We Make Sustainability Affordable
We have always prioritised the sustainability of the Planet and Mankind. Our academic background enabled to study the industry deeply for maximising sustainability and produce only from leftovers. It empowered us to develop the UPMADE® certification.
But this is clearly not enough to change the industry. We’ve been rethinking and evaluating our business model. This has caused changes. We swiped retailers out from our pipeline. Why? Our products weren’t competitive enough. Despite our customers belonging into the LOHAS (i.e. lifestyle of health and sustainability) segment, that prioritises the sustainability of the Planet and Mankind, they also prioritise the sustainability of their wallet. LOHAS is a homo economicus.
Let’s face the calculations. An average person in Europe makes about 1500-2000 euros a month. Can this person afford a dress for 120 euros? Yes. Will this person buy a dress for 120 euros? Probably not. That’s why we had to unchain us from retailers. If we want to mainstream sustainability, our products need to be competitive by all standards. Ditching retailers enables us to get the steering wheel back – we now determine our prices ourselves. Previously, our pricing policy was determined by the agreements established with our retailing partners.
This also enables to ditch cross-subsidising. What’s cross-subsidising? For example, fashion companies usually generate great profit margins from simplistic products like polo shirts or Previously, the agreements with retailing partners forced us to cross-subsidise, but we don’t do this anymore. No for cross-subsidising. We determine our pricing policy ourselves. All our products follow UPMADE® certification as before, but are now up to 50% cheaper.
Oh, and the new pricing policy isn’t a one-off-marketing-stunt. It isn’t a discount campaign. We don’t do those. The new pricing policy is here to remain. It’s sustainable :) But as the leftovers change, so do our products. Each product is a strictly limited edition. So take your time, but hurry up ;)
