On a clear day in mid-March 2020, in the middle of his spring break, my college-age son and I made the eerie trek from Delaware to his school on Long Island, stuffed the contents of his dorm room into the car, and headed back to Delaware again. Thanks to the pandemic, there would be no returning to campus life after spring break. They would be in touch about next steps.

Within days, states began their emergency shut-ins, Delaware included. I gathered necessities to work from home and locked up our little warehouse for what might be an extended absence. Surely it would be longer than the initial two weeks that were being suggested. Thoughts of the tailors in my network were on my mind. These are trained professionals, many of whom work as independent contractors and who come into close physical contact with clients. That business was coming to a screeching halt. I wondered what work we might be able to conjure to help pay for the basic necessities.

Governors were pleading for personal protective gear – PPE – for frontline workers in their hospitals. It was wrenching to see so much suffering and to feel so helpless. It didn’t take long for an idea to come together. Nearly all of the professionals in my network had commercial sewing equipment in their homes. What if we created a cottage organization of sorts – a network of skilled apparel industry professionals who could sew some needed PPE in the safety of their own homes?

Lesson #1: People are driven to help others

I reached out to the tailors to gauge interest. If I could figure out product specs and source the materials, were they up for it? Almost across the board, the response was yes. Like me, these folks were touched by the plight of others. Now being shut in, they were feeling frustrated and anxious. We all wanted to be useful – to do something to help. And what better way than to do what you know? It was agreed. I’d drop off materials and instructions to their doors, they’d do the cut and sew and leave the completed goods on their doorsteps, contactless. I’d pick up and get it to customers. Everyone else stayed safe in their homes while contributing to the cause of trying to beat the virus. And so we mobilized.

Lesson #2: There are A LOT of people who can sew

It turns out a lot of people had similar ideas. As we got underway with our tiny network, we saw networks of sewists popping up near and far all across the country. Some were big networks with goals of producing thousands – even millions -- of face masks to donate to hospitals in need. Nurses, attorneys, designers, quilters, homemakers, students – people everywhere brushed off their sewing equipment, found some materials on hand, and rallied to the cause. Anything from tee shirts and hairbands to kitchen towels and coffee filters were improvised. The outpouring was incredible.

Lesson #3: In times of crisis, people band together

Coming from a lack of experience, everything needed to be figured out. How does one make PPE? Do materials need to be FDA approved? If the prescribed materials are not available, what’s next best? How do we connect with the people who need them? My contact list of apparel industry resources was not exactly relevant, but it was a starting point. I began reaching out. Almost as quickly as I thought of the questions, folks with knowledge were putting their heads together with answers – or at least offering direction. The World Trade Center of DE and Delaware BioScience Association coordinated needs and suppliers. The State of Delaware put together a resource hub. NC State’s College of Textiles made experts available on webinars. IPC and other trade groups across multiple industries formed task forces led by experts who were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. Zoom meetings were scheduled so information could flow. Patterns were posted, research on materials effectiveness was shared, friends and mentors forwarded info, articles, and links. People connected people. That so many resources were marshaled so quickly across America blew me away and I was so grateful for these wonderful souls.

Lesson #4: The U.S. supply chain is hugely dependent on China

It quickly became apparent that certain components were not going to be available. Things like melt-blown, a thin polypropylene fabric used to block tiny particles, mostly came from China and China was shut down. This fabric was a key component in masks, protective gowns, surgery booties and hats, and more. Much of the elastic came from China. Bendable aluminum bars for nose bridges? China. All manner of small parts: China. Shortages were being driven not just from demand spikes related to COVID-19 but from supply constraints in a part of the world on which we were heavily reliant. The supply chain was broken and the timing was terrible. We started looking for U.S.-based resources who could provide adequate substitutes…and who hadn’t yet been shut down.

Lesson #5: Crises present opportunities

It helped knowing I wasn’t toiling alone over supply chain issues in the wee hours. Plenty of folks were working day and night, many from their homes, to plug supply chain gaps or create products they’d never offered before. Beer makers began brewing up batches of much-needed hand sanitizer. General Motors and Dyson would soon begin making ventilators. A North Carolina upholstery company developed a woven anti-microbial face mask fabric – something it had obviously not offered before. A Midwest producer of heavy polypropylene fabric decided to retool some facilities to produce the lightweight melt-blown that was in such short supply. Retooling would take weeks, but it was a light at the end of the tunnel -- and it may add permanently to domestic melt-blown capacity.

We sought domestic suppliers who were still operational and could get quality materials to us quickly. Sometimes it took creativity. We connected with a hotel linens supplier who was willing to provide high-thread-count sheets that were perfect for washable masks. In other cases, outcomes relied on decisions as simple as being allowed to stay open. A Pennsylvania-based ribbon supplier appealed to their governor for “essential business” status and began running full-out to meet demand for PPE-related orders. Fabric and elastic producers did the same.

So the economy wasn’t totally skewered. There were opportunities to adapt and innovate. In this little window of time, I saw people quickly assess market voids and jump to action.

Lesson #6: There’s ALWAYS a learning curve

1,000 hospital visitor masks ready to ship out.

No matter how quickly you want to move, there’s always more to learn than what you expect. Does melt-blown hold its properties through laundering? How tiny IS a COVID-19 molecule? Which PPE requires needle-free seam sealing versus sewing? We had to understand levels of protection for medical-grade PPE if we wanted to help there – and FDA, NIOSH, AAMI and other requirements. Thank goodness for a chemical industry mentor and a cousin who spent a career in the medical device field. They helped me navigate. Lesson 6A: There’s no shortage of jargon and regulation. We figured out where we felt competent to participate. Given that our tiny network was distributed across people’s homes with little ability to control for certain factors, we decided to focus on non-medical masks and relieve some demand pressure for the medical-grade PPE the professionals needed. We’ve produced masks for hospital visitors, supermarket workers, catering folks, commercial offices, and for regular consumer use, among others. Our early design feedback revealed that people have definite preferences, even on something they’ve never worn before, leading to the next lesson…

Lesson #7: Fit matters…and you may as well look good

We kind of knew this already from our core custom clothing business, but there are nearly as many preferences as there are humans. Some folks prefer ear loops while others want to rip them off their ears after an hour. Some love behind-the-head ties while others can’t keep it on their head. People may have big noses, small faces, protruding chins, set back ears, beards. One thing is sure: if a mask isn’t comfortable, people won’t wear it correctly – and what’s the point if it isn’t doing its job? After trial and error, listening and tweaking, our latest iteration is a convertible version in 3 adult sizes. It can be worn as ear loops for easy off and on, or converted to behind-the-head closure when hours of comfort are demanded.

Style matters, too, in a world where face masks are now an essential wardrobe item. Why should anyone have to ruin a great outfit with a big blue pleated mask across their face? (Or worse, a duck bill.) There’s nothing wrong with coordinating great coverage with an attractive silhouette in your best color palette. Make the best of it while doing your part to stop droplet infection.

Bottom line: I’ve developed a greater appreciation for the human spirit, supply chain vulnerabilities, and American resourcefulness.

Fully 3 months into this experiment, we’re faced with another challenge: the return to normalcy. Return? What does the new normal even look like? Surely, some activities and relationships that we took for granted will be permanently altered. We’re actively conducting interviews of consumers, retailers, and other contacts to take the pulse on these and related topics. A few things do seem certain:

The time is ripe to rethink supply chains. It’s a great opportunity to test some newer automated domestic resources that could be cost-competitive compared to a low-labor, high-shipping-cost model with a country where the free flow of goods is currently uncertain.
People are amazingly resilient, meaning they bounce back from adversity. But they also have an amazing ability to adapt and change. Reopening the economy probably doesn’t mean going back to all our old ways, because things are not the same. I believe new ways will be embraced.
People care about one another. A few months of social restriction and back-to-back crises helped many of us define what’s really important. Other humans are important.
There’s always room to grow. There’s nothing like being out of one’s comfort zone to become energized toward a new goal. Given the choice to sink or swim, we’d always choose swim.

To learn more about what we do, visit www.entreDonovan.com and check back often for new developments.

To participate in our pulse-taking interviews, message hello@entreDonovan.com. I’d seriously love to get your pulse.

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