Mysource: Do Fashion Better!

Fashion–it's easy, right? Sketch out a couple of designs, sew 'em up, sell 'em online, boom, job done. Wash, rinse, repeat until rich.


It's nothing like that, of course. Fashon is a huge business, earning trillions worldwide every year. Supply chains are deeply complex, with different elements of a garment coming not just from different countries but seperate continents. Products are difficult to get right, and making the connections a burgeoning start-up needs to succeed is a tricky proposition.

If you want to work sustainably, the challenge increases massively. 91% of clothing companies don't know where their cotton comes from, opening themselves to the risk of sourcing from slave labour. Poor labour practices run rife, and the fashion sector is the second most polluting in the world. Where do you even begin?

A new resource that hopes to answer exactly those questions is now looking for funding. Mysource, the reincarnation of the Ethical Fashion Forum, seeks to connect fashion professionals from all sides of the trade, from designers to suppliers, enabling the right choices to be made. The end result: promoting sustainable practice in the fashon world on a much larger scale than ever before.

This is a step change for the Ethical Fashion Forum, who have seen interest in eco-fashion jump massively in the last five years. Innovations created by the EFF like online-only conferences have made it easier than ever for manufacturers and designers to meet, chat and do business. Mysource aims to take that model to the next level.

Consider: according to a 2014 Neilsen poll, 55% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for brands with a social or environmental commitment. Environmental brand Reformation turned over $25 million last year, and raised $12 million in additional funds from investors like supermodel Karlie Kross. Meanwhile, household names like Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney have made fortunes from an ethical stance on their clothing. In fact, Board member and Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood, Brigitte Stepputtis, believes that Mysource will be an indispensable tool to help train her team. She says:

“Mysource is exactly what brands like Vivienne Westwood need. There are no other platforms that compare.”

With disasters like the Rana Plaza collapse still fresh in people's minds, the time is ripe for ethical practice to take centre stage in the show they call fashion. Rather than gradual inroads, it's time to take fashon by the scruff of the neck and march it into the future. This is an incredibly exciting project, and The View will be watching it closely over the coming months.



For now, if you want to know more or even get involved, check out http://mysource.io/ or the Crowdcube funding page at www.crowdcube.com/mysource.