A key metric for our 2023 company vision was to reduce emissions by near-shoring some of our manufacturing partnerships. The global landscape is shifting, and there are also geopolitical risks that we are considering.
It is imperative that we are actively mitigating these risks so that we can provide the best service to our clients and reduce our environmental footprint. We have been working directly with factory partners in Latin America and in North America who can help us diversify our supply chain while maintaining the highest standards of responsible sourcing.
As manufacturing moved offshore from USA over the past several decades, it can be more difficult to always ensure human rights and environmental protections. When developing our supply chain partnerships, we have invested in checks and balances to establish a top tier, transparent and ethical supply chain.
China specifically has invested in developing the required skills and technology that meet the demands and expectations of our customers. Our challenge as we expand into Latin America is finding the partners with the right mix of these elements and price value.
We are committed to adding social enterprise businesses (including some fellow B Corps) among our manufacturing partners and have started working with some companies in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and right here in the USA. While our cost of goods increase, the additional impact value from these new enterprise partners is something that some of our clients are focused on as part of their own sustainability plan.
While we are still in the early phases of onboarding these new suppliers, we have been pleased with their ability to manufacture excellent quality products that are also aligned with our social and environmental practices. Shorter lead times are also a crucial benefit for many of our clients, who want the flexibility for shorter lead times.
