatham Patch, owners Carolyn Cherry and Sandy Casey said, “We went out and found local artisans for that first year… eventually we branched out a little more finding talent from other states as well.”
The pandemic created challenges for them, but also opportunities. “Our amazing customers continued to shop with us virtually and then we did work to get our webstore up and running as well.”
Also, their orders aren’t stuck on a cargo ship due to the ongoing supply chain crisis.
So, if you are in the area (or even if you aren’t) and are looking for locally-made gifts, check out their website
The Sourcing Journal reports that Lucky Brand recently tapped two U.S. suppliers to develop a limited-edition line of men’s jeans that will launch in Summer 2022.
The Made in USA jeans feature selvedge denim produced by Louisiana-based Vidalia Mills that is then sewn and laundered in California at Artistic Milliners-owned Star Fades International (SFI).
SFI, which launched at the end of 2020, aims to establish a new model for both Los Angeles-based denim production and U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities.
SFI provides turnkey and custom wash and finishing services to a customer roster that ranges from large international retailers to specialty premium labels, and its in-house design studio already has two capsule collections under its belt.
Tamara Reynolds, vice president of design, denim, said Lucky Brand’s last Made in America jean debuted in 2018, and it’s looking forward to continuing that part of its history.
Lucky Brand’s Made in American collection will include the men’s 410 athletic straight, 223 straight and 363 vintage straight fits. The 401 and 363 jeans will be available in sizes 28-42; sizes 29-40 will be available for the 223 style. Jeans will retail for $199.
Read more HERE
There is a common misconception that made in USA is dead. As we have seen, especially since the beginning of Covid and our supply chain broke down, that is far from the case.
Indeed, made in America manufacturing is going to become a strategic and tactical advantage for companies who learn to embrace it.
One of the biggest obstacles to reshoring manufacturing is cost. But, when you factor in all the hidden costs of offshoring manufacturing to China and other countries and add in the marketing power of made in America, domestic manufacturing makes a lot of sense. Some items, especially those produced in small quantities, are actually more affordable when made in America.
In addition to labor unions and politicians, there are three major buyers of made in America manufacturing:
An organization that cares about fair trade, sweatshop-free, a living wage, buy local, union and American-made
Anyone who is promoting themselves as made in USA is buying US-made promotional goods themselves
Anyone who is looking for a small number of goods delivered quickly
Additionally, if you are looking to get Federal business, you need to have domestic manufacturers.
Manufacturing in America is not out-of-touch. It’s a tactical advantage in this changing landscape. It’s time we start embracing made in USA manufacturing, not as a novelty, but as a necessity.
#madeinusa #americanmade #supplychain #manufacturing
Falon Chavous brings over a decade of supply chain experience to made in USA
By Mitch Cahn
Nov 29, 2021
Newark, NJ –
Unionwear is pleased to announce that Falon Chavous will be heading up its Supply Chain Management. Chavous previously managed over $20m of product for top-tier fashion firms like The Children’s Place and New York & Co.
“It’s great to join Unionwear,” Chavous said. “I’m excited to use my product development, production, and logistical experience to create opportunities for both Unionwear and our suppliers. Additionally, I am passionate about bringing manufacturing back to the United States. I look forward to working with both domestic and international suppliers on Unionwear’s expansion.”
“I am thrilled Ms. Chavous decided to join the team,” said Unionwear President Mitch Cahn. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on supply chain management. Given her deep experience with industry trends toward reshoring manufacturing, I am confident she will be a reliable partner for our suppliers to place orders, get paid, and have their orders shipped on-time, every time.”
Previously, Chavous was the sourcing manager for The Children’s Place, where she managed the sourcing, product development and production for various accessories categories such as hats, backpacks, and novelty items.
About Unionwear
Unionwear manufactures hats, bags, portfolios, and binders for the “Made in USA” market, including every branch of the armed services, every Democratic candidate for president for the last 20 years, every international union, domestic manufacturers like GM and Budweiser, and brands such as Vineyard Vines and Supreme. When the pandemic hit, Unionwear used its relationship with the health care workers’ union to transition to face shields and isolation gowns fast enough to have made a significant impact in the NYC hospital system’s ability to cope with the pandemic at its peak.
Unionwear, one of Newark’s largest private employers of Newark residents, won the SEAMS Domestic Textile Association’s inaugural ‘Reshoring Award” for bringing textile jobs back to America in 2019 and was named to Fortune Magazine’s Inner City 100 list.
Contact
To learn more about this story, please contact:
Mitch Cahn
President, Unionwear
mitch@unionwear.com
###
A great Made in America story: KRTV in Great Falls, MT reports that a teenaged farmer in Montana launched a handbag that is Made in USA from locally-sourced farming materials.
“My handbag is made out of American cowhide leather which also starts on a farm,” 17-year old Kate Stephens said. “This handbag is made from the highest quality materials I could possibly find and constructed very well. I find it’s very important to have the highest quality product at a great price point.”
In addition to making handbags, she also has a successful YouTube channel which educates consumers about where their food and clothing come from.
“I first started driving combine when I was 15 years old and I had such an awesome experience that I wanted to share with everyone I met and let them know about how their food gets to their table,” said Stephens. “I realized that not many people know where their food comes from.”
Find her website HERE
Find the article HERE
An article in Offshorewind.biz says that the US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15th, will spur the creation of a US offshore wind industry, said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal represents the most significant long-term investments in American infrastructure and global competitiveness in nearly a century, according to the White House.
The law also prioritizes increasing the competitiveness of the US economy, including through implementing the Act’s Made-in-America requirements and bolstering domestic manufacturing and manufacturing supply chains.
Read more HERE
Seafood Source reports that San Diego-based American Tuna falsely claimed their products are “Caught and Canned in the U.S.A.,” “Caught and Canned in America,” “American Made” and “100 percent American Made” when in fact the tuna is caught and canned outside the United States. A complaint was filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York against the company..
Their marketing also states its products are sourced from the “American Pacific Northwest” and the “U.S. North Pacific.”
“In reality, however, American Tuna sources an enormous volume of tuna from international waters and the territorial waters of other countries, and much of this tuna is canned in other countries as well,” the complaint filed by one Jeffrey Craig states. “Consumers … who pay a premium for American Tuna Products base their purchasing decisions on what the labeling, marketing, advertising, and promotion claim.”
Read the report HERE
In a statement from Unionwear’s union, Workers’ United, praised the recent $1T infrastructure package signed into law by President Biden.
“Congress joined a bipartisan level of support in the Senate which had passed this act twice earlier this year. Now, all federally procured PPE will have strong domestic content and production standards, which creates a stable market for responsible companies to serve, creating good jobs making safe products for frontline workers,” said Workers United International President Lynne Fox.
Among other things, the bill shores up domestic infrastructure to make more PPE in the USA. It provides at least 2 years to incentivize investment in the production of PPE and the materials and component manufacturing
Workers United leadership worked with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) throughout this process and is grateful for their leadership in this effort
Read the press release HERE
Business of Fashion Magazine writes a long and comprehensive article on how China’s power shortages are going to impact fashion manufacturing through at least mid-2022.
Whether it’s sourcing raw materials or manufacturing and selling products, by some estimates, about 60% of the world’s fashion industry passes through China in some form. So when they China starts facing scheduled and extended power outages, the fashion industry will feel the pinch.
These power shortages are impacting more than half the country. Not only have raw material prices (both in China and globally) soared since the onset of the pandemic, but sourcing materials such as cotton from China’s western Xinjiang region have become increasingly fraught for global brands, as countries such as the US have banned them due to allegations of forced labour.
The blackouts are largely due to a nationwide push to diversify China’s economy away from coal. Combined with flooding in major mining regions, and to a lesser extent a trade conflict with Australia, China’s thermal coal prices have risen to record highs, over 200 percent this year. And, a government mandate prevented power companies from passing increased cost on to customers, leading to the rolling blackouts.
Compounding everything else that’s happening in the world, the fashion industry needs to learn to adapt, quickly, to keep their industry afloat for the time being.
Read the article HERE
In a statement from Unionwear’s union, Workers’ United, praised the recent $1T infrastructure package signed into law by President Biden.
“Congress joined a bipartisan level of support in the Senate which had passed this act twice earlier this year. Now, all federally procured PPE will have strong domestic content and production standards, which creates a stable market for responsible companies to serve, creating good jobs making safe products for frontline workers,” said Workers United International President Lynne Fox.
Among other things, the bill shores up domestic infrastructure to make more PPE in the USA. It provides at least 2 years to incentivize investment in the production of PPE and the materials and component manufacturing
Workers United leadership worked with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) throughout this process and is grateful for their leadership in this effort
Read the press release HERE
A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers proposed legislation that would overhaul the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), expand domestic manufacturing of medical supplies and improve America’s preparedness for public health emergencies.
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) unveiled the bipartisan Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, S. 1974, which would amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the SNS. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on May 28 introduced the companion bill, H.R. 3635, in her chamber with 15 original cosponsors.
“COVID-19 showed the danger of our nation’s dependence on China and other foreign countries for life-saving supplies,” Sen. Cassidy said. “We need to strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile by producing these supplies at home which creates jobs and bolsters our independence.”
“We can never again let our country be dependent on foreign suppliers for the equipment we need when crises like this pandemic strike,” said Rep. Slotkin.
The measure would call for improved maintenance of the SNS to ensure stockpiled items are in good working order; provide more federal resources to states to expand or maintain their own strategic stockpiles of medical supplies; and bring transparency to stockpile allocations by requiring a report to Congress on all requests for stockpile supplies during the pandemic and the response to each request, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
As part of providing states with more resources, the bill would require the HHS Secretary to establish a pilot grant program for states to expand or maintain a strategic stockpile of commercially available drugs, devices, PPE, and other products that a state deems “essential in the event of a public health emergency,” according to the bill’s text.
Increasing or contracting emergency stock of critical medical supplies;
Geographically diversifying domestic production of such medical supplies;
Entering into cooperative agreements or partnerships regarding manufacturing lines, facilities and equipment to domestically produce such medical supplies; and
Managing — either directly or through cooperative agreements with manufacturers and distributors — domestic reserves by refreshing and replenishing the stockpile of such medical supplies, according to the text of the bill.
The bill also would establish and maintain the domestic reserves of critical medical supplies, including PPE, ancillary medical supplies and other supplies required to administer drugs, vaccines and biological products, as well as diagnostic tests, according to the bill’s text.
Read more HERE
Business Insider found yet another, unexpected problem with the global supply chain bottlenecks: a lack of packing materials.
Low containerboard and corrugated cardboard inventory has been a mounting issue since earlier this year, according to the article, thanks to growth in e-commerce during the lockdown.
Retailers like Amazon began stockpiling cardboard in January 2021 to meet demand, leaving smaller businesses empty-handed.
By February, cardboard prices reached a record high, according to the Producer Price Index and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, International Paper, one of the largest providers of containerboard and corrugated cardboard in the US, told investors in July 2021 that supply of cardboard boxes was “severely low,” and warned of continued supply chain bottlenecks leading into the rest of the year.
Read the full article HERE
ABC News has a video explaining how buying made in USA products can help you navigate the ongoing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.
They start by saying that out-of-stock messages have shot up by 172% compared to pre-pandemic levels, and saying that Adobe Analytics is seeing a 3.3% increase in prices. Both of these are caused by supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages. Items include clothing, sporting goods, shoes, baby products, and electronics are mostly impacted. These shortages will probably continue throughout the holiday season.
As we have been saying for some time, the way forward is to buy made in America to bypass these supply chain issues. Companies outsourced manufacturing for decades which worked great when our supply chains operated efficiently and boats weren’t stacked up in the Port of Los Angeles.
How?
Start by googling “Made in America products” and shopping there. You can also buy antique, vintage, and Goodwill items as well.
Watch the full video HERE
C-NET has been doing a great series on what it means, and what it takes, to be made in America. The answer is not as straightforward as it might seem. With the pandemic and chaos in America’s supply chains, many people have been trying to figure out the cause(s) of the mess.
According to C-NET, a big cause of the problem is Americans sitting at home, doing nothing, and buying unprecedented amounts of stuff online, especially from Amazon. That, combined with added measures to keeping workers safe while delivering supplies around the world and a host of other factors, has been a big part of the reason people will probably not get their gifts on time during the holiday season.
“[So we’re] looking to identify very specific gaps and figuring out the best way to go about creating resilient supply chains,” Celeste Drake, the administration’s Made in America director, told CNET’s Connie Guglielmo and Maggie Reardon last month. “This is not about bringing every far-flung supply chain to the United States.”
Read the article HERE
#supplychain #manufacturing #americanmade #madeinusa
More than 10,000 UAW members working for John Deere went on strike last Thursday after overwhelmingly voting down a proposed deal between union leaders and the company.
A 10,000-worker strike is a big deal in the U.S., but the John Deere workers are not alone: another 1,400 workers at the Kellogg Company have been on strike for a week.
The workers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Tennessee, are fighting to change the long hours the company has demanded and to protect their health care and retirement benefits.
“Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” said Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW’s Agricultural Implement Department.
“We are determined to reach an agreement with the UAW that would put every employee in a better economic position and continue to make them the highest paid employees in the agriculture and construction industries,” Brad Morris, John Deere vice president of labor relations, said in a statement.
Read more HERE
According to Forbes, the key to a healthy economic resurgence is not paying people sweatshop wages. In fact, good wages and strong labor laws, like California’s Senate Bill 62, the Garment Worker Protection Act, which is currently on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, awaiting his signature, will signal the return of Made in America.
As of right now, California garment workers paid through a piece rate system, where they’re paid pennies per garment sewn. In practice, this means factory workers are frequently paid well-below the minimum wage. SB62 will require factories to meet the minimum wage, and can use the piece rate as a productivity bonus if they wish.
Trade groups for large manufacturers say that the only way to keep labor in the USA is by saying factory workers below the poverty level. Rick Helfenbein, retired chairman of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, a trade association that includes brands like Gap, Under Armour, and Levi’s, says raising California’s garment workers wages to the state minimum would put California’s “46,000 entry level garment jobs at risk.”
In fact, cheap prices are not driving reshoring. “It’s their increased focus on speed to market, innovation, and sustainability,” according to Christian Birky, founder of Because Capital, a new firm set up to buy American manufacturing facilities and improve their social and environmental impact.
Unionwear has been paying union-wages in one of the most expensive labor markets in the US and has survived for some 30 years. If we can do it, anyone can, especially given the move toward made in USA in recent years.
Read the article HERE
The Columbus Dispatch reports that there are lots of manufacturing jobs available in the state, and they are encouraging people to get working.
Hundreds of companies, including major household brands and small, family-owned enterprises, are looking for talented Ohioans of all ages to join their teams.
With record numbers of job openings, above-average pay, variety in the roles and specializations needed, and the promise of a long, rewarding career, there has rarely been a better time to get your start in manufacturing.
That’s why The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and our members launched Making Ohio – to help more Ohioans find their way to exciting, secure, and fulfilling manufacturing careers.
Read the article HERE for more information.
Yahoo News reports that supply chain issues are impacting all sized businesses and it will certainly disrupt the holiday shopping season. We recommend you start your holiday shopping now to make sure your gifts get here in time, otherwise your Christmas tree might look empty this year.
According to Adam Compain, senior vice president at project44, a supply chain technology provider, there are three main factors driving the supply chain disruption.
“First and foremost is customer expectations have risen only in one direction — and that’s up,” explained Compain. “Second to that is a capacity constraint. There are limitations to the supply chain network in terms of the quantity of drivers that are available to ship things within the United States and abroad.” Third, the process of turning raw materials into a finished good and bringing it to a consumer’s home across the globe relies on “a whole bunch of interdependencies,” and “logistics has reached a point that the existing software data and tools to make that job a reality are really strained.”
In other words, We are in for a rough ride for the foreseeable future. Hopefully this will further drive manufacturing back to the USA.
Read the article HERE
CNN shares a rather alarming article that the people who keep our supply chains moving are warning of a collapse.
In an open letter Wednesday to heads of state attending the United Nations General Assembly, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and other industry groups warned of a “global transport system collapse” if governments do not restore freedom of movement to transport workers and give them priority to receive vaccines.
Quoting from the report: “All transport sectors are also seeing a shortage of workers, and expect more to leave as a result of the poor treatment millions have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat.”
Guy Platten, secretary general of the ICS, said worker shortages are likely to worsen towards the end of the year, since workers may not commit to new contracts and risk not making it home for the holidays, given port shutdowns and constant changes to travel restrictions.
This comes in addition to supply chain and logistical challenges which have not gone away.
Read the article on CNN for more
The Reshoring Initiative recently published a report predicting that reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) job announcements for 2021 are projected to be 38% above an excellent 2020. This will be, by far, the highest yearly number recorded to date.
The projection of jobs chips, EV batteries, PPE, pharmaceuticals, and rare earths – the essential products that the Biden administration has focused on – represent 62,500 jobs. Without these products, there would be 157,500 jobs.
While some of the essential products would have come back without the Biden push, it is reasonable to state that the administration’s initiatives have driven some of the increase.
The report concludes that the underlying problem — domestic manufacturing costs are about 15% higher than Germany’s and 40% higher than China’s – needs to be dealt with. If we do not address this underlying problem, we cannot manufacture enough electronic products and EVs to absorb our subsidized chips and batteries.
The entire report is HERE
Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the promotional products industry and the problem won’t automatically resolve itself. The New York Times reports that factories in Vietnam, a major apparel and footwear supplier to the US, have closed or operate at reduced capacity, complicating the all-important holiday season due to the pandemic.
In recent years, Vietnam has grown to become the second-biggest supplier of apparel and footwear to the United States after China. Retailers relocated their manufacturing to the country from China due to rising costs and new tariffs on China instituted under former President Donald J. Trump. While Vietnam made it through the early part of the pandemic relatively unscathed, the Delta variant taking its toll, showing the perils that new outbreaks pose to the world’s economy.
Many American retailers are anticipating delays and shortages of goods as we approach the holiday season. Nike cut its sales forecast, citing the loss of 10 weeks of production in Vietnam since mid-July and reopenings set to start in phases in October.
Read more HERE
#supplychain #pandemic #shortage #madeinusa #covid19
Reuters highlights a story where a farmer in California started growing 20,000 coffee trees. Only two other US states grow coffee — southern Florida and Hawaii, due to their tropical climate. However, thanks to climate change, a city 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles is also starting to grow coffee.
Typically countries like Kenya, Colombia and Vietnam have grown coffee due to their need for constant heat. But climate change is having a negative impact on some coffee-growing areas. Brazil is going through the worst drought in over 90 years. That, compounded by unexpected frosts, damaged about 10% of their trees, hurting coffee production this year and next.
Coffee uses 20% less water than most fruit and nut trees, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, so many farmers are switching crops to deal with limits on water use. And that includes coffee.
Read more about it HERE
In February 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to “create more resilient and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods,” addressing weaknesses exposed by the pandemic, including a lack of personal protective equipment manufacturing. This left hospitals unprepared for the spike in COVID-19 cases.
According to the article, a broader, one-year assessment is scheduled for U.S. defense and public health industrial bases, information technology, transportation, and supply chains for food and agriculture.
This aims to create a domestic industrial sector less subject to future trade conflicts, thus lessening multinational corporations’ dependence on China’s capabilities, innovation, and labor.
Have a look at the ThomasNet article HERE
Unionwear’s Mitch Cahn wrote an article in NJCPA magazine about hustling during the pandemic. The article starts on Page 12.
Unionwear has been a Made in USA manufacturer for over 25 years in one of the most expensive labor markets in the United States — Newark, NJ, just outside of New York City.
How did Unionwear do it?
The key to domestic manufacturing success isn’t cutting corners or hiring the cheapest labor. Rather, Unionwear embraced a lean manufacturing mindset. A lot goes into it, but the first thing lean manufacturers must do is constantly free up bottlenecks. Every system has a bottleneck since a production line can only produce as many widgets as its slowest operation. Speeding up the slowest operation automatically makes the next-slowest operation the newest bottleneck. Even if the production line is automated and perfectly balanced — unless the sales team is selling and the administrative staff is processing orders at the same exact rate — there will be backlogs and shortages, overproduction and underproduction. Your job, as a domestic manufacturer, is to constantly free up these bottlenecks.
There’s a lot more to unpack. But the biggest lesson the team learned is that pivoting into a new market or line of business is always possible, even when times are not desperate. We have become much more open to suggestions for building new production lines for a single client or for a finite time period. We also are far more focused on results and less on facetime for our managers and salespeople. Finally, our success in predicting and responding to shortages has us constantly on the lookout for black swans and random events that can lead to opportunities for growth.
Read the entire article HERE
Many people believe that automation means layoffs. According to a recent Wharton study (which happens to be our CEO Mitch Cahn’s alma mater) that’s not always the case. The study abstract says “investments in robotics are associated with increases in total firm employment but decreases in the total number of managers.”
Additionally, the study says:
Robots reduce variance in production processes, diminishing the need for managers to monitor worker activities to ensure production quality. As additional evidence, we also find that robot investments predict improved performance measurement and increased adoption of incentive pay based on individual employee performance. With respect to changes in skill composition within the organization, robots predict decreases in employment for middle-skilled workers but increases in employment for low- and high-skilled workers.
Automation is key to staying competitive and is somewhat inevitable. Domestic manufacturers should embrace these changes or risk going out of business. After Unionwear began implementing lean manufacturing principles, only one person lost their job: the manager who resisted the changes.
Read the study HERE (requires registration) and the summary of the study by Forbes HERE
The Advertising Speciality Institute reports that inventory shortfalls will be pervasive through at least 2022.
There are many reasons for this, but the most obvious is the supply chain disruption due to the pandemic.
The Port of Los Angeles alone, the United States’ busiest container port, will handle 80% more containers year over year on the week of September 12th. The ramp-up in cargo ship activity is to ensure adequate inventory stateside for the holiday season and to meet current soaring consumer demand for a spectrum of goods. Also, the pandemic has caused significant changes in consumer demand, throwing supply chains off balance.
Port executives and supply chain experts believe the challenges at ports – and related supply line issues – will persist into 2022 and potentially beyond.
One way to deal with the global supply chain challenge is to buy Made in America products. Sometimes they are a little more expensive, but they will never face supply chain disruptions.
Read more about it HERE
When Unionwear thinks “made in America,” we usually think about larger-scale manufacturing. Since Halloween is just a couple of months away, we figured it would be good to highlight another, sweet side to made in America products: candy.
As you can see at this link, there are lots of candies that are made in the USA. New Jersey boasts of at least four places, one of which is Smarties, those tangy little Halloween favorites, which are made in Union, NJ, not too far from Unionwear’s factory.
Also made in the Garden State: Go Naturally organic hard candy line, which is also organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, made by hand, and available in multiple flavors.
What American-made candy manufacturer is located near you? Have a look at the LINK to see.
The New York Times has a fantastic piece on the pandemic-related supply shortages that are rippling throughout the economy.
Americans are largely used to getting whatever they want, when they want it, and quickly. The rise of Amazon has only increased people’s demand for near-instantaneous gratification. Not anymore. And it might be a while until things return to normal.
In fact, Adam S. Posen, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee and now the president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said normalcy might be “another year or two” away.
The turmoil in international commerce has gone on longer than many expected because shortages and delays in some products have made it impossible to make others. The ripple effect of these shortages are impacting a wide variety of businesses, including Toyota, who will be reducing global production of cars by 40 percent.
The Times highlights the ripple effects in this anecdote.
Tony Hague’s company, PP Control & Automation, designs and builds systems for companies that make machinery used in a range of industries, from food processing to power generation. Demand for his products is expanding, and his roughly 240 employees have been working at full capacity. Still, he is contending with shortages.
One customer in England that makes machines to seal packaged food has been hobbled by its inability to secure needed parts. Its supplier in Japan used to take four to six weeks to deliver key devices; now it takes half a year. The Japanese factory has struggled to secure its own electrical components, most of them produced in Asia and using computer chips. Auto manufacturers’ desperation to secure chips has made those components harder to obtain.
“It’s definitely getting worse,” Mr. Hague said. “It hasn’t bottomed out yet.”
In other words, brace yourselves for more supply shortages. Read the entire article HERE.
We have been champions of made in USA for some time. While policymakers and others have been discussing reshoring manufacturing for years, enthusiasm has increased since global supply chains froze during the pandemic and we couldn’t get PPE. It didn’t help when a giant boat got caught in the Suez, grinding global trade to a near-halt. So reshoring is not just a patriotic symbol, but a financial one and national security concern.
Having said that, C-NET has a great piece on why reshoring manufacturing is not as easy as you might think. In fact, they have been covering this story as part of a larger initiative called Road Trip 2021.
In this piece, they highlight the many challenges surrounding President Biden’s order to increase the threshold for parts made in America, increasing the percentage to 75% from 55%.
Celeste Drake, who was appointed by President Biden as the first-ever director of the Made in America office, said “The idea is not to go back to the 1950s. The idea is to capture the industries of the future. This is not about bringing every far-flung supply chain to the United States. But it really does take a lot of work to identify the critical components and to figure out how we can incentivize making those critical components here.”
We will see how it works out. But we are happy with the President’s proclamation and look forward to more Made in USA manufacturing.
Girish Rishi, CEO of Blue Yonder, writes in Chief Executive Magazine that made in America is required for the United States to recover post-pandemic.
In the article, Rishi says the US has faced crises in the past and managed to come out on top, but it is not guaranteed to happen. He correctly notes that a serious return to domestic manufacturing requires investments in technology and people. Not only do we need to rebuild a world-class workforce, we also must invest in manufacturing technology which enables a more efficient and profitable manufacturing system.
Returning manufacturing to the US will also require significant investments in green technology. To quote the article: “Though the sustainability challenge grows more complex every day, technology can help businesses operate both responsibly and profitably via reduced waste, more efficient production, smarter transportation strategies, reduced resource consumption and other stewardship practices.”
There’s a lot more in the post. It’s a great read and worth your time. Read more HERE.
WashingtonExec, a leading publication for Washington, DC-area executives, got feedback from GovCon executives.
“Booz Allen Hamilton supports the Administration’s focus on Buy American and looks forward to how we can continue to lean forward and help implement the new rules once finalized,” said Julia Donley, vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. “Given Booz Allen’s long history of successful relationships with small businesses, we will be in an excellent position to support these efforts.”
She noted, however, the timing associated with implementation will be critical for success.
“For instance, how quickly we increase the percentage of products purchased with taxpayer dollars that are ‘substantially all’ made in the U.S. will need to be carefully considered, in order for the demand to be met,” she said, noting contractors don’t want to create undue pressure on an already taxed supply chain.
Others say, in order to build resiliency into the supply chain, this initiative should unfold as part of a broader effort to strengthen the defense industrial base (DIB).
“The Buy American guidance is directly linked to the challenges faced by the DIB and the federal supply chain overall. All of these challenges need to be addressed in parallel,” said Pat Tamburrino Jr., vice president of LMI’s logistics practice.
The challenges of the pandemic highlight a critical need to bolster the DIB and related supplies chain in the U.S. and among the nation’s allies, he said, starting with microelectronics.
Read the entire story HERE
According to a press release from US Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), fellow Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, new legislation which would establish the Industrial Finance Corporation of the United States (IFCUS). The corporation would use a one-time appropriation from Congress to finance investments in high-tech manufacturing – helping to promote innovation and create good jobs through domestic production.
The supply chain weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic are just one symptom of these investment gaps, which also result in the offshoring of good manufacturing jobs and expose our overreliance on production in rival nations. The uncertainty that accompanies investments at the technological frontier—combined with their large upfront investment costs—makes them too risky for many private investors. IFCUS would provide strategic, patient investments to U.S. manufacturing projects with a positive return-on-investment for workers, local economies, and our national security.
The legislation has been endorsed by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the Niskanen Center, the Berggruen Institute, MForesight, The Engine, and the National Defense Industrial Association.
A summary of the bill can be found here. Bill text is available here.
This article in Forbes highlights the inevitability of automation in manufacturing, and why it’s a good thing.
Products are getting smarter. They respond to our touch and voice and adapt to our needs. They are responsive, flexible, and intelligent.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the factories that make them. Our factories are mainly analog; most are still populated by hundreds of people repeating the same task. Neither the processes nor equipment is designed to respond to change, adapt quickly to customer needs, or address quality issues at scale and with ease.
It’s clear that automation is the next giant leap for manufacturing, but its deployment has been stymied for the somewhat ironic reason that automation itself isn’t automated. Instead, machines have to be individually configured and independently managed by human workers. There is no connected flow of information between machines and no method of continuous improvement. This first generation of automation costs too much, takes too long to install, and depends on a small group of experts, making it difficult to scale or replicate.
The logical place to start automating automation is at the back-end of the production line, where assembly, inspection, and testing are still primarily done manually. That requires a combination of technologies to create an integrated system of hardware (such as robotic cells, automatic conveyors, and material feeding systems) and software that leverages computer vision, machine learning, and 3D simulation. The cells provide the arms and legs, and the software provides the eyes and brains. Dexterity and variability are no longer blockers.
See the article HERE. It’s a great read.
#tech #manfucaturing #robotics #automation #business
The Montana Standard writes that a renewed, made-in-America beef labeling push is drawing support from Montana’s congressmen.
The latest version of the USA Beef Act was introduced last week, authored by Senator Mike Rounds. (R-SD). This bill requires that any beef sporting a “Product of the USA” label originate from a United States ranch. Currently, the labels are applied to beef processed at United States meatpacking plants, regardless of whether the cattle are from another country. The bill was first introduced in 2019.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has signed on as an original co-sponsor in the Senate. Rep. Matt Rosendale is the bill’s primary sponsor in the House.
Ranching groups struggled to get the Trump administration’s attention on the labeling issue and, without it, the issue went nowhere in Congress. Last month, President Joe Biden announced that beef labeling was part of his executive order on restoring competition in U.S. markets. Interest in Congress is again increasing.
The history of labeling beef is complex, according to the article.
An earlier effort known as Country of Origin Labeling, or COOL, was panned by the World Trade Organization. The WTO ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico in 2015, giving the two nations the right to impose tariffs on imported US products, a move that was expected to raise the price on imports from the United States by $1.01 billion.
Congress repealed COOL in 2015 with the support of ranch groups who wanted to avoid tariffs but also called on lawmakers to come up with an alternative for COOL which had been in place starting in 2011.
Read more about it HERE
The pandemic forced many manufacturers, including Unionwear, to pivot, adapt, and overcome their challenges quickly.
In Georgia, a sixth-generation manufacturer called Goldens’ Cast Iron started making exercise equipment because they noticed their competitors were sourcing cast iron overseas and fell behind.
“Our cookers were available …. where our competitors’ grills weren’t,” George Golden Boyd Jr., the company’s fifth-generation chairman and CEO, told ABC News. “So, they got the idea to start making other hard-to-find products, like dumbbells and kettlebells.
“Kettle bells were coming from China,” he added. “Now, the product wasn’t here. America couldn’t get kettlebells. All the team here was scrambling here to figure out how to make these things, and we did. We got tooling made, got them made, and that’s how Goldens’, [a] 138-year-old company at that point, became a startup during a pandemic.”
#pandemic #covid19 #madeinusa #americanmade #manufacturing
ABC News reports that the Ford auto plant in Dearborn, Michigan, is donating more than $100,000 worth of leather scraps discarded from car seats and giving them to local small businesses in Detroit.
Detroit non-profit Mend On The Move, which employs women survivors of abuse, is the recipient of some recycled leather and founder Joanne Ewald said it makes all the difference.
“Having this leather donated to us … it’s so huge,” Ewald said. “It is opening opportunities for us to create pieces that we have never done before.”
Mend On The Move empowers survivors of abuse to create and sell things like earrings, ornaments and more, all made from the used auto parts and salvaged car seat leather.
Read more about it HERE
#madeinusa #americanmade #manufacturing #sustainable
There’s a great article in Blue State on the financial, and emotional, power of political merchandise.
When we purchase a political hat made at Unionwear, an AOC t-shirt made by our friends at FII, or a MAGA hat, we are doing much more than helping candidates and causes. We are tapping into something much deeper within ourselves. We are expressing our inner values on our cars, our guitars, and our coolers.
Beyond the fact that the Trump campaign had raised $45 million off of MAGA hats alone, we are tapping into our inner tribalism as well. As the article above states:
“There is a range of research about how social identity is a key driver of political choices. The way we see ourselves defines how we step out into the world and participate in our communities. And what we signal as individuals can build collective understanding as well. There is political science showing that the presence of yard signs can increase vote share. Which means that bumper stickers, pinback buttons, and t-shirts can help supporters find each other and recognize a shared point of commonality.”
Read the rest of the article HERE. It is worth your time.
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, introduced H.R. 4470, the Made in America Pandemic Preparedness Act, which would require government purchases of American-made PPE and create new tax credits to help manufacturers build up their domestic supply chains. The bill will be marked up and voted on during Tuesday’s Committee on Oversight and Reform business meeting.
H.R. 4470, the Made in America Pandemic Preparedness Act, would do the following:
Incentivizes the development and stabilization of the domestic supply chains necessary to protect the country from life-threatening shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) during pandemics or other public health emergencies.
Requires that PPE procured for the Strategic National Stockpile be produced in America when domestic manufacturers step up to help, and requires regular reports of domestic supply shortages to prepare for the next pandemic.
Creates a tax credit for manufacturers to help cover the costs of developing domestic supply chains, including manufacturing technology upgrades and workforce training.
Unionwear is proudly manufacturing PPE right here in Newark, NJ.
Read the press release HERE
According to a new study, Made in USA does impact consumer purchasing.
However, some products falsely claim to be American made, possibly harming consumers.
The study to be published in the July issue of the INFORMS journal Marketing Science, “Do “Made in U.S.” Claims Matter?” is authored by Xinyao Kong and Anita Rao, both of the University of Chicago.
Since 2010, the FTC has investigated more than 150 cases of deceptive or misleading claims about products made in the United States. For a brand to make the “Made in U.S.” claim, the FTC requires that the product be “all or virtually all” made in the United States with no or negligible foreign content.
For this study, the researchers focused on four of the cases that were found not to fit the FTC’s criteria for allowing claims of being made in the United States. The researchers were able to examine and compare sales of the products before and after the information was removed from products, packaging, advertising, websites and other marketing channels.
“We focused our attention on four brands that included Gorilla Glue, Loctite Glue, Gorilla Tape and Tramontina cookware,” said Kong. “For three of the four brands, the removal of the information had a negative impact on sales. Tramontina cookware saw a 19.5% decline in weekly store sales; Loctite Glue experienced a 6.1% decline; and Gorilla Glue suffered a 1.9% decline. The fourth brand we studied, Gorilla Tape, experienced a ‘trend decline’ following the FTC decision.”
Have a look at the article in phys.org HERE
According to Assembly Magazine, the volatility and uncertainty resulting from trade wars and the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with increased consumer demand for faster delivery, customization and responsiveness, is helping to promote reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. Reshoring and FDI are both motivated by the same logic: the agility and financial advantages that companies achieve by producing near their customers.
Three industries that are reshoring, and probably should not have left in the first place, are transportation equipment, computers and electronics, and electrical equipment and appliances.
In January, GE Appliances announced that it would add up to 150 jobs at its oven assembly plant in LaFayette, GA, due to surging demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve definitely seen significant volumes,” says Lois Crandall, plant manager. “We have double-digit increases in sales right now.”
Read more HERE
American manufactures cannot compete with below-cost, 1-cent masks from China. Citing national security, domestic manufacturers are asking the Biden Administration for help.
Even with Made in USA labels on the boxes, few consumers are willing to spend 10 times as much for an American alternative to a Chinese-made mask.
For instance, American manufacturer Premium-PPE has seen its monthly mask production plunge nearly 90% from last year’s peak, falling to 4 million to 5 million.
Idle equipment and piles of unsold merchandise fill its factory in the city of Virginia Beach. Its workforce, once boasting as many as 280 people, has shrunk to about 50. And the company blames cheap imports from China for its reversal of fortune.
“Selling the mask for less than a penny is not possible,” said Brent Dillie, the chief revenue officer.
The U.S. has nearly 300 million masks sitting unused in warehouses, and producers are going under, according to the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association, which includes small and midsize companies. The group, chaired by Dillie, sent a letter to President Joe Biden in May asking for the government to buy up this inventory, among other support measures.
Maintaining mask production in the U.S. to prepare for future pandemics is “a matter of national security,” the letter said.
Read more HERE
GE Appliances is continuing its U.S. manufacturing expansion with a $5 million investment in its Selmer, Tennessee Monogram Refrigeration subsidiary to begin production of new Zoneline vertical terminal air conditioners, or VTACs, commonly used in hotels and private residential facilities. The new product line was formerly produced in Mexico, and the decision was made to reshore production closer to U.S. customers. The new investment will create the fifth assembly line at the plant and add 33 new jobs, bringing total employment to 465.
“At GE Appliances, investing in U.S. manufacturing brings us closer to our customers, making it easier to innovate to better suit their needs,” said Kristi Saathoff, senior director of product management for GE Appliances. “In moving manufacturing of this product line from Mexico to Tennessee, we shortened lead times and collaborated with customers to improve ease of installation and add WiFi-connected and diagnostic capabilities. The engineering and manufacturing teams in Tennessee and our Louisville, Ky. headquarters continue to find better ways to solve today’s most pressing challenges.”
Read the press release HERE
Unionwear president Mitch Cahn was a featured speaker at the NJCPA’s 2021 virtual conference, where he talked about his experience in manufacturing during the pandemic.
After most of its orders were cancelled abruptly in 2020, Cahn said that his company got to work immediately in calling hospitals to see how they could switch to make personal protective equipment (PPE). “I wanted to involve everybody since things that I think are great ideas are not always great ideas. My staff will tell me I have a history of hiring people who are not ‘yes’ people to me. They will tell me when my ideas are bad. That’s the only way to operate a business,” said Cahn. After Zoom calls every day and hearing from his purchasing, engineering, inventory and sales departments, they worked out a plan.
Before the pandemic, when Unionwear had 17 presidential clients, an Olympic team to supply and it had increased its staff to about 175 — its largest amount ever — Cahn explained that their biggest problem was finding enough sellers. “It was a disadvantage at the time. But, in retrospect, it was an advantage that we got hit really quickly, really early with the cancellations of the events,” explained Cahn. When the pandemic shut down businesses, he noted, “We were in full-on survival mode. This could wipe us out. I could not keep a staff of 175 around all summer without any work. It will put us out of business.” He said they had to immediately react to what was going on in the world — and they did.
Read the whole article HERE
Industry Week shows that Made in USA is considered a premium product, not just for Americans, but Chinese as well.
In fact, more than 80% of U.S. consumers — and more than 60% of Chinese consumers — say they are willing to pay more for products labeled “Made in USA” according to Boston Consulting Group.
“These findings suggest that there’s a big opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to command a price premium by promoting the Made in USA brand—not only in the U.S. but also in China,” said Harold L. Sirkin, a BCG senior partner and co-author of the research. “Retailers may want to adjust their strategies to capitalize on the strong consumer interest.”
“The higher brand value of U.S.-made goods is a further reason why companies should rethink their global manufacturing footprint and consider the U.S. as a manufacturing location,” said Michael Zinser, a BCG partner who leads the firm’s manufacturing work in the Americas and is a co-author of the survey.
Read more HERE
China is viewed, at least from a business perspective, as the place American companies have outsourced manufacturing to.
In the power line business, the opposite is happening.
With a growing middle class, China’s electricity demand continues to rise, as more people are using modern appliances such as refrigerators, cell phones, and air conditioners.
Terex Utilities, a materials lifting and handling company, is one company that is seizing this opportunity. They are manufacturing their products in the USA and exporting to China. Terex’s materials will be used by Chinese electrical lineman workers at the State Grid Corporation of China, which provides power to 80 percent of the country, making it the largest electric power transmission and distribution company in the world.
Michael Tilden, International Sales Manager at Terex Utilities, says that there is great market potential for Terex in China. “As State Grid improves its live line work practices, it will drive demand for equipment such as aerial booms, [and] other made in the USA safety equipment such as hot sticks and rubber gloves.”
Read more HERE
SME, a nonprofit association of professionals, educators and students committed to promoting and supporting the manufacturing industry, says the US will reclaim its role as a global leader in manufacturing, largely spurred on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The United States was once the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, but during the COVID-19 pandemic we were unable to produce the critical personal protection equipment (PPE) essential for combating the crisis.
We lost our manufacturing advantage when companies outsourced offshore to meet consumer and industrial demand for low-priced goods after World War 2. Fortunately, however, a positive localization trend since 2010 indicates an increasing rate of reshoring by U.S. companies and foreign direct investment (FDI) by foreign companies, peaking at 190,000 jobs per year in 2017.
This positive trend has been driven by rising Chinese wages, U.S. automation and lean efforts, and companies rethinking their sourcing metrics by using total cost of ownership (TCO) instead of FOB or FCA price or landed cost. A landed cost is the total charge associated with getting a shipment to its destination.
How do we get American manufacturing back? Lots of ways. Here are some, according to the article:
Consumers must seek out and demand products that are made in the U.S.
Retailers must make U.S.-made products more accessible to consumers.
Contract manufacturers need to use TCO as a sales tool to compete with imports while investing in workforce and automation.
Technology suppliers should identify products they make that can make U.S. manufacturers competitive and sell more by helping customers reshore.
Communities and states must shift resources to advanced manufacturing skills training and also attract foreign suppliers to fill supply chain gaps.
The U.S. government needs to implement an aggressive industrial policy
Read more HERE
According to The Hill, the Biden administration issued guidance to federal agencies two weeks ago that aims to streamline the implementation of the president’s “Made in America” executive order.
“It requires agencies to examine current Made in America practices and develop plans to improve them. These efforts will work together to promote economic security, national security, and good-paying union jobs here at home,” Celeste Drake, director of the Made in America Office within OMB, said in a release outlining the guidance.
The memo requires agencies to designate a senior official by June 30 who will coordinate with Drake and the Made in America Office and strategize how to increase its use of American manufacturing. The designated official will also submit regular reports to Drake on their use of Made in America statutes, rules, regulations and orders.
The memo also includes guidance for agencies that wish to submit waivers to work around the Made in America order in an effort to cut down on the need for exemptions.
Read more at The Hill HERE
The Advertising Specialty Institute shares an eye-opening article: supply chain issues that have been driving up product prices and causing inventory shortfalls in the North American promotional products industry due to Covid-19 could potentially worsen.
According to the article, shipping/fulfillment issues, rising raw material/labor costs, difficulties suppliers are having hiring enough staff, unfavorable exchange rates and other factors are contributing to insufficient inventory, higher product prices and lengthened delivery times for orders, which make it more challenging for distributors to meet client needs and capitalize on rising demand for branded merchandise.
“Availability of containers has been greatly reduced, with importers literally in bidding wars to secure space,”says Dilip Bhavnani, chief operating officer at Los Angeles-based Top 40 supplier Sunscope. “Recently, we secured containers at a cost that was five times greater than what we were paying pre-COVID.”
Reshoring manufacturing is one solution to this problem, and we are glad the government is (belatedly) focusing on reshoring manufacturing to help alleviate these risks. In the meantime, prices are expected to rise for the next year or so.
Read the entire article HERE
Mitch Cahn, CEO of Unionwear, was recently named a Manufacturing Influencer for 2021 by ROI-NJ Magazine.
Tom Bergeron, CEO of ROI-NJ, had a very specific reason for this year’s list: “When we decided to put together our first-ever ROI Influencers: Manufacturing list, we realized it needed to be more than a listing of companies with big revenues and high employee counts. It needed to be how the sector stepped up during the greatest challenge in many generations.”
Instead of their normal procedure for making decisions on who belongs on the list, they worked with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program to provide a list of 60-plus companies that were essential to the fight against COVID-19 in ways many don’t know.
Unionwear is proud to have manufactured 1 million washable gowns and face shields in 2020, and we recently secured a subcontract to fill the strategic reserves alongside a large government contractor.
We look forward to continuing our fight against Covid 19, as well as future pandemics while retaining good-paying union jobs right here in Newark, NJ.
Read the article HERE
According to Business of Fashion Magazine, the pandemic has exposed the fragility of fashion’s global supply chains and the subsequent inventory excess that current production models can cause. Platforme, founded in 2015, is using technology to solve these excess inventory problems by helping them transition to made-to-order production methods — allowing consumer demand to guide output and, in turn, promoting more efficient practices and tackling overproduction.
Fashion executives are expressing intent to transform the supply chain. 60 percent of fashion executives in the BoF and McKinsey State of Fashion 2021 Survey plan to implement improved analytics for consumer insights and 43 percent are planning to reduce product development lead times to avoid overstock.
Have a look at BoF’s interview with Platforme CEO Gonçalo Cruz HERE.
According to Bisnow, the White House allocated $600B in funds to support the creation of U.S.-based manufacturing jobs. The Biden administration intends to support the initiative by establishing stronger product sourcing requirements to compel companies to build and source their materials in the U.S.
The plan includes funding for the Made in America office, created by executive order in January, which will work with other federal agencies to ensure allocated funds are spent in the U.S. While it’s unknown how much more demand this provision will create for industrial space, commercial real estate experts say any focus on reshoring manufacturing has the potential to heighten demand for industrial space.
CBRE Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Capital Markets Jack Fraker said, “Federal spending to spur manufacturing job growth will be an additional boost to the industrial real estate market. Made in America, new manufacturing jobs, domestic sourcing of raw materials and all the supply chain ramifications will likely mean more buildings, both factories and distribution. Most speculative industrial properties can easily be adapted to both manufacturing and certainly distribution.”
Read more about it HERE (free sub req.)
Last week we blogged that the real shortage in the American economy is not a labor shortage, but a shortage of imagination. In fact, the restaurant owners who complain that “nobody wants to work anymore” is a simplified version of events which does not hold up to scrutiny.
Following up on that story comes an article from Truthout, adding additional context: on May 20, 2021, about 50 service worker leaders at One Fair Wage, an organization that brings together service workers to demand a living wage, gathered to take an official vote on whether to go on a “wage strike.”
Some workers had already left the restaurant industry and were considering not returning, and some had stayed, doing the work of two or even three workers in understaffed environments. All were united in their determination not to continue to work for anything less than a full, living wage — plus tips.
“When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed. I tried to get unemployment, but my subminimum wage was too low to qualify,” said Ifeoma Ezimako, an African American server from Washington, D.C. who became a leader with One Fair Wage right after pandemic-related shutdowns began last year. “My real issue is that tips are supposed to be extra. It’s not the customer’s obligation to pay us. So the fact that the employer is not giving the customer that obligation, and the customer knows this, that’s where sexual harassment comes in.”
Unionwear has proven that paying people fair wages and offering generous benefits is possible, even in one of the most expensive labor markets in the world. If we can do it, so can they.
Read the rest of the story HERE
CNBC reports that Peloton will invest $400 million to build its first factory in the United States to speed up production and delivery of its popular cycles and high-end treadmill machines. The facility should be up and running by 2023.
“We had planned to do this for years, but I think the pandemic put an exclamation point on why it’s going to be awesome,” Peloton co-founder and CEO John Foley said in an interview. “Having more flexibility in running a global supply chain is also going to allow us to sleep better, as you can imagine.”
“We believe that working out at home is the future,” the CEO said. “That is why we’re investing in this facility.”
The move is strategically smart. There will likely be more reshoring in the months and years ahead.
Read more details HERE
This article in Wired Magazine highlights Lloyd Ambrust, a software entrepreneur who pivoted to making masks at the start of the pandemic.
The experience opened his eyes, as he realized what we at Unionwear have known for some time: when the US outsourced its manufacturing advantage to China and other countries, we lost our competitive advantage.
And, as we now learned, we also put our national security at risk. It will be difficult to recover from the loss of our manufacturing base, although it can be done.
“We literally learned everything in the hardest way possible,” Armbrust said. “This opened my eyes—I thought, ‘Wow, the US really is behind”’… [China has] such a tremendous infrastructure advantage.”
How can domestic manufacturers compete in this shifting world?
When it comes to re-learning manufacturing in the US, Chris Netram, a vice president at the National Association of Manufacturers said, “the word that comes to mind is resilience.”
Good policies help as well. NAM’s efforts have made it easier to get federal lawmakers to discuss policies such as tax breaks and incentives for equipment, R&D, and training. As a result, President Biden ordered reviews and policy proposals for several supply chains deemed crucial to national security.
So there are steps being taken to bring manufacturing home. The task won’t be easy. Just ask Lloyd Ambrust.
Read more HERE
If you have been anywhere near social media these past couple of months, you have seen businesses, especially restaurants, hanging signs that lament the lack of workers and blaming people for not wanting to work anymore. The signs mostly read something like this:
This is a misread of what is going on, according to The American Prospect.
In reality, according to the article, there is no consensus on the reasons for the labor shortage. It could just as easily be driven by a lack of child care preventing parents from returning to work, fears of contracting the coronavirus in workplaces with lax safety protocols, and most of all, terrible pay and poor conditions making arduous low-wage work unattractive.
But there are other shortages in the economy, which are less likely to go away quickly. They are actual reductions in the supply of goods and services, which has an impact on the labor market, but also on the psyche of the nation.
Since the gas lines of the 1970s, we have lived without shortages. Americans are mostly blissfully unaware of how changes in production, logistics, and the failures of the financial plumbers and bureaucrats make the economy run. Now, we must confront the fact that we have a problem of inadequate production alongside unequal distribution, and figure out what to do about it.
But that doesn’t fully explain our current challenges either. In fact, our real shortage is in imagination, in the ability to conjure up a society where everyone is cared for. That’s going to require some redundancy in our supply chains, yes, to protect against disaster. But more than that, it’s going to require a dismantling of the negligence with which elites have managed our economy.
Read more HERE. It is worth your time.
Albéa, a fashion packaging company, has pledged to increase manufacturing in the USA while increasing their sustainable production commitments.
The group’s business in America accounts for 20% of the overall workforce. It is mostly focused on tube production (5 plants), but they also manufacture beauty packaging in Mexico and provide a turnkey offering in Canada.
Their objective in expanding the domestic workforce was to gain competitiveness, quality, and capacity to sustainability. These developments helped reduce energy consumption by 30%, produce tubes based on PCR plastic, and install equipment for laminated tubes compatible with the Greenleaf technology, which makes them recyclable.
“Over the past six months, 85% of our projects were sustainable products,” says Jennifer Raphaël, President of Orchard Custom Beauty. “We aim to reach 95% this year”
Read more HERE
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