Page 3 - Coats & Clark

Coats & Clark | 3
Cotton is branded “the fabric of our lives” - a statement that not only
pays homage to its historical foundation in the industrialization of
the Americas, but all the varied professional pursuits in which it per-
forms. Yet, if this product deserves celebratory status, it is also appro-
priate to herald a company whose pioneering fabrications in cotton
has culminated in the stuff of our lives for 200 years in such ways, one
may have not readily observed. Indeed, some innovations are best seen
when viewed through the eye of a needle.
Here’s a riddling conundrum
for consumption and con-
templation. What is the re-
lationship between the invention of the
light bulb, the landing of the Mars Rover,
the development of fiber-optic commu-
nication systems, and say… that too col-
orful, but comfortable, hand-crocheted
cardigan created by your Great Aunt
Gertrude (if you don’t have an Aunt Ger-
trude, substitute any such thing sewn or
stitched by anyGrandmother anywhere)?
John Laurie is among only a handful
of people who would instantly recognize
the answer to the question, which stands
to reason. Laurie is President and CEO
of Coats & Clark North America Con-
sumer Division, the US and Canadian
operations of an organization whose
headquarters are located in the United