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Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator

Engineering & Production

Results-focused Apparel Industry professional with strength in Design, Development, and Fit. Proactive
leader with strengths in communication and collaboration. Proficient in pairing high-quality materials
and customer knowledge to produce innovative sustainable garments. Adept at managing
concurrent objectives to promote efficiency and influence positive outcomes.

Manages approximately 100 new styles and 50 carryover styles for Men's, Women's, and Youth
products each season from design concept through to production ready hand-off while ensuring
the fit and construction/BOM meets or exceeds expectations of quality and cost.
• Partners with Design to understand the fit intent of styles and the overall aesthetic and translates
this to Proto Samples.
• Plans and tracks the development schedule of prototypes.
• Communicates with overseas factories to ensure on time delivery.
• Works cross-functionally with marketing, product development, production, and design to implement and maintain responsibility across economic, social, and environmental categories.
• Oversees the sourcing and development of sustainable materials in packaging, trims, fabrics, and hard goods.
• Works with suppliers to obtain certifications for materials and ensure they are up to date.
• Establishes vendor workplace requirements and ensures proper working conditions are being met
across the supply chain.
• Monitors and improves supply chain practices through the reduction of water consumption,
carbon emissions, and waste generation.

Directed the Technical Design department by: maintaining standard for customer fit; creating
pattern blocks and spec bases; organizing production fittings on live models; updating PLM
construction callouts and stitch types; and conducting quality and value analysis of samples to suggest product improvements that deliver customer expectations.
• Negotiated costing and reduced costs as necessary without sacrificing product quality to maintain
retail margins, despite the 15% punitive tariffs with China.
• Communicated clearly externally - with international & domestic factories, and internally - with cross functional teams.
• Developed collaborative relationships with our existing vendor base to drive the sourcing of new
vendors for new and existing categories.
• Established and implemented an Apparel Quality Standards Manual for the company's sampling
procedures, construction quality, technical specifications, and labeling/packaging requirements.
• Renegotiated payment terms with all manufacturers and reduced deposits by an average of 20%
to improve cash flow.

Product Development Manager

Taught and developed a curriculum for: Apparel Construction, Pattern-making, and Product
Development.

Adjunct Professor - Apparel Design

• Created tech packets, including design, fabrication, Bill of Materials, CAD drawings, and construction details to send to overseas factories and communicated any changes as needed.
• Tracked sampling of products from prototypes to TOP samples and maintained on time deliveries.
• Worked with the team to identify trends, fabrications, colors, and styles and plan collection
assortment.

Senior Technical Designer

• Worked with the design team to develop tech packs, including creating CADs, BOMs, and construction details using ASTM/ISO stitch numbers.
• Attended all fittings and took detailed notes to apply changes to tech packs.
• Maintained spreadsheets and tech packs with fabrics, trims, and construction details and ensured
changes were applied after fittings and line reviews.

Product Development/Fashion Design Assistant

Find out detailed information about Chelsea Willingham, Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator in Ventura, CA

Chelsea Willingham: Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator in Ventura, CA

Chelsea Willingham

The University of Alabama

The University of Alabama