“A catalyst is somebody who enhances change,” said Nimrod Basri. “Recidivism is the tendency of convicted criminals to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
At WWD Beauty Inc’s inaugural The Catalysts conference in New York City last month, Basri married the two mutually exclusive concepts through a discussion about his New Jersey-based manufacturing company, Make USA, in which he’s employed more than 750 formerly incarcerated individuals over the last eight years.
“The story I’m about to say is not only about how we’re changing the lives of our employees, but also how they’re becoming catalysts for their own communities,” he explained.
Nimrod Basri, founder and chief executive officer of Make USA, at The Catalysts.
Maria Wurtz
Basri started by detailing his background in beauty, having worked for Procter & Gamble as well as several emerging brands such as Yes To. In 2017, he founded Make USA on a mission to correct the industry’s “pain points” — sourcing and manufacturing.
The company now services brands, big and small, at almost every stage, from product development to packaging, no forecast necessary. Its client list includes Scotch and Porter, Three Quarter Collection and Youth to the People, before the brand was acquired by L’Oréal.
“We offer no minimum order quantities and on-demand production. How do we do that? The idea here is we have two sections that are modular: our equipment and our workforce,” Basri explained, noting the size of their equipment is small in comparison to other manufacturers, which helps speed up the process for indie brands.
“We also hire only people that are still incarcerated or recently released. What it allows us to do on the operational side is, if somebody comes and says, ‘I have an opportunity, but I have to do 40,000 units by next Wednesday,’ we can give a call to the work release program and get another 20 employees tomorrow, so our capacity changes instantly,” he continued.
The entire Make USA staff is made up of incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals, except for himself and one other person. This includes the executive suite as well. As a result, the company’s recidivism rate is zero.
“But it’s not all happy. It’s very difficult for those guys. Most of them have been on the streets since a very, very young age. Almost none had a day job before. And not having a role model something in the shape of a parent or a previous employer,” Basri noted. “So how do we do it? How do you manage a company when none of your employees have any relevant education or experience?”
First, the company takes each employee’s skill set, motivation and passion into consideration when informing their position. Every worker will, however, enter on the production line, with the opportunity to graduate from that role in the future. At Make USA, there are no interest loans and salaries are merit-based; money will come with every new skill developed.
Through its partnerships with state agencies, Make USA offers its employees’ access to outpost mental health services. But Basri said his door is always open. In fact, he’s fostered close personal relationships with his entire staff, some have even babysat his children.
“I spend all my days with them,” he said. “To me, a drug dealer is an entrepreneur that needs redirection. The skill set is there. It’s just a matter of choice. It’s not their second chance. It is the first. For most of those guys, they’ll seize it. They are motivated. They want it.”
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