Au 18% Collection
Au, of Westbrook, Maine announced recently the release of a brand new line called the 18% Collection. Au is famous for great fabric prints and colors in their Raincoat Cotton daybags & weekenders. President John Milburn said “We have always calculated the material waste in our manufacturing at 18% of the total materials used in any given bag.” “It occurred to us that we could patchwork these pieces of great fabrics together to make a very cool bag which will be different than every other bag ever made and keep that 18% out of landfills.”
In addition, the company reports that these bags take more than twice the amount of time to make which requires many more hours of Maine labor which helps to ensure work for their production employees. “So we are creating more labor needs and making use of most of our fabric pieces that would normally have been discarded and creating a product everyone seems to want… a real win-win-win!” Said Milburn.
Au is manufacturing these to order in three styles; 18% Collection Medium Open Tote, 18% Collection Medium Zippered Tote, and an18% Collection Large Zippered Toiletry. 
Two Au designers create each fabric layout that is then carefully sewn together and constructed into each of the three silhouettes offered. Each bag will be made to order with a great deal of attention to detail. A subtle Au logo is then embroidered on one small swatch and placed randomly on each bag.
The 18% Collection will be available at the company’s Freeport, Maine flagship store (58 Main Street in the Denney Block Courtyard) and at Au retailers throughout the country.
FMA's Featured Maine Products...
Some of the finest products in the world come from Maine companies, and you can visit more of them in Freeport than almost anywhere else. Companies like; Cole Haan, Thos. Moser, Georgetown Pottery, Acorn, Brown Goldsmiths, Cold River Vodka, Au, Wilbur’s Chocolates, just to name a few, are located here in Freeport. Oh, and did we mention L.L.Bean?
On this page we'll feature a different product made with pride, ingenuity and quality right here in Maine - and available in Freeport!
This month we feature...
