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Our Journey So Far

Updated: Mar 26, 2021

It began in the late spring of 2020 when we applied to be a part of the Founders Lab program through the W.P. Carey school of business. The program aims to generate innovative solutions to the problems the world is currently facing in the form of start-up companies. The three of us were placed into a group with the overarching topic of the ethical circular economy and the question: How might we increase the rate of clothing/fabric reuse among populations that are heavily focused on ownership of new, brand-name products?


Through our first meeting, we got to know a bit more about each other. Although we came from fairly different backgrounds and none of us were familiar with the fashion industry, we were all eager to learn more about how we might be able to contribute some creative solutions to solve some of the industry’s most pressing issues.


Our Research


We began to brainstorm ideas by first taking notes and informing ourselves on the ethical circular economy, current clothing recycling practices, the current state of clothing and fabric waste, and present-day solutions.


Our group researched companies such as Patagonia, which encourages its customers to repair their clothing rather than discarding it through efforts like the “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign (Patagonia, 2020), as well as the solutions from larger companies like H&M and their Global Change Award initiative. We looked into companies that recycle fabric such as Renewcell that breaks down textiles to create new fabric from them. Renewcell works with other companies, like Levi’s, to revive old fabric with its signature Circulose® fabric (Zabriskie & Unzipped Staff, 2020).


As we researched different companies, we found a few different business models that we could use. We noticed a few trends in solutions that aimed to solve the issue of sustainability in fast fashion. Existing companies tend to fall into three categories: subscription, customization, and exchange.


Subscription

Well-known companies like Rent the Runway, Le Tote, Gwynnie Bee, and more use a rental subscription service model (Reilly, 2021). Through these companies, people can rent specific outfits to wear for a period of time after which they return the clothes to the company in exchange for a different outfit. For specific events like prom, for which many people end up wearing their outfits only once or twice, Rent the Runway allows individuals to save money while also ensuring that their outfits are used to their full capacity. These companies also ensure that fast fashion users and people who enjoy changing their outfits frequently can do so in a more economical and sustainable manner.


Customization

Throughout history, clothing and accessories have been tailored to fit the one who wears them. However, with the Industrial Revolution and the mass production of products, customization has become more constrained as people try to generate as much output as possible for greater profit. Although some companies have used customization as a means of making their products more desirable, more and more companies have started customizing their products for increased personalization and value.


L.L. Bean has long used monogramming to personalize its products. Other companies increasing consumer engagement through customization include Levi’s, which can be customized by adding patches, embroidery, and more, and high-end brands like Gucci, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton. Gucci DIY’s division specializes in applying embroidery, printed silk, and appliques to its products. Hermès’s Sense of Measure service allows customers to work with designers and expert craftspeople to create any item that passes through their imagination (Chatikavanij, 2019).


Louis Vuitton has also tapped into the custom shoe market in which other companies like Puma, Converse, and Nike excel. Nike, in particular, capitalizes on its unique Nike Adapt system which electronically adjusts shoelaces as they are worn and connects to a smartphone app that provides feedback to its user (Nike, 2021).


Louis Vuitton, Converse, and Puma focus their efforts on a ‘design your own’ model that allows customers to customize the color and design of their shoes. The Fame and Partners brand also employs customization in its clothing with a specific focus on reducing waste in the fashion industry. Skincare and beauty brands have also tapped into this customization model such as the company Function of Beauty. This company has customers take a quiz to provide custom skin and hair care products designed specifically for them. They use recyclable materials in their packaging to minimize their negative impact on the environment (Reed, 2019).


One other option is clothes tailored to fit the individual customer. Since this option tends to be more expensive, consumers are more likely to place more value on their tailored clothes and use them for longer periods of time. An added benefit to tailored customization is that clothes tend to fit better and save more money long term. Television shows like Queer Eye have promoted tailored clothing as an option to not only ensure the clothes fit better but also to reduce waste as consumers purchase fewer clothes of higher quality that last longer.


In purchasing customized items, consumers place greater personal value on their purchases. As a result, people can buy fewer but more durable products of higher quality that will likely last longer. The personalized aspect also encourages consumers to use their purchases to the full capacity rather than just discarding their purchases when their items are no longer wanted.


Exchange

Thrift stores, clothing exchange, and buying secondhand clothing have become more popular with the vintage clothing trend. Customers can often sell their clothes to secondhand clothing stores, like Buffalo Exchange where people can buy, sell, or trade their clothes. Other companies such as ThredUp and Walmart have shown the viability of this solution as in a recent sales report projecting that the secondhand market will hit $64 billion in the next five years (ThredUp, 2021). The participation of a large corporation like Walmart and their partnership with ThredUp also indicates the profitability of the secondhand clothing industry and perhaps in the business model of fast fashion (Hale, 2020).


These solutions may suggest a shift away from fast fashion as younger generations grow increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment and the world around them.


Establishing Our Goals

As we began brainstorming solutions, we had to ask ourselves: what do we want to accomplish with this project?


Ideally, the product we create would be as sustainable as possible. Since it appears that the societal perception of fast fashion and its numerous negative effects, ethical and environmental, has begun to shift, we thought that this would be an opportunity for us to explore how we might be able to create solutions to the issues of waste in the industry.


We wanted to focus on three main ideas. The first was that we did not want to create these solutions on our own. We wanted to involve our customers in our solution by designing their voluntary participation in our business model. Our reasoning for including the aspect of do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions was that it would increase customization and allow our customers to cherish their products more than they might have otherwise.


The second idea we wanted to ensure we incorporated was focusing on one type of clothing. By concentrating on one type of product, we would be able to put all our efforts into ensuring we understood how to create the clothing in the most environmental and cost-effective manner.


The third part of our solution was using sustainable materials. This aspect of our product was much of the basis of our early idea generation since the product creation depended upon what materials we used and how we sourced them. Utilizing materials that would allow for reuse or would reuse other waste materials would further ensure our goals of circularity and achieving sustainability.


Although our company’s journey has not been long, we have come a long way in terms of our personal knowledge and our hopes for future solutions. At RAY Fashion, we hope to continue exploring these solutions and sharing the rest of our journey with you.



 

Want to hear more from us? Check out our social media!


 


References

2020 Fashion Resale Market and Trend Report. (2021). ThredUP. https://www.thredup.com/resale/#resale-growth

About us. (n.d.). Fame and Partners. https://www.fameandpartners.com/pages/about

Buffalo Exchange | Sell Your Clothes | Cash or Trade Outright. (2021, March 4). Buffalo Exchange New & Recycled Fashion®. https://www.buffaloexchange.com/how-it-works/

Chatikavanij, K. (2020, May 13). The Luxury Brands taking personalisation to a new level. Lifestyle Asia Bangkok. https://www.lifestyleasia.com/bk/style/fashion/the-luxury-brands-taking-personalisation-to-a-new-level/

Create Your Own Custom Pumas. (2020). Puma. https://us.puma.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-NA-Site/en_US/PX-Show?url=aHR0cHM6Ly91cy5wdW1hLmNvbS9vbi9kZW1hbmR3YXJlLnN0b3JlL1NpdGVzLU5BLVNpdGUvZW5fVVMvU2VhcmNoLVNob3c%2fY2dpZD1wdW1hLWFjdGl2aXR5LXBhZ2U%3d

Custom Levi’s® Jeans – Customize Your Own Jeans. (2021). Off The Cuff. https://www.levi.com/US/en_US/blog/category/make-it-yours/

Custom Shoes. (n.d.). Converse. https://www.converse.com/shop/custom-shoes

Function of Beauty. (2021). Function of Beauty. https://www.functionofbeauty.com/

Hale, K. (2020, June 1). Walmart Taps Into $32 Billion Second Hand Clothing Market. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2020/06/01/walmart-taps-into-32-billion-second-hand-clothing-market/?sh=6b69d9521fa9

hermes.com. (2021). Hermès. https://www.hermes.com/us/en/story/84681-us-made-to-measure/

H&M Foundation. (2017). Global Change Award. Global Change Award. https://globalchangeaward.com/

Horsley, S. (2007). California Company Works to Cut, Adapt to Warming. National Public Radio. https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9968475

How to personalise Louis Vuitton products? | LOUIS VUITTON. (n.d.). Louis Vuitton. https://uk.louisvuitton.com/eng-gb/recommendations/how-to-personalise-louis-vuitton-products

Le Tote. (2021). Le Tote. https://www.letote.com/

Nike Adapt. Self-Lacing Shoes. (2021). Nike. https://www.nike.com/adapt

Reed, H. (2019, October 23). 6 brands driving consumer engagement through customization. Current Daily. https://thecurrentdaily.com/2019/10/23/6-brands-driving-consumer-engagement-through-customization/

Reilly, A. (2021, February 25). The 19 Best Clothing Rental Subscriptions + Coupons. My Subscription Addiction. https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/clothing-rental-subscriptions

Renewcell. (2021). Renewcell. https://www.renewcell.com/en/

Put Your Closet in the Cloud. (2021). Rent the Runway. https://www.renttherunway.com/

Patagonia. (2020, November 25). Don’t Buy This Jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times. https://www.patagonia.com/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html

Wolfe, I. (2020, December 29). How Ethical Is Patagonia? Good On You. https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-patagonia/#:%7E:text=Environmental%20Impact&text=Patagonia%20belongs%20to%20both%20the,too%20many%20of%20its%20products

Zabriskie, P. & Unzipped Staff. (2020, July 22). The Story Behind the Most Sustainable Levi’s® Ever. Levi Strauss & Co. https://www.levistrauss.com/2020/07/23/wellthread-renewcell/

 
 
 

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