When Gabriel Hargett founded Oowee Products (asi/75126) in Asheville, NC, 16 years ago, he had one product – a patented, handsewn leather pint glass sleeve – and a vision to make that product in the U.S. with raw materials sourced from the States whenever possible.

He was also on the hunt for a partner to help him staff his manufacturing operations and found it in the nonprofit Autism Society of North Carolina, which was looking for meaningful work for people with autism. (Nationwide, adults with autism have an unemployment rate of anywhere from 40% to 85%, according to various studies.)

Oowee Products (asi/75126) in Asheville, NC, partners with the Autism Society of North Carolina to provide meaningful work for autistic adults.

Since its humble beginnings, Oowee Products has expanded beyond its signature pint sleeve to offer an array of leather products, including keychains, luggage tags, coasters and journals. But the partnership with the Autism Society is still going strong and Hargett calls it “a true win-win.”

“We’re doing more than just making more stuff,” he adds. “We’re also helping our community.”

Oowee Products is partnered with the Autism Society of North Carolina to fill out its manufacturing workforce.

Oowee Products employs 17 people, five of whom are autistic adults. The supplier is regularly audited by the state to make sure it’s providing a healthy working environment and that workers with autism are integrated in the employee population, rather than in a separate environment, Hargett says. The Autism Society provides transportation and caseworkers for autistic employees, who work three-hour shifts at the facility. The program, overall, has been a success.

“We do a lot of volume – a lot of the same thing over and over again,” Hargett says. “All of our beverage sleeves are sewn the exact same way, and one thing we’ve learned is that the autistic community really thrive on structure, and they’re really good at repetitive tasks.”

“We’re doing more than just making more stuff. We’re also helping our community.”Gabriel Hargett

It’s important, he adds, to set clear expectations and allot the right amount of time for training. In the beginning, the Autism Society helped Oowee Products with writing out clear, detailed instructions for each task and setting up workstations with color-coded labels on tools, Hargett says. “It’s all very structured, with basically everything from when they walk in the door, clock in, to where they sit and what they’re doing – the whole shift,” he adds.

Creating an inclusive workforce has been an enrichment for the entire staff at Oowee Products; however, Hargett adds, it’s not charity. “Our employees show up and are completing a job,” he says. “They’re here working, earning their wages and contributing.”

Many of his distributor customers, Hargett says, don’t even know about Oowee Products’ partnership with the Autism Society. If they do, they’re not always inclined to share that knowledge with clients to protect the promo supply chain. “We have some really good relationships with our distributors, but most of them don’t want their customers to know who we are at all … but I think the distributors who do share our brand story actually perform better, in terms of sales.”

Oowee Products is not the only company in the print and promo world creating job opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum. Spectrum Designs, a New York-based nonprofit and decorated-apparel firm, has been fulfilling that mission for about a decade and a half, and it’s seen impressive growth in the last few years, in particular. In fact, in April – when Autism Acceptance Month is recognized – Spectrum had its most successful month in the history of the company, with more than $1 million in sales, according to Dylan Valic, head of marketing. A lot of factors contributed to that number, Valic adds, including a major client undergoing a rebrand and needing the gear to go with it.

Earlier this year, Spectrum Designs made an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about its mission to provide employment opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum.

Valis also attributes the recent success to some savvy social media campaigns and a February appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Valic is particularly proud of Spectrum’s “Behind the Mask” campaign, which explores the concept of “masking,” where individuals on the autism spectrum try to hide their traits to better fit in with society – perhaps by forcing themselves to maintain eye contact or hiding their special interests. “It can be very mentally exhausting,” Valic says.

In the video, Spectrum employee Spencer wears a mask of his own face, and in a voice-over explains that he doesn’t want people’s pity or to be talked to like a child. He wants more than a job – he wants a career. Pulling off the paper mask, Spencer adds that a career is exactly what he has at Spectrum.

“We’ve specifically went out of our way to create a place where everyone can just bring their true self to work every day,” Valic says.