A New Online Destination For Sustainable Clothing
Interview With The Founder Of Edify
The one-stop shop for ethical, sustainable, USA-made, BICPOC-owned, women-owned, and toxic-free fashion.
Edify is a new sustainable fashion marketplace focused on making sustainable shopping accessible, and affordable. They’re a one-stop-shop for ethical, sustainable, USA-made, BICPOC-owned, women-owned, and toxic-free fashion.
In honor of International Women’s Day, I had the honor of chatting with the founder, Rachel Garrett, to learn more about the brand and her journey of running a business being pregnant with her first baby.
Below she shares more about her vision, her newly launched capsule collection, and her plans for Edify in the future.
To begin, what sets Edify apart from other online sustainable marketplaces?
Edify is a curation of clothing, accessories, and lifestyle goods that are stylish, sustainable, yet also accessibly priced. It’s less of a giant marketplace experience and more of a buttoned-up curation of powerful brands & ethical products that fit the mold.
I have always felt like sustainable shopping should still be exciting, fun, and shouldn’t break the bank.
“Edify is a place for all different types of people (whether you’re new to sustainable shopping, or a veteran) to come and enjoy fashion guilt-free, and maybe also learn something new along the way! ”
So I wanted to bring a new flavor to what I felt wasn’t quite out there yet. Edify is a place for all different types of people (whether you’re new to sustainable shopping, or a veteran) to come and enjoy fashion guilt-free, and maybe also learn something new along the way!
I have always felt like sustainable shopping should still be exciting, fun, and shouldn’t break the bank. So I wanted to bring a new flavor to what I felt wasn’t quite out there yet. Edify is a place for all different types of people (whether you’re new to sustainable shopping, or a veteran) to come and enjoy fashion guilt-free, and maybe also learn something new along the way!
We just started working with local factories and offering a small set of styles that are exclusively Edify labels. On March 3rd, we released our first-ever “Small-Batch Capsule.” It includes quality-made pieces made in Southern California. By offering both an assortment of ethical brands and our own product line, my hope is we can give the customer even more of an opportunity to find conscious pieces they love, at a price that makes sense to them.
As someone who’s been working in fashion for a long time, can you share what inspired a shift for you to work in sustainable fashion?
My experience working in the fashion industry is one of the things that drove me to start Edify. I spent several years as a buyer working in fast fashion, and in order to hit certain prices, there was always something that needed to be sacrificed. Whether that meant quality, cheaper fabrics with more synthetics, ethics, the list goes on! It’s true there are hidden costs to finding a great deal when buying clothing. When COVID and global supply chain issues began to surface, these issues became even more clear.
Throughout the years I became really curious about ethical and sustainable fashion and started to ask a LOT of questions. What also inspired a shift was my experience as a customer. The more I started to shop around for new and emerging sustainable brands, the more I realized the shopping experience wasn’t easy. A lightbulb sort of turned on, and I knew there had to be more people out there like me, who wanted to still enjoy fashion but not feel like they were doing more harm than good.
I always ask sustainable brands to define sustainability—can you share how you describe it in your own words?
I love this question. To me, sustainability means empathy & compassion. It means thinking about something much larger than ourselves. More literally speaking, sustainability is asking the question of “Is the rate at which we’re going, able to benefit from the resources and all our planet provides for generations to come?”. When you relate it to fashion, both people and the planet need to be taken into account. If you’re focused on sustainability, then you’re prioritizing putting more good, and less harm out into the world.
You just launched your first ever small-batch capsule collection! Can you share the process for creating a small-batch collection? What challenges and wins did you face?
“Going to the factories and working one-on-one with the sewers is both humbling and rewarding. ”
Yes! I am so excited about this. This small-batch capsule is made up of 4 pieces that embrace a laid-back lifestyle and the idea of having less and living more. We worked with local sewers, artists, and hand-crocheter’s to create quality pieces, we hope you’ll cherish and live in!
The process itself has been really fun for me because I’m able to apply some of my experience as a buyer, while also learning a lot of things within the design and production process. Going to the factories and working one-on-one with the sewers is both humbling and rewarding. There’s so much work that goes into creating a garment! I’ve experienced both wins and challenges throughout the process, depending on the day—sometimes both in one day. The challenge is that there are so many layers to the process.
Right now, it’s just me working on the capsule, so at times I’m spread thin but that makes it all that more rewarding when I see my vision come to life!
You’re currently pregnant with your first baby! How has it been to be pregnant while running a business?
So far so good! Throughout the pregnancy, I’ve had to learn to just roll with the days I feel motivated and be patient with myself on the days I need to rest. During my first trimester, there were definitely days where I had to just give myself a break and be exhausted. I’ve always been very strict with myself about productivity and having a to-do list. But I’ve learned to manage my expectations differently now that I’m pregnant. In a way, I think it’s preparing me for what’s to come. I know my priorities are going to shift when I welcome a child into the world and I’m hoping to give myself grace when managing expectations.
Are there any notably rewarding moments you can share since starting Edify?
One of my proudest moments so far, was when I was able to quit my full-time job in May 2021 and go fully into Edify. The idea of leaving a stable corporate job to pursue something that’s on your heart is just as scary as they say it is. Even though it’s been a challenging journey, it’s also been one of the most empowering decisions I’ve made in my life. I can’t imagine it any other way!
What plans do you have for continuing to spread the word of sustainable fashion and the future of Edify? Especially after your baby is born!
I have so many plans! I am constantly feeling inspired by Edify and the sustainable fashion community. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know our customers and figuring out how we create the best shopping experience. These next few months are about trying new things and seeing what works. I am hoping the small-batch capsule will gain a lot of interest, so we’re able to continue to drop fun releases like this in the future.
We’ve also started to sprinkle organic children’s styles on the site, which I’d love to do more of. Hopefully, by continuing to offer a fun and relaxed place to sustainably shop online, people will spread the word and this beautiful community will continue to grow.
Once the baby comes, I definitely plan to take time to soak in this new journey of becoming a mom! My plan for right now is to just take it day by day. I’m not sure exactly what the future is going to look like, but I’m beyond excited to find out.
