Local business setting standard for global fashion industry

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Located on East Anapamu Street across from the Santa Barbara Courthouse, Parker Clay is very much a family business. 

Owners Ian and Brittany Bentley were high school sweethearts at Dos Pueblos. 

After getting married, they had two sons named Parker and Clay. 

Nowadays, the family also includes three daughters — two of which were adopted in Ethiopia.

That’s where the Bentley’s first started creating high quality leather products. 

“We first came up with this idea because we were looking for another opportunity to employee more people in another industry,” Parker Clay co-founder Brittany Bentley said. “We came across the leather industry and we just got really excited about that.”

While living overseas in Ethiopia, they became passionate about employing women to help keep them out of prostitution. 

“What we saw was an opportunity to create jobs and create bags that could be sold around the world,”  Parker Clay CEO Ian Bentley said. Creating that hope for these women.”

After spending three years building their business, the entire family moved back home to Santa Barbara. 

While many retail stores have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Parker Clay has actually experienced an uptick in demand with online sales. 

"We've seen online consumers grow over these last few months,” Ian said.

“We have seen people that have purchased because they want to gift someone in the community that has been a first responder,” Brittany said.

To help with the fight against COVID-19, the Bentleys have a new mission for their workers back in Ethiopia. 

The entire team is now creating face shields made out of scrap leather and transparent lens. 

"Recently we were able to provide a few thousand face shields to the Ethiopian government,” Ian said. “It was for their frontline workers that we made in our factory."

As people support this locally owned family business, they’re also promoting a global cause. 

"We're all about community and we would love Santa Barbara just to continue to support us,” Brittany said. “We want to be there for Santa Barbara."

"We are proud to be headquartered here in Santa Barbara and be part of the local community which has an impact around the world,” Ian concluded.

Parker Clay has over 140 employees at its factory in Ethiopia.  An outstanding 32 of these women have been hired out of prostitution through their partnership with Ellilta Women at Risk.

To shop for their products online, you can visit Parker Clay's website.