A few weeks ago Quince reached out to me offering to gift one of their products. And as I do with any new brand looking for me to try their product in exchange for some social media love, I did a bit of digging to see how well they align with my values. (Just a note, I don’t share any brands that I wouldn’t personally purchase from and all thoughts expressed here are always my own).
Quince is a new company seeking to democratize high quality, sustainably produced products while providing living wages to workers. The democratization of products was key for me because as many people know slow/ethical/sustainable fashion is expensive and I consider shopping this way privilege and luxury for most. But being able to afford good quality things that will last (and only buying what we need) is the most sustainable option for us all so Quince’s considerably lower prices piqued my interest.
Upon further inspection of their website, I didn’t find much on what that means in practice so I reached out with questions. Some of the questions I asked included requesting more information on their supply chain, manufacturers, and specific sustainability practices. I also wanted to know who owns Quince and if it is a venture capital (VC) backed company.
I received a very prompt and thorough reply from the brand. Often times I don’t receive thoughtful responses from brands when I dig a bit deeper and that’s typically where the potential collaboration ends. Some of the things I learned through this interaction included confirmation that Quince is a very young company focused on getting its supply chain up and running before publicizing sustainability practices. There isn’t much for them to speak to on sustainability yet but the fact that they are considering it from the outset could be interpreted as promising. I am certainly going to be on the watch for what this actually means in reality because there is the potential for greenwashing if their claims to being sustainable don’t match actions.
As far as their mission to make quality products affordable and accessible while providing ethical wages, here is what I learned and was very encouraged by:
Factories
Cashmere (China): we work with a factory partner that one of our co-founders has known for more than 20 years. They are vertically integrated cashmere producers and we meet with them every few months to review their sourcing practices. They have worked with the same goat herders in Inner Mongolia for the past 30 years and pay for the cashmere from an entire herd so they can ensure consistent quality while also giving the herder more time to focus on tending to their goats and less time looking for a business.
Leather (Italy): we work with a small factory business run by two brothers who have been in business for more than 20 years. They create leather goods using small-batch production and their "factory" looks much more like an atelier run by a handful master craftsmen in their 50s who have spent a lifetime working with leather.
Jewelry (India): we work with a bespoke jewelry factory meaning each piece is produced one by one using molds in which they pour the hot liquids into, let cool, and then emboss into the final product.
Worker Pay
All of our factories are compliant with ILO standards. We work with world-class factories that are supplying products to the top brands in the US and EU. The factories are subject to many audits during the course of the year to ensure compliance. Workers are paid a fair living wage and working conditions are compliant with ILO standard.
Transparent Pricing
You will see from our transparent pricing that the cost of goods paid to our factories is very much a fair price. The way we pass the value to you, the customer, is through Quince's super-low markup.
As for ownership, Quince is VC backed and founded by a relatively diverse team.
Quince was started by three co-founders, two men of color (Sid, CEO, and Sourabh, CTO) and one woman (Becky, Head of Product). It is a VC backed started. Since the company takes such low margins it is only profitable at scale, which means VC funding helps us build the customer base required to be a sustainable company. We're making a huge bet that enough people will be interested in what we're offering: sustainably sourced, ethically made essential pieces for an affordable budget but we believe it in so we're going for it!
I found the reason for being venture-backed very validly and it raises very important issues around affordability, business viability, and the future of sustainable fashion those of us who care about ethical fashion need to be thinking on. What will it take to shift industry to a new normal and who will be able to afford it?
Now on to the product itself! I requested the embossed leather pouch in cognac and it is exactly what I expected. It feels well made and will serve me well for a long time I’m sure. I planned on using it in my everyday bags to carry my kindle and the miscellaneous pens that are always at the bottom of bags.
Shop using my link and get $10 off your first purchase with my code GINA10.
PS - If you like this type of content from me, let me know. I enjoy doing this kind of research on sustainable brands/lifestyle choices, but it definitely is more time consuming than outfit posts!