By Emma Brownell for Intent.com
Anne O’Loughlin, owner of Autonomie Project, talks to us about the inspiration behind her sustainable retail company — and how she keeps the business above water even in these economic times — in the first of a two part interview.
When did you create the Autonomie Project? What was your inspiration?
We created Autonomie Project in May of 2007 and officially launched the company the following December.
Our inspiration came from the lack in the social marketplace of a truly wearable ethical clothing brand. We didn’t like the idea of having to sacrifice our own personal styles or appreciation for quality garments in order to feel good about our purchases. We doubted that any of our peers would either.
We had a strong desire to effect positive change in our world by building a different kind of company from the bottom-up that doesn’t follow either norms of for-profit corporation or mission-based organization.
How are you getting the word out about the Autonomie Project?
We rely heavily on grassroots-style campaigning such as social networking through our MySpace and Facebook profiles, providing tools to our supporters and customers to help us spread the word to their friends and family, participating in coupon exchanges with other social businesses, building solid long-term relationships and partnerships with like-minded organizations, and supporting our local community by participating in local fairs, fundraisers, and events.
We have also been fortunate to receive a good amount of press coverage (without any real PR representation) that I’m sure has helped get our name out there.
We participate as much as possible in large-scale events and trade shows such as the Green Festivals, the Eco Gift Expo, and the Lollapalooza music festival that have proven to be extremely effective for us to meet new customers and network with possible partners.
In addition, we have focused some efforts on traditional advertising campaigns in targeted publications such as those published by Coop America (now Green America), the Utne Reader, Natural Solutions, and Mother Earth magazine.
Right now, in the recession, many premium retailers are feeling the pinch. How do you keep going in tough times – when your company — or you — comes up against roadblocks?
Our company was built on relationships, partnerships and friendships. Most of our key vendors know us personally and have known us for years. They have faith in us and our business and have thus been much more forgiving in these difficult times. Their generosity has allowed us to extend generosity to our key customers, which has made it much easier to keep cash flowing.
We also started our company on our own dime with no outside investment, so we’re very used to ‘feeling the pinch’ and having to deal with obstacles, especially financial obstacles, in creative ways. We honestly have not felt much of a change in our operations since the recession has set in. The largest pinch from the economic downturn has been the frustration we feel as we imagine where we could be if our market was feeling more lucrative!
How do you keep costs reasonable when you’re paying workers considerably more than the competition is?
We advertise much less than the average company, and when we do advertise, we are extremely choosy about whom we advertise with. We target all advertising, and other large investments like trade shows, as closely as possible so that we can maximize our ROI.
We are a virtual company with no real office space, thus eliminating the cost of rent and other overhead costs associated with running an office.
We also recognize that a high quality, eco-friendly, fair trade product is a premium product and are therefore able to charge slightly more than the conventional counterparts available in the mainstream market. We do not strive to compete with the Wal-Marts and Payless shoe stores of our world, rather, we educate our market that their purchases matter and make a greater impact when they are value-based (not to mention they last longer!).
How do you monitor the working conditions of your suppliers?
All of our suppliers have been monitored, screened or audited by an outside party, such as the Fair Trade Labeling Organization. We have yet to personally visit any of them, but we hope to start planning regular check-ins in 2010, if our budget allows. In the meantime, we rely on visits and reports from our partners and allies. For example, our UK partners Fair Deal Trading visit the supply chain for our sneakers about 2-3 times a year and work actively with FLO to ensure that all labor standards are being properly met.
Are there any sustainable projects you’re involved with that go beyond fair working conditions?
A percentage of our FOB (Freight On Board) cost for our footwear products is filtered into a worker welfare fund that supports the communities of our producers in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This fund is used to pay a premium on the workers’ wages (that exceeds the standard Fair Trade premiums as specified by FLO), cover the full costs of health insurance for the workers and their families, provide micro credit loans to other members of their community and help offset the costs of large, community-wide wellness improvement programs.
Successful examples of the micro credit program include
· A young welder who used a loan to start his own welding business
· A young entrepreneur that used a loan to open up a pool hall for the village
· A family that used a loan to open up a laundromat in the village.
Successful examples of the larger community initiatives include
· Building a new health clinic
· Building a clean water piping system that brings clean water from a far-away well to convenient little taps in front of each village home. (Previously, these people had to walk to the well carrying buckets of water on their heads making water scarcer and more difficult to obtain than now.)
Projects planned for 2009-2010 include
· Becoming members of the Fair Trade Federation
· Introducing FLO-certified cotton in our sneakers (the canvas and shoelaces) and our t-shirts
· Participating in TransFair USA’s pilot program for US Fair Trade certified garments.
What are some other clothing brands you respect (for their sustainable initiatives)? Are there any you wish would take a page from your book – that you wish you could advise on their business practices?
I respect honesty in the clothing industry. Nobody wins when a company is making claims that are not true or is spinning ethical terminology for their own benefit (such as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ or blowing up acts of charity as something more inherent). It hinders the mission, confuses the customers, makes it harder for the genuine companies, and ultimately hurts the credibility of the entire industry.
One clothing company that I respect is Kenneth Cole. They have always put social activism at the forefront of their brand, even when it was considered ‘risky’ in the high-fashion world. Yet they don’t call themselves a social enterprise or a sweat free or eco-friendly line because they are not. While it would be fantastic if they actually started to more closely monitor their supply chain and start introducing some environmentally practices to their company, I admire that they have had such a clear sense of identity even in the chaotic and confusing worlds of both fashion and the controversial “sweat free” garment industry.
I also admire American Apparel, one of the most successful ethical clothing brands. While staying true to their ethics and being extremely transparent about their ‘sweat free’ claims, they have also created their own identity and branding that is independent of the social mission. This has allowed them to avoid twisting or abusing their social mission in order to gain a larger market share and/or positive publicity as many other companies do.
We feel that we’ve truly raised the bar in all respects for clothing companies that seek to be ethical. We hope that many will follow our footsteps and make their value-based mission and transparency the primary responsibility and priority of their company so that every member and every decision of the organization inherently lives and breathes their cause.
What’s your vision of the Autonomie Project in 5 to 10 years?
We hope to widen the range of our clothing line and expand our current collection to include a much larger variety of products, including a kids and baby line. Our long-term goal is to be like “The Gap” of the Fair Trade fashion network. We also originally aspired to open a chain of brick-and-mortar retail stores that double as community centers with Fair Trade coffee, tea, wine and other beverages and food. These centers would host film showing, events, musical performances, open mic nights and would be available for other groups to rent for meetings, events, etc.
We also hope to establish a non-profit wing of the organization that is a foundation for providing micro-credit loans to our suppliers and their communities.
What’s your hope for the evolution of the retail clothing industry?
Branding and brand loyalty in the retail clothing industry is a powerful thing, and it would be wonderful to see more mainstream, multi-national companies using their brand power to not only genuinely purify their supply chain (both for workers and the environment) but to influence their customers to care about global issues and lead more sustainable lives
Read more blog posts in the Intent.com Sustainable Leadership Series here
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