I used to feel sick to my stomach when someone asked me, 'How much is it?'
Not because I didn’t know my prices—but because I didn’t feel confident saying them out loud.
It’s wild, isn’t it? We pour our time, energy, and soul into creating something beautiful and sustainable, and then we whisper the price. We round it down. We throw in free shipping 'to get them over the line.'
For years, I undercharged in my own fashion business. It was one of the largest online stores for ethical and sustainable fashion, and still, pricing was uncomfortable for me.
I justified it with phrases like, 'I just want to make it accessible' or 'I don’t need to make much profit yet.' But I was attaching my prices to my self-worth. I didn’t believe I deserved to earn more, and I feared that charging properly would scare people away.
And the reality is that undercharging is not noble.
It’s not sustainable. And it’s not helping anyone. Unercharging keeps us stuck. Overworked. Underpaid. Burnt out.
It wasn’t until I started understanding true pricing—proper margins, cost breakdowns, and the value of my time—that things changed. I finally saw that when we price with confidence and clarity, we create margin. And margin gives us options. Breathing space. The power to reinvest, to grow.
That’s what I want for every single founder in the Slow Fashion Lab, and it's why learning from Marnie Goding is crucial if you're building an ethical, sustainable, handmade or slow fashion brand or label.
This week inside the Lab, we had the absolute honour of hosting a live masterclass with Marnie, the Co-Founder of ELK, and if you’ve followed ELK’s journey, you’ll know what a rare opportunity that was.
From humble beginnings with just two people and a dream, ELK has grown into one of Australia’s most successful conscious fashion brands. They now turn over nearly $20 million a year, have more than 100 employees, 180 stockists, 10 retail stores, and a B Corp certification to boot.
Marnie’s knowledge isn’t just based on theory—it’s based on two decades of navigating real-world challenges: COVID disruptions, shifting wholesale markets, inflation, interest rates, and the ever-rising cost of sustainability.
For our Lab members (and me!) to learn directly from someone with that depth of experience is pretty extraordinary.
And Marnie is the kind of leader every founder deserves to learn from.
What struck me most about Marnie wasn’t just the numbers she shared—it was her humility.
Despite running a $20M brand, she still speaks with the warmth of someone who remembers what it’s like to do everything herself. She spoke openly about her early Excel spreadsheets, about not knowing everything, and about the constant evolution required to run a fashion business sustainably.
Marnie isn’t just a leader—she’s a listener. A mentor. A genuine, generous human who believes in using fashion as a force for good. And hearing her say, 'We’re still learning ourselves,' was exactly the kind of reminder we all need. Because growth doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means asking better questions and being brave enough to evolve.
And there was one golden thread that ran through it all.
Without giving too much away (because this session is exclusive to Lab members), the biggest takeaway was that you need to start with the end in mind, and price for your future, not just your present.
That means knowing your margins, understanding your costs, and setting prices that support where you’re going, not just where you are now. It means considering how different sales channels affect your bottom line. And it means being bold enough to charge what your work is truly worth—not just what you think people will pay.
Because when you get pricing right, you unlock the power to grow.
You move from surviving to scaling. You go from scrambling to strategising. You stop feeling guilty for charging—and start feeling proud of what your business makes possible.
This session with Marnie was one of the most insightful, affirming, and practical masterclasses we’ve had inside the Lab—and it’s just the beginning. If you’re ready to price with confidence, grow your margins, and learn from the best in the business, this is your sign.
Your vibe attracts your tribe and you've just found yours. It's time to stop struggling and start growing.
Join the Slow Fashion Lab now to unlock Marnie's masterclass replay, and the kind of support, strategy, and sisterhood that actually helps you move forward—on your terms, in your time, without burning out.
Because if you're doing something good for the world with your fashion business, I want to help you do more of it.
Claire x
