How to choose clothes for longevity, not the landfill | Diarra Bousso
Mar 21, 2024
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Designer Diarra Bousso shares sustainable fashion principles inspired by her Senegalese roots, emphasizing longevity over impulse buys. By crowdsourcing designs and limiting excess inventory, she proves that reducing waste can lead to increased profits in the fashion industry.
Promoting conscious consumption through engaging customers in the design process to create desired clothing efficiently.
Utilizing AI and mathematical processes to streamline design and production, reducing waste and embracing sustainable practices.
Deep dives
Sustainable Fashion Approach by DR. Blue
Fashion designer Dira Busso, inspired by a life-changing experience, founded the brand DR. Blue with a mission to produce clothing more responsibly. She promotes conscious consumption by engaging customers in the design process through online surveys to create desired clothing efficiently. By integrating AI and mathematical processes, they streamline the design and production, leading to reduced waste and sustainable practices.
Conscious Production Methods
DR. Blue focuses on creating garments on demand through Senegalese artisans, minimizing overproduction and utilizing textile prints chosen through crowdsourcing. This approach significantly reduces textile waste and aligns with sustainable fashion principles. The company also explores pre-order strategies and negotiates with factories on minimums to further enhance conscious production.
Return Policy for Sustainable Practices
To address overconsumption and reduce returns, DR. Blue enforces return shipping fees and engages customers on the importance of mindful purchasing. By encouraging a shift in mindset around returns and fostering open communication with customers, the company strives to limit duplicate orders and unnecessary returns. This approach, combined with an annual outlet sale focused on sustainability, has markedly decreased return rates and promoted eco-conscious consumer behavior.
Buying cheap clothing online can be satisfying, but it comes with not-so-hidden environmental costs. When designer Diarra Bousso was growing up in Senegal, her family bought and created new outfits for longevity rather than on impulse — an intention she carries forth in her fashion tech brand. Outlining three sustainable principles, including crowdsourcing designs and limiting excess inventory, Bousso shows it's possible to decrease waste while increasing profit — and shares how to apply this wisdom across the fashion industry.