Gaining ground

Life is Good session on outdoor industry adds AI and robots to the mix

In a display of positivity, employees at the Life is Good company in Hudson work in front of a giant mural that proclaims “Everything is figureoutable.” (Photo by John Koziol)

Life is good at Life is Good, the maker of “premium tees that radiate optimism and foster connection,” which served as host of the last Granite Outdoor economy series March 25 at its massive production and fulfillment center facility in Hudson.

Sponsored by the Granite Outdoor Alliance (GOA), The Nature Conservancy and NH Business Review, the invitation-only series looked at New Hampshire’s outdoor industry and the challenges it faces beginning with sessions at Adventure Ready Brands in Littleton and then at Badger Balm in Gilsum.

Based on feedback from attendees — who included representatives from nonprofits and state agencies, elected officials, manufacturers and business owners — GOA will create a report and action plan to present to lawmakers.

In a conference room at Life is Good’s 504,000-square-foot facility, the conversation focused around how to recruit and retain employees and how to address the need for affordable housing and child care, much as it did at the previous two sessions.

The conversation dwelt also on the relationship between businesses and the state and federal government; on building “more resilient businesses;” on how to better promote the “real” New Hampshire advantage, which is living and working in the state’s outdoor playground; and on how artificial intelligence might be a good thing for both businesses and employees.

That double benefit, said Tom Hassell, president of Life is Good, is what has happened at his company. He urged his guests to not be afraid of AI but to give it a try, even if just a little bit at a time. Embracing technology has become essential for the company during a time of uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s imposition of varying tariffs.

An employee of Life is Good in Hudson prints a T-shirt at the company. (Photo by John Koziol)

“We dubbed this ‘the year of efficiency,’” said Hassell, adding Life is Good “leaned into more robots and AI,” the latter which “now has hands.”

“Our stance has been to protect the worker, not the work,” Hassell said. When Life is Good brought on 102 robots at its Hudson plant, no employee was let go, he said.

Asked what, if any lesson, Life is Good learned from its automation experience, Hassell replied that “building trust with the organization is key.”

When the robots came to Life is Good, most everyone working there then was afraid, with Hassell acknowledging that the employees worried that the robots would take their jobs.

“But we said, ‘We got your back,’” Hassell recalled telling employees, adding that AI, in his opinion, “will drastically shift the type of work that we’re doing.”

“The type of work that we’re doing,” he continued, “is the type of work nobody wants to do.”

He said people will get more interesting jobs because of AI and that the burden is on businesses to make that happen.

Taylor Caswell, who moderated the Granite Outdoor Economy discussion at Life is Good and is the former commissioner of the NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs, said businesses may have to individually or together do some of the job training that the state is not doing or doing robustly enough.

Speakers, among them from the NH Marine Trades Association and the NH Brewers Association, brought up that more could be done to bring high school students, via certification programs, into the jobs pipeline for their respective industries.

Jake, the mascot of the Life is Good company in Hudson. (Photo by John Koziol)

Andrew Harris at Burgeon Outdoor, a manufacturer of adventure clothing in Lincoln and Gorham, said that to expand, his company needs to hire more seamstresses, but there is no place where those job skills can be found in-state.

Janel Lawton, who is the director of the BEA’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Development, said the launch of the NH Business Gateway will help act as a “clearinghouse of resources” for businesses.

According to the Gateway (www.nhbusinessgateway.gov/s/), it is a centralized place with “more than 100 business-related tools and resources from across state agencies and community partners, removing the guesswork and allowing business owners to move forward with confidence and efficiency.”

The site also promotes “great success stories,” Lawton said.

Caswell reminded attendees that there is both a cachet in being a “Made in NH” company and a very practical benefit, too.

The state is responsible for marketing “Made in NH” products and services, he said.

Lawton said her agency worked last year with the Granite Outdoor Alliance on an outdoor recreation lifestyle toolbox, which echoed “so much of what we said today” as to New Hampshire being a highly desirable place to live and work precisely because of the outdoor opportunities here.

Tyler Ray, the founder and director of the GOA, said the March 25 Granite Outdoor Economy Series session at Life is Good offered attendees “an incredibly insightful conversation.”

Tom Hassell, president of Life is Good in Hudson, addresses a group of visitors to the company on March 25. (Photo by John Koziol)

He said he was struck by how adaptable businesses are to the challenges they face and encouraged smaller companies “to get under the hoods of bigger companies” to see what they might have done in a certain situation and if that could be applicable to themselves.

”Collaborate to innovate,” Ray said. “Keep the conversation going.”

Earlier, Hassell said Life is Good has weathered several challenges since 2020, among them the coronavirus pandemic, a tripling in the price of cotton, and now, the Trump tariffs.

Contrary to some popular theories, “You can’t raise your prices” commensurately with the rise in production costs, Hassell said.

In a summary email, Ray wrote that the Granite Outdoor Economy sessions were productive and useful.

“Across industries, what we heard clearly is that long-term strength isn’t just about individual business performance; it’s about how well the system supports succession, services and shared growth. As ownership transitions, workforce evolves and markets shift, increasing connectivity between businesses, support organizations and public partners become essential. That’s how we build a more resilient and durable outdoor economy in New Hampshire,” Ray said.

An automated sewing machine at Life is Good in Hudson. (Photo by John Koziol)

The session at Life is Good showed that automation isn’t the challenge but the need to bring your workforce along with it.

“The businesses that will lead are the ones investing in reskilling, retention and culture at the same time,” Ray said. “Life is Good showed that you can modernize operations without losing the human side of the business.”

Overall, the sessions taught that “constraint isn’t effort; it’s alignment,” Ray said. “The opportunity now is to focus where better coordination can unlock momentum across workforce, business and policy, allowing the system to work as one.”