Impressions - January 2019 - 43

Fed By Threads aT a Glance
C ompan y n ame: Fed By Threads
address: 5984 E. North St., Tucson, AZ 85712
Foun ded: 2012
GarmenT T ypes oFFered: 100% Recycled, 100% organic cotton, urban cashmere, bamboo/organic cotton blend, hemp, 98: RPET/2% Biolycra
C ompan y WebsiTe: fedbythreads.com

the worst human negligence and intentional poisoning of our planet," he says."To
do this, we have to be positive and upbeat
because the fight is dirty. If you become
caught up in the ugliness of the industry,you
may not be able to see the positive strides."
Fed By Threads offers a resort line
of "curve friendly" women's apparel
called Skya Papaya, using the same
style and cut that favors plus sizes.

is a choice and explain the benefits of that
choice.They don't know they want it until
you show them how they can choose a
product that does zero harm. Our brand has
benefited from the fact that our customers
spend hours looking on the internet for a
product that matches their personal ethos.
They're not looking for a company in particular; they're looking for our solution."
Back to that Harvard speech. Nelson
says sustainability is about paying attention, planning and understanding your
resources, as well as reasonably predicting
costs and repeating production with profit
and without harm.
"Our customers are interested in our
management of raw materials, resources
and conservation, [as well as] education
and community services," Nelson says.
"The fact that we add feeding meals,
livable wages, no toxins and chose to manufacture using a transparent and ethical
supply chain is an added bonus they didn't
know was available. They keep finding
us and we want to meet their demands."
Riding the Lightning
Is a strategy like this sustainable? During
the past four years, without advertising,
FBT has experienced 1,200% growth in
year-over-year sales.With the addition of
celebrity endorsements, a new CEO and
leadership team,and integrated supply-chain
verticals, it expects to reach $400 million
in annual sales by 2025.

"Essentially, we are a T-shirt business at
our core," Nelson says."It's the engine that
drives us. But having that key business is not
enough.There is an entire product group
that our customers demand in order for
us to get the T-shirt business. The model
we chose to provide is a 'one-stop shop'
based on industry requirements and customer expectations. It took two years of
customer interaction to create that operational template."
Today,everything FBT does - data,standards,modeling,catalogs,patterns,marketing,
etc. - is geared toward finding sustainable
solutions to today's problems.That means
understanding its entire supply chain and
continually recognizing its core strengths.
FBT tracks every moment of production:
water use, dryer temperature, production
cycle times, recycling, tree plantings - even
the use of ethical toilet paper and 100%
recycled printer paper.
"The secret ingredient that will make
or break us is time," Nelson says. "Time
is the only ingredient that we can't buy,
change or manipulate.We stand in front of
billion-dollar corporations and tell them we
will not compromise.When they are ready
to do things sustainably, they can call us.We
only sell positive change,and we only deliver
positive products because everything we do
is to be Earth- human- and emotionally
positive."
The job, Nelson admits, isn't easy. But
it's something the FBT team takes to heart
daily. "Our job is to fight against some of

'Take Care of Your Stuff '
The mission is in FBT's actions.For example,
in February 2019, the company will host
an event to educate 2,000-5,000 college
students on the negative effects of buying
"fast fashion." Nelson says showing today's
generation that the T-shirt they're wearing
was made by one of the 168 million child
laborers under age 14 living in poverty,
among other atrocities, can be sobering.
"The clothing we wear has many stories
and truths woven into it," he says. "Our
goal is to offer our customers the ability to
have their dollars vote for a better world
that values high-quality, long-lasting craftsmanship, as well as positive community and
environmental impact."
This year, FBT tied for first place as the
country's "Most Ethical Clothing Manufacturer" on "The Ethical List." The 2018
book "The Green Wardrobe Guide" by
Beth Fiteni listed FBT as the "Best Place
to Shop in the USA." In 2016, it received
the Green America Award for its sustainable
clothing boutique.
"Everybody was told by their parents at
some point, 'You can't have nice things if
you don't learn to take care of your stuff,'"
Nelson says. "That's what we're asking of
our industry and our customers now.Take
more time to think about the job, spend
more money on the better product and
explain your decision to your customer.
Take care of your stuff." 
Michael J. Pallerino is an award-winning writer
who has written for a number of national consumer and trade publications. For more information
or to comment on this article, email Michael at
mpallerino@gmail.com.
JANUARY 2019

P.43

http://www.fedbythreads.com

Impressions - January 2019

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