Start A Sustainable Clothing Line - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Sustainable Clothing Line

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Starting a sustainable clothing company can seem like a daunting task, but with the right skills and resources in place, it doesn't have to be. And thanks to more and more technologies becoming available there is a greater chance of success than has ever been had before.

The sustainable clothing market shrunk from $6.35B in 2019 to $6.14B in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse economic impact. But the sustainable clothing market size will keep growing in the coming years, Experts predict it will reach $8.25B by 2023.

Starting a sustainable clothing line requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell sustainable clothing, or selling sustainable clothing online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a sustainable clothing line ➜

Key Stats

revenue (monthly)
$13K
starting costs
$35.3K
gross margin
47%
avg product price
$100
time to build
360 days
growth
SEO
business model
E-Commerce
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$352

Website Costs

$223

$7,215

Business Formation Fees

$5,600

$20,400

Equipment & Supply Expenses

$66

$700

Retail Business Expenses

$1,250

$11,650

Inventory Expenses

$350

$14,750

Software Expenses

$162

$3,094

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$5,286

Total Startup Costs

$7,877

$70,447

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Allbirds

allbirds.com

9,312

Inhabitat

inhabitat.com

37,133

Concrete Information, Design Ideas, (+Contractors)

concretenetwork.com

86,343

Access Denied

eileenfisher.com

86,799

TalentLess

talentless.co

108,479

The Cagle Post

cagle.com

110,556

Threads 4 Thought

threads4thought.com

210,354

Textile Exchange

textileexchange.org

255,321

BFG Homepage

blueforcegear.com

279,964

Soul Flower Clothing

soul-flower.com

282,910

People Tree

peopletree.co.uk

285,034

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a sustainable clothing line. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

Easy to encourage "impulse buy"

In the sustainable clothing line, you have a much higher chance of encouraging your customers to buy on impulse - you can easily alter the price, placement, packaging, and promotional value to influence the decision of your buyer.

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Cons Description

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A sustainable clothing line can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

High employee turnover

In the sustainable clothing line, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Taxes

As a sustainable clothing line, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

High overhead expenses

With starting a sustainable clothing line, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.

You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 2

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 3

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜