Overview
The rag trade is a fickle industry. In recent times we've seen environmentally based innovations come into vogue like 100% recycled cotton garments, right through to biodegradable shoes. Charity based initiatives are also trending quite heavily with brands donating a portion of sales to chosen causes.
There's also a hugely increasing consumer demand for brands to have an ethical conscience. Belgium based company, Honest by, has created a novel way to meet this demand by communicating really in depth information about the products it sells with its customers. Kind of like a Health Foundation tick, except for fashion.
The entire philosophy is based on the priciple of honesty and transparency. Consumers are becoming more savvy when it comes to the relationships they form with brands. People are no longer looking at big corporates and thinking "what can you offer me?", rather, they are thinking "how are you trying to rip me off?". Honest by combats this need for knowledge by sharing the full cost breakdown and supply chain details of its products.
They only collaborate with designers who are prepared to be 100% open about where they source their materials, as well as all the details of their manufacturing and labour. It's a great incentive for designers to work with organic materials, avoid animal products and really examine the ethics of the labour they employ.
There're also no sales to be seen. Honest by doesn't subscribe to the traditional season model for selling clothes. Instead, they sell both Summer and Winter until they've sold out. This is seen as a way to eliminate obsoleteness. This new business model provides a middle ground between consumerism and conscience when updating your wardrobe. It also arms the consumer with more than just what they know about their favourite brands from their external image.
