How can brands become more sustainable? The best tips by Recloseted
Since A Sustainable Closet started we have talked to fashion brands based in Scandinavia and beyond about their sustainability journey. Many brands were founded from the start since they wanted to make an impact and what they all have in common is that being sustainable in an industry that is not, is not easy. We have heard several stories about brands spending hours and days just to find factories that meet up to their social and environmental criteria, or to source surplus fabric and post-consumer waste in a society where there is no infrastructure for it. We also know several brands who want to reduce their harm and instead make positive impact but they don’t know where to start. We reached out to Recloseted whose primary mission is to help brands make the sustainability journey as smooth and rewarding as possible. We hope Selina’s, the founders, insights can help you as a brand to navigate and as a reader to learn more about the challenges but also opportunities. Enjoy!
Hi Selina, welcome to A Sustainable Closet, can you please tell our readers more about you and why you started Recloseted?
Thanks for having me and I’m so excited to share my thoughts with your readers! I started Recloseted to transform the harmful fashion industry. I’m someone that’s always loved clothing but was an ignorant fast fashion consumer until 5 years ago. I got a skin rash wearing a polyester shirt and that led me down a rabbit hole of discovering the dirty truths behind our garments. I watched The True Cost documentary and learned more about the harmful materials that go into our clothing, the unethical treatment of garment workers, the mass overconsumption of clothing, and the millions of tonnes of textile waste we send to our landfills. Once I became aware of all of this, I knew I had to do something about it and Recloseted was born.
What does Recloseted offer brands?
Recloseted is the first one-stop consulting agency for sustainable fashion brands. We help launch and scale sustainable fashion brands, and convert existing brands to become more environmentally friendly through our programs and consulting services. We are in the business of making it worthwhile and profitable for brands to incorporate sustainability. You can find out more information here.
Who are your typical customers?
We work with sustainable fashion brands! Either new brands that are just starting, or existing brands that want to scale or become more sustainable.
Any practical advice on where to start if you are a brand and want to reduce your footprint and increase your positive impact?
Figure out your why and determine your priorities. Sustainability is a journey and takes time. To ensure you persevere, determine why you are doing it. There are many things wrong with the fashion industry so determine what intrinsically motivates you to be on this journey. Is it the harmful materials that are in our clothing? Is it unethical labour treatment? Is it the millions of tons of textile waste going to our landfills? Figure out what “dirty truth” of the fashion industry speaks the most with you to fix and begin working on it.
Can you tell us more about some of the common challenges brands face when they want to become more sustainable?
A lot of brands get overwhelmed with where and how to start! It is a big undertaking and can be hard with limited time, resources, and budget. That’s why it’s important to know your why (we just spoke about that in the last question) and pick your sustainability priorities. We always recommend to our clients to pick 1-2 priorities so that they don’t get overwhelmed and can do those 1-2 things really well. Picking and choosing your battles is necessary when you’re a brand with limited time, resources, and budgets. If folks want to learn more, they can listen to this podcast episode to learn more and pick their sustainability priorities!
What are the larger challenges as you see to transform the industry into a more circular, regenerative and sustainable one?
There are so many challenges and this entire situation is very complex! As your readers may know, the fashion industry currently operates on a linear business model. That means we take materials, make products, and then discard those items.
To turn the fashion industry into a more circular, regenerative, and sustainable system, we need to have government, companies, and consumers work together. We need effective and thoughtful policies in place, companies need to be intentional about what their producing, what they’re producing it with, and how they’re producing it, and consumers need to vote with their dollars and be mindful with their purchases. It requires everyone to pitch in and do their part.
Lastly, as an entrepreneur yourself what advice would you give others who would like to start their own business journey?
There’s so much to say for this one! My main two pieces of advice would be: just start and know your why.
Entrepreneurship is tough. There’s no sugar-coating it. Yes, it’s a rewarding and thrilling experience, but you need something to hold onto when things get hard. Inevitably, you’re going to face challenges and difficulties. To help you through the ups and downs of building your brand, you need to know your why.
Why are you starting a business? Why do you want to start a sustainable fashion brand? Why does sustainability matter to you? What problem(s) are you trying to solve? What impact do you want to have on the world?
After you know your why, when you face those challenges and difficulties, you can preserve and keep going.
Lastly, take advantage of free resources! Take your learning into your own hands and continuously develop yourself.
Here are some of our free Recloseted resources:
60-Minute Masterclass to Launch Sustainable Fashion Brands that Make $20,000+
Feel free to DM us @recloseted with any specific questions, we’re here to help 💚