INTERVIEW #27 2°EAST

Based in: Hong Kong

Founded in: 2021

Founded by: Sally Lim & Ron Zhang

Website: https://2degreeseast.com

Instagram: @2degreeseast

Hi, Sally Lim! Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. I’m so excited to hear the details behind this amazing watch brand. So, when did 2°EAST launch, and where did the idea came from?

In what could possibly have been the worst timing ever, we were all set to launch early 2020. We were just about to begin our final production run when everything ground to a halt due to the pandemic. 2020 and early 2021 passed in a blur of going back to sampling with some new suppliers, assisting my daughter with her online learning, and dealing with the eye watering changes in shipping costs and times. We (very tentatively!) officially launched mid 2021. I moved from Australia to Hong Kong in 2013. I had always been interested in starting a business of some kind, and with its access to China and huge trade fairs for every possible product, Hong Kong is an excellent place to start. My husband began going to the watch fairs due to his personal interest in watches, and I was blown away by the huge number of products and brands available at these trade shows, but the real lack of focus on ethical and sustainable manufacturing. I had been looking to replace my recently broken watch and despite being completely surrounded by options, they were all packed with plastic and foam lined boxes, or had low quality leather or polyester straps and plastic spacers inside their dials.

How would you describe 2°EAST and its concept?

We make fun, flexible, high quality watches that don’t cost the earth. I designed the watches while I was discovering the concept of ‘capsule wardrobes’, and followed the same basic principles - fewer, flexible, quality pieces that can be mixed and matched.

In what way are your watches a sustainable way of shopping?

While a lot of brands are trying to rework their businesses to fit the expectations of an increasingly socially and environmentally aware demographic, I designed 2°EAST to be sustainable and ethical from day one.

The simple dial and interchangeable straps have the production benefit of lower minimum order quantities. We maintain a low inventory and I assemble the watch faces with straps as they are ordered. This way we avoid oversupply and can accurately manufacture for demand. We choose the most sustainable, highest quality materials available, and work only with suppliers that use the best (eco friendly & ethical) practices.

Apart from the recycled PET yarn that is produced in Taiwan, the movement that is made in Japan, and the leather that is procured and tanned in Italy, everything is sourced and produced a short drive or train ride away from our Factory in Shenzhen. I pack orders here in Hong Kong to be sent directly to our customers.

What has been the toughest challenge so far running the business, and what has been your favorite part so far?

By far the hardest thing has been maintaining motivation levels through the ups and downs of 2020 and avoiding self doubt when working alone. While I do have a business partner, we are each working on entirely different areas of the business, and haven’t seen each other since 2019 as we live opposite sides of a closed border! I miss having colleagues to chat with and bounce ideas off.

Having said that, through working on this business, I have met some really cool people online. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the environmental disasters we are facing, but then I’ll meet the people fighting for change and make a difference and my mood is instantly lifted. I absolutely have more hope for our future than I did when I first set out on this project.

Could you describe your target group, and tell us what type of person you think would enjoy your assortment?

I wanted to provide a better option for a common product that doesn't yet have a lot of responsible options on the market. The simple design and interchangeable straps really do mean there is an option for everyone.

While smartwatches are growing in popularity, I also think there is still a large swathe of the population that doesn’t want to be constantly connected. I wear my watch so I don’t have to pick up my phone to check the time (and then be distracted by a message, and then an email, and the news and then ten minutes later realise what I’m doing).

What do you believe is “greenwashing” and what can producers and consumers do to avoid it?

Big brands with big marketing budgets are always quick to notice a trend and jump on it. Unfortunately the move towards sustainable living is not immune to this. Many big brands are continuing to mercilessly overproduce but at the same time introduce “sustainable” “conscious” or “responsible” lines made from recycled materials or similar.

We published a blog post on our website about this recently, and in it you can find a link to the Changing Markets report. This research found an incredible 96% of H&M’s, 89% of ASOS’s and 88% of M&S’s claims flouted the UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA) guidelines on environmental claims in some way.

While it’s great that consumers are now starting to think about where their products are coming from, we are being inundated with blatantly dishonest claims that make it increasingly difficult for anyone trying to do the right thing.

The easiest way for consumers to avoid greenwashing, is to shop less, and when we do shop, to buy from smaller independent brands, who are often more sustainable just by the fact they aren’t able to afford the overproduction and seriously damaging ways of the bigger brands. Having said that, I strongly feel the unfairness of us as consumers spending our time and effort to make small differences, while the handful of people that run the majority of these fast fashion brands are allowed to continue on with blatant disregard.

What would you advise consumers to do who seek to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?

Understanding what works for you as an individual is really important. A sustainable lifestyle is going to look very different to different people, and there is no such thing as a perfectly sustainable life. Making small changes to habits over time is likely to have the best long term outcome. There are so many great tips and guides available online, finding those that personally resonate and are quick easy wins are the best places to start, and we can keep building on these over time.

A sustainable closet is even more personal. It might mean thrift shopping, mending, upcycling and clothes swapping, or buying a few simple basics from high street brands and wearing them repeatedly until they fall apart. I feel like I am just getting past the difficulty of dealing with poor body image when shopping (again, thanks to the marketing efforts of the same big brands) and now I’m feeling guilty over the ethics of the clothes I buy. There’s a real imbalance of power and influence in this space, so aim to find a balance of being kind to yourself as well as mindful of the effects of your purchasing behaviours.

Do you have any specific goal in mind, as of right now, regarding 2°EAST and its future?

We are in the early days of this business, so to be an economically sustainable business is a big goal for me! Once we are stable, I would like to continue to do more to educate consumers in general, suppliers throughout our supply chain and ourselves(!) on what we can all do to improve the systems we are all living and working in. There is always going to be a better way of doing things, so I see this as a continuous journey towards being a more sustainable and ethical brand.

What do you think needs to change in the fashion industry in order to make it more sustainable?

Capitalism? Corporate greed?!? I am really disheartened by the amount of large brands that have been publicly outed not paying their staff, overproducing, misleading us about their sustainable practices, and not really suffering any consequences. Consumers now have the expectation that clothing should be incredibly cheap and basically disposable.Ideally, through activism and grassroots education we can change this expectation and consumers will speak with their wallets, but we are quite a way off.

What advice would you give a company, regardless of business, that’d like to become more sustainable overall?

There is no such thing as perfect sustainability. This will be a constant journey, so build the sustainability goal into your company’s mission and values statements. Every future decision should be made with sustainability in mind.

Make a list of all the areas that could be improved and set timelines or trigger points for the change. Hold a brainstorm session with staff or hire a consultant to suggest potential areas for improvement.

Look at things within your own office and processes as well as throughout your supply chains. Trying to do everything at once is impossible, set a schedule to review and track your progress and celebrate and promote it to your staff and your clientele. Implemented carbon offsetting? Switched to compostable mailers?
Incorporating recycled materials into your products? Nice work, Sing it from the rooftops. We all like a bit of good news!

And last but not least - is there anything else we should know about your business that hasn’t already

been told?

My business partner, Ron, owns the factory that produces our watches. Because of this, and because of our lean business model (i.e the business side of things is mostly a one woman show run out of my home office!), our overheads, and therefore markups, are unusually low. Comparing our specifications against similar popular watches, you’d be hard pressed to find any other brand that is more transparent, or cheaper, or has better quality within this price range. It isn’t common for more sustainable options to be cheaper than popular fast fashion options, so I enjoy highlighting this!