Taiwan is Thread’s chosen route into Asia
17/10/2018
The US company first travelled to Asia three years ago to explore the possibility of producing fabric in the region. It realised that this would make perfect sense given that many of its customers manufacture their products in Asia.
Brenda Haitema, who is in charge of Thread’s supply chain in Asia, has told sportstextiles that Taiwan’s strength in textile manufacturing made it “a great place to start”. She added that Thread was also attracted by the country’s “strong recycling culture”.
The production relationship with Shinkong is part of Thread’s shift towards licensing partnerships. Ms Haitema praised the Taiwanese company for being “nimble enough” to respond to Thread’s demands.
As an extension of its new presence in Taiwan, Thread has expanded its coastal collection efforts to the country. This adds to the activities it already carries out in Haiti and Honduras. It has been collecting in the Asian country for a year now, with all this material processed locally. This has helped reduce lead times and has eliminated unnecessary shipping of material.
Ms Haitema also reinforced to sportstextiles that Thread’s work is as much about the social benefits it brings as it is about safeguarding the environment from plastic waste. Through its efforts, Thread has already created thousands of jobs in communities in Haiti and Honduras, allowing the people living there to earn a livelihood and support their families.
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