If you run an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion label, you've landed here for a good reason. The Fashion Advocate is the slow fashion ‘business bible’ you've been looking for and it's full of strategies and solutions to help you change the world with your fashion business and increase your impact and sales.
We need to succeed as a community of slow fashion brands if we’re going to create positive change, and that means sharing wisdom and sharing strategies to support each other.
I also believe in the power of conversation. Conversations create change and that’s what my weekly LIVE chats are about. I speak with incredible guests doing amazing things in the slow fashion industry and we talk about all things fashion, business, sustainability, growth strategies and sales. The good, the bad, the ugly, the stuff everyone’s talking about and the stuff we need to talk about more - if it’s happening in the fashion business world, I want to talk about it!
And today's Instagram LIVE with Lottie Woods was an inspiring conversation on all things sustainable fashion from a technical design perspective. Tech packs aren’t the first thing you think of when you’re trying to build an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion label - but they are so important.
You can watch the full interview on Instagram here and catch up on the three big takeaways from our chat below...
1. Just because you're a small brand, doesn't mean you have to think small.
Lottie works with small and independent fashion brands to bring their ideas and designs to life, but she doesn't approach sustainable design with a 'small' mindset. She's big on thinking big and thinking about sustainable change in the industry, so she encourages brands to think big when it comes to sustainability. Be small, be independent, be slow, and be a conscious fashion label, but think and act big with your sustainability commitments and values.
2. Tech packs are part of the sustainable design process.
The technical side of range planning can have the biggest impact on the end result when you're working towards being a truly sustainable brand, and a good tech pack can't be ignored. Tech packs aren't the first thing you think about when it comes to sustainable fashion, but if you don't have a good tech pack, you risk creating waste and wasting time with your samplers or manufacturers. A good tech pack also acts like a contract with your manufacturer and it makes every little detail obvious and clear.
3. Pick one ethical or sustainable area of focus and start there.
When you're launching an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion brand, there's a lot to think about. Fabrics, production, wages, waste, donating with every sale... You can't do it all and you can't do it all from the start. Sometimes, you have to pick just one cause that you're passionate about, and really perfect that area in your slow fashion business, and as you build and grow, you can address the other areas of your business. There's no such thing as perfect, but you can work towards progress and you can work towards being the most ethical and sustainable brand that you can be.
Learn more about Lottie and her sustainable design work via her website here or watch our full Instagram live interview here to learn more about fashion, business, sustainability, sales and growth strategies that you can apply to your own label.
If you're running an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion brand and you have a challenge you're trying to overcome, tune in every week on Instagram to watch my LIVE interviews with brands and businesses who have overcome their own challenges - proving that you can too.
You can also reach out to me here.
Claire x
