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When his uncle was kidnapped for ransom, Ahmed Zaidi concluded fashion manufacturing was a broken system. After several big brands cancelled apparel orders from his grandparents’ Pakistan factory, leaving his family unable to pay their angry suppliers, says Zaidi, “They came with guns.” His relatives bought his uncle’s release by selling family real estate, but they quit manufacturing, and Zaidi wished his family had worked further up the fashion food chain. “I thought my grandparents should have started a brand because brands make all the money.”