THE SLOW FASHION GUIDE: HOW TO START A SUSTAINABLE FASHION BRAND
I want to start a Sustainable Clothing Brand. How do I start or what do I need?
That’s a very common question in our sector. Lots of potential fashion entrepreneurs come to us asking for questions on how we successfully created a sustainable brand. The key in this sector is patience and hard work, but also we want to share these 5 tips that would have been very helpful before starting a slow fashion brand and would have saved us money.
Top 5 tips to start your own sustainable fashion brand successfully
1. Have your brand style’s idea clear.
Have an idea that will suit your potential target and potential market.
Once you have a clear idea on what you want for your brand, It’s important to have a clear team that will bring your idea into reality. Will you need help in the fashion industry sector? Or maybe help during the shooting process? What type of designs would be ideal for this collection? After you have this clear, you can start the sampling process.
I actually would recommend going to a couple of textile factories before starting, learn about sustainable materials, what kinds of materials work better in different designs, for what purpose...We can help you with all this process through our consultancy services.
2. Start small. Find a manufacturer that can be your long term partner.
When we started Lima Apparel we where young and too excited so we failed in our first factory choice. After being a while in Bali, we found out that we could produce ethically and with small amounts to start. If we knew that we could have started from 100 minimum quantity units, we would have saved a lot of the initial investment money and actually we would have been more sustainable.
Do you wanna know more about our workshops and manufacturing procedures ? Discover all about our garment manufacturing process here.
3. Build a reliable team.
For instance, in our case, Txell is a fashion designer and I am a Marketing Manager, our forces combined, can make a successful team as she knows all about the materials, the trends, the designs and I know about the market, the e-commerce, the sales strategy…
4. Follow a Marketing Strategy.
Creating an e-commerce store and creating traffic for a website takes time. You need to be aware of your potential consumers: Will they be in your own country or for a bigger market overseas? How will you be able to approach them? Through SEO, Social Media Ads, Influencers Marketing? It is not an exact formula and it takes time to understand how to make it work all together.
5. Remember your first customers.
Once the business is up and running, do not forget the people that was there in the first place. These are your most loyal customers and the ones that can bring you new sales and new customers into your store. Advocacy is the most powerful step of a consumer funnel, don’t forget it!