Sustainability

Applying the Sustainability Prism to Your Business: 4 Things to Consider

In Sustainable Fashion by Melissa Shea

Starting any business in the modern climate encompasses a number of priorities beyond the running of the company itself. If we are to ensure that we make a lasting impression on customers, clients, and everyone in between, we’ve got to address the most important component that impacts us all. Sustainability and looking after the planet is something that every company should prioritize, but if you want to ensure your fashion brand goes the distance, what should you consider when applying the sustainability prism to your business?

The Understanding of the Wider Impacts

Businesses tend to look at making profits in the short term, and as they grow, they can look to the bigger picture. In terms of sustainability, it’s critical to have big-picture thinking in place at the very outset, especially when it comes to the products you purchase, but also the ones you make in-house. A very good example in the jewelry industry is J’evar’s lab grown diamond stud earrings and other products that are grown without the impact of mined diamonds. When we understand the wider impacts on the world arising from little purchases or processes, it helps us to create far more solid sustainability policies.

Define Your Approach to Sustainability

From the very outset, having a sustainability mission will establish far more solid guidelines to ensure that you are operating sustainably and ethically. One approach that can help guide you towards sustainability is to identify the suppliers that have mindsets that align with your own. Sometimes we can find a company that aligns with our sensibilities; however, they may be on the other side of the planet, which will contribute to the carbon footprint. On the other hand, local suppliers will benefit your community, but there is a higher financial cost. What is actually important to you? Only you know, and finding the right alignment with strategy and your mission is critical.

Identify Your Branding

When you’ve got the basics in place, you need to identify your target audience and then work toward how you will use this information to influence your branding. If you are looking to promote a green business as part of your overall marketing strategy, you could easily go down the literal route here and have green items that inform your iconography. However, this is potentially a little too on the nose but also glaringly obvious because the companies have no doubt done the same thing. This is why you need to identify your specific buyer persona to influence the branding and, therefore, your business’s personality.

Continue Your Journey

The world of sustainability is constantly evolving based on the latest facts and findings. If we are to apply the sustainability prison to our business, we have to give greater consideration to what we know, as well as what we do not know. As your business progresses and you learn more about how you are impacting your customers and the environment, you can gradually scale up your operations but also scale up your education. It’s not a practice that is set in stone, and this is why we have to remember that as we progress, we should develop that growth mindset that will boost business, but also our understanding of sustainability.

Image by Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay

About Melissa Shea

Melissa Shea is the co-founder of Fashion Mingle and has spent over 20 years in the creative industry fueled by a love of learning about the “next new thing”. Melissa has used her entrepreneurial passion and technology skills to develop an online platform for fashion professionals that will transform the future for local fashion communities.

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Melissa Shea

Melissa Shea is the co-founder of Fashion Mingle and has spent over 20 years in the creative industry fueled by a love of learning about the “next new thing”. Melissa has used her entrepreneurial passion and technology skills to develop an online platform for fashion professionals that will transform the future for local fashion communities.