{"id":420899,"date":"2026-08-30T07:50:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T07:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/420899\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T07:50:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T07:50:31","slug":"made-in-austin-dog-collars-crafted-by-blind-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/420899\/","title":{"rendered":"Made in Austin: Dog collars crafted by blind workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Austin Lighthouse for the Blind, blind and low-vision employees manufacture products, fostering careers and independence, and contributing to the local economy.<\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 A southeast Austin warehouse is helping blind and low-vision employees build careers and financial independence while manufacturing products sold across the country.<\/p>\n

At the Austin Lighthouse for the Blind<\/a>, it takes hundreds of hands to make everything from belts and military accessories to soap products and, more recently, dog collars.<\/p>\n


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For employee Andres Briones, the work has helped him build a life he once may not have imagined.<\/p>\n

Briones was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when he was 16. He’s been working at the Austin Lighthouse since 2008.<\/p>\n

“I am blind, but I can do anything,” Briones said.<\/p>\n

He said his job has allowed him to fully build and pay off his home.<\/p>\n

“This kind of company, they made me be more strong,” Briones said.<\/p>\n

The Austin Lighthouse employs about 400 people and roughly half are legally blind. Employees work inside a 300,000-square-foot facility where they manufacture a variety of products. The operation produces roughly 1,000 to 1,500 cases of Purell and Gojo soap each day, along with belts, military accessories and other products.<\/p>\n

The facility recently added Blindspot Pets dog collars to its lineup. The collars are being sold at local artisan shops and fairs.<\/p>\n

CEO Jim Meehan said the operation is a commercial business, not one dependent on government contracts.<\/p>\n

“So, it’s really a commercial thing. There’s no government business in here,” Meehan said.<\/p>\n

For Meehan, the products also demonstrate what blind and low-vision employees can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity.<\/p>\n

“We as a society think that blind people can’t, they can’t do stuff because they can’t see,” Meehan said.<\/p>\n

He said employees who come to the Austin Lighthouse receive training, learn new skills and gain confidence.<\/p>\n

Because about half of the workforce is blind or low-vision, the facility is designed with accessibility and safety in mind. Braille is used on signs throughout the workplace, and additional safety measures are in place around machinery and equipment.<\/p>\n

Briones pointed to the sewing machines as one example.<\/p>\n

“If you go to the sewing machine, you’re going to see a lot of plastics around it,” he said.<\/p>\n

Meehan said employing people who are blind or low-vision can also have an economic impact beyond the workplace.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to have a job,” Meehan said. “Now, all of a sudden, you’re not on public assistance, you’re not a tax consumer; now you’re a taxpayer.”<\/p>\n

The goal, he said, is to help employees become financially independent while contributing to the broader Texas economy.<\/p>\n

For Briones, that opportunity has already made a difference.<\/p>\n

The Austin Lighthouse for the Blind continues to provide jobs and training for blind and low-vision workers in Central Texas, helping employees build greater independence through work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Austin Lighthouse for the Blind, blind and low-vision employees manufacture products, fostering careers and independence, and contributing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-420899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}