we've got 3,000 faulty units!
Long before Labovarde was even an idea, I was a fresh newcomer stepping into the working world.
My very first job was at a garment trading company that mass-produced around 500,000 pieces per style.
Constantly witnessing the endless cycle of production and waste burned me out,
but it also became the exact catalyst for creating a sustainable brand.
The truth about manufacturing? It’s a relentless stream of defects.
Even back in my corporate days, a bad batch meant anywhere from 3,000 to a mind-boggling 100,000 defective items.
When an issue on that scale hits, it goes way beyond a workplace emergency—the whole team just enters a state of surreal acceptance.
We’d inspect the 1st through 7th samples, go through endless QC and QA checks, and even bring in third-party inspectors,
yet the unexpected always found a way in. Defect issues are practically inevitable.
As a brand owner taking on every single loss out of pocket, the stress is on another level.
They say most things we worry about never actually happen,
but manufacturing disasters always show up completely unannounced—like a very unwelcome plot twist.
Labovarde hasn't been immune to this either.
Once, after placing a major order, almost the entire batch turned out defective.
After rounds of agonizing effort, we somehow managed to salvage and perfect every single piece.
For items with tiny flaws that don't quite meet our retail standards,
we save them up for cozy flea markets right in our office.
A couple of years ago, we also began donating them to local welfare centers and orphanages upon request.
Just recently, a friend mentioned traveling to Cambodia with a companion who happened to be wearing an old,
discontinued Labovarde piece.
It turns out her friend's mother is the secretary-general at the Pediatric Leukemia and Cancer Association,
and she had bought it at a charity flea market.
Finding out that a piece we couldn't sell ended up raising funds to help a child in need felt like a true full-circle moment.
I couldn't be more grateful.
