Fast fashion brands dominate the online world. They pour millions into paid ads, flooding social media with influencer hauls, discount codes, and next-day shipping promises.
And slow fashion brands like yours are out doing the sustainable work—creating quality ethical products, paying fair wages, minimising waste—and still struggling to get seen.
You can’t afford to throw thousands at ads like Shein does—you're just getting by let alone having an ads budget. You don’t have an in-house marketing team churning out content 24/7—you're lucky if you rush out a post when you flop on the couch at the end of the day. You’re wearing all the hats—designer, founder, marketer, customer service, and accountant—and after all that effort? You’re still competing against a $106 billion fast fashion industry.
So how do you cut through the noise and grow without spending a cent on ads? Firstly, you bust the biggest myth in fashion marketing: you need ads to grow.
The truth is that you don't. I built one of the largest online stores for ethical and sustainable fashion in the country—and I did it all without ads. I've also worked with hundreds of slow fashion founders and some of the most successful slow fashion brands I know have built their audience entirely organically.
They didn’t have massive budgets.
They didn’t have to 'hack' the algorithm.
They didn't know some crazy wild secret.
You know what they did? They focused on building relationships, telling their story, and showing up consistently.
That’s how slow fashion wins. So if you're struggling and thinking ads are the only way but you don't have the cash for them, try my 3-part no-ad growth strategy for slow fashion brands, and instead of trying to outspend fast fashion, you need to outsmart it.
Here’s how...
1. Leverage storytelling. People don’t buy products—they buy stories.
Fast fashion sells trends. Slow fashion sells stories.
Your audience isn’t just looking for a cute dress—they’re looking for a brand they can believe in.
Share your why. Tell them why your brand exists and what impact you want to make.
Get personal. Show behind-the-scenes, founder stories, and real, raw moments.
Educate your customers. Don’t assume they understand sustainable fashion—show them what it means and why it matters.
2. Build a community of customers and raving fans.
Fast fashion relies on volume—pumping out cheap products to as many people as possible.
Slow fashion thrives on loyalty—customers who come back, tell their friends and become your biggest advocates.
Engage daily—reply to every DM, comment, and email.
Give people a reason to interact—ask questions, run polls, and make them feel involved.
Celebrate your customers—feature them on your page, reshare their content, and make them feel part of your brand.
3. Maximise free platforms.
Fast fashion buys visibility. Slow fashion earns it.
The most successful slow fashion brands use smart, organic strategies that cost $0 like SEO, so make sure your website is searchable. Google is the biggest driver of long-term traffic.
Explore PR. Get featured on ethical fashion blogs, podcasts, and sustainability publications.
Enter into collaborations. Work with like-minded brands, ethical influencers, and creators who align with your values.
Because the simple truth is that you don’t need ads—you need a strategy. And until you can actually afford them when you're making over $100k in sales every year and paying yourself a wage and you're running a profit, there's plenty you can do to grow without them.
Growing your slow fashion brand organically is 100% possible. You don’t need to spend thousands to get noticed.
You need a clear story that makes people feel something, a loyal community that supports you beyond a single purchase, and a smart strategy that helps you show up where your audience already is.
And that’s exactly what I’ll teach you in my workshop.
If you're a slow fashion founder who wants to increase your impact, build a profitable brand, and grow without competing on price, I want to show you how—and you don't have to sell out, burn out or sacrifice your values.
Join me for this month’s LIVE online workshop, F*ck Fast Fashion: The 7 Secrets of Successful Slow Fashion Brands, where you'll learn practical strategies to help you stand out and scale ethically.
Because f*ck fast fashion.
Are you with me?
Claire x
