Word: productivity
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...dollar, making it one of the worst performing currencies in Asia so far this year. And, if this drumbeat of economic gloom weren't enough, the Singapore government has repeatedly revised its economic growth projections, growing more vigorously pessimistic with each try. It now expects Singapore's gross domestic product to shrink by up to 9% in 2009, which would likely be the sharpest contraction in Asia this year. (See pictures of the global financial crisis...
...workers are exploiting unofficial benefits, too. At Katarina's cosmetics company, management traditionally tolerated employees pocketing the occasional beauty product. Once the crisis kicked off, people started taking home more - and more expensive - freebies. "It was pretty widespread, from interns all the way to vice presidents," says Katarina, admitting that she stuffed her purse with anti-wrinkle cream in the weeks before her departure...
When describing exactly what he makes, Patrick cribs from a well-known ad campaign: "We don't make the products you buy. We make the products you buy better." Most yarn spinners, says Patrick, "will supply you with a list of yarns and say, 'Here's the prices.' We haven't tried to be everything to everybody in one market. We focus on partnering with our customers to engineer products and services to keep their product line innovative and profitable. Our approach is, 'Here are our capabilities. This is our expertise. Where can we be of assistance...
This strategy earned the yarnmaker a loyal customer in the protective-glove industry. Although that company's existing product line met cut-protection specs, low abrasion properties contributed to a short life span. Patrick Yarns developed a fiber that could double the cut protection and increase the abrasion resistance more than 300%. A minimal increase in production cost resulted in a longer-lasting, more malleable product that saved money over time. Patrick also creates earth-friendly products and operates the EarthSpan recycling program, which uses fibers from finished apparel or fabric and incorporates customers' unwanted textiles and scraps into engineered...
...answer seems to lie in product availability and accessibility. It’s difficult to find Seventh Generation—or any other eco-friendly brand, like Mrs. Meyers or Biokleen—in the immediate vicinity of the Square. In a laundry emergency, the only option is to run to CVS and grab the nearest brand, which tends not to be a bottle of earth-friendly vegetable derivatives. Moreover, eco-friendly detergents tend to be more expensive than generic detergents like Tide. At the least, a stigma exists amongst the student body surrounding such “organic?...