Presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris paid a visit to FABRIC during their recent trip to Arizona as part of their Soul of the Nation campaign tour. As a female owned manufacturing business that supports many other women and minority owned diverse businesses, FABRIC is an example of the type of entity that Biden’s "Build Back Better" efforts aim to assist. We were eager to learn more.
We learned that the Build Back Better campaign is about investing in manufacturing and innovation through their Make It In America plan. The plan is meant to revitalize American manufacturers with a focus on smaller manufacturers owned by women and minorities. It would provide support to small manufactures like us to make sure we have the resources to complete and lead so that we can keep creating jobs and supporting workers right here in our community. This includes low-cost financing for manufacturing investment, a manufacturing tax credit, and resources for more research and development.
As we led the former Vice President and Senator through the FABRIC facility, we shared the story of our pivot from fashion incubator to PPE manufacturer and our new reusable PPE brand, Reusa. that has evolved from these efforts. We shared how the pandemic had underscored the importance of our mission to reshore apparel manufacturing and democratize the industry for the modern apparel entrepreneur. They listened, asked poignant questions, talked shop with many of our staff members, and showed a deep understanding and appreciation for our efforts.
As a public-social-cooperative-enterprise, we’ve always had an open door and have welcomed public figures who would like to support our mission to sustainably disrupt, redefine and reshore the fashion industry for the modern apparel entrepreneur. It was certainly a surreal experience to be able to share this vision and mission with a public servant who has held one of the highest ranking positions in our nation’s government, and we are humbled that we were chosen as a stop on their campaign trail.
Photo credits:
- Xposed Capture
- The Biden Campaign
- Amelia Walsh