Founder Reflections: Building in Perpetuity

It's been five years of working on the supply chain behind Range Revolution. Our first product, the Range Tote, was released in December 2021.

My son, Hesston, was born that summer.

My dad died that fall.

The hurdles were huge. I made lots of mistakes. I kept going.

I learned more about rebuilding regional fiber supply chains and manufacturing in two years than I bargained for. There is a reason very few are attempting to do what we are doing. It's not fast, and it requires a sense of purpose beyond profit.

As a regenerative rancher myself, my dedication to crafting goods from ranches like ours transcends all challenges. This is why I believe farmer/rancher led brands are so different from most.

We build for perpetuity.

Building a leather supply chain that benefits the regenerative ranchers in America requires rebuilding capacity and infrastructure. This takes long term commitments.

Not pilots.

Not a single campaign.

Not a temporary initiative used for PR.

Despite all the challenges, we are experiencing a real momentum this year. I believe if we, as designers and founders, build for perpetuity, we might actually revolutionize the fashion sector, and rebuild systems that directly support American agriculture and manufacturing again.

There are a few brands I know of who are also doing this work in fibers and dyes.

In cotton:

In wool:

In Linen:

Fibre-volution

In indigo:

Vibrant Valley Blue

Fashion, for thousands of years, was connected to the soil and our regional economies because natural fibers were the foundation.

Starting in the 1950s petroleum based synthetics began to rise.

Now, fossil fuel derived synthetics make up almost 70% of our fibers.

We are dressing in, sleeping in, eating and drinking plastics at every turn.

This change was driven by the oil industry. That industry continues to create new products we don't actually need as a strategy for their continued growth and profits.

I started to look around my home, in my closet and life and ask, "What is this made of?", and realized how insidious plastics infiltration of my life had become.

The beauty lies in our enormous opportunity right now.

We can first see it, then start to unravel it, piece by piece, garment by garment.

A return to the beauty of natural fibers can be a joyful, stylish rebellion. A revolution of reconnection and timeless luxury.

True luxury is health.

True luxury is a thriving ecosystem.

True luxury is clean waters, free of microplastics.

True luxury is quality that is built to last a lifetime.

True luxury is living in right relationship with the Earth.

We can't change decades of damage quickly. This revolution in fashion is taking a long time, and many organizations have structures that won't actually allow for divestments from petroleum based fibers due to their stakeholders' desired for exponential growth and exponential profits.

It will take disruptive brands to drive the change.

We can start, garment by garment.

We can buy less.

And when we do buy, we can invest in higher quality.

We can seek out natural fibers.

We can build a sense of personal style that both resonates with our personal values and makes us feel beautiful. One that stands out in a sea of plastic.

Together, we can revolutionize the way we create and consume.