Cumberland's Hope & Heritage tries its paw at new pet products

Nov 07, 2023

Huber

CUMBERLAND – Hope Global Creative Engineered Solutions, a Cumberland-based company celebrating 140 years of local history and domestic textile manufacturing this year, is still adapting and changing with the times.

Emily Huber, product development engineer for the company at 50 Martin St., behind the Berkeley Oval, was hired a year and a half ago to explore new business, and one avenue she and her manager almost immediately took was to help launch a pet accessory line under the name Hope & Heritage.

Huber said she knew Hope Global's capabilities in creating textiles, and that it could extend to a thriving pet supply industry that had become even bigger during the pandemic. She said they wanted to start small, with leashes, but they’re seeking to expand to collars and harnesses.

Items are made on site, with hardware coming from Connecticut.

Products, which are still difficult to find on Amazon, can be found by searching "Hope & Heritage" and finding a leash under that name. They’re also seeking out opportunities with local retailers, starting out small but hoping for big things in the future.

Originally founded as Hope Webbing Company of Pawtucket, Hope Global is now a worldwide manufacturer with some 1,750 employees. It works in textiles across product lines and industries, from automotive to industrial, apparel to military and novelty items.

The Hope & Heritage product line uses chemically regenerated scrap nylon from old construction projects, among other materials such as old fishing nets. Knowing that the pet industry is a very tough one to enter, with market research showing $100 billion in sales in fiscal year 2021 before the pandemic, this effort was all about reacting to those spending levels, said Huber, adding that they started reaching out to local businesses with the idea that if they could become a retailer themselves in a "vertically integrated sense" with control of the supply chain, they could make this a viable business.

Though online sales have been a bit slow to start out after an initial boom from friends and family, Huber said they’re working hard to get their products to catch on. It's "a bit of a Catch 22" on Amazon, she said, because you need traffic to generate sales, but it's sales that generate traffic.

They’ve partnered with the nearby Hotel for Homeless Dogs and will be part of a fundraiser there on June 24 to raise money for a planned expansion.

Huber says she loves her job, as she's basically always looking for new and inventive approaches with products.

One product they’re trying to develop now is a different type of dog harness, she said. Many people don't use leashes in the same way anymore, and dog training has really advanced in a lot of ways. Harnesses have really grown in popularity, she said, and while most have a buckle, they’re now contemplating ways one might be developed without one, and instead using a continuous rope looped around the dog's body.

Another that's been sketched out is for fabric poop bags that attach to their leashes, which already have ring attachments. The thought is that such a convenient option would be welcomed by pet owners and cut down on the problem of people leaving their poop bags out in the wild, she said.

Right now they’re just trying to seek out the right angle, said Huber, and they see the themes of "made in Cumberland" plus recycled materials and sustainable processes as "the future of textile management" and the right niche for long-term success.

Visit www.hopeglobal.com for more.

Huber

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