# How Sustainable American Manufacturing Can Flourish at Scale

- Show: [The Manufacturing Executive](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive)
- Published: 2023-02-08
- Length: 20m
- Episode: 140
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale
- Listen: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-manufacturing-executive#episode-cb3c510d-40ed-4155-b800-5096b6ac059f

## Summary

Sara Irvani, CEO of Okabashi Brands, explains how her family-owned domestic shoe manufacturer in Buford, Georgia, integrates sustainability into its core business model. She details the company's closed-loop manufacturing process, which recycles scrap materials into new footwear, and argues that circularity requires local production bases to be viable. Irvani also discusses the historical context of the company, tracing its roots from her grandfather's footwear empire in Iran to the US, and connects sustainable practices with long-term profitability and social responsibility.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=0) Introduction and Guest Background
- [3:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=211) Okabashi Brands History and Origins
- [7:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=437) The Meaning of Made in the USA
- [9:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=568) Circularity and End-of-Life Design
- [11:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=689) Sustainability as Profitability and Lean Manufacturing
- [14:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=883) Social Sustainability and Long-Term Thinking
- [17:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale#t=1040) Future of American Manufacturing and Consumer Trends

## Topics

- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Okabashi Brands (company)
- Gorilla 76 (company)
- Wall Street Journal (other)
- University of Virginia (other)
- University of Cambridge (other)
- NCAD (other)
- 210 foundation (other)
- Souls for Souls (other)
- World Economic Forum (other)
- Carter Center (other)
- Boer Allen shoe company (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Running a US Shoemaking Business on Heritage and Sustainability with Sara Irvani, CEO of Okabashi](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2023-01-24-running-a-us-shoemaking-business-on-heritage-and-sustainability-with-sara-irvani) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [103 - Sustainable Shipping Packaging with Saloni Doshi, CEO of Ecoenclose](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2022-02-01-103-sustainable-shipping-packaging-with-saloni-doshi-ceo-of-ecoenclose) (People of Packaging)
- [088: The Importance of Sustainable Product Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-08-11-088-the-importance-of-sustainable-product-manufacturing) (Product Startup)
- [Adopting an Entrepreneurial Mindset in Manufacturing with Krisztina “Z” Holly](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2019-10-28-adopting-an-entrepreneurial-mindset-in-manufacturing-with-krisztina-z-holly) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [143: Build Your Own Manufacturing for Your Invention](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2022-09-28-143-build-your-own-manufacturing-for-your-invention) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-02-08-how-sustainable-american-manufacturing-can-flourish-at-scale. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Manufacturing Executive.