The great reckoning, and an ex-Chanel store manager who launched a sustainable leather goods line
Hi friends 👋,
Happy Pride Month!
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At a glance
Similar to the #MeToo movement, the BLM protests brought about high-profile departures and sweeping initiatives among well-known brands.
🛫 Audrey Gelman, Co-Founder of The Wing, stepped down amid a furor over the treatment of black and brown employees
🙇♀️ Yael Aflalo, CEO of Reformation, said “I’ve failed”, after a former employee wrote an explosive post about being undervalued as a woman-of-color
🔢 Some beauty brands, like Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics company, publicly shared the percentages of black employees in their workforces and on their leadership teams
💸 Glossier launched a $500k grant initiative for black-owned beauty businesses
Spotlight - Kathleen from Opus Mind
Our main story today is about Kathleen Kuo, the founder of Opus Mind, which develops a line of 100% sustainable leather goods and is on a mission to empower consumers with sustainable options that ensure the health of our beautiful planet.
You’ll hear:
How she went from being a fashion designer to managing flagship stores for Dior and Chanel, and to becoming an entrepreneur
Why she left Chanel to start her own leather goods line
Why she’s so passionate about mindful sustainability
Kathleen, take us from here.
🚊 Personal journey
I was born in Belgium, to Taiwanese parents. My dad is an artist and received a fellowship in the royal academy.
Growing up in Europe, I had access to quality fashion that was well-made and stood the test of time.
I started my career as a fashion designer in BCBC in Paris; I wanted to get closer to the customers, so I started working in retail for Dior and then Chanel.
I was always curious about what makes those brands great: they must have a success formula to remain relevant as a 100-year-old brand.
I learned their success formula: They put their customers in the center of everything.
💡 Why I started Opus Mind
When I was leading Chanel’s flagship stores in Paris and then Hong Kong, customers were repeatedly asking, “How are things fabricated?”, and “Where is it made, how is it made?”
I started asking myself those questions. Since I spent quite some time in the luxury fashion space, I know about the stats around over-production and waste.
In luxury fashion, the merchandisers tend to over-project demand so that they don’t miss any sales from a lack of inventory. Compounded by supply chain issues and the brands’ desire to protect their brand equity, the excess products go to waste rather than getting sold at a discount.
I tried to persuade the execs at Chanel to adopt better sustainability practices, but couldn’t at that time. So I decided to launch my own sustainable leather goods line.
🤔 How I ensure sustainability in the supply chain
I personally source recycled leather. I want to know where the leather comes from, what its composition is, and how it’s made.
One problem with the industry is that brands want to move fast, so they don’t spend time asking the important questions.
I want to do better. I go to the factories, ask how the animals are killed and processed, and check their third party certifications that verify the material does indeed come from the source.
Next step in my journey
One problem I currently face is, because I need to ship material around the world to make the products, I can’t reduce the carbon footprint as much as I wished to.
After reflecting on my core values during the COVID-19 lockdown, I decided that I wanted to scale the business more sustainably and evolve from being just an eCommerce company to a platform that builds a community around sustainability.
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We’ll delve deeper into Kathleen’s story on Instagram Live this Friday 4pm ET. Join us by visiting our Insta pages @storey.line or @opusmind.sf!
Brand Hunt
We are continuing to dedicate this section to showcase brands from Black founders.
Nominate a brand for us to feature!
Nyakio Beauty: Clean and green skincare
Range Beauty: Clean beauty for the forgotten shades
OUI the People: Bodycare for the good of the people
CLAUDE HOME: Vintage furniture
At StoreyLine, our mission is to empower mission-driven, daring brands to tell their inspiring stories and empower consumers to discover and connect with these brands both online and in real life.
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See you next Wednesday,
Minette