We all want to look after our planet, but it can feel overwhelming when knowing where to start. We're constantly exposed to brands promising ethical and eco-friendly collections, when in reality, green-washing is commonplace, with plenty of labels seeking to appear eco-conscious, without making the vital systemic changes needed.
This said, there are plenty of companies working hard to protect our planet and people, without compromising style or quality. Ethical shopping destination Cult Mia - stocking the likes of Ukrainian-based label Nué Studio and the Instagram-favourite Miscreants - cuts out the middle man and connects eco-brands direct to the consumer.
"Making this connection between shoppers and sustainable brands is so important to us," Nina Briance, the founder and CEO of Cult Mia, tells Bazaar. "We know that today's luxury fashion customers want to shop ethically from sustainable brands." According to their findings, more than 55 per cent of shoppers bought from independent designers last year, with 60 per cent of all shoppers buying more consciously, too. "We know that it's hard and time-consuming to find the right brands, especially when it comes to vetting the values that underpin them," says Briance, who started the business just three and a half years ago.
Cult Mia only stocks labels that align with at least one of its four key values: environmental sustainability, minority empowerment, social consciousness, and protecting local heritage craft. "We connect designers to our global fashion community seeking exactly what our brands offer from a values perspective, as much as the product they sell," notes Briance. "Our curated, accessible, discovery shopping experience solves the process and the pain points for independent, emerging designers and for customers who are starved of unique, values-driven fashion."
Here, Briance shares how the business came to be and what she wants to see change within the fashion industry.
"There are three key lightbulb moments that sparked Cult Mia. Firstly, when I was working at Moda Operandi, it became very clear to me that the model for online luxury fashion that had been so successful in the 2000s and 2010s was starting to lose steam. The more I spoke with designers, the more I realised that many brands were on the cusp of rapid growth, but were unable to access existing platforms.
"Secondly, I noticed that when we were vetting the unique products that our independent fashion designers offered, we noticed that often incumbent luxury brands either purchased or replicated these original designs. The opportunity to lift up independent fashion designers was glaringly important and obvious to me. Through Cult Mia, I'm excited to build on this mission and provide the platform to shop for independent brands locally, directly and online, with ease. This mission started for me at the UN, where I worked in the Women & Trade team focused on lifting up female-owned micro-enterprises in the least developed countries.
"Thirdly, whenever anyone asked me about what I was wearing, it was never about my high-street boots and instead about my handmade enamel earrings from Mexico. I used to have to disappoint and say that you needed to travel to Oaxaca to get them."
"We've thought a lot about what change needs to happen and we found it challenging to hone in on only one area. We decided to define the strategic pillars of Cult Mia's sustainability strategy; these address five of the important challenges facing the sustainability of fashion and how we could contribute to making the industry more sustainable. These are: reducing overproduction and waste; incentivising circularity to extend the lifespan of items and materials; encouraging the use of sustainable materials; reducing the carbon footprint (both in terms of our commitment as a company and the commitment of our brands); and customer and brand supplier education."
"Stop impulse-buying. With many shopping options at your fingertips, consumers could make the small change of planning slightly further in advance which items they would like to purchase. This could help you to have less carbon footprint impact and help reduce overproduction and waste, particularly when shopping made-to-order. All it would take is a slight change in lead time expectation and pre-planning. That said, when shopping, consumers should keep in mind that no brand is perfect; greenwashing is something to look out for and dig into."
"There's a significant misconception around how broad the definition of sustainability is. When evaluating a brand's sustainability, many hone in on one area such as materials used, but to make an assessment of a brand, you need to zoom out and consider all areas. We find that there is a great misconception in the definition of sustainable fashion itself."
"This year, we are fully focused on encouraging sustainable and ethical shopping. Last month, we launched our new donations component to further incentivise customers to shop in a values-driven way. For every item purchased, we donate £2 to a charity related to one of the four Cult Causes that we support that the product is tied to. Additional values-driven incentives are lined up to get customers even more excited about shopping in this way with us, launching throughout the rest of the year."