Into The Wild 47. How To Launch A Sustainable & Ethical Fashion Brand with Shannon Lohr
Hey you wild women!
As the founder and CEO of FACTORY45, Shannon Lohr works with idea-stage entrepreneurs to launch clothing companies that are ethically and sustainably made.
She got her start in 2010 when she co-founded {r}evolution apparel, a sustainable clothing company for female travelers and minimalists that was featured in The New York Times, Forbes.com and Yahoo! News.
To date, Shannon has worked with over 250 entrepreneurs in the sustainable fashion space, many of whom have gone on to launch some of the most transparent supply chains in the fashion industry.
Shannon has worked as a consultant for crowdfunding projects that have surpassed their goal amounts by as much as 300%, and has worked closely with startup apparel companies from all over the world to create ethically-made products with a focus on environmentally-friendly materials and transparent supply chains.
Shannon is a strong advocate for increasing supply chain transparency through sourcing, localization and storytelling. She's been named a thought leader for the future of fashion by Triple Pundit, and she writes to thousands of subscribers weekly about conscious consumerism and the intersection of fashion and environmentalism.
In this episode you will learn about:
- Why sustainable fashion is so important today
- The role fashion plays in climate change
- What constitutes 'sustainable fashion'
- How 'fast fashion' is contributing negatively to our environment
- The role Gen Z plays in supporting sustainable fashion practices
- Common myths about starting a fashion brand (hint: you can launch a fashion brand without a ton of money)
- The first steps to starting a sustainable fashion brand
- Who is Factory 45's ideal customer?
- The #1 mistake new fashion brands make when launching
- The importance of the validation process and building your audience
- How to build an audience before launch
- Relationship building and the time investment required
- Why you must focus on building an email list
- The importance of providing value prior to 'the ask'
- The role Instagram plays for fashion brands
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- How to decide the volume of content you should be creating
- Your content mix and the type of content that resonates with audiences
- How to balance creative time with administrative tasks
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- The best technique to spark creativity
What it means to be a wild woman:The ability to be unapologetically free to be yourself. Who I am is going to resonate with some people and not with others. And that's ok.
Resources:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/factory45co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/factory45co/
- The Factory45 accelerator program: http://factory45.co
- Other digital products: http://factory45.co/shop
- Free resources: http://factory45.co/blog
- Podcast: http://cleanlivingpodcast.com
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Renée Warren is an award-winning entrepreneur, a 7-figure business starter, and the founder of We Wild Women, a business dedicated to helping women launch their dream business. She previously founded an industry-recognized PR agency that worked with funded technology startups from South Africa to San Diego.
She's a mom to Irish Twins (not planned), a published author, and a drummer.
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