While many companies identify social justice and sustainability as elements within the business plan, few have it as a primary goal and even fewer are able to create superior products while addressing it. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with inspirational entrepreneur Billie Paris, founder of Moral Fibre – a company focused on creating ethical and sustainable clothing which supports disadvantaged women. She has been researching and developing her sustainable clothing business over the past five years and she shared with me some of her experiences, successes and the challenges she has come across along the way.
Lessons that she has learned through developing the company are:
- No one will work as hard on the business as yourself.
- Think carefully before handing over equity in the company.
- Have clear and defined roles for individuals providing input.
- Don’t underestimate the power of networking.
- Don’t take everything at face value.
- Always do your research and use your gut instinct.
Billie has taken advantage of the women in business program and mentoring system provided by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development.
How it all started
Always having an interest in social issues Billie was jolted into action when she began looking at the atrocities and inequalities which are inflicted on women in some countries. Billie started to look for pro-active ways in which she could improve the lot of these women and provide opportunities for these communities in terms of creating a livelihood and income.
The research
After a significant amount of research, lots of meetings, several overseas trips, going down a few blind alleys and dealing with ingrained corruption and a bit of misrepresentation and dishonesty, she eventually found a group of suppliers and manufacturers in India and Peru, which adhered to her strict criteria to support social justice, environmental protection and product quality. Focusing on key classic and workwear items Billie developed a range of high quality, flattering and durable items.
Insightful designs, such as the conference bag, are made from fair-trade organic cotton, grown using natural farming methods and pest control. The most interesting feature of this bag and some of the other items in the Moral Fibre range, is that they are manufactured by an organisation run by nuns. The organisation, located in India, is a non-profit rehabilitation program for economically disadvantaged or disabled young women or those who are considered unfit for marriage by their families. It has a workforce of around 120 women who are given employment, training and support. Employees are paid above the standard wage, given free accommodation, water and electricity and help towards paying their dowries and a lump sum paid after five years of employment to start a home.
Seeking out and developing products with companies such as this is more time consuming than typical manufacturing pathways, but has much greater rewards.
Starting out
In the beginning it was all about burning the midnight oil, juggling family life with a full time job, working weekends, evenings and lunchtimes. Billie took the plunge about 18 months ago and packed in her job to follow her passion and has not looked back since.
It has taken about five years from the initial spark to production and successful distribution of the range. A number of business partners have been involved along the way, but now Billie manages the day to day running, business development and has help with the orders and online enquiries.
The funding
Moral Fibre has been financed solely on Billie and her husband’s savings to date.
Biggest challenge
The biggest challenge has been finding producers who meet the strict ethical code of Moral Fibre. Nothing can be taken on face value and it has been important to experience first hand the supply chain to be able to select those which are doing more than going through the motions to simply become more marketable.
The demand for fair trade products has increased significantly in the last year and adequate supplies are hard to find. Billie initially applied published ethical and fair trade criteria to her suppliers to ensure that while they may not have certification (bamboo is currently uncertified, however, it is a known fact that bamboo is grown with minimal inputs and requires no pesticides or fertilisers) the raw materials were produced in a sustainable fashion.
Minimising negative impacts
Billie has the social impacts at the top of the agenda and continually strives to reduce environmental impacts. Although the products are made overseas, the impacts of the production and manufacturing have been minimised through the use of traditional farming methods, use of renewable energy and minimising waste. Bulk purchasing and delivery of these items to the storage point in Australia is undertaken to minimise the number of transportation journeys and the location of production and manufacture are located in close proximity where possible. Product packaging and delivery has been designed to minimise the use of raw materials.
International flights are essential to set up and review the production process. Carbon offsets are purchased through ClimateFriendly to minimise the impacts of this.
Future plans
While retaining the direct sale options through the website, in order to shift the large quantities which need to be ordered it is the business to business operations which will be the main focus. Purchasing the basic undyed and untreated products means that they can be sold on to Australian companies who can then add colour or design. Billie is also researching the opportunity for use of natural Australian dyes for the range.
