DALE MCCARTHY - BONDI BORN & MARY LOU RYAN - BASSIKE
ON BUILDING A FASHION BRAND THAT’S DRIVEN BY PURPOSE, AND THAT ALSO MAKES A HEALTHY PROFIT.
How do you build a fashion brand that’s driven by purpose and also makes a healthy profit?
That’s the question we’re asking Bassike co-founder – Mary-Lou Ryan and the founder of Bondi Born – Dale McCarthy.
Bassike was established by Mary-Lou and her business partner Deborah Sams in 2006, with a vision to create luxurious and wearable everyday pieces. The Bassike philosophy is centered on high quality design with a commitment to sustainable manufacturing and supporting our local industry.
Dale created Bondi Born to empower and inspire the summer style of women all over the world, while never compromising on quality, people or planet. They’re one of only a few Aussie fashion brands to become B Corp Certified – a rigorous measure of a company's impact on its workers, customers, community and environment.
In this chat you’ll learn:
How both Bondi Born and Bassike have taken an incremental, step by step approach to becoming more sustainable (and how you can too)
Why you’ll be left behind if you’re not building a brand based on purpose and profit
Why Dale believes building a sustainable fashion label comes down to just doing the right thing
How Bassike pulled off an entirely carbon neutral runway show at this year’s AAFW
We hope you enjoyed this conversation – for more podcast action follow us on Instagram @lady.brains, or sign up to our monthly newsletter at www.ladybrains.com
THE BITS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS
“It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my entire life, particularly the first few years when I didn’t know what I was doing and it wasn’t making any money. But it’s also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my entire life. ”
“I never thought it wasn’t going to work. I think that blind optimism got me through the early stages. Because if I didn’t have that, I think it’d be very hard to keep going because it is just so difficult. ”
“To be honest, I didn’t set out to be a sustainable brand. My goal was to be Australia’s first luxury swimwear brand. I’ve always wanted to do the right thing, and that became part of every decision. I’d go ok, I need to create packaging, I’ll use recycled cardboard, because that’s the right thing to do.
[Sustainability] was sort of an incremental thing for me. I didn’t set out to be an eco warrior or anything, it was about just doing what’s right. Bit by bit we changed and improved everything in the business. ”
“I probably don’t make as much money as if I made everything overseas, but for me it’s not a race to make as much money as possible. ”
“The most important thing is just to start. When you think about sustainability, it’s not just about the fabric choice anymore. You have to have a much more holistic approach. Sustainability is asking ‘what’s your transport looking like? Who are your logistics partner? What kind of lighting do you use and how are you building your stores?’ There is so much more to sustainability now, which can be very overwhelming. But you just have to start and you’ve got to be willing to go there. ”
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