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Please find some links and notes from the 2 Regular Guys Podcast. This week’s show has Aaron hosting Reagan Prefling and Skya Nelson of Fed By Threads who are some of the leaders in change when it comes to sustainability in the garment industry. Reagan and Skya talk about how to improve your companies impact on the planet, what it means for the bottom line of your company and what the future holds for what sustainability means for our industry. They give us great tips to not only improve your footprint on the world but also how to connect to your customers and drive change throughout the process.
Sponsored by: Embrilliance.com. Get 10% off by using the code 2RG at check out.
Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants or lectures or selling. We are not doing this for our employers, but rather for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will make your business better, and our industry better. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!
News
Wearable Magazine Announced they will be chatting live with Marci Kinter of the SGIA and Sustainable Green Partnership to hear some great ideas for shop sustainability. Send questions ahead of time to Executive Editor Theresa Hegel (thegel@asicentral.com) or just tune in to the Wearables Facebook page on May 21 and ask your questions during our live chat.
Earth Positive Products
Welcome both of you to the 2 Regular Guys Podcast!
- You guys have been making meaningful changes in our industry for a long time, can you give us some history of the company, your “why” and what brought you to this point of being known as leaders in sustainability?
- I love that you guys are so transparent about what it takes to be sustainable. What have been the biggest obstacles you have had to deal with along the way?
- How difficult was it to find an eco-friendly company to source blanks?
- Do you see more and more sustainable manufacturers coming online?
- What are some of the misconceptions of what people think sustainability and being eco-friendly is all about?
- How do you suggest companies get the information they need to educate their customers, vendors and other stakeholders so they can be more sustainable?
- Are you seeing an increase in people looking for eco-friendly and sustainable customized apparel?
- Is one age group more apt to purchase sustainable apparel than another?
- So what have you found to be the biggest benefit to the bottom line for your company?
- What does the future hold for our industry? What needs to change and what are you proud of?
Reagan got her start in the garment industry with a degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She began her career at Tory Burch working as a Knitwear Designer for 8 years, designing and growing the knitwear business to one of the most consistently profitable in the company. During her tenure there, she switched gears and moved into a Product Development role within the company. She was the Product Development Manager for Runway styles for another 2 years, managing the on-site development of the couture runway styles and subsequently seeing them through to production for sale in the stores.
After Tory she worked briefly as the Production Director for a startup company, Argent, making fashionable and utilitarian women’s suiting locally in the US.
She is currently at Fed By Threads as the Director of Operations, developing eco-friendly and sustainable clothing in the US. Through her work at Fed By Threads, Reagan has uncovered an intense passion for sustainability and for driving change in both consumer patterns and the garment production cycle.
Skya has been in the apparel business since 1989. He has created over 10,000 T-shirt designs for the adult, juniors, and promotional products with a track record for anticipating market trends. Skya has been active in sustainable and organic products since 2004, he drives the sustainable initiatives and R&D for Fed By Threads, leading the transition from distributor to Circular Economy.
His designs can be seen in magazines, TV shows, and movies and he has been the top-selling T-shirt designer for QVC, Home Shopping Network, Entertainment Weekly, Hot Topics, PacSun, and the #1 T-Shirt designer in Las Vegas, selling over $100M tees.
He developed apparel programs for The Simpson’s, Speed Racer, Caddy Shack, Animal House, Cirque du Soleil, Rusty Surf, General Mills cereals, Hershey’s, Harvard, Princeton, Callaway Golf, Twinkies, Mr. Clean, Wonder Bread, Sea World, and Mr. Bubble.
He was the Art Director for Host Marriott Services designing apparel for more than 1,200 airport gift shops- with $25M in annual sales, He was the Global Creative Director for Raytheon and is currently the Creative Director and COO of Fed By Threads who’s current customers include organizations with a commitment to corporate responsibility like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Cox, and Southern Poverty Law Center.
On a side note, Skya has also re-launched the School House Rock brand with the original creator, Tom Yohe. He developed Bear Surf with John Milius, (Red Dawn (1984), Conan the Barbarian, Apocalypse Now, Big Wednesday). He has worked with Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records, ABC Television, and the music industry including Moby, Stone Temple Pilots, Lemonheads, Blind Melon.
Facebook Live Video
Other Events
- Aaron’s Online Video Series “Small Business Saturdays” #SBSVideos Every Saturday
- Check out the Podcast version at SmallBusinessSaturdaysPodcast.com
- Chicago with Atlas Screen Supply on June 22-23
Trade Shows
- NBM Milwaukee – May 17-18, 2019
- ISS Houston – June 6-8, 2019
- ASI Chicago – July 10-11, 2019
- NBM Meadowlands – July 25-26, 2019
- NBM Long Beach – August 15-17, 2019
- ISS Orlando – September 5-7, 2019
- NBM Columbus – September 12-14, 2019
- ISS Ft Worth – October 3-5, 2019
- NBM Denver – October 11-12, 2019
- PrintingUnited powered by SGIA – October 23-25, 2019
This show is for the listeners so please make sure to ask us some questions or give us some topics you would like us to discuss. Also, if you have any event or upcoming items related to our industry that you would like us to bring up on the show, please contact us via our Facebook Page. Also, make sure to interact/follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also find information on our YouTube Page.
