Melanie McIntosh

The sky is dark this morning. It’s raining. Windy. Life feels uncertain. We’re anxious. Politics. Pandemic. Business. ... Our collective mental health. I’m moving house. Boxes piled up around the room. A visual representation of the disorder we feel right now. In the midst of this, we have people we still need to serve. And that’s how we’ll get through this. Some ways to stay grounded today: 1. Return to habits and routines - eat - exercise - drink water - tidy up - listen to positive, motivating audio: books, podcasts, music 2. Do your work - What has to be done today? - Who do you need to serve? - If you live in the US: please go vote 3. Be gentle with yourself - Let go of non-essential tasks - Plan downtime: a bath, show, book - Connect with supportive people: colleagues, family, friends, online networks Whatever happens, we’ll get through it. Take good care of yourself. Keep serving your people. #BuildADream #ApparelDesigner #SlowLiving #FashionDesigners #FashionDesign #FashionBrand #FashionRetail #Conversation #IndependentDesigner #EthicalFashion #FashionRevolution #FashionIndustry #FashionMarketing #ConsciousFashion #EthicallyMade #FairTradeFashion #SlowFashion #SlowFashionMovement #EcoFashion #SustainableFashion #BusinessOfFashion #IndependentDesigner #MakersMovement #MeetTheMaker # #FashionMaker #FashionEntrepreneur #Communication #InspireRetail

Promotion is communication. Promotion is letting your customer know what you have to offer. But it’s a two-way street. You can just talk about your product. ... And try to get attention with deals and discounts. That will get you some attention. But not from the customers you want. Conversation is learning about your customer. Finding out what the need. Learning what interests them. Talking to them about their needs. Their interests. Their values. And giving your customers invitations to talk to you. When they do talk to you, then listen. Those customers that engage with you, and talk with you? They’re gold. #BuildADream #ApparelDesigner #SlowLiving #FashionDesigners #FashionDesign #FashionBrand #FashionRetail #Conversation #IndependentDesigner #EthicalFashion #FashionRevolution #FashionIndustry #FashionMarketing #ConsciousFashion #EthicallyMade #FairTradeFashion #SlowFashion #SlowFashionMovement #EcoFashion #SustainableFashion #BusinessOfFashion #IndependentDesigner #MakersMovement #MeetTheMaker #VancouverFashion #TorontoFashion #FashionMaker #FashionEntrepreneur #Communication #InspireRetail

2020 has been hard. We are dealing with issues globally that this generation has never had seen before. We have access to information that we’ve never had access to before, so we can see scary and terrible things unfold in real-time. Things that don’t physically affect us because they happen in another part of the city. Another part of the country. Another part of the world. These things affect us emotionally. We empathize. It hurts to see bad things happen to others. It hurt...s to know that there are people in the world who lack compassion and decency. We see their terrible actions on video, repeated over and over. And for some, these things have happened to us. To our families. Our friends. Our neighbours. We grieve. We are afraid. We don’t know what the future will bring. There is hope. There are things to be grateful for. All is not lost. Teaching fashion history reminds me that there is no better time to be alive than now. We have a better standard of living for more people globally than ever before. We have better medical care. We have lower infant mortality. Fewer women die in child-birth. We are likely to see most of our children reach adulthood. It’s because of these improvements that we can see how intolerable it is that these benefits are not shared by all. Some people in our out country still lack access to clean water. We see how intolerable it is that people are not treated as equals. We see how intolerable it is that the privileged benefit from having the spoils of our society manufactured by people who are not paid fair wages. People who do not have safe homes or safe employment, and who are beaten for speaking up for themselves. How can we have hope in these times? I have hope because I see that we are better off than we were 50 years ago. 100 years ago. 1000 years ago. People like us made these things happen. People made things better. With creativity. Ingenuity. Science. Innovation. Love. Compassion. Caring for each other. Continues in the comments

How to talk to your customers this holiday season: -------------- Dear customer,... Let’s slow down this holiday season. Let’s buy less, and buy thoughtfully. Let’s stop going into debt to buy things we can’t afford. Let’s stop buying things people won’t love or use. Let’s stop with the silly gift exchanges of unwanted plastic tchotchkes. If you can afford it, we hope gifts you buy from us will be treasured for a long time to come. We know that making our products ethically and from high-quality materials makes the price higher, and inaccessible for some. If you can’t afford it right now, that’s ok. We’d rather you don’t go in debt for fashion or social obligation this season. Instead, let’s all be thoughtful and intentional in how we buy this holiday. Some ideas to make ethical gifts more affordable without going into debt: Share your intentions to buy more ethically with your friends and family. Talk to them about your desire to make this holiday season more thoughtful and intentional in how you buy. Ask friends & family for small gift certificates you can collect towards the ethical brands you want to buy from. Chip in with others to buy higher price ethical/sustainable options Remember that the holidays are about people, not things. -------------- If this message resonates with your brand please share, use or adapt for your customers. What ideas do you have for talking to your customers this holiday season? Please share below! =============== . . Want help with your holiday messaging? Get help in our free Facebook group Fashioning Change. Search ‘Fashioning Change’ on Facebook to find us and join. (Settings have been fixed so you can now find us by name!) #BuildADream #ApparelDesigner #SlowLiving #FashionDesigners #FashionDesign #FashionBrand #FashionRetail #DebtFree #IndependentDesigner #EthicalFashion #FashionRevolution #FashionIndustry #FashionMarketing #ConsciousFashion #EthicallyMade #FairTradeFashion #SlowFashion #SlowFashionMovement #EcoFashion #SustainableFashion #BusinessOfFashion #IndependentDesigner #MakersMovement #MeetTheMaker #VancouverFashion #TorontoFashion #FashionMaker #Values #InspireRetail

As a slow fashion or ethical brand, how do you approach the holiday season? Typically retailers push to make as many sales as possible because the last few months of the year are where they make a profit. Promotions are full of hype and discounts. Shoppers are eager to buy, and are often buying out of social obligation.... As an ethical or sustainable company, what can you do differently? What if your holiday message went like this... ====== Dear customer, We promise not to fill your feed with hype this season. But when you’re shopping for gifts, we’d be thrilled if you shop with us. Here are some reasons why we think you’d like it too: You can feel good about buying a gift for your loved ones (or yourself!) that is thoughtful and as gentle on the earth as we can make it. Our product is made to be loved and cherished for a long time Our product is made with care in small batches by people who are paid well and love what they do Our product uses resources responsibly and reduces waste. ===== Take these general examples and make them specific to your business. Share the values of your brand. Encourage your audience to express their values and intention in how they shop this season. What are your ideas? Comment below. =============== . . . Want help with your holiday messaging? Get help in our free Facebook group Fashioning Change. Search ‘Fashioning Change’ on Facebook to find us and join. #BuildADream #ApparelDesigner #FashionDesigner #FashionDesigners #FashionDesign #FashionBrand #FashionRetail #FashionStartup #IndependentDesigner #EthicalFashion #FashionRevolution #FashionIndustry #FashionMarketing #ConsciousFashion #EthicallyMade #FairTradeFashion #SlowFashion #SlowFashionMovement #EcoFashion #SustainableFashion #BusinessOfFashion #IndependentDesigner #MakersMovement #MeetTheMaker #VancouverFashion #TorontoFashion #FashionMaker #FashionEntrepreneur #SavvyBusinessOwners #InspireRetail