Yesterday: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D4 – Best of Brands
Next: Ethical Fashion Source Expo, London, October 6th, 2010 – Review & Best Of
I’ve mentioned it in a previous post: London and Paris, the UK and France, are not not only separated by the Channel. But rather each side chooses to ignore what is happening on the other side of the Tunnel.
If you talk to someone in London who is even marginally interested in the issues of sustainability in fashion, immediately names such as From Somewhere or Christopher Reaburn pop up.
You do the same in France, and names such as Veja find their way into the conversation.
One step further east, in Germany, Hessnatur is one of the big players. With a leaping 70 Million Euro a year turn over, the company is a giant in sustainable fashion. Tthey offer a staggeringly broad pallet of products, and are justifiably proud of their strict, transparent, and successful supply auditing strategy and tracking system.
This insular isolation of European countries – despite their unification under the blue flag with the golden stars – the historic legacy of our continent, doesn’t do much good to the cause of impacting an industry to change and become one of the ‘good boys’. More exchange, collaboration is desperately needed, if only at a get-to-know-each-other level.
In one point however, the tenor is the same in Paris as it is in London: identifying yourself as an ethical brand, and choosing to carry the flag, does at this point of time, not normally pay off at the financial bottom line. Quite to the contrary – many brands, designers, companies actually claim that it does backfire and negatively impact their business. True or false, fact or imagination?
Personally, I am not fully convinced of neither the one nor the other argument. I have hence tried to critically look at how brands – at EstEthica as well as Paris Ethical Fashion Show – present themselves, their products, their marketing message, and last but not least, at how they treat you as an individual interested in their product (though not necessarily as a buyer). I had then some second thoughts about aforementioned arguments.
And here is the list of my insights – open, as always, for discussion and opinions:
- Successful ethical brands have a compelling product, that has a signature of its own. One that is of excellent quality, that is unique, that evokes some type of emotional response in the (prospective) buyer. They hence manage to do what really even the mainstream brand are desperately aiming at: the creation of a community of followers, of repeat buyers.
- Successful ethical brands are naturally transparent and accountable. They lay their cards – specifically with respect to their supply chain – open on the table. Their claims are verifiable – transparency is part of their corporate make-up. They admit that they’re not perfect. But they are concise, pragmatic and open as to how they are going about improving themselves.
- Successful ethical brands have a story to tell. A story of a product made by people. The (positive) impact they create is another story of people – and can be proven by facts and numbers if needed.
- Successful ethical brands don’t talk – they just do. If asked, they of course can provide the details of certifications, collaborations, social projects and so on. But if you choose to ‘just be a consumer’, you can. They don’t preach and are not on a mission to prove anything to anyone. ‘One product, one solution, one piece of the puzzle of change’ seems to be their motto.
- The people behind successful ethical brands are – overall – doers, and experts in their field by the time they are successful. On the way to the peak, however, they were willing to discuss, to learn, to be taught, to acknowledge their own lack of knowledge and skills, and to accept help when needed. For them it’s about the final goal rather than them as a person. They have a long-term perspective when it comes to decisions. They have a very clear vision of what they are, their product is. And they have a clear cut idea of what/where they are willing to compromise and where not, which they are completely open about.
Granted, not every brand that checks all the above boxes is or will be necessarily successful. Personal goodwill, connections, luck, ‘right-time-right-place’ – numerous factors play a role on the way to financial stability and success in the market place.
But I have yet to learn about a brand, designer or product that would not live up to these characteristics, and yet be successful.
Next: Ethical Fashion Source Expo, London, October 6th, 2010 – Review & Best Of
Yesterday: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D4 – Best of Brands
