The Weekly - May 5, 2020 - 11

CO U R T E SY V E R M O N T G LOV E X 3

president of Vermont Glove.
"While we are doing our part, it's
simply not enough."
Hooper, a self-described "news
junkie," was early to recognize
the severity of COVID-19, as well
as some of the potential impacts
it could have. As the late winter
spread of COVID-19 crossed
borders and closed communities,
Hooper worked with the Vermont
Glove team to identify a protective
mask design, find a supply source
for raw materials, and establish a
manufacturing process-a combination of cutting raw materials
on the factory floor and sewing
by workers at home stations that
had already been set up in the first
wave of social distancing.
The initial process worked well
enough, with the exception of one
big bottleneck: The initial cutting
of raw materials was far outpacing
the ability of the sewing team to
keep up. And, at the same time, all
parts of the manufacturing process
were being dwarfed by an evergrowing pile of orders. "We've got
the best glove sewers in the world.
Transitioning to a rectangular
fabric product was a breeze," says
Hooper. "But my team, while they
can sew very quickly, [it] wasn't
enough to keep up with production
and certainly not enough to keep
up with the demand."
In order to tackle the growing
glut of ready materials, Hooper
struck on a uniquely Vermont
solution in order to increase the
pace of finished products: Why not
build a community of home sewers
throughout the region and post
instructional videos and mask patterns on the brand's website? The
idea spread like wildfire, and, soon,
Hooper's roster of sewers topped
more than 80-a number that
includes both paid and volunteer
help, and ebbs and flows by the day.
At first, Vermont Glove organized the home sewing enthusiasts
into regional teams, with localized "captains" who would pick up

HOW DO YOU SATISFY MASSIVE DEMAND WITH A TINY TEAM
OF PROFESSIONAL SEWERS? HOW DO YOU HARNESS
THE ENERGY OF A REGION THAT CLEARLY WANTS TO HELP?
AND HOW LONG WILL THIS WHOLE THING EVEN LAST?

bundles of ready materials at the
factory and individually distribute
them. As the program grew, however, that initial approach simply
took too much time and effort
to manage, and also required an
uncomfortable volume of varied
personal contact during peak
social distancing. Instead, Vermont Glove's approach evolved to
create a single pickup and drop-off
station outside its factory where
individuals could pick up bulk
materials in kits of 50 and drop off
finished masks at the same time.
"It's been an interesting and
invigorating process," says Hooper.
"It's so entrepreneurial, it'll make
your skin crawl. But it's extraordinarily hard to manage, and, at the
same time, we're being totally inundated with orders." The pickup/
drop-off approach has worked well
enough to get the Vermont Glove
sewing network set up and working on a steady basis, and creating
a stream of completed masks.
But the riddle of managing
expectations from a wholly new
client base eager to get its finished
product-as well as an entirely
new group of employees and
enthusiastic volunteers-has been
a next-level challenge.

"There has been a serious emotional toll on our team-and me
personally," says Hooper, who likens the process of deciding which
orders to fill first to medical triage.
"When the pipeline is so full, and
we don't have clarity as to when
stuff is turning around, it has to be
a conversation."
THE TALE OF VERMONT GLOVE'S

manufacturing changeover to
meet new demand is exactly the
type of thing small factories do-
and do well. They see a need; they
nimbly create a process; and they
deliver products to market far
quicker than massive producers.
However, there is a story of
untold risk as well. While pivoting to PPE is allowing domestic
manufacturers to stay working
as "essential businesses" within
the constraints of state shelter-inplace orders, the cash flow is minimal and frequently barely enough
to cover base operating costs.
That economic reality is further
complicated by the fact that, at
some point, major manufacturers
are anticipated to come online and
fill widespread need for PPE in a
much bigger, much cheaper way.
Like playing a game of manufac-

turing musical chairs, Hooper and
other domestic manufacturers
don't want to overinvest in their
big pivot because, at some point,
the music will stop.
Yet, despite the razor-thin
margins, the emotional toll,
and the business risks, Vermont
Glove is fully embracing its community role in helping battle the
spread of COVID-19. It's also
shining a bright and positive
light on the role of American
manufacturing.
"Our main thing has always
been helping people understand
that products can be made at livable wages and provide meaningful careers," says Hooper. "The
whole reason we want to grow is
to affect people's lives right here in
Randolph, Vermont."
Drew Simmons is the president
of Pale Morning Media, a public
relations and communications
agency specializing in the outdoor
world. For a full podcast interview with Sam Hooper of Vermont
Glove about its pivot to the creation of personal protective equipment, and more stories relevant to
the industry, go to palemorningmedia.com/outdoor-states.

OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2020 / THE WEEKLY 11

http://www.palemorningmedia.com/outdoor-states http://www.palemorningmedia.com/outdoor-states

The Weekly - May 5, 2020

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