Today we toured the facilities of a company called the TTT Corporation. They design and manufacture customer furniture for high-end clients. We were shown 3-D renderings of many hotel suites they have designed around Vietnam. Many famous brands such as Hilton are clients of theirs. Their furniture is not truly custom by American standards of craftsmanship, but rather specifically made by a large hotel. They will design all the furniture in collaboration with a client and then factory-produce a large quantity of furniture. In addition to a presentation on their projects and company philosophy, we got to tour the factory floor. This was an eye-opening experience akin to seeing how the sausage was made. I always knew working conditions in foreign countries were not comparable to America, but seeing is believing. Workers on the factory floor lacked much of the safety equipment that would be required if this work was attempted in America. There were no close-toed shoes to be seen and many workers were barefoot on the factory floor. Painters were using spray guns to varnish with just simple cloth masks for respiratory protection. I can now see how many countries have a competitive advantage when it comes to production. When there is little to no safety equipment I can just imagine how cheaply goods can be produced.

This trip was also interesting from a sustainability perspective. The company representative covered how their designs for furniture and design were always made with minimal loss and energy use. The question was asked why they cared greatly about sustainability and the answer was something akin to “Our foreign clients require certifications and sustainability consultants”. This was a satisfactory answer, but begs the question if they consider sustainability when foreign brands with sustainability projects aren’t commissioning them. Sustainability costs money and I got the impression that when taking projects that is an area where costs are cut. Overall, our visit to TTT was extremely insight on how manufacturing and design work is done abroad.