What is transparent pricing and how can it help make sustainable fashion more inclusive?

1. Multiple price points increase affordability

Our Transparent Pricing collections provide 3 price points for each of the products included. You can then choose which price to pay. For most of us Affordability is not a fixed reality but instead something that changed regularly depending on what else is happening in our lives. As a sustainable fashion business we want to recognise this and address it head on. Instead of simply saying 'It cost more to make sustainable fashion than fast fashion therefore it is more expensive' and leaving it at that. We want to say, although it costs more to produce, making products only accessible to the relatively affluent will cause discrepancies that are not desirable for our brand.

2. Price Transparency communicates how sustainable fashion and business operate

Not everyone knows the ins and outs of the fashion industry. For example some will be surprised to know that Luxury fashion is not always more expensive because of the quality of materials or process, but because of brand value and margins. In fact, a huge proportion of Luxury products are made in the same conditions as fast fashion businesses. By showing really clearly what prices make up an item, customers can see how their money is being spent, and make a decision as to how important it is for them that garment workers are paid well, or that the materials used are created using environmentally sound processes.

3. Price Transparency enables those who have more resources to make sustainable products more affordable to those who have fewer resources

One of the biggest obstacles to transforming the fashion industry, and other to make them more sustainable is that the heaviest burden is placed on the poor. Consider if you want to have solar panels on your roof to reduce your homes demand on fossil fuels, or if you want to purchase an electric car to invest in green travel, you can expect to pay £10,000's. These costs are impossible for most.

A question I ask myself often is how can we distribute the resources of the wealthy to tackle climate change? Transparent pricing on sustainably produced products give those with more resources and opportunity to create accessible price points for those with fewer resources.

4. Price Transparency can challenge greenwashing from fast fashion brands

Greenwashing is a growing problem within the fashion industry. Fast fashion brands are repositioning themselves as sustainable by releasing small conscious collections whilst continuing with their business models (which extract more from the planet than they return and rely on impoverished labour). In comparison to a mass produced conscious collection from a multinational retailers, products from small sustainable brands can seem expensive and struggle to compete. Price transparency invites customers to question why some products in the sustainable sphere are priced as equivalents to fast fashion and others not. The answer is more often than not greenwashing.

5. Transparent Pricing can enable people to shop less in the long term

Well made, well loved products last. By investing in sustainable products customers can reduce how often they need to replace products in their wardrobe and embrace a slower approach to shopping.