Evelyn & Bobbie ✈️ to Asia
Last week I traveled to Asia, together with the product team, to meet with our factories & suppliers. Here's a bit about the trip and what's on the horizon as a result!
Exciting new product is in the works
From the softest fabrics to structural engineering, we exist to do things a little differently. We have some incredible new products in the works, with releases beginning in January. It was great to meet with our amazing factory partner, discuss our most recent prototypes, and collaborate with them in order to bring you the best that technical manufacturing has to offer.
Factories we are proud of
Over the last decades we have seen big issues with corporate responsibility and watched some of the biggest players misstep by partnering with factories that exploit workers in developing countries. That's why I personally visit and inspect any site abroad where EB works. While our product is currently produced in China, we are looking to move some of our production to Vietnam. Politics continue to affect manufacturing for US companies, and the outlook for socially responsible, high quality manufacturing gets stronger everyday for us in Vietnam.
This trip, I had the opportunity to take a comparative point of view, visiting factories in China first, then Vietnam. The air quality in Vietnam was notably less protected than that in China. However, like China, the Vietnam government and industry are partnering together visibly to ensure economic growth and healthy development. Our factory is providing jobs close to home for a lot of Vietnamese, especially young women. The pride that comes with economic freedom was visible on the faces of the women I met. In addition to my personal visits, EB also pays for formal inspections by top third party agencies to ensure social and environmental conditions are met to our standards. But being there and experiencing it myself has no proxy.
A product design team committed to each other and to you
Getting out on the road as a product team is special in and of itself. At Evelyn & Bobbie, our product team has never been stronger. Our designs have delivered some wins since we started shipping product earlier this year, and we have also learned from some rookie mistakes. There's two key values that drives our team now: open ideation and rapid prototyping.
As we begin to approach the release of new product, we are aggressively planning rounds of product testing with more real customers than ever before. Some of you have already participated in our surveys, and if you haven't yet, keep an eye out for more over email. We involve you in our design process more than other companies because YOU are the reason we exist.
We have heard you that you want new super-soft products from EB to fill up your drawer. Easier sizing. Beautiful fashion colors. And that's exactly what you are going to get! And on our own team, we aren't just working hard for you everyday, we are doing it as a group of women who support each other, having fun while we do it, and always remembering why we do it. We do it for you. We do it for ourselves. Because we are all in this together.
