We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adrian Frazier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adrian below.

Hi Adrian, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart and advocate for the planet. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so it’s a big part of who I am. After my son was born, 13 years ago, I started a conventional cotton clothing brand for babies. It started out handmade by me then after time, I hired local sewers. As the brand grew momentum, I couldn’t keep up. I spent all my time and energy managing production. It was hard work! Keeping good help and maintaining quality was difficult. I appreciate US-made products more than anyone after my experience. I just couldn’t keep up. I struggled with the idea of sourcing overseas at first. I felt like maybe it was inauthentic. At that point, I had to do something to streamline manufacturing. I started sourcing part of my product line in India and part in China. I learned so much navigating those waters. All of a sudden my eyes were open to things I’d never thought much about. The reality of the so-called natural fabric was troubling. It’s an unethical, toxic industry for both people and the planet. Forced and child labor is common in overseas factories. Not to mention cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed industries in agriculture and one of the most genetically modified crops in agriculture. Then when it’s processed and prepared for textiles, it’s heavily infused with chlorine bleaches, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and acetone. 10% of the weight of a conventional cotton garment is toxic chemical finishes. Not what you want to put on your baby’s permeable skin. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing what I’d learned. I had to re-evaluate everything I had started. I made it my mission to create a positive impact on people and the planet with the work I do. I shifted my focus and started a new brand, Cat & Dogma. With that bit of experience in manufacturing, I sourced an organic and ethical supply chain. It wasn’t easy and took well over a year.

My next and equally as important mission was to create a fit that was cloth-diaper friendly. I discovered as a new mother that this was a problem with industry-standard sizing. Cloth diapers are a bit bulkier than disposable diapers, so I created a product line that fits better with extra room in the bottom. More and more parents were opting for cloth diapers because of the negative impact disposable diapers have on the environment. Our fit is not necessarily exclusive to cloth diapers. If using disposable diapers, our clothes still fit.

Other than trying to do my small part in creating a healthy option for moms and babies, I just have fun with it. I enjoy designing and working with my rockstar team.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think I’m most proud of the mindful way the brand is sourced. Our Cat & Dogma family is part of a global community working together with purpose. We provide jobs, pay living wages and empower women. Our organic cotton is gentle on the planet 100% certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). The GOTS symbol means the products have met strict environmental and social criteria during processing along the entire supply chain. We undergo regular audits to ensure these practices are implemented. We’re giving back before we give back in other ways. I whole-heartedly believe in the balance of the universe. Good will come to those who do good things.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Definitely, the biggest challenges we’ve faced as a brand have come with the pandemic. Like many industries, we’ve struggled with the breaks in our supply chain. Our factories in India closed for months. Deliveries have been late, the cost of freight quadrupled, and is taking twice as long. Because of labor shortages, ships were sitting in the water for weeks at the ports before they can dock and unload containers. There have been massive fabric shortages and price hikes due to supply and demand. Simply sourcing accessories such as snaps and zippers have caused delays.

Most of my business is wholesale. With the shelter in place, I lost half of my retailers. I mainly work with mom-and-pop retailers like gift shops and baby stores. Some of them never re-opened their shops once the mandates were lifted. I’m having to rebuild that side of my business. Certainly, the last 2 years have been trying, but we’re slowly rebuilding. I’m truly grateful for my loyal customer base both retail and wholesale. It’s how we’ve survived.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started with a crowdfunding campaign. See link…

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cat-and-dogma-organic-clothing-for-babies#/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.catanddogma.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catanddogma/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catanddogma/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cat_and_dogma/

Image Credits
Stacy Berg, Kylee Ann Team