What's in store for fashion? Sustainability, says By Maverix

The co-founders behind sustainable clothing startup By Maverix believe the fashion industry needs to come up with new ways of working that are better for people and the planet.

The duo behind the boutique, Ellie Richards and Madi Rouse, have their hands full scouring the globe for the most sustainably-made fits and designing their own sustainable clothing line – all while challenging the New Zealand fashion industry and consumers to do better with its clothing choices.

“We got the idea after trying to curate our own wardrobes with sustainable clothing that still spoke to our personalities – and wasn’t boring,” Richards says.

“When we couldn’t find a one-stop-shop that ticked all our boxes, we decided it was an opportunity to create one ourselves.”

The pair ran their own photography company for several years, but say they wanted to take the plunge into sustainable fashion together because they knew from their past work within the industry how gruelling the fashion world can be.

After months of vigorous consumer, designer and sustainability research, the pair launched By Maverix’s online store in December, out of their own homes.

The pair say they’ve remained steadfast in their vision to “make a change in the fashion industry”, no matter what it takes.

“It’s very easy to turn a blind eye to what’s really going on behind the fashion industry scenes,” Rouse says. 

“We feel like we have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to educate people on how their choices matter – and to provide sustainable options that are more accessible.

“We have to lead change for our future.”

Taking flight

Richards and Rouse say sustainable clothing is slowly picking up steam internationally – but greenwashing in the fashion industry is getting worse.

It’s becoming less clear which companies are making a real effort and which aren’t delivering on their grand sustainable promises.

“People are waking up to the very real costs that fast fashion has on the environment and on the people making these garments,” Richards says.

“It just should be happening more quickly than it currently is.”

However, it’s not just the industry they're challenging – it’s also convincing New Zealanders to change their shopping habits.

Rouse says NZ is “really behind” when it comes to sustainability and Kiwis aren’t willing to pay more to do the right thing.

“And there’s this misconception that we want to break around sustainable fashion being unfashionable or unattractive. We know from experience that you don’t have to sacrifice style when dressing sustainably,” she says.

Positive change happening internationally in the sustainable clothing space is trickling into NZ too slowly, they say, due to our geographical distance from fashion centres.

“To create better change, you have to get people to dig into their values,” Richards says. “That’s the only way people will start to make more sustainable choices.”

Where next?

Neither Richards nor Rouse has a clear idea of what’s in store for By Maverix in the near future but know they want to continue to bring transparency to the fashion industry and become a one-stop shop for sustainable living.

And they’re determined not to become part of the 99% of startups that fail. So far, they’ve been pleased – and surprised – by how positive consumer response has been.

They want to keep expanding their range of international sustainable clothing and continue creating their own ethical designs.

“But we couldn’t do this alone,” Richards says, pointing to their support systems: their families, friends and other small business and startup owners.

They're currently trialling a brick-and-mortar model with a pop-up shop at 240 Broadway in Newmarket until July 13. They want to get to know their customer base, and research what people are wearing to help with future plans for the boutique.

Richards and Rouse are hopeful about where the industry could head if it starts to be more sustainable.

“We just want people to be 1% to 10% better than they were yesterday,” Rouse says.

“If we can create that change, we’ll have succeeded in what we first set out to do.”