How To Create The Brand Of The Future:

Components Of A Thriving Clothing Company

Brands need to take a fresh look at all components of the business to become a brand of the future. Many of the startup customers that we work with through Apparel Entrepreneurship have a steep start. The crowded marketplace makes it very hard for new brands to take off. We see, that to be able to make it now, and to get a flying start, new brands need to stay one step ahead of the fast-paced, constantly changing industry.

Getting inspiration from other industries and looking at some beauty and fashion brands turn traditional business models upside down and killing it in sales figures, I wonder, why are other brands so slow to react and implement the changes needed to gain forward momentum?

We have put together a little list with points to implement and attributes to have, for young and old apparel brands in order to stay relevant and to thrive.

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Why Becoming a B Corp is the Next Big Thing in Business

B Corp is a global movement of pioneering companies that are using their business as a force for good. Recent research has shown that British B Corp brands are growing at 28 times faster than the national average and 85% of them feel that becoming a B Corp has been good for business.

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Eileen Fisher Buys Back Its Garments & Reworks The Material Into New Merchandise

In 2019, Americans will throw away more than 35 billion pounds of textiles, according to the Council for Textile Recycling. That’s nearly double the number from 1999. It’s more important than ever, environmental advocates say, to keep that clothing out of landfills.

“We’re trying to take responsibility,” said Eileen Fisher, whose eponymous fashion brand buys back its garments from customers at $5 each and reworks the material into new merchandise, under its Renew brand, at factories in Irvington, N.Y., and Seattle. It bought back its millionth garment in May.

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The Rise Of Giant Consumer Startups That Said No To Investor Money

Over the last five years, venture capital and private equity investors in the U.S. have rushed to fund a new breed of company, dubbed direct-to-consumer startups, such as the clothing brand Everlane. Companies in this category have capitalized on a cocktail of changing consumer habits, new marketing channels like Instagram, and software vendors like Shopify that have significantly lowered the cost and technical hurdles to setting up and growing a professional online shop.

Along the way, many of these retail brands have convinced venture capital investors, or been convinced, that their fast growth and digital DNA could result in value creation on par with tech companies. But does faster growth just mean a faster path to market saturation?

A new breed of entrepreneurs is creating huge consumer brands without venture capital, and laughing all the way to the bank.​

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