Power in Numbers

Able Made founder Suzanne in the Power in Numbers Tee

We chatted with Suzanne McKenzie, founder of Able Made, about her company, the Loomstate x Able Made collaboration, going organic, and how she spends her weekends. Read on and make sure to visit Able Made for our collaborative tee as well as tons of other unique and socially conscious products.

What's the Able Made mission?
Able Made is a retail platform where designers, innovators, and leaders come together to support causes through beautifully designed products. Each uniquely crafted Able Made product supports a specific cause that the designer and our community cares about – we create and fund one specially designed social impact project made to empower the people it supports through crisis support, work training and education. Our products have provided clean water to a village school in Nicaragua and helped provide meals to those recovering from Hurricane Sandy. We've supported music education in the United States as well as sent children to school in Nicaragua, Laos, Guatemala, and Ghana. We've helped protect the environment in Alaska and New York. And we have provided jobs to those at risk of human trafficking in Cambodia and those transitioning out of homelessness in Los Angeles.

What do you look for in a brand that you choose to align with?
Able Made is built on the power of collaboration. I approach designers and brands who inspire me with incredible design vision and who I admire for their commitment to create social impact through their business practices. Traceability is important - who makes the products, material choices, and transparency in their process. Lasting change doesn't happen by itself, or overnight. It takes focus, commitment, and a shared vision. Our customers are also helping inform our collaboration choices and give us feedback at our events and through social media.

What does the tee graphic mean to you? And how does this relate to the Able Made mission?
I am passionate about the concept that we can do more together than we can do alone. I love the design by Loomstate, celebrating unity through nature. The concept demonstrates that we're all connected, so we called the tees Power in Numbers. All of our Able Made Private Label pieces are made to support a foundation I founded in Boston called the Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation. The foundation provides soccer and health education to city youth in Boston. It is through the power of collaboration that we can make the clinic happen in Boston each year, and we are going into our fifth year. My work on the foundation is what led me to start Able Made, and I am so touched and honored that Rogan Gregory and Scott Mackinlay-Hahn have collaborated with us to launch our first Able Made Private Label piece.

Why did you choose organic cotton for your tees?
With all of our Able Made pieces, we strive for excellence in how we produce our products. Loomstate was the perfect partner to create an organic tee with because of the brand's commitment to use 100% organic cotton 100% of the time. Organic farms share soil security, farmer knowledge, and organic food potential. The whole system of influences allows fibers to be planted, picked and tended season after season, which is important. Organic farming avoids the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers & pesticides and is regulated by strict international standards. Natural cultivation processes create strong and healthy crops, nutrient-rich soils, balanced ecosystems, and safe environments for farmers and farming communities. Beyond clothing, organic seed is used to feed organically raised cows. And organic farmers are more self-sufficient and abide by nature, not big corporations.

How can someone pick one up?
You can shop the Loomstate for Able Made Power in Numbers Tee exclusively online at ablemadeshop.com and at our upcoming events. They are also available at Melissa Joy Manning's store in New York City.

Once the temperature peaks during the summer, where can we find you on weekends?
One of my favorite things to do is walk around New York City, especially downtown. And I love to Botanical Garden at Brooklyn Museum. I also hope to get home to Maine, where I grew up. It's beautiful there in the summer! And my parents make the best blueberry pie with tiny, sweet blueberries picked from their front yard. Yum.

Loomstate's Scott Mackinlay-Hahn in the Power in Numbers Tee