Joy Howard, founder of the degrowth brand Early Majority, discusses her passion for community-driven sustainability. She shares her journey from Patagonia to creating a brand focused on timeless, multifunctional clothing instead of endless collections. Joy highlights the power of token-gated commerce and how engaging a community can reshape consumer habits around product lifespans. The conversation dives into the challenges of traditional growth models in fashion and the exciting potential of Web3 to foster authentic connections in the industry.
Joy Howard advocates for a degrowth approach in fashion, emphasizing the importance of creating fewer, meaningful products to minimize environmental impact.
Early Majority's community-driven model transforms consumer relationships by fostering engagement and co-creation around sustainability rather than traditional transactional experiences.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Taste in Automotive Design
Good taste in cars often reflects sophistication and class, highlighting the emotional connection individuals have with their vehicles. The Range Rover Evoque stands out as an exemplar of this idea, blending elegant design with advanced technology and premium materials. Its striking exterior features, such as a floating roof and three-dimensional grille, create an image that is both bold and subtle, epitomizing Range Rover DNA. The interior's calm and minimalist cabin further enhances the driving experience, showcasing how a vehicle can serve as a statement of personal taste.
Embracing Degrowth in Fashion
The conversation around degrowth emphasizes the necessity for the fashion industry to reassess its production and consumption patterns, particularly in light of the ongoing climate crisis. Joy Howard's company, Early Majority, aims to reduce the environmental impact of fashion by promoting the creation of fewer, more meaningful products. This approach advocates for an industry model that prioritizes sustainability over mere proliferation of goods. By initiating a shift towards degrowth, Early Majority challenges conventional growth narratives and encourages mindful consumption among consumers.
A Journey from Music to Fashion Leadership
Joy Howard's diverse career trajectory—from musician to a key player in the fashion industry—underscores the interplay between creativity and business acumen. After facing challenges in the music industry due to digital disruption, she pivoted to pursue an MBA in sustainable enterprise, ultimately leading her to influential roles at Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, and Patagonia. Each of these experiences equipped her with insights that shaped her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to sustainability in fashion. This background also contextualizes her newfound venture, where she seeks to redefine how brands operate and connect with their communities.
Building Community through Membership Models
The emergence of community-based membership models reflects a significant shift in consumer-brand relationships, inviting individuals to actively participate in the brand's journey. Early Majority fosters this connection, encouraging members to engage with the brand and each other, thereby co-creating a mission centered around sustainability. This model challenges traditional retail practices by focusing on building rapport rather than mere transactions, leading to a shared commitment to sustainable living. As the brand grows, it aims to create a supportive environment that promotes collective values and experiences among its community members.
BoF’s editor-in-chief Imran Amed spoke with the founder of degrowth brand Early Majority about the power of energised communities and what the future of token-gated commerce looks like.
Background:
The seed of inspiration for Early Majority has been growing in founder Joy Howard’s mind since her days at Patagonia in the early 2010s. Howard grew to understand the contradiction between fashion’s constant drive to sell more against the industry’s efforts to curb its environmental impact. This sparked the question in her: can a brand focus on selling timeless products rather than an endless array of new collections?
Early Majority sells “layered” outerwear, which it packages in “kits” that include everything from light windbreakers to cold weather puffers. It also offers a membership programme, where customers who mint an NFT gain access to lower prices, exclusive products and other benefits.
“[Early Majority is] a different experience than ‘just buy this,’” she said. “These very transactional experiences that we have with brands are not that great for either side in the long-term.”
Since founding Early Majority, Howard has bet on paying members enabling the brand to meet its aim of creating the fewest number of products for the maximum possible number of uses and just as critically engaging a community well versed in the brand. Howard has her heart set on meeting customers’ needs while changing the way consumers think about product lifespan.
This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF’s founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed speaks with Howard about why degrowth is the future for fashion business models and how she has progressed towards her goals.
Key Insights:
Coming from a background in marketing, Howard has led her business venture with intention and practicality. “I realised that you can have all the great intentions in the world, but if you don’t actually understand how to run a business, you’re not really going to be that effective,” she said.
Howard’s goal for de-growth consumption originates from her pursuit of consumer discovery. “We all want to always be growing. But the way that we grow is the question that we have to grapple with,” says Howard. “Anybody that comes into the brand has a sense that they’re participating in something that’s emergent and different and [has] a sense of discovery.”
The value of community has been at the forefront of Howard’s venture. Realising early on when transforming to a membership model, Howard has centred Early Majority’s community and intrinsically links it with tangible value. “I think it is actually very energising to connect with other people around a common vision and a common goal,” says Howard. “[Early Majority’s] token is kind of like the thing that you all hold in common. And as the community becomes more valuable, the token becomes more valuable.”
Additional Resources:
Why Brands Are Betting on Membership: Swiss performance brand On is among the players betting the model can drive consumer engagement and help tackle tricky sustainability challenges.
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