Zady has a new “Sourced In” initiative to speed up the apparel industry’s standard for supply chain transparency.
The initiative is meant to go beyond the “Made In…” tag found on apparel, and is aimed at pushing brands to disclose every level of their product supply chain. The move is meant to have everyone become more responsible for the environmental, ethical and economic factors that are encountered in every step of production, from the farm to the finished factory.
Zady was founded by Soraya Darabi and Maxine Bédat in August 2013 to highlight organic apparel as a lifestyle for Millennials seeking an alternative to the disposable fads of “fast fashion.” At the core of its business model is the disclosure of the supply chain for all products on its site, with details and information about its sourcing partners. Further, requirements for its “Sourced in the U.S.A.” mandate is that any product appearing on its site must have all components from the U.S.
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For example, a sweater from Zady’s new Essentials line available in three colors, priced at $160, was designed in New York; uses wool from a sheep farm in Oregon; washing and carding completed in South Carolina; dyeing and spinning into yarn in Pennsylvania, and knitting in California. The sweater is part of Zady’s private label line, which it plans to roll out through individual products from time to time. According to Bédat, the item was created as a “luxury product without the luxury price tag.” The idea for the Essentials line was centered on what are the “essential pieces to have a complete wardrobe,” and consumers on the site often give feedback on queries such as what constitutes the perfect shirt or blazer. The answers then are considered when designing the final product for the line.
Zady’s “We the People” petition is housed on the White House Web site, and it is tagged as a petition to the Obama Administration to establish a “Sourced In” tag for apparel brands sold in the U.S. to disclose the origins of the full product supply chain. At press time, there were 68 signatures on the petition, which discloses the individual’s initials, city and state, as well as date the petition was signed. According to Darabi, information about the petition was previously disclosed to its vendor partners. Outreach to raise awareness of the petition and garner more signatures will begin in earnest next week, with the call for supporters to join its campaign via social media site Thunderclap on Cyber Monday, she said.