How the smallness of our ethical fashion brand proved to be a strength in 2023
“This year has been no easy feat – in fact, it has been our toughest year to date. The sustainable fashion segment has been facing significant challenges and some brands we had looked up to for years closed their doors. With luxury fashion prospering on the one hand and fast fashion celebrating record sales on the other, we found ourselves in a bit of a pickle.
Due to the rising costs of our ethical production and the instability of sales in the high-end segment, we were in the red for the first half of the year. The alarming situation went as far as considering shutting down Mila.Vert completely and selling our remaining stock had we kept making a loss by producing each item individually.
Eventually, we decided to re-evaluate how we work – and what our strengths are. Our small yet determined team decided to adapt our local production in order to highlight what we do best. A few months ago, we therefore introduced our on-demand production model, which is based on a pre-order system – and it instantly became a success.
In general, overproduction and left-over stock are the main problems of the fashion industry. We decided to avoid both. Since Mila.Vert keeps no stock and produces our items in small pre-order batches, we managed to adopt a conscious business model that will keep our brand sustainable in the long run both financially and environmentally. Our ethical products may be fewer, but they are perfected to the last stitch and knot, bringing you nothing but the best of sustainable fashion. How we work now has proved to be better, more beneficial and less stressful for our team and our partners as well as for the planet. The pre-order system also allows us to keep our prices more affordable and enables our financial stability through steady sales.
What we got out of this wild ride of 2023 is another nod to our brand and the team behind it. Thanks to the brand’s smallness, courage, adaptability and the loyal support of you, our dear community, we were able to gracefully overcome all the obstacles this year threw at us.
Here’s to 2024 and everything it may bring – we’re ready and excited to see what it has in store for us.”
Tina Logar Bauchmüller, the founder and CEO of Mila.Vert
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