MySource- The Platform you need to know about…

This is a guest post from George Taylor, Director at Creative Industry Hub.

Recently, Tamsin Lejeune (CEO at the Ethical Fashion Forum and Mysource) attended the Houses of Parliament with Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and 30 other top fashion industry leaders to discuss an important buzz topic that is concerning fashion professionals and business owners across the globe…

‘How do we take sustainable fashion to the mass market, and scale it so that it becomes normal instead of a novelty?’ Whilst that might sound like a bit of a mouth full, and a tricky question to answer, Tamsin is confident that she knows the answer, and has the solution to deliver it. It’s called Mysource.

If you haven’t heard of Mysource already, now is a good time to go and check it out. However, you may have heard of the Ethical Fashion Forum (set up by Tamsin), which recently rebranded their ‘Source’ platform to ‘Mysource.’ The platform already attracts a large number of fashion professionals and businesses who are interested in building ethical supply chains.

The problem is, it is estimated that ‘less than 1 percent of the fashion industry is dedicated to ethical and sustainable product,’ Tamsin claims. She also believes that the businesses who aren’t currently using the Ethical Fashion Forum are the ones who are causing the largest negative impact on the environment, and its’ people.

So what does Mysource do? And how will it solve this wide spread issue? Tamsin has described it as a tool which can help anyone, anywhere access the right resources and connections to build and grow their fashion business, but it doesn’t force people to be more sustainable. In other words, anyone can use it. Clever, huh?

Well actually, yes it is.

Because once people sign up to use the networking tool, the businesses with higher ethical and sustainability standards will be ranked higher, making them more desireable to deal with from a business perspective. Sustainable and ethical SEO, you ask? I personally think it’s a fantastic idea, as whilst nobody is obliged to operate on an ethical basis, it will benefit them if they do.

And let’s face it. Companies will start to feel left out when they realise that their competitors are ranked higher than them, which is a great driving force that will make them want to do something about it. We all know that social status works, and this is why I think the concept is pure genius. The challenge, however will be to market the platform on a global basis, build the connections database up, and get people to actually use it.

Another challenge is changing people’s perception on what sustainability is, from a cost perspective. Tamsin feels that ‘sustainability is still perceived as a cost, rather than a commercial opportunity.’ But lots of businesses have fears of adopting new processes, because of how time consuming and expensive it can be to roll it out through their business. Businesses use to have this concern with websites and social media!

But often, they forget to consider the long term benefits, an increased public profile being an obvious one, as consumers become more fussy with what they buy over time.

Nowadays, consumers want to know WHERE and HOW their clothes were made! So on that note, whilst companies feel like they can’t afford it, they’re going to have to swallow their pride and get on with it, because if they don’t jump on the bandwagon, their yearly revenues will begin to shrink over time as consumers boycott non-sustainable fashion retailers.

So is it a question of want? I don’t think it is. I think it’s a question of need, and Mysource is ahead of the game as far as technology and concept is concerned. Will you be using Mysource in your fashion business? And how important is sustainability and ethics to you, when you buy new clothes? Tweet your thoughts to @seen_intheCity or @CRIndustryHub

See George in action conducting one of his talks here