Episode Details

Ingrid Milman (Ann Taylor, LOFT) sits in this week in our Earth Week deep-dive to discuss sustainability, transparency in supply chain, and "deliciously sinful" luxury impulse buys. Who has the true influence on the eco-conscious purchase decision - the brand or the consumer? How can fashion lead the conversation in transparent supply chain and manufacturing processes? Featured brands this week: Outdoor Voices, Rent the Runway, Reformation, H&M, Allbirds and more. Listen now!

Show Notes:

Main Takeaways:

• Director of Digital at Ann Inc, Ingrid Millman, is co-hosting this week.

• Earth Day has turned into Earth Week and, there are lots of sustainability stories to share.

• Can rental Services like Rent the Runway find a way to make dry-cleaning more eco-friendly?

• Instagram ads somehow turned Phillip into a sneakerhead.

Earth Day Becomes Earth Week: Capitalizing on Saving The Planet:

• Before we get into Earth Day, Ann Inc has a new rewards program, and for the first time, customers receive rewards for spending across the entire portfolio.

• Also, Ingrid's professional views expressed on FC do not reflect those of her employer.

• Anyways, Rent the Runway used Earth Day 2019 to publish its sustainability report on Twitter, showing how RTR as a service is helping to reduce waste.

• Ingrid loves Rent the Runway, and has been a long time subscriber, even pre-unlimited, but feels that if RTR wants to be genuinely sustainable, the company will need to look into more eco-friendly dry cleaning options.

• Phillip says that RTR is the Uber of dry cleaning, they partner with local dry cleaners to get all of the clothes dry cleaned consistently.

• Phillip points out that three years ago, Rent the Runway would have gone to IPO.

Everything is Re-sellable in 2019: People Are DIYing Marie Condo:

• Ingrid is obsessed with the Marie Condo effect and the results from its popularity.

• There's been a surge in the number of people utilizing both physical thrift stores, and online platforms like Poshmark, thredUP, and luxury re-sell platforms like The RealReal.

• Ingrid points out that there needs to be a change to the way these resell platforms operate: namely that there needs to be more of a focus on creating solutions for their customers. As of now, there's not a lot of value proposition outside of general resell.

• Phillip doesn't know if he trusts the resale market, and questions if perhaps if companies are posing as third-party sellers.

• Phillip also blames Instagram for turning him into a sneakerhead, because Instagram forces him to buy an insane amount of sneakers through their targeted advertising.

• Has retail followed more of a meme culture than an influencer culture?

• Ingrid makes a fascinating point: Many people develop their actual sense of style in High School and/or college, but they cannot usually afford to outfit that style entirely, but people in their 30's are targeted by luxury brands more because they have a wholly different purchasing power, and now can make "deliciously sinful" luxury purchases.

Sustainability as a Search Term: Will Legacy Brands Adapt?

• Ingrid has noticed a trend with Google search terms, including sustainability, cotton fiber, dress garments, and for some reason the brand