But now we see unexpected slowdowns with some of our other disc projects. After our initial shipment of Flat Earth midrange discs, the bulk of them seemed to get lost somewhere across the ocean. Progress on other molds is slowing, and might get slower. We're hoping that the steady stream of discs doesn't suddenly grind to a halt as the world once again becomes more chaotic. As we prepared to launch the Doomsday Discs brand, we reached out to several new plastic injection and molding sources, including three from overseas and two from the USA. That diversity helps to provide some reassurances that naturally come with redundancy. But those sources aren't all making the same discs. So, if the political and economic landscape of the world changes and we lose a manufacturer or two, it could cause big delays if not a complete loss of certain disc lines.
This is merely a reality. We're Doomsday Discs. We expect things to go wrong in the world. We just have to work around the turmoil the best that we can.Here's a little case to illustrate how fragile the market can be:
We recently had a conversation with one disc maker about certain UV glow-in-the-dark additives for plastic that we hoped to use. It turns out, the chemical additive is made in Ukraine, and the factory has now been destroyed. I know. It's a small thing that we couldn't get that particular UV glow material. It's nothing compared to the lives and livelihoods that are destroyed on a daily basis because of the war. But it does show how small and volatile the world is these days, when it comes to commerce.And Here's the latest:
Currently we are watching the turmoil that is building between China, Taiwan, and the USA. What does that have to do with anything? Well, China does a lot of manufacturing. Yes, they not only help to make discs, but they also make metal molds that even US disc makers and brands (like us) use to make discs. Plus, they contribute a large supply of raw plastic material to the world market. Again, we're talking about discs, which isn't a big deal compared to products like food. But China also makes almost everything else that a lot of use on a day-to-day basis. Our cell phones, our clothes, or shoes, our TV's, and probably half of the items in our homes are made in China. So, if trade sanctions come into play due to changes in the political landscape, the manufacturing and consumer landscape will change quickly and dramatically.BE PREPARED In the end, what does this mean to us? We're a small, start-up disc brand with several disc lines in various stages of development. We use partnerships with parts and material suppliers in several countries. We don't think of other business entities and people in any country as enemies. We don't see cultural differences or the nature of our DNA as justifiable reasons to antagonize nations. We look at all people in the world as brothers-- we're all part of the human family, dealing with the challenges in front of us in the best way we know how. Sometimes it is only the destructive choices of governments that gets in the way and cause cultures to clash, or industries to fall.
As the doomsday approaches, the global marketplace will become more and more chaotic, as power and greed go to battle against the interests of the common man. No matter how we prepare, we'll likely need one another to survive. So, why build barriers? Why limit our reach? Why not work with everybody we can while we still can? Yet, despite our interest in joining forces with all of the people of a seemingly doomed planet, the governments of the world may be determined to break us sooner rather than later.Just be prepared. Do what you can to make sure you don't depend too much on any one person or any one resource. But until things fall apart, reach out and work with everybody you can to enjoy life, throw a lot of discs, and make some awesome memories while you can. Let's get as many discs into a world that, soon enough, might need them more than ever.
Go down throwing.
