Supre heir’s bid to clean up fashion

Fast fashion is on the way out. Consumers are demanding more ethical options and retailers need to invest in the process of investigating what’s occurring in their extended supply chain.

That’s according to Catherine Taouk, who spent 15 years working at her father’s teen fashion brand, Supre, which specialises in mass-produced, cheap fashion. Supre was sold to The Cotton On Group in October, 2013.

"Since leaving Supre, I’ve learned that there is another way to do business, and it’s not this ruthless, cut everyone down to make money style of business that’s operating in the fashion world today," Taouk says.

"I just wish I’d have known what I know today about ethical fashion back in my unconscious Supre days, about the impact our decisions were having on others," Taouk says.

"We had millions of those pink Supre polypropylene bags on order constantly, and if I think now of the dyes that went into those bags that were reusable, but not recyclable. But I’m making up for all of the things I never knew now."

Taouk joined Supre in 1997 as part of the sales and development team during a financially tumultuous period in which the brand entered voluntary administration. She was an instrumental figure in the brand’s transformation as it soared into a new stage of the business cycle, before her parents sold to the Cotton On Group.

Supply chain

Since leaving Supre, Taouk has absorbed herself in Conscious Capitalism events, saying she’s learned the error of her ways. She’s also absorbed herself in books and documentaries that highlight unethical dramas in the supply chain, admitting an animation depicting force-fed geese then plucked for their down for use in ski jackets reduced her to tears. Now, she wants to show others in the fashion world how to be more sustainable in their approach to running their business.

As the Australian dollar falls and the federal government signs a free-trade agreement phasing in zero tariff for imports from China, it’s time for the fashion industry to change, she says.

"When I look back on my Supre days, I realise that the most profitable years were when we had true purpose. During those periods when we weren’t always focused on the money and the bottom line, rents, wages, ratios and all those things that made the business not so much fun any more, we were in fact more profitable."

Taouk, who was the CEO of boutique fashion brand Princess Polly for three months last year, has returned to running her business consultancy to help brands adopt more strategic, responsive strategies and services and embrace changes in the marketplace.

But she’s going one step further, teaming up with supply-chain compliance specialist Despina Karlsson to launch the "Raw to Store" program, helping fashion manufacturers banish unethical manufacturing procedures from their supply chain.

She’s knocking on the doors of Australian fashion houses and offering to conduct an internal appraisal to help uncover problems in the supply chain and find alternatives. The audit will be conducted in conjunction with the University of Sydney, which plugs manufacturing data into an integrated sustainability analysis system to uncover supply chain flaws.

Short-term expenses

Taouk realises it’s going to be a slow burn and take longer for big companies to look deeper into their supply chain.

"Long term, retailers can be more profitable by being open about their supply chain, even though in the short term, there will no doubt be a fear that products will cost more. But the products will last longer and consumers will vote with their wallet."

Taouk hasn’t invited Supre to be audited by Raw to Store yet but intends to.

A spokesperson from parent company Cotton On Group says the acquisition of Supre has given the fashion brand access to the group’s extensive network of existing suppliers.

"As all Supre products are now manufactured through this network, the brand is subject to the group’s ethical-sourcing program.

"We have, and will continue to further develop our ethical-sourcing program to ensure it not only meets, but exceeds the expectations of our customers, our team and our partners," the spokeswoman says.

Taouk’s timing as she moves toward ethical fashion advice is impeccable, say industry analysts.

In Melbourne, fashion business consultant Elizabeth Formosa has noticed an increasing number of clients pursue ethical fashion business models. The founder of Fashion Equipped says the desire among retailers to produce ethical fashion is higher than it’s ever been as environmental and social issues are top of mind for younger generations.

"Many fashion retailers are challenged by the information and resources available to them locally. Especially for designers who don’t have a great deal of capital in the start-up phase," she says.

Industry shift

Ethical Clothing Australia agrees. The garment-factory fire in Bangladesh in 2012 in which more than 100 workers who stitched garments for Western retailers died has cast a dark shadow on the fashion industry. The fire was the catalyst for a much greater media and public dialogue about ethical manufacturing, according to spokeswoman Sigrid McCarthy.

"We definitely feel this tragic event prompted more people to start questioning the origins of their purchases, and demand greater transparency throughout supply chains," McCarthy says.

"This big shift toward more ethically produced fashion is here to stay and the fashion industry is slowly but surely realising this. Just like the food industry, there’s growing demand for ethical products within the textile, clothing and footwear industry, and companies are being pressured to take responsibility for their actions."

Government support is following, with the Victorian Labor government recently announcing $2 million in funding over the next two years to Ethical Clothing Australia’s accreditation program. It will work with local textile, clothing and footwear brands to ensure their Australian-based supply chains are transparent and legally compliant.

Procurement industry specialist Tania Seary, based in London, agrees consumers are starting to seek out more sustainable and ethical fashion brands and that procurement processes are more important than ever.

However, the founding chairman of The Faculty Management Consultants has also noticed many global apparel companies shift supply chains to riskier countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Myanmar, where low labour costs and standards mean lower retail costs for price-conscious consumers.

"Fashion manufacturers have an insatiable appetite for cost reduction. I’ve heard many stories of factories in third world countries manufacturing for multiple brands that will insist on eye masks during a dangerous process for one brand, but not insist on safety equipment for the cheaper run to follow to make savings.

"Fashion retailers just can’t plead ignorance any more. Some of the issues in these economies around child labour and unsafe practices are having major ramifications on brands as consumers speak out against fast fashion houses and vote with their wallet," Seary says.

Fashion manufacturers need to start realising it’s their responsibility to track and audit when happens within their extended supply chain to find out what’s really happening down the line, she says.

"It’s up to fashion manufacturers to physically walk the supply chain, ask the questions and do the checks. It’s about deciding what your company’s non-negotiables are and considering the ethics you want your business to integrate into your supply chain."

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