Just Because You Start Small, It Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Have A Huge Impact

Starting a small business is a daunting venture, regardless of the industry you want to be a part of. When that industry is one that is happy to damage the environment and exploit workers around the globe just to make a profit, it can seem like an almost impossible task. Thankfully as people become more aware of the impact of their favourite fast fashion retailers, more people are turning to sustainable brands for their clothing. These brands started off small and have steadily been able to have a positive global impact by remaining dedicated to producing sustainably and not compromising their integrity for a bigger paycheck.

Up-and-coming designers like Bethany Williams prove that prioritising sustainability can have beneficial impacts for huge numbers of people, and that there are many ways to work sustainably. Since her graduate collection in 2016, Williams has incorporated sustainable materials in all her collections (which helps to reduce the environmental impacts textiles have on the environment), including waste fabrics, organic cottons, industry off-cuts, natural inks and dyes, and plastic-free packaging. In her graduate collection, she included waste packaging from Tesco and encouraged the local Tesco stores to donate leftover stock to the homeless.

She continued to work with homeless shelters as she built her brand, donating a percentage of each collection’s profits to organisations near to where she works in London. The designer also supports other local charities, like women and children’s shelters, food banks, and workshops that teach ex-prisoners new skills to reduce reoffending rates. Williams often teaches others about sustainability, either by teaching textile skills to at-risk communities or consulting with huge fashion companies like Adidas and the Kering Group (who own labels like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen) to help them become more environmentally friendly. Not only does Bethany support those in need in the local community, she also supports those who work with her, by paying everyone she works with fairly and supporting the London Living Wage (£11.05 per hour).

Williams’ work hasn’t gone unnoticed, as she has gained awards and recognition from key figures in the fashion industry, like the British Fashion Council, LVMH, and even the Queen. In 2019, she was a finalist for the LVMH Prize and winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, then she took home the British Fashion Council/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2020.

Prioritising sustainability hasn’t hindered Bethany and has actually helped to change the wider fashion industry. Not only the industry, but the people around her have benefitted from her work and her desire to help those in need through fashion. As Andrew Groves, a menswear specialist and fashion design professor at the University of Westminster, says: “Bethany’s world is a blueprint for the future of fashion.” I think if we could all work with a care for sustainability and ethics, we could change the industry and the world around us. Maybe we don’t have the capabilities to support so many good causes, but even just picking one and implementing it in our practices can have a huge impact on people that need support, as well as the environment.

- Tegan Cooke