Gemline sharpened its focus on corporate social responsibility in 2023, partnering with Aware to provide global traceability for its textiles. The Massachusetts-based firm also signaled additional CSR investments are ahead, unveiling a new purpose statement in March: We Promote Community. Under that umbrella, Gemline plans to continue its charitable donations and sustainability efforts, including offsetting its carbon footprint, removing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its products and using more recycled materials.

Within its workforce, Gemline is shining a spotlight on collaboration. New daily huddles and continuous improvement boards are engaging employees throughout the organization. A communications framework with bilingual translations and a focus on diversity also ensure all voices are heard.

The company fell from No. 5 in the 2023 PPAI 100 supplier rankings and lost its High Mark in the Growth category largely due to a COVID oddity. Whereas most industry firms saw revenue decline significantly from 2019 to 2020, Gemline pivoted quickly to PPE and performed comparatively well during the worst of the pandemic. The higher revenues from 2020 led to a smaller margin of revenue growth during the three-year period (2020-2023) considered for Growth in the 2024 PPAI 100.

PPAI 100 Percentile By Category