It’s late 2010. Surrounded by bolts of fabric and the hum of a sewing machine, our small mom-and-pop Etsy store is born. The living room becomes our workshop and late nights blend into early mornings as we make each piece to order. When we send out the finished garment, our heart goes with it. Present, mindful and efficient. That was our production approach then, and (scaled significantly!) it’s our production approach now.
The Reality of Fashion Waste
As Marcella grew to become the brand it is today, we became ever more aware of the challenges created by the fashion industry. By the end of each year, global landfills are teeming with 92 million tons of new textile waste. Alternatively, vast swathes of excess inventory are (literally) going up in smoke, being burned by brands.
Chronic wastage.
We got to thinking. Traditional fashion production methods involve creating entire collections before the season starts and, if the season goes well, selling AT BEST 60% of what is made. Then, the clearance sales and the landfill dumping begins.
Did it have to be this way? Instead of focusing on waste management, we asked, what if Marcella aimed to minimize waste from the start?
Waste Not: The Marcella Approach
To avoid the fashion industry's chronic overproduction problem at Marcella, we've innovated a small-batch approach we adapted from our earliest days as an Etsy brand. We call it “just-in-time” production—a method that allows us to live on this planet guided by the principle of trying only to produce what’s needed, exactly when it’s needed.
Our production approach centers on two pillars: one design-driven and the other operations-driven.
How? How can one be efficient in business while being genuinely sustainably-minded for the earth?
It all starts with the way we design - timeless, generally seasonless and DEFINITELY not fad-driven. Meaning that our collections stay alive and relevant beyond several months (and with many favorite pieces for years on end...), minimizing dead stock and allowing us to resell almost all the designs customers return to us. As such, Marcella stands as a proud alternative to "disposable" or "fast" fashion.
Thereafter, comes our production operations, all of which are based in Europe and mostly in Bulgaria, the traditional textile hub for European brands like Chanel, Burberry and Chloé. In a world in which the fashion industry has become increasingly globalized (with brands, for example, commonly designing on one continent, producing across a second continent and selling on a third), we've intentionally kept everything local.
Leveraging our own atelier located in Bulgaria, as well as a strong, surrounding textile production network (all of our 30+ handpicked garment producers are within 100 miles of our main European warehouse), we're constantly "using" our production capacity with the help of in-house designed, proprietary statistical forecasting models to implement a 4 to 8 week production timeline for our clothing. Meaning that we pre-stock fabrics and trimmings, keep roughly 4 months of rolling garment inventory on hand at warehouses in New Bedford, MA and Sofia, Bulgaria and then, based on what's selling, we're continually making on demand newly needed inventory in 4 to 8 week cycles. (The process for our shoes, accessories and jewelry is not dissimilar).
Hello, just-in-time production!
The additional beauty of this "local" dynamic approach is that all of our production facilities are staffed by artisans whose names we know, whose lives we value AND whom we compensate with dramatically above average wages and benefits for the fashion industry. After all, what would sustainable fashion mean if it didn’t include sustainable livelihoods for the people whose work makes it all possible?
Style With a Conscience
At Marcella, we start differentiating ourselves from the rest of the designer fashion industry by really only making what we can sell. The combination of our timeless essentials and just-in-time supply chain enables us to sell well over 90% of our production at or near full price, a figure no less than 50% higher than the fashion industry average. And by the end of the season? We have virtually zero textile waste on our hands.
Interestingly, though, we've become so effective at eliminating inventory risk that we've also succeeded in making fashion far more cost-effective for us than our competition. That cost-efficiency allows us to keep prices at 25% to 75% less than our competition for superior quality designer pieces. And, even better, it allows us to keep those prices lower WHILE still investing fully in social motivation, advancing women and girls across every aspect of our brand.
Since Marcella’s inception, social and environmental responsibility has been at our core, and we’ve vowed never to outgrow it. Our mission is to nurture the planet's health and the joy of those on it—helping our community to feel stylish and confident in fashion that loves the Earth as much as we do.
We're so grateful to have you on this journey with us!
6 comments
I LOVE Marcella!!!!!
Babi Nance
I recently order some item’s from Marcella. I have not received them yet I am very intrigued by the article I just read about your business acumen in maintaining a level of no waste of materials. I had no idea that was possible or even happening. Now that I do I’m happy to support you and me. I believe my pkgs have been delivered. I cannot wait to open them. Thank you Patricia
Patricia
loved reading your story! I have a whole section of just my Marcella clothing and love the classic styles that are always a little edgy but classic at the same time. Forever pieces! Keep up the great work.💕
Jeanne Bashein
I love this! I don’t usually buy designer clothes because I can’t stomach the incredible waste. One question though, what about fabric? Everyone has “leftover” fabric. Do you sell yours through a second hand fabric retailer or does it go in the landfill?
Amy Davidson
Keep up the great work for our environment and with producing high quality clothing!!
Cathy Black
That is exactly how I got to buy my first Marcella piece at Etsy, and that is what attracted me to your brand; that small batch immediacy. Also, your edgy style and the quality of your fabrics and construction. I think that now you are at the dangerous crossroads of mass marketing and being handled more corporately. See The Donna Karan example. She bought her brand back after she realized that it was going too commercial and away from her roots. Your quality and delivery has changed, hence I have not bought as regularly.
Ulrike K. Hood
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