OOBE Wins Design Awards for YMCA Uniform Apparel Collection
January 5, 2012
Greenville, SC – January 5, 2012 – Greenville-based OOBE, Inc., one of the country’s leading providers of custom-designed corporate uniforms, has won two Wearables Design Awards for the corporate uniforms it designs and produces for YMCA of the USA.
Wearables is the uniform industry’s leading trade publication and this is the fifth consecutive year it has held the annual awards competition. Out of hundreds of entries in 12 different categories, a total of 107 products from 46 companies were selected as finalists. The Wearables editorial team selected the finalists, judging the products on design appeal, wearability, innovation and decoration. From there, an online ballot was sent to Wearables readers who voted for their three favorite products in each category based on the same criteria.
OOBE won the “Best Polo” category for its Women’s Red/White YMCA polo shirt, and the “Best Uniform Program” category for its Men’s and Women’s Blue/White YMCA polo and Unisex Blue/Gray/White YMCA Long Sleeve Tee.
“In the history of the Wearables Apparel Design Awards, this year by far featured the most impressive collection of entries,” said C.J. Mittica, editor of Wearables. “Because of that, OOBE should be particularly proud for winning not just one, but two categories in this year’s contest.”
OOBE Founder and Co-CEO Tom Merritt said, “This is a testament to the talent and dedication of our entire staff, particularly OOBE’s design and program management teams. They set out to produce Y staff apparel that would uphold the bold, vibrant image of the new Y brand and they nailed it. To be recognized by our industry peers is especially gratifying.”
In April 2011, OOBE announced it had designed and produced an apparel collection for employees of the nation’s 2,703 YMCAs. Made up of a wide variety of styles, the uniform collection incorporated the five vibrant colors and contemporary design of the Y’s newly re-branded image with high performance fabric favored by professional athletes.
The design of the polo features a wide, arching band of color across the shoulders, collar, sleeves and sides of the bright white shirt with contrast piping. The Y logo is printed with a performance rubberized application on the back yoke and left chest and the buttons are engraved with “YMCA.” The shirt is made of OOBE’s own Hydrovent™ Performance, quick-dry, 100% polyester waffle-knit weave that minimizes wrinkles and is treated with antimicrobial technologies that make it quick- drying and odor resistant.
The Unisex Long-Sleeve Tee is gray with a dual band of white and contrast color stretching across the back and down the opposite sleeve and arching upward on the opposite front side. The Y logo is featured in a rubberized print application on the cuff of one sleeve, providing a clean finish to an athletic, polished look. Like the Signature Polo, the Unisex Long-Sleeve Tee is made of a 100% polyester Hydrovent™ Performance fabric in a waffle-knit weave with special wicking and odor resistant treatments, developed specifically for OOBE.
Many Y facilities across the country are outfitted in the new uniforms with all employees participating, including management, front desk staff, lifeguards, gym staff and trainers, camp counselors and more.
“No other staff uniform we’ve had has captured the essence of the Y brand quite like this and helped carry it throughout the entire facility,” said Jennifer Rackley, executive director of the GHS Family YMCA in Greenville, S.C. “I’m not surprised to learn it’s an award-winning design.”
About OOBE, Inc.
Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., OOBE, Inc. provides corporate uniform apparel for some of the world’s most recognized and reputable brand name companies, including Wolverine and Chick-fil-A. It is one of the country’s only corporate uniform companies that designs and provides custom apparel for the needs of each individual client, believing that well executed uniform programs can improve corporate brand equity. Custom uniform programs have proven to improve productivity, employee morale and influence consumer brand preference when the uniform has a superior design, fit and construction. To learn more about OOBE, visit www.oobe.com.
