Learned about a growing clothing company called Under the Canopy from a fellow Dukie. He heard the founder, Marci Zaroff speak at an event he attended earlier this week. Here’s his report:
I went to the LVHRD EVNT BFLD GRN last night–and I thought of
Marketing for Good–Marci Zaroff gave an interesting talk because she was VERY honest–her whole pitch was “you don’t have to give up something to give something”–while this idea is a bit problematic it is a notion that could fall in line with contemporary western ideology–our culture does not want to compromise ‘the cool’ factor in order to go green– Zaroff accepted this truth and has begun to use it to her advantage–I was very impressed. (Thanks Victor.)
With that kind of build up, I expected to find an ultra-green website but instead found a rather understated e-retailing site that happened to sell clothes made from organic materials. In fact, other than the subhead “style. quality. organic.” you had to work to find the organic underpinnings of this brand. Here’s a brief look at their About Us section:
Under the Canopy® was born in 1996 with a mission to make a positive impact on the future of the planet, creating a product line that utilizes the Earth’s resources in an ecofriendly, sustainable manner.
A little more web research made the story complete. According to a very thorough article on That’s Crispy, Marci is moving organic clothes from hippy to hip which helps explain why her website emphasized fashion over fabric. Though this wouldn’t be the obvious marketing choice (most would want to shout out their greenness) given the realities of clothes buying, this is undoubtedly a wise approach–if the clothes don’t look good, no amount of greenness is going to move them off the virtual shelf. And though it took 11 years of trailblazing, Under the Canopy became profitable for the first time in 2006. That’s Crispy also reported that “Zaroff predicts $10 million in sales” in 2007. Marketing for Good applauds Zaroff’s dedication to making green clothes AND making them stylish enough that their greenness is essentially immaterial. This combination of product enhancements should yield a truly sustainable competitive advantage as the demand for organic clothes continues to rise.