Sunday 9.03am 27th of October
When I was in high school I remember not understanding a maths equation and asking the teacher for a more in-depth explanation of how and why something could equal something else. His answer was that we’d be there all day if he had to get to the bottom of it and I needed to accept it as it was.
Looking back, this sums up the way my brain works. I need to see everything broken down to understand how it slots back together. It's also most likely why I continue to do all the parts of my business myself. From thought, creation, with pattern making, grading, and sewing.
This week I’ve been to two of Courtney Holm of A.BCH and Circular Sourcing’s discussions. The first was a more formal panel at the Waste Expo and the second; a relaxed conversation in the A.BCH factory in West Melbourne.
Yesterday’s chat was super interesting. Courtney's guest Julie Boulton gave her own definitions of ‘circular’ and ‘sustainable’, as well as talking about the misunderstanding of what ‘fast fashion’ actually is. It all deeply resonated with me as I find myself constantly redefining words as both a consumer and sole trader searching for a world free of greenwashing.
Other things I jotted down were the idea of 'closing the loop', and making sure that social and environmental impacts were also considered. It rings true to my favourite understanding that everything is connected / interrelated / circular. Both Courtney and Julie used the word 'holistic' which I made a mental note to add into my vocabulary :)
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all, I feel it a lot. Every time I’m at the veg shop deciding if I should splurge on berries I get a flashback of the landfill pile I saw at the Sunbury tip as a kid. Or when I feel a synthetic fabric hanging in a store I can’t help but imagine the polymers going into the ocean after washing.
I’ve had many chats along these lines with friends over the years. Walking back to the train with Guy after the Waste Expo we spoke about the “Zero Waste” cafe not actually being zero waste. It was merely on the surface; a show of handing over a metal cup of coffee. But I can't imagine the complete process was considered in the scheme – of getting the food and drinks to consumers, or even to the kitchen, without all the plastic and packaging.
Somewhere along here I realised the point of the Waste Expo probably wasn’t about working on making the system better from the source, start to finish. Rather, this expo was acting as a bandaid at the end to deal with the rubbish made from large companies in the construction industry.
I think my main take away from this week is that bigger isn’t always better. As Guy discussed in our recorded Pocket Conversation 4.1; staying small can be our superpower. Knowing that that Guy had previously been to trade shows overseas (sussing big companies for smaller output machines for fibre recovery) I found the the confidence to ask questions and advocate for smaller players like us.
It was wild to say “I have a micro scale business, my waste is very small, I have about 6 postage bags full. I'd like to send you my small offcuts to shred so I can use it as stuffing” and their response was much like Guy’s own experience. There seems to be a disconnect between the large scale and small scale making (whether in the clothing industry or not). I was told they’d need to figure out what the fibres were first before they considered the price, and they seemed surprised when I had the answers 100% cotton in shirting and pant weights. Literally showing the fabrics that I was wearing.
I know we aren’t the first to question this, I’ve seen Holly of Carnation Club seeking out this service before. I guess I was just asking the questions because it feels like these larger corporations may always overlook us tiny players.
I am learning - along with staying small - that I have a few more superpowers of my own. They go hand in hand actually: I may not know all the fancy academic words, and I don’t know if I’d consider myself clever, but I do think I am a pretty good communicator, and am able to break down what I think and how I feel so others not ‘in the biz’ can understand too.
I am also a good connector. Where I can celebrate what I am doing with other people that are doing things that I find inspiring (whether that be something similar to me or not). I used to feel embarrassed at how little I’d know about traditional ‘fashion’ brands, the amount I found myself repeating things to friends that aligned with my values, or how excited I’d get to meet someone whose business I admired. Only with age can I see that being a fan-girl and incredibly passionate about doing the good stuff could possibly be what brought me to where I am today.
Yesterday’s conversation really proved that. I’ve only recently gotten a little more comfy about speaking up. Turns out I have a pretty good and broad perspective:
+ A big shift was happening in 'the industry' in 2013. The year I graduated from my fashion degree.
+ I couldn’t find a job that aligned with the way I felt comfortable to participate in that world, so I took a step back and worked in retail for many years.
+ This gave me time to listen and learn what the customers' needs were on the shop floor, and how disconnected the head office could be from their customer.
+ I have interned in slightly larger clothing businesses (but still small) visiting fabric mills, and factories.
+ I have worked selling deadstock fabric to designers, tailors, hobby sewers and more.
+ Through building connections I have received work pattern making and grading for small brands, having HB stocked in stores, collaborations, and my favourite - friendships!!!
+ With HB Archive, I have tested manufacturing small quantities with small factories, as well as friends who sew for me, and have many more friends in similar and slightly larger scaled businesses where we share with and learn from each other.
+ Now with almost a decade working in my own tiny biz plus years before researching just for fun, I continue to learn from my customers.
+ This genuine connection has taught me the importance of knowing exactly what my customers want and need. I receive feedback directly, as well as from my stockists, with what they have been finding through interactions on their own shop floors.
There were a couple of points made in yesterday’s conversation which I keep thinking about, and the more I reflect on them the more interrelated (holistic!) they feel. The first was a question someone asked - “who is doing circular fashion on a larger scale well?”
After a pretty noticeable silence in the room Julie suggested A.BCH as her example. Kowtow was thrown out there, and I could only think about Penny Sage, and Rachel Mills who were both Auckland based.
Thinking about it now, I feel saddened all over again by the closure of so many slightly larger (but still small) scaled local businesses. Arnsdorf, Vege Threads, again, A.BCH. So many more brands that Anna and I went into depth on in our Pocket Conversation 2.1.
Someone offered up SANCT and Courtney agreed that there were heaps of micro businesses that were able to work to a more circular model. I added that I could rattle off so many names of businesses on similar scale to mine. (If you are interested have a look through my follow list on instagram.) But it was really hard to think of a slightly larger company producing locally.
Another question was “How do I get a job?!” asked by Emily, who had studied in Wellington and recently moved to Melbourne to try and find work. She told us that all the friends she had studied with were now working in either retail or hospo. Same story as me, just ten years later.
This train of thought still has me stumped. I’ve had similar conversations with friends both in Melbourne and interstate. Realistically there isn’t any work (or money) in the local (and more thoughtful) clothing space, so it feels like the main path to take for entering the industry is creating your own thing. So my next question to myself - which I might be sitting on for a bit - is:
If I am remaining small on purpose, producing my own garments myself, how can I nurture the local industry and be able to create opportunities for those that are coming up with fresh eyes and perspectives? How can I do this when I realistically have little time and no excess capital?
When I was graduating I remember feeling really conflicted. My two options were to either try and get a job in a bigger company (that probably had profit very high and sustainability very low on their priorities) and try to work my way up there to bring about change.
Alternatively, I could go out on my own to try and make my own impact as an individual. We all know which path I chose, whether I knew the decision I was making (and all the sacrifices along with it) at the time, or not.
To close this out I am going to set myself up with some goals to work on in the next year:
+ Continue to educate myself and also share my thoughts on making and buying mindfully.
+ Promote utilising the items already in wardrobes. Washing, caring, mending, reworking, styling in different ways.
+ Seek out and participate in more events like Courtney’s to build connection with others and confidence in my own voice.
+ Create my own discussions and topics whether in person at events or online.
+ Share resources I find, as well as those shared with me.
+ Build community / holding space for us all to learn and share, no matter where we sit, whether consumer, maker, or both (like me :) )
I'd like to write a big big thank you to Courtney, who continues to speak up, sharing her extensive and ever-growing wealth of knowledge. For being brave and finding a way to put herself in rooms (like the Waste Expo) that hadn't considered the clothing industry, or even women, to be part of the conversation before. I'm incredibly inspired!
As always, I’d love to hear from you. If you’ve enjoyed this, have follow up questions, or even an answer to my trains of thoughts, you can now add a comment below! Also send this to a mate who you think will be interested is so helpful in creating awareness and a step towards change, and is also very much appreciated. Thank you, thank you for supporting and caring for me personally, my tiny biz, our local industry and community, and the earth - people/ animals / planet etc! I know I say it a lot but it truly means the world.
HB xxx
