This story is part of Glossy’s “Earth Week” series, highlighting how fashion and beauty companies are conquering challenges and driving industry progress around sustainability. This story was originally published on Glossy’s sibling publication, Modern Retail.
In February, apparel brand Faherty relaunched its best-selling Sunwashed Tee. This verison used regenerative cotton and produced with a lower impact Ozone Wash process. The relaunch stemmed from a collaboration with environmental activist and former model Arizona Muse and her charity Dirt that helps connect regenerative farmers with brands.
One month after launch, the company was up 103% year-over-year in sales of women’s knits. It had doubled the amount of Sunwashed Tees it had sold by the same time last year, and gained new customers and site traffic. “People are becoming increasingly interested in buying from brands that align with them,” said Faherty’s co-founder and chief impact officer Kerry Dochert. “It’s less about marketing and more about doing the right thing,and knowing that like-minded people will find us.”
While limited edition drops from brands and influencers are a common way for brands to collaborate, eco-conscious brands like Faherty are finding that there’s power in teaming up with activists in the space in ways that go beyond a sponsored post. For the tee relaunch, Faherty and Muse released a documentary in Peru at some of the cotton farms. It aired at the Brooklyn Bowl for around 700 people, and clips were posted across Faherty and Muse’s channels.
“I think activists are the new influencers, people who are really putting the stake in the ground on some of the most relevant issues of our time,” Docherty said.
Other brands are seeing similar power from sustainably-minded collabs. Last year, for instance, cleaning company Blueland launched a hand soap with Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known as @blackforager to her 6.4 million followers across Instagram and TikTok. Nelson is an expert forager who creates content around foraging, plants and cooking, and her collection with Blueland sold out in two weeks. A Harvard Business Review survey of more than 350,000 people found that Gen Z and Millennial customers are 27% more likely to purchase from a brand that they believe cares about its impact on the people and the planet.
Similarly, there’s evidence to show that future generations will be more concerned about a brand’s sustainability claims. A Deloitte survey of more than 20,000 respondents conducted in September 2024 found that about 62% of people aged 18 to 34 have changed personal activities or purchase behaviors to help address climate change. That compares to 58% of people aged 55 and older who said the same.
Clair Sidman, vp of marketing at affiliate program Collective Voice, said there’s a “daily drumbeat” around demand for sustainable products. The network saw a 25% year-over-year increase in sales on the platform in sustainable fashion alone, and more than 100% in sustainable footwear. “Slow fashion is replacing quiet luxury. We’re seeing a return to quality — a real investment in higher-quality, longer-lasting pieces.”
But from an influencer side, she said it’s critical to make sure they have a shared value system with the brands they’re representing.
“We want them to work with impactful brands and build impactful campaigns, ones that actually align with their values,” she said.
Abby Morgan, evp of marketing at Faherty, said she first heard Muse speak on a podcast last year, soon after joining Faherty. Faherty is known for its high-quality organic cotton, is a B-Corp and a member of the 1% for the Planet group that donates 1% of its revenues to environmental causes. Still, Morgan said she was looking for ways to further its commitment to its sustainable causes.
“It’s not about influencers or influencer marketing,” she said. “It’s really about finding those voices and thought leaders of people who truly care about changing the planet. And that’s why we wanted to do this.”
Muse, a model and buyer turned activist, attributes some of the success of the campaign to the high-quality storytelling to break down what can be a complex topic. Muse founded Dirt, a charity based in Britain, to help connect brands to regenerative agriculture farmers in an effort to preserve and protect soil used to the fashion supply chain. It’s also worked with beauty brand Weleda on campaigns around soil health, and raises funds for a new system of textile certification standards.
Muse said the Faherty campaign in particular succeeded because it was able to explain why buying a sustainable or slow fashion piece is different than other types of fashion.
“The campaign communicates clearly why it’s worth it, why it’s important to buy sustainable fashion and what a difference it does make in the world,” she said. “Creating beautiful content with really, in really high quality filmmaking can start to change the narrative.”
Muse said shoppers appreciate transparency about supply chains from the places they’re spending their money. Consumers, she said, deserve the whole story. “I strongly believe that communicating from a brand point of view about your supply chain and about your sourcing policies is important” she said. “Consumers are often treated like we’re dumb and it’s demeaning … but nobody’s too stupid to understand if you explain it well.”
Hannah Chapman, head of brand at sustainable cleaning company Blueland, said launching a collaboration instead of a standard influencer campaign helps tell a bigger story about what a brand stands for. Knowing “consumers can sniff out greenwashing a mile away,” Chapman said the partnership with Nelson made sense given her credibility in the space. “Her values aligned with ours,” she said. “That made the collaboration feel like an extension of the brand, not a campaign.”
The Forager Collection included three new scents using some of Nelson’s favorite foraged ingredients — Beach Rose, Juneberry Basil and Lilac Clove. Within 24 hours, the collection had already outsold any of Blueland’s previous collaborations. It was sold out in two weeks, and generated at least 4,000 new customers. Instagram content for the collection yielded more than 2 million views. And when Blueland whitelisted Neson’s posts, it resulted in a 42% lower customer acquisition cost compared to its average ads.
Chapman called it the most successful collaboration Blueland has done to date.
“It’s harder to tell a story with a one-off sponsored post,” she said. “The more thoughtful a collaboration, the more it resonates with consumers. So our goal is to find storytellers who communicate our brand in a fresh, relatable way that goes beyond traditional tactics.”
