Sarah Ahmed, founder of Warp+Weft, discusses how luxury denim brands can navigate crises by prioritizing ethical manufacturing, e-commerce growth, and robust human resources strategies. She emphasizes the importance of making businesses and employee roles
Key takeaways
Implement sustainable manufacturing practices to reduce environmental impact, such as Warp+Weft's water-saving denim production.
Critically examine internal practices and marketing choices to identify and rectify biases, promoting racial equality and diversity within the fashion industry.
Develop HR strategies that foster indispensable roles and employee value to create a "pandemic-proof" workforce, ensuring business resilience during crises.
Leverage unexpected e-commerce growth opportunities, even for products not traditionally associated with online comfort shopping, like premium denim.
Proactively build adaptable, highly skilled teams and a culture of continuous learning to navigate unpredictable global landscapes.
Speaking for her corner of the fashion industry -- luxury denim -- Warp+Weft founder Sarah Ahmed said that discussions around racial issues should only be beginning. "If everyone was always receptive to this -- to racial equality -- we wouldn't be having these problems," Ahmed said on the Glossy Podcast.
"We all need to take a look: maybe the joke that we make, the model choice that we made -- why did we make that?" she said.
Warp+Weft is progressive on other fronts. Its manufacturing process consumes a fraction of the water that jeans -- a notoriously resource-intense garment -- typically do, according to Ahmed.
And because of the impact of the pandemic, Ahmed hopes to make the family-owned businesses she's a part of (Warp+Weft is one, DL1961 is the other) smarter about human resources.
Ahmed said the company saw a spike in e-commerce sales -- yes, even though they're jeans, not sweatpants. But it still had to make layoffs. For the future, Ahmed said, "I talk to people on the team and tell them 'Listen, let's make you and this role irreplaceable -- and so key to the company that you feel needed, and we need you, and you're pandemic-proof.' I think that's how employers need to be looking at their roles."
Implement sustainable manufacturing practices to reduce environmental impact, such as Warp+Weft's water-saving denim production.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Critically examine internal practices and marketing choices to identify and rectify biases, promoting racial equality and diversity within the fashion industry.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Develop HR strategies that foster indispensable roles and employee value to create a "pandemic-proof" workforce, ensuring business resilience during crises.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Leverage unexpected e-commerce growth opportunities, even for products not traditionally associated with online comfort shopping, like premium denim.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Proactively build adaptable, highly skilled teams and a culture of continuous learning to navigate unpredictable global landscapes.
