By now, everyone in fashion has heard about the class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York in July 2022 that accused H&M of deceiving consumers about the veracity of its sustainability claims through the use of “false and misleading” environmental scorecards and advertising. 
 
This came about at the back of the recent Higg Index ‘sustainability scorecard’ controversy, where Norwegian outdoor wear brand Norrøna was asked by the Norwegian Consumer Authority (NCA) to pull down their use of the ‘Sustainability Scorecards’ on their website and corresponding materials.
 
H&M’s class action lawsuit was in relation to both the use of the Higg Index Sustainability Scorecards, and greenwashed ‘misrepresentations’ generally, where it claims its products are ‘conscious’, a ‘conscious choice’, made from ‘sustainable materials’ and prevented, through its recycling program, ‘from going to the landfill’ through the use of green hang tags, in-store signage and online marketing. 

We know a crackdown on greenwashing is absolutely needed in fashion and apparel, as there are currently varying degrees of minimum criteria when it comes to defining a product line ‘sustainable’ in fashion and apparel. Even though these recent developments have been welcomed by consumers and industry watchdogs alike, I think the precedent set by the consumer watchdogs in both the USA and Norway can have ripple effects in terms of its potential for driving change in this sector, and if I may, I’d like to offer a critique on the repercussions from a different lens.
 
Before I go further into this, let’s recap on a number of key elements of the Higg controversy that require breaking down past sensationalised news headlines we’ve been littered with in the spirit of these developments since June 2022.
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The Higg Index is a widely used suite of tools created for the fashion industry to assess the sustainability of the materials used in their products. It was created in 2011 by a group of industry heavyweights, including H&M, Walmart, Nike, Levi’s, and Patagonia. It is maintained by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and their technology partner Higg. The SAC has about 250 member brands.
 
The Higg MSI - Materials Sustainability Index - in particular, is a tool that calculates environmental impacts of over 90+ materials often used in apparel and textiles, using data submitted from industry and life cycle assessment (LCA) databases.
 
In May 2021, SAC launched its customer-facing transparency program, with an announcement that Amazon, H&M, and Norrøna among the first brands to participate. The program, at the time, planned to focus on the environmental impact of a product’s materials, and will expand over the next two years to incorporate additional data including manufacturing and corporate responsibility.
 
However, in June 2022, the Norwegian Consumer Authority, NCA has officially taken issue with SAC regarding the use of LCA data being used to support consumer facing environmental claims.
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​On June 16th 2022, the NCA banned the usage of the Higg Index in marketing, and issued a warning to H&M to curb its use on their website as they believed the SAC should not allow its partners to use Higg Index ‘Sustainability Scorecard’ to market to consumers. Norway believes that this sets a precedent in Europe and warns the SAC that it may face ‘economic sanctions’ if there are further violations of its Marketing Control Act. They had previously issued a similar warning to Norrøna.
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​Data from the Higgs Index is complex, and can be misleading to everyday consumers.
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When Norrøna originally employed the transparency platform to tout the improved sustainability profile of some of its products, it included a visual scorecard indicating that its organic cotton T-shirts produced 14 percent fewer emissions, used 9 percent less fossil fuels, required 88 percent less water and created 47 percent less water pollution than their conventional counterparts. This, the NCA said, misled consumers because the information supplied referred to the average environmental attributes of the cotton fibre, not those of the specific finished items, meaning there was insufficient proof that the claimed impact reductions were “true and correct.”
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As at June 27 2022, the consumer-facing effort has been suspended. According to SAC’s media statement, “We have made the decision to pause the consumer facing transparency program globally as we work with the NCA and other consumer agencies and regulators to better understand how to substantiate product level claims with trusted and credible data. This specifically means temporarily removing the published Higg Index seal and scorecard from the participating online retail platforms while further evaluation takes place.” To this end, SAC has commissioned an independent third-party expert review of the Higg MSI data and methodology. Norrøna has also provided a response here.
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​Life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as a ‘cradle-to-grave’ or ‘cradle-to-cradle’ analysis technique, is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material extraction and processing (cradle), through the product's manufacture, distribution and use, to the recycling or final disposal of the materials composing it (grave).
 
An LCA study involves a thorough inventory of the energy and materials that are required across the industry value chain of the product, process or service, and calculates the corresponding emissions to the environment. LCA thus assesses cumulative potential environmental impacts. The aim is to document and improve the overall environmental profile of the product.
 
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and their procedures in particular, ISO 14040: Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework and ISO14044: Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines is the widely recognised standards for conducting LCAs. ISO 14025: Environmental labels and declarations - Type III environmental declarations - Principles and procedures, also relies heavily on independent, verifiable LCAs.  
 
The most important applications of LCAs are: 1) the analysis of the contribution of the life cycle stages to the overall environmental load, usually with the aim to prioritise improvements on products or processes, and 2) comparison between products for internal use.
 
Criticisms have been leveled against the LCA approach, both in general and with regard to specific cases (e.g. in the consistency of the methodology, particularly with regard to system boundaries, and the susceptibility of particular LCAs to practitioner bias with regard to the decisions that they seek to inform). In turn, an LCA completed by 10 different parties could yield 10 different results, even with the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 methodologies applied.
​

​I think greenwashing is prevalent in a lot of forms, and the Higg ‘Sustainability Scorecard’ could definitely be taken as greenwashing. However, any effort to shut down a highly utilised and trusted industry tool needs to be constructive. The Higg Index acts as a starting point for the industry rather than an end game solution. There’s bound to be issues such as insufficient data considering that this industry has a complex supply chain. SAC has stated numerous times that collaboration is important to fill in the data gaps.
 
For someone who works in the industry and has used Higg’s suite of tools, you can’t help but feel ‘attacked’ when outsiders who may not appreciate the effort and work that has gone into developing these metrics and calculations are shut down so swiftly, and more so by those who perhaps don’t understand the intricacies behind LCAs, eco-footprinting, aggregating research data, embodied emissions in materials, and the concept of environmental product declarations. 
 
I personally think the Higg Index is a great resource. The data (as sustainability practitioners understand it) needs refining and will be refined over time. Can you introduce me to anybody who works in this field who doesn’t agree? While constructive criticism is important, the index should not be slammed but rather given further feedback to improve over time, and to have their data be reviewed by external sources to ensure its accuracy and transparency. I think the creation of SAC itself is a big milestone for fashion brands, in the spirit of working together and sharing competitive information, something the industry is notorious for not doing. 
 
To quote a heart-warming story of how SAC came to be, many years ago, the original group of pioneers in this space decided that if they don’t start somewhere, they will never make a ‘standard’ lift off the ground. One of the principles the group was guided by was, ‘don’t let perfect get in the way of good enough’.
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​LCA information availabilities for products, process and services are not limited to apparel and footwear. Construction products that contribute to the built environment, housing, and public infrastructure also face similar issues. 
 
Take rating tools and schemes that exist out there to incorporate not only transparency but performance-based metrics for built environment, such as BREEAM (UK), Greenstar (AUS), and Envision (USA). The construction industry, instead of plotting against each other in a battle of ‘who has the best tool’ out there, gets on with the job that matches their setting because it is their responsibility and their responsibility only to design our buildings and infrastructure to account for our future. (Just a tip, for a summary of built environment ratings and certifications around the world, check this out: https://fidic.org/node/5943). And whoever said that their tool is perfect?
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​What is missing from the Higg Index controversy reporting is the big-picture thinking needed in this industry to harmonise their sustainability agenda. Having worked in environmental and social governance for the last 18 years, one thing that stood out for me in fashion and apparel is the glaring problem of accessibility to sustainability competency by region. It seems the ‘solutions’ that are making the most noises are those that feature ‘brand’ involvement, especially global conglomerates, but also from an English-speaking point-of-view.
 
There are many players that make up awareness, competency and advocacy for change in the fashion supply change, and manufacturers – literally the players who hold the key to bottom-up innovations – are rarely mentioned in mainstream media on their successes and achievements to exemplify progress in this area.
 
Why is it always the brands, or seem to be the brands, who are supposedly the only ones spearheading change? 
 
 Moreover, the Higg Index and their suite of products is – on a scale of transparency –  more complete than any other effort other brands or coalitions can emulate. Think about the collective data sharing and collaboration that is happening in Southeast Asia, for example. There isn’t any. Are we dissuading progress for other regions responsible for the production of apparel and footwear? Should we be letting perfect get in the way of good enough?
  
My personal take on it is that data collection for materials in the fashion and apparel supply chain should be driven by each country producing it, because harmonisation of materials comes from none other than where they are produced. The systemic monitoring, progress of reporting, and troubleshooting should happen at this level, overseen by a textile and apparel industry association in each region.
 
The other missing link in the recent reporting of the controversy is how the many ratings and tools for certifications in areas in the fashion and apparel supply chain can be harmonised from a sustainable development point of view. Sometimes it’s easier to say fast fashion needs to stop, but the reality is we will produce clothes for people to wear and textiles to furnish our homes, no matter the time, year, or day, and especially to satiate demand from emerging markets.
 
Hence the concept of sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) already provides a blueprint for how we consider all aspects of development that ties so many impact areas together, no matter for everyday people, organisations, businesses, and governments. Its language is universally accepted and can be measured across all levels. Is fashion and apparel solely interested in how their products ‘appear’ to be a more responsible choice for humanity, or does the industry want go that one step further to be united in its front to tackle humanity’s biggest challenges?
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It’s hard enough for consumers to understand sustainability information as they are being presented now, and this sort of headline is definitely not consumer-friendly. The Higg Index controversy risks slowing the ability of consumers to use sustainability information in their purchasing decisions. 
 
I have always been of the view that an easy-to-comprehend sustainability scorecard is something that will sway consumers to be more responsible purchasers. In 2016, I founded FASHINFIDELITY, an online platform that solely exists to deconstruct complex supply chain information and news stories, much like this one. Polls with our followers suggest an overwhelmingly high interest in a universally accepted clothing ‘footprint’ labelling. 
 
We know currently there is work by Peter Gorse, Textile Researcher at Cranfield University on a ‘Garment label’ akin to our food’s Nutritional label that has gotten a lot of traction by consumers and brands alike. 
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​Sourcing Journal recently published an article that purports that out of a sample of consumers, when asked what they really want to see on an ‘Eco-Label’ for garments, the main concern was recyclability at 45%, followed by human rights for 39% of respondents. Chemical use, animal welfare and material use were each deemed a priority by 33% of consumers, quoting a study conducted by Responsible Business Coalition. 
 
The implications from the H&M lawsuit and the Higg Sustainability Scorecards have wide repercussions. If brands decide to use Gorse’s ‘Garment Facts' label, could he be sued, too?
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​In Australia where I live, we have a health rating tool on food products in supermarket shelves, that gives you a figure of 1 to 5 stars to indicate its ‘health’. We are also used to metrics such as the Energy Rating on whitegoods such as kitchen appliance, or the Water Efficiency Labelling Standard. 

​I can’t recall a time where food brands or appliance companies sued the government as ‘misleading’ the consumer.
 
With all the talk of transparency to move the needle for more responsible and ethical production of apparel and textiles, as consumers we have just had enough. We deserve better, and we want standardised, reputable garment eco-footprinting, now. Fashion and apparel should just get on with placing product labels, pronto. If it means it is the Higg Sustainability Scorecard, so be it. To do this though, intellectual property issues need to be sorted out to ensure accessibility and coverage for all brands, big or small. The exorbitant prices that SAC charges should be levelled out so anyone and everyone can partake in driving the transparency and performance agenda.
 
The more consumers are used to ‘ratings’ being made visible at point of purchase, the more we normalise the power of consumers’ purchasing decisions, and before you know it, it’s just another part of choices everyone needs to consider, that makes up our everyday purchasing decisions. 

Of course, ‘Borrow’, ‘Swap’, ‘Thrift’ - all pretty much sums of consuming secondhand clothes, which are the next tiers of the buyerarchy of needs.  Instead of chasing the latest must-have brands and designs, consumers are now pricing in the environmental footprint of their clothing.  Many are buying preloved items helps to:

• Extend the lifespan of products
• Reduce unsustainable new production
• Divert waste from landfills.​

Nowadays, buying or renting vintage and secondhand clothing is not only an ethical and sustainable choice, but also a style statement that allows you to draw on more resources and inspirations to escape from the anonymity and monotony of mass-produced fashion.  Who’s afraid of secondhand fashion?? (Not me!!)

For those who are in love with their clothes as much as I am, I dare you to show us some of that love this Valentine’s Day by posting beautiful pics of you and your lovers.  Why not?  Outfit appreciation happens every day!  And if they’re secondhand, bonus points to you!

3. Drop items off at a Waste Collection/Recycling Bin 

I-Cycle bin - locations
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Kloth care bin - locations 

Community Recycle for Charity (CRC) - locations (1) and locations (2)

Aaaaand… there you have it!  Can you think of any other locations or organisations that should be added to this list?  Let me know at wardrobetruths {a} gmaildotcom.

Later on this month we have lined up a roundtable discussion on the topic of secondhand fashion, with an array of interesting perspectives delivered by a selection of really awesome changemakers in this space.  Stay tuned for that, it will be a rad night! 

Don’t forget to please give us a shout out and promote us to your family and friends if you like our work.  We hear and take in all of your feedback, always. 

Until the next post, thanks for your support!  Love ya.

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Join us in our Slow Fashion movement with the hashtags #ConscientiousFashionista and #wardrobetruths on Instagram, and follow us at @fashinfidelity. 
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​But the reality is, he is only one of many – one of many great shoe entrepreneurs that emerged from the industries that served our British empire prior to independence, that has come to define the grit, enthusiasm, and creativity of our rakyat today.
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Malaysia has a long and rich history of footwear manufacturing, going back about 100 years ago.  This makes sense, because earlier in the twentieth century the cultivation of rubber-yielding trees became commercially attractive as a raw material for new industries in the West.  Indeed, by 1921 the rubber acreage in Malaysia (mostly in the Peninsula) had reached 935,000 hectares (about 1.34 million acres) or some 55 percent of the total in South and Southeast Asia while output stood at 50 percent of world production[1].
 
Rubber was Malaysia’s main export product, a position that held until 1980.  You can’t comprehend the story of Malaysian footwear manufacturing without acknowledging Malaysia’s natural rubber industry.  Try buying a shoe and not notice all sorts of soles made from rubber!
 
In its early years, a significant number of the footwear industry players comprised of small- and medium-sized businesses, operating from homes and utilising largely labour-intensive methods, and some of these shoemakers still survive to this day.  Back in the day, hand-made shoes would adorn the feet of royalty, high society, and prince and princesses of Malaysia. 
 
Over the 1980’s under the tutelage of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed the industry (and Malaysia’s economy, as a whole) flourished and saw a proliferation of supporting cottage industries supplying various parts, components and footwear-related accessories for the industry.  The Malaysian footwear industry produces a wide variety of footwear ranging from safety and industrial footwear to sports shoes and high fashion footwear.  Some of the everyday shoes that Malaysians wear and love include locally-manufactured brands Larrie, Princess, Carlo Rino, Nose, Bill Keith, Vincci, Dr. Cardin, and most recently, Nottingheels.

According to the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) there are currently about 1,000 footwear manufacturers, employing a workforce of some 30,000.  They are mainly located in the states of Perak, Selangor and Johor.  The annual production capacity is estimated at 70 million pairs (2009 figures)[2]. The “footwear capital” of Malaysia is actually situated in Seri Kembangan, a suburb 50 kilometres away from the heart of the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. 

Nowadays, Malaysia’s footwear exports is valued at RM652.7 million (2017 figures), with a large portion of the industry’s revenue deriving from the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) business, or making mass-produced shoes under an international licence, for example, for Puma, Adidas, Hush Puppies, and Scholl. 
 
Malaysian shoes are synonymous with quality, style and value for money.  Since the 1990’s however, China has taken over as the biggest shoe producer, with approximately 9.5 billion pairs of shoes exported in 2019.  With its lower labour and production costs, Malaysia can’t compete on price for OEM mass manufacturing. 
 
Exports of Malaysian-produced footwear has dwindled over the last decade, with Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) calling on the local footwear industry to innovate and produce locally-made premium shoes in order to stay relevant.  Matrade’s director of Lifestyle, Life Sciences and Medical Devices Abu Bakar Yusof said in 2018, “Local footwear designers should emulate Christy Ng and Nelissa Hilman in producing premium products to help catapult the country’s footwear industry into the global market”, referring to finished products higher up in the value chain will be most competitive.

While the department-store brands shoes we’re all accustomed to might still have orders from local and overseas buyers albeit an overall decline due to the current worldwide pandemic, those small (mostly home-based) artisans that came from the descendants of the original shoemakers from the last century don’t get a mention in the national agenda.
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​Part 1: The beginning
 
Nelissa, a chemical engineer by profession, decided to take a break from the corporate sector a bit more than ten years now.  What started as an exploration of creativity became a passion that was too strong to not pursue.  After “ended up using up pretty much all my savings” to study at Polimoda (in Italy) on a shoemaking course, she thoroughly enjoyed making shoes and exploring its many aspects.  She interned with a local shoemaker for a year, and in 2012, despite the Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association cautioning “the shoe industry is very tough”, her label was born.
 
She found out a lot of shoemaking entrepreneurs and businesses had already moved to China back then, and it would make sense to do so due to cost and accessibility.  She laments, “What's left are the smaller artisans.  And here we are, 10 years later, the numbers went from 3000 to probably about 1000.  So we're losing talent, so to speak.  It saddens me because when we first started, I only wanted to work with locals.”
 
Having appreciating the art of shoemaking and learning of its Malaysian story, she wanted to take on the challenge.  “I do like China.  I do like the spirit of things in China.  But then, the heart wasn't there, I needed to be here and see things and talk to the shoemakers and things like that.  So that was how we started!”

Part 2: The middle
 
Nelissa realised very early into the business that, “It wasn't so simple.  There are a lot of steps (pardon the pun!). Once a design gets to a shoe factory, they basically assemble all of your parts.  I had to learn how to manage the heel, the insole, the outsole, a lot of components that I didn't realise I needed to put together!  And then you have different sizes.  And each size requires different sets of materials.  At one point, it became a bit too much for me.”  Her process engineering experience helped, but in the end, she knew she had to relegate control, in a sense.  She creatively designs her shoes, but she lets the shoe factory decide how it’s done, because “…they have existed for 20, 30 years, and they have their own suppliers, and they have their own supply chain.  So we rely a lot on them”. 
 
She started selling her shoes online, and it wasn’t long until her first brick-and-mortar shop opened in Bangsar Village 2.  Once she mastered the end-to-end shoemaking practice and the day-to-day of managing small batches, she began to dive deeper into the production process. You could say that Nelissa had it in her a curiosity – more than most – to understand how things actually come together: “My last corporate position was in fact in green technology, very much focusing on how do we transform plantation waste into energy, things like bio ethanol from algae.  I was exposed to renewables when I was working, but I had a really good lecturer on sustainability on environment at university.”
 
It was fitting that she took that curiosity outside of the immediate confines of the shoemakers’ facilities and workshops.  “Starting from last year, we've been a bit cleverer, or should you say, strict, in terms of supplier management.  We would like to know more. We would ask, can you share with us your outsole supplier? Who supplies your materials?  Can you provide the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for us so we're able to see all of the components of the shoes?”  It was clear to her no one probably had asked these questions before her.  She followed the curious trail as much as she could. “It’s not easy”, she says.  “A lot of them are small players and they keep records manually, they don’t really use the computer… most of them don't even speak Malay or English and they only converse in Chinese.”  But she keeps at it.  “Once we get more information, we try to update our information on the website.  So, we’re trying.”

Having gone through the line of enquiry, it became immediately apparent there was a divide between what was said and was true. 

​“Because you are not able to travel, and we rely only on that data alone, there's no way to confirm or to audit if the documentation submitted is, you know, 100% accurate.  So that’s my issue.”
 
I reflected how it's not uncommon for a brand owner to struggle to have transparency in their supply chain.  Especially, for small to medium businesses.
 
She continues to tell me about the information she’s gathered so far.  “We have raw materials, for example, for our outsoles.  We have a whole supplier base in Klang (Malaysia), which is Kossan – it’s a public listed company.  I think they have incorporated recycled rubber in their outsole product… that comprises 10%.  Our box manufacturer has always been from a local supplier in Balakong (in the state of Selangor, Malaysia).  I never understood why people will order boxes from China, maybe it’s to do with cost, but because we're so small, it doesn't make sense to have a 20-foot truck to come in just to deliver boxes to us.  My supplier says Malaysian shoe boxes are typically made out of 50% of postconsumer materials.”

​Part 3: The realisation
 
Nelissa revealed how her experience of figuring things out might be different from what someone would go through now.  Finding shoemakers that matched her requirements was a test of perseverence.  “I think it’s a lot easier now, we have AliBaba and the like.  Back then when I first started, I had a meeting with the (Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers) Association and it was you know, ‘Okay, come and meet me, we'll talk more.’ Then there’s door knocking, then you’ll meet different suppliers, show them my samples, ask them, ‘Can you do this?’  You’ll easily meet ten different suppliers to figure out who you could work with.  This took about a year.“
 
Once she extended her range, then came the realisation that she was on the right track, in terms of her bigger vision of keeping this craft relevant.  “I could only rely on a couple of suppliers, even though I’d love to keep these shoemakers in business.  But they couldn't cope with the orders!  They couldn't innovate because they're really all these uncles, you know, in their 40s and 50s.  And they don't have children to continue that work.  I think the industry in general doesn't seem very sexy as a whole. You don't work in the office.”  She knew she had to keep making shoes. 
 
The bigger, more luxury brands could probably make it look sexy, but there’s a reason behind this.  Even though they will take a while to track their whole supply chain, they hold a bit more power, so they should have no excuse.  As Nelissa commented, “Luxury brands would have a whole unit or department looking into this, right?” 

Part 4: The selling
 
Understanding how things are made have a lot to do with consumer action nowadays, too.  Her customers appreciate her sharing this information.  She believes there's an inherent value when you make something, and people forget that that multiple hands have touched it, crafted it, made sure they are soft, supple, look great for the wearer, made with love.  There's so much effort put into putting something together, creating a product. 
 
She wants the spotlight to come back to our traditions.  To celebrate our heritage, decades of knowledge and craft.  On the local shoe designers, she says, “We've come a long way.  10 years ago, they were not many of us. There was Christy Ng, and there was a lot of bespoke.  We came in because we wanted to offer something different, and obviously, I wanted to exercise my creativity!  Back then, bigger brands were conquering the market, you have your Nine West, Bonia.” 
 
Her competitive edge opened up because of Direct-to-Consumer capabilities.  “Social media got really big, and it became easier to push your product to the market. I was very much product-focused at the time, but to be honest, the visual, the branding, I didn’t know what NH would look like.”
 
Social media does not discriminate.  It’s anyone’s game.  In terms of the playing field, she did encounter challenges in the beginning.  “You have those traders who are resellers.  That's not so nice, they simply would copy someone else’s design, and then sell it at a lower price.  So that's not fun.”  She needed to make sure her brand differentiation was obvious.  Of course, her brand is very recognisable now, but she did have to navigate the direct-to-consumer avenue fairly quick.
 
She loves seeing new brands coming out more.  “I can definitely say the playing field in Malaysia is getting a bit more exciting.  Compared to 10 years ago, consumers are slowly trying to support local.  You go to Bangsar Village or any of the Jalan Telawis... there's a lot of local brands.  And then you have your Pasar Seloka, you see more brands!  The amount of creativity… nourishes the skillset in this space.”
 
​Nelissa thinks there are more local brands on the rise and it's going to continue to do so.  She’s still learning how to market her product in this space, and will continue to support anyone trying to break into local shoemaking.

She thinks visibility on all fronts will help local entrepreneurs.  “A lot of brands exist on social media, but then there are a lot more going on outside of social media too.  Having a physical presence helps the non-social media consumer to engage with the brand.  The more offline presence exists, the more local brands can educate the consumer.  The bazaars, even consignment and departmental store, these are great places to start engaging in conversations on responsible textiles and keep our heritage and industry alive.”
​

She is constantly challenged by preconceived notions of the value embedded in her products, however.   She says, “There are two types of consumers:  the ones who want to support local, and the ones who want to support local but cannot because they think our products are expensive.  They would ask, your products are made in Malaysia, so how are they so expensive?”
 
And her answer? “Just because you’re locally made, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are automatically cheap!  Your suppliers need to be fairly paid as well.  That's the key, because without them, Nelissa Hilman wouldn’t exist.  And then you have your expenses, your marketing... and we don’t mark-up our products a lot.  For direct-to-consumer there’s a general guideline of what the mark-up should be. There's a lot of spending that people don’t see: ads, the team, and the creativity!  We create quality products!  Also, we’re here.  If your shoes become rosak, you can just come back to us if you need, and we can help with the repairing.  Otherwise, we will recommend you to go to a cobbler that can help fix your shoes.”
 
She goes on to say, “Shoes are not like clothes… shoes can hurt you.  We wouldn't claim that our shoes work for everybody.  But I’m here to try to make it work for you, the best that I can.”
 
She emphasises, “I’m not about selling and forgetting about my customers.”

​Part 6: Continuous improvement
 
I ask Nelissa what’s next on the horizon. “The thing is, with shoes, there's a certain lifespan.  Because there's a lot of material that goes into its making, especially glue, these are chemicals, they degrade.  And depending on how they’re made, the stitching, for example.  I constantly ask myself, how do I extend the lifespan of a shoe? It could be five years max before it gets thrown out, or the style doesn't suit you anymore?  I'm still trying to figure things out.”
 
Nelissa recently partnered with Kloth Lifestyle in an initiative called ‘Future Steps.’  “Due to the current economic state of affairs because of the pandemic, we didn’t think it was right push for people to buy shoes.  So next best thing is, we have this program with Kloth to take people’s old shoes to keep them away from landfill.  They have access to a local factory that can repurpose the shoes (which would normally be destined for landfill!) and have an end-of-life solution.  We’ve had this program for a while, but it was always in the background.  We thought Kloth has struck a chord with the recycling community in Malaysia so we would like to promote their ethos of keeping fabrics out of landfill.”
 
Indeed, footwear has been at the forefront of innovation in fashion.  Things like 3D design and materials technology had infiltrated this industry for a long time. Shoes are utilitarian in nature, and also worn to enhance performance – think athletes, avid runners, and the like.  It’s important to recognise that shoes do have their own lifespan, and there is a lot of friction and wear and tear compared to anything else we wear.  Nelissa says, “Yes, shoes do take a lot of your weight, and when you’re walking or running shoes can hurt, so, it pays to pay (rightly) for the right shoe!” 

​Of course, she’d like to see better performing shoes that’s also fashionable and more responsibly-produced. 
 
She understands the bigger brands have a lot of R&D to spend, and they are more than capable to test new technology.  They can afford to purchase licences or collaborate with emerging materials and so forth.  “We have been following a lot of material and technology news, and we've reached out to a few players.  There are legal aspects to developing materials technology, especially IP (intellectual property), in terms of sharing knowledge about that product.  I think there's a lot of opportunities, but for Malaysia, the biggest question is where are the funds going to come from, and who is going to support us, or the industry.  Also, who's going to take the lead?  I’ve enquired about leather alternatives, for example, woven cactus leather.  They're not cheap!  There’s the price of the material, and then there’s the taxes!  So, for us, what makes sense both for the customer and for the business? It’s an exciting space to explore, but also needs to make commercial sense.”
 
Technology can definitely propel us, but there's commercialisation and normalisation of technology.   We actually need to put a price on materials that are made more sustainably or more responsibly on par with the everyday materials, and to make that happen, governments and businesses need to incentivise this more, so as to accelerate their production.  We need to fast-track the uptake of alternative feedstocks, because that will then open up the opportunity for even smaller players.  Not just big players, but smaller players, like NH.

​It's difficult to imagine the enduring commitment our local shoemakers have carried on over the years.  Nelissa says, “The thing about shoemakers is… you need a very long time to develop a certain skill, for example, even lasting a shoe may take someone five to seven years to become really good at.  Stretching, for example… requires specialisation and it takes years to acquire.  So if we lose this talent now, it will be really hard for the industry to replenish our skillsets and to compete.  Perhaps we can still have a local industry but if you want to compete internationally, there's a bit more investment required, and who is going to champion this? I do know that I want the industry to be around in the next century or so.  But I also want technological advancements to come in, whether it be material or new machineries, or new techniques that artisans can adapt to, which makes us an interesting place to make shoes and export high degree quality of shoes.  Shoes you can sell in Italy or Portugal.”
​

She adds, “I do want the industry to flourish back to where we were in the 80s and 90s.  I want the industry to be sexier!”  She loathes that some Malaysians are designing shoes or bags abroad, but she understands it because it's probably more efficient to do things that way.
 
She talks about the younger generation continuing on our beadwork, weaving, woodwork, and hand-printing.  “We've been losing our songket makers, our artisanal craftsmen, and so on.  I was using the library before the lockdowns, doing my research.  I was trying to find out who are our batik makers, our sulaman experts?  Who have we got left? Our wau makers, one left?  Perahu makers?  Probably a handful.  So, what are we doing?  How do we keep this community alive?  These are our country's assets, right?”
 
One could say that our obsession with manufacturing technological products, driven by a deliberate government policy in the 1980s (remember Mahathir’s Wawasan 2020?) to digitise the economy did have a direct effect on our tailors and shoemakers.  (Malaysia’s biggest export now is electrical and electronics products, at 36% of all exports).  This policy action was, as we have seen today, been at the expense of slow, artisanal culture.
 
As we wrapped up our conversation on Nelissa’s hopes for the future, she gushes about something she’s been brewing.  “I’d like to design a programme where we can harness new talent.  It’s all on paper, for now.  But it’s been in the back of my mind for a while.  We’ll see.”
 
The dedication of this woman is unwavering.  Sustainability in Nelissa’s world means we fight to move our craft into the next generation, and the ones after that.  Let’s bring out our best foot forward, then!

Here at FASHINFIDELITY we get all sorts of questions from our Malaysian followers but the ones that come up very often is on thrifting and the second-hand clothing scene. If you’ve followed us a while, you may also know that we’re *always* advocating for new and refreshed ways to use what’s *already* in your wardrobe as well as not buying anything new first and foremost, but evidently, there remains challenges to adopting the thrift lifestyle.

​You may remember that I took on a few of your questions during an IG Live on 14th July (you may access the recording here.) What was evident during that session was that even though there are so many who are receptive to thrifting and expressed their eagerness to play their part in consuming differently, the second-hand scene in Malaysia is not as abundantly accessible to many, quite yet. Since that day I’ve been mindful of others who could share their experience on creatively finding different ways to be stylish, and who more qualified to share their thoughts on this other than Haida Yusof-Yeomans (IG: @haidayusof), celebrated stylist-cum-thrifting icon of Malaysia?

Haida’s resumé is quite impressive. When she started working as an assistant to the general manager of a fashion events company, she didn’t know being a stylist could be a career. But a career she has plotted! Through her initial experience she has forged her way to work as a fashion stylist with both CLEO and Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia, and then moved on to become quite the in-demand freelancer, styling celebrities and artists who are not afraid to push beyond mainstream trends and go out of their comfort zone a little.

Nowadays, Haida works a little differently, too.

​Speaking to her on Zoom from the comfort of both of our homes, she tells me she is ready by uploading a photo of herself on her IG story 2 mins prior to our agreed meeting time (looking flawless, of course.)  We had a friendly chat as I started off thanking her for her time and explained our interview will be recorded.  We had been friends for a number of years when I was introduced to her by my good friend, Iz Sulaini.  When I somewhat ‘infiltrated’ the fashion scene, I decided to base myself in Malaysia from 2018, and constantly looked to her as reference for contemporary news and happenings.  She was at the time an editor for an online zine called Error Digital (IG: @errordigital.)  I wanted to get to know the ins and outs of her ‘world.’  I assisted her on a fashion shoot once (for ZALORA) and gained a baby stylist badge as well as covered stories for Error.  Since then, we’ve regularly been keeping each other up-to-date on each of our own projects, and have been featured together on forums on sustainability, styling, and fashion.
 
When Haida announced she was leaving Malaysia for good to be in Dubai in April 2019 (with her husband, Stuart, an investment and asset fund manager), she was leaving behind not only her roots and her family, but also the publications and styling industry that was too rigid for her liking.  But how can she not?  Being raised by a seamstress mum who was very much into art, drawing, and cooking—instilled in her the joys of breaking boundaries and unusual ways of appreciating, but also depicting beauty.  It’s no wonder her younger sister, Dhaniya Illiani is also a creator (formally: multi-disciplinary contemporary artist, IG: @dhanilliani.)
 
It’s not a secret that Malaysia’s mainstream media still lack diversity, rebellion and adventure in creativity, even though there are enough ‘rule’ breakers by what you can see on unconventional media ‘outlets’ such as Instagram.  Haida thinks these ‘left-field’ artists provide value to the arts industry, as well as generate quite the buzz and respect with corresponding accolades and recognition, locally and internationally.  What’s missing are the strings that hold the industry together – government support.
 
As I pressed the record button on our interview, it doesn’t feel like there’s a Q&A session at all.  We freely talk about our own ventures and thoughts on things, and here I offer you our (much truncated) conversation.

N:  What do you do now, Haida?
H:  Hi Najah!  I'm excited with what I do now.  Since being based in Dubai, I've obviously been isolated from the local (Malaysian) industry.  Add in the fact that COVID happened.  So the environment is kind of... a little stagnant?  It's just pretty much the same thing, if not even worse now.  Because there's no movement, there's no mobility.  It's hard for people to progress in whatever plans that they have.  But at the same time, it’s a good thing because it makes people think about how they can they rethink their business.  So previously in Malaysia, I was a fashion stylist.  I styled celebrities, clothing brands mostly.  When I moved to Dubai, obviously, starting over wasn't an option.  I had to adapt to do another thing that somehow from a hobby became something that it has become now – a personal shopping service.  Except that it's more like me finding stuff, and some people like them.  And if they ended up liking it, they buy it from me.  Does that make me a personal shopper?
 
N:  Well, basically, you buy things that you really like that catches your eye?  I'm pretty sure that's called having a retail business?
H:  Oh it’s definitely as a business!  I just don't know what to call it.  With personal shopping, the client tends to ask the shopper to buy certain stuff that they want.  I rarely get that... I do get one or two requests.  It's basically me sharing with people really nice things they don’t often think to buy.  And then people respond to that.  I guess I'm a professional shopper.
 
N:  I think I saw an article today asking whether any of us have pivoted our careers during COVID... and I'm pretty sure 90% of people have!
H:  Oh, yes.  I mean, who hasn’t?  Especially people in the creative scene, what else can they do?  It is really sad to see… What is a country without its arts?   I had to change my career per se because I was restless all the time.  The thing is, I've always loved sourcing items for my clients back when I was styling… I loved finding cool and unusual stuff.
 
N:  I mean, when you were doing your styling work, you had to source a lot of things yourself, right? I reckon you're pretty good at it!
H:  I reckon!
 
N:  Maybe you are professional 'sourcer' of good, beautiful things.
H:  Yeah, it's a bit of a mouthful, but I’ll take that.  You know what, when it comes to sourcing stuff, I'm pretty damn proud of myself.  There’s a sense of satisfaction when you are bargain hunting, or finding one-of-a-kind pieces, that thrill of finding something that you can't get in shops!  One of my biggest pet peeves is actually looking like everyone else.  I feel like if you want to position yourself as a public figure in fashion, you can't just follow trends, you either have to set trends, or you have to embrace things with consciousness, you know, with thought.  When you are thrifting, the pieces that you find, because these are from 15, 20, 30 years ago, or even more, the quality of the pieces that are being produced are just a lot better; a lot more thought out.  And they don't look the same.  For example, a lot of designers right now are just designing to cater to what's hyped, meaning designs all ends up looking the same.  We all have the same logo bag, same shapes and design.  Whereas back then, there are so many styles, different types of workmanship and the craftsmanship absolutely stands out.  Knowing I have bought them (quite) cheaply, and you can’t get the item anywhere else, brings me joy when I go and wear these pieces out, and a sense of accomplishment when I get asked where I get them from!

N:  I love this!  One of the things that I tell my audience is that you have to figure out what your perfect wardrobe looks like.  Obviously, you're a stylist, so yours is probably a little bit bigger than mine.  As an individual, though, I feel like a lot of people need to understand what works for them.  Because trends are literally just that – they come and they go, not everything's going to work on you.  So, I think if you understand what your style aesthetic is, and what works for you, and your body, and your stage of life… then this will inform what you want to allow into your wardrobe.
H:  Yeah, definitely.  I think this is one of the things that people need to remember first, before shopping vintage, or just shopping altogether.  I've successfully stopped shopping at H&M for over a year now, and that’s pretty big for me!  Don’t get me wrong, Zara here in Dubai stocks such beautiful clothes, too.  I used to have an addiction thing where you're like, what do you call it… anxious and jumpy?  And you're having these ticks? Like, you just gotta get one of those!  Now, I would allow myself one item from Zara every year.  And that is a pat on the back for me, because I usually couldn't withstand the temptation.  But here's the thing, as a regular shopper, everything is about trends.  A lot of consumers, they want to get the next big thing because they want to be accepted by their peers.  And this is not just bad for the economy – because there's so many other beautiful designers with amazing bags for example, and they all choose to just buy that one bag, because it's a trending bag, or the influencers are carrying it – but it's also bad in terms of identity: you're not creating your own, you’re just a fashion victim!  I have a lot of requests from people wanting me to get an Amina Muaddi pair of shoes, or Jacquemus bags, those are top of my list.  And sometimes it comes to a point where I’m just like… I don't even want to try to go and procure this stuff.  Because in the market, they are now sold at another 1000 (United Arab Emirates) dirham or 1000 (Malaysian) ringgit extra!  And I think, do you want to spend that much money when you can get other bags that are just as nice?  It will make you more unique, in terms of sense of style and taste.  And I want that for my clients!

N:  Don't be a fashion victim!
H:  Yes.  If you are a fashion victim, you’re procuring items just for trends, and only want them once.  If you are a true fashion lover, you will completely honour the outfit or the bag or the shoe that you have.  And you will wear them again and again and again.  So don't read tabloids… read up about really interesting fashion figures in history where they don't follow style at all, they create their own style.  I think educating the masses in that sense is difficult, because everyone is propelled by what Haley Bieber wears.  I myself am trying to shake that off.  I don't want to be a carbon copy of someone else when I could just be myself.  I'm happy to educate people about it but also be more educated about it, too.
 
N:  Shake off the temptation!  Going back to Zara though, they do have great designers, putting stuff out there that was new at the time when a lot of people didn’t have access to nice things that won’t break the bank, and that was what made them successful in the first place.  This opened the doors for what we now know as fast fashion.  We’ve come a long way now since then, it’s not acceptable that they carry on some of the practices that made them successful, but I don't think everyone will stop shopping tomorrow.  However, I do think brands have responsibility to clean up their supply chains.  And I don't think anyone would disagree with us on that.
H:  I agree.  I am currently entering a phase of recalibrating:  when I was in Malaysia, my business card is my Instagram.  So, if people see me wearing the latest bags, or the latest shoes, automatically this attracts people to come to my site.  People think it’s a strategy: they see me wearing this, they think I'm a ‘fashionable’ person.  Now, I can say with integrity that yes, I think I'm a fashionable person but back then, I was such a sell-out!  Wearing these things… I felt I was tricking the audience into believing that this is what fashion stands for.  And that's the kind of climate that you're in.   And because I was so busy, I didn't have the time to put thought into the outfits.  Now I’m in Dubai, and everyone here is an influencer – this is where influencers thrive –  I felt pressured to appear to look a certain way, you know, with the lips and the boobs, the Balenciaga bags and all that, but then I realised… the more I tried to keep up with them, the more I felt, like, who am I?  What is this brand that I'm trying to put out there?  So as much as I love brands, like Bottega (Veneta), I will only buy stuff that I think would suit me.  Actually, nowadays if I go to a designer store, I end up buying stuff that's not trending from their collection, because I feel such a disdain to support only just one thing, because everyone says that's a nice thing.  This is what is happening with a lot of my customers – they are so convinced they need an item, even if it doesn't fit their style, or their personality.  I’m such a big believer of how personality sits above all else when you want to be a fashionable person!  It's easy for you to wear top-to-toe designer, but if you can't carry it, then it becomes fake.  So, going back to recalibrating my mindset: although you will be spending a little bit more on better quality items, you are spending it on something that truly defines your identity.   Zara has so many unresolved issues like working conditions in Bangladesh or whatnot, but more importantly plagiarises other up-and-coming designers’ designs as well as big designers.  That’s a HUGE problem, we can’t really support this.  That quick satisfaction only lasts for that one second of that moment of time.  And then after that nobody is talking about it anymore.  So now it's about educating the masses about how we can think, or rethink, about what we’re buying.  If I buy this jacket, is this going to last the next 10 seasons?  You know, I try to wear my items at least five years.  I still have my Zara pieces from about seven years ago, which I thought is pretty amazing, because I didn't think I would be keeping them that long.  But because I'm a stylist, I know what to do with clothes.  It’s hard when people are constantly bombarded with visuals, telling them this is how you wear this with this, and you're like, ‘Oh, this one image?’

N:  At FASHINFIDELITY, we always talk about fashion being about over-production, over-consumption, and over-advertising.  This plagiarising phenomenon is out of control!  I recently discovered this brand, Shein, whom I’ve never even heard of.  And they represent what’s already wrong with fast fashion, but more!
H:   Oh my god, Shein is massive here!  In Dubai you have the ‘mat sallehs’ who are a bit more in tune with sustainable shopping, they enjoy buying handmade fabrics and don’t mind pre-ordering.  However, the locals and to some degree, some expats, they consume cheap materials and I see so much waste!  I’m actually thinking of starting my own line, initially from vintage items, upcycling them into modern pieces.  But there’s a stigma here with vintage or second-hand, much like in Malaysia.  In Malaysia I think that mentality is starting to change, but in Dubai, everyone wears designer, designer, or they buy fake designer.  I’m currently in a dilemma because I want to make a collection, but I don’t want to do mass production.  There are so many talented tailors and artisans here, it’s something I’m researching…
 
N:  There’s a big gap in the market for those who want to start, like you, but wanting to stay true to creating impact, and incorporate sustainability principles in their business.  There isn’t a guideline, per se.  I get asked this question all the time and I help small brands start right.  I think it’s important to tap into ‘why’ you’re doing something, but not confuse it with your ‘how.’  I think we need to take this conversation offline. 
H:  OMG YES.  Talking about sustainability, though – Malaysians are confused about that term, ‘sustainable’ or ‘sustainability.’  For me, I understand the concept, but I don't understand the actions that link them together.  For instance, there are a number of designers that are doing collections using sustainably-sourced materials, or using recycled fabrics.  Well, this is good, but if you're doing it in mass quantities, you're not doing anything sustainably, right?  You're still contributing to wastage, overconsumption, etc.  Yeah, it's the same thing!  So I find myself in this process asking, oh my god, how do I start?  What do I do?  I must consciously ask myself how do I do this, without jeopardising my true ‘why’, but also obviously people’s welfare and the environment.  I started thinking a few years back that business owners and people who are business minded, who start their collections…  all they think about is money, money, money.  They don't think about the aftermath in a way.  And I think Malaysians in general, they don't see this, they only want to buy this peplum (baju) kurung, which only is going to last for one day, and you probably will never wear ever again.  And that’s it!  A one-time satisfaction feed.  So for me, I want to be able to create something that even if it's a little bit expensive for people to buy, at least when they buy it, they’ll wear it again and again.  So fostering that sort of mindset into people is something that brands need to think about incorporating into their lines.  For example, when I sell my buyers these gorgeous abayas, I tell them look, this is not just for special occasions – freaking wear it out to the grocery shop, meeting your friends for lunch, and everything else!  Restyle them!  So I think brands need to do this, making the best or full use of whatever products that they put out there.  Wouldn’t that be great?
 
N:  …They just wouldn’t make as much profit, yawn.
H:  If that’s what’s important to them, yes.

N:  At FASHINFIDELITY we also get into how can we do capitalism differently.  What does a post-capitalism world look like.  I come from a corporate background and I believe people need to be mindful that businesses must happen, like we can't just stop shopping tomorrow, and shut everything down.  And so, if you want to start a business, whatever it is that you do, the advice that I always give people is that always start with the right ‘why’ and then work backwards in terms of the product you're trying to sell – your ‘how’.  The product would make someone's life better, or contribute to the lifting and empowering a community out of poverty, or enhance the welfare of animals, etc.  It has to be multifaceted.  The product can't only contribute to one thing, but it can maybe achieve two or three or four things, and then, when it is no longer at its optimum function, it can become feed or contribute to the environment or other living things in a way.  I’m looking at how businesses can be a force for good in the next phase of capitalism and the next phase of the world, post COVID.  Just to add to that, there are now all sorts of courses on this, for example, a Master's in sustainable entrepreneurship.  I don't know if you've heard about it.  From what I know, they're looking at some of those things that you're enquiring about.  Businesses can’t be driven by profit, but by an innate reason to create impact.  Along the way, you can make profit via your product, but not the other way around.  We have to work within the limits of our planetary boundaries, and I really believe we can do so.  When we talk about in the Malaysian context, obviously, we're not even there yet.
H:  Yes, it’ still a foreign concept.  Again, it’s about recalibrating that mindset.

N:  I often tell my clients when I do my talks to stop buying anything new, and thrift or swap if you want to have a wardrobe refresh, and if you did want to buy a new item, to support really good brands and local artisans. 
H:  I would definitely support the up-and-coming designers – the young ones are the ones to look out for because their eye into creating fashion pieces are a lot better than what the overpriced designer labels are doing right now.  There are actually a number of awesome stores like APOC Store, 50 millimetre in London where they curate pieces from amazing young designers and they do things from cable ties to recycled fishing nets and they're so fashion forward.  That’s the kind of environment I think I'd like for Malaysia where they actually support the idea of wearing cable tie shoes and whatnot because these items are beautifully done.  Get rid of the idea that it’s trash that you're wearing… these are works of art that would be talked about.
 
N:  Design sells.
H:  They are so good!
 
N:  Some Malaysians have a psychological barrier to wearing second-hand.  30% however (from the polls I run at my webinars) want to do the right thing by getting into the thrift culture but they say there’s not enough sizes or styles that are ‘nice’ or fit them.  What do you have to say about that?
H:  That’s interesting!  I’ve definitely come across the superstitious types, too, like I don’t want to wear dead people’s clothes, I’ve heard all of that before.  On thrifting, yes, there is definitely a size issue.  However, when I shop, I always keep finding oversized stuff.  So where am I looking that people are not?  But yes, people might actually have issues trying to find nice stuff.  In Malaysia, there are a couple of things lacking in terms of supporting the habit of thrifting.  Firstly, there is education – the cultural stigma attached to the idea of buying someone else's clothes, that it’s not cool, it's not trendy and whatnot.  Secondly, there aren't enough curated channels.  I've been thrifting since I was 13 years old, because my dad loved it and he still thrifts!  When we go on holidays we never went to malls, we always visited the thrift shops or the markets because bless his heart that was what he could afford for us.  But I loved it, I loved every minute of finding these unique items, you really have to have a knack for it.  When I was last in Malaysia in June (2021) I realised why people go to me to find vintage stuff for them.  Because it's hard.  It's super hard to find nice pieces for women, right?  But imagine me, thrifting in Malaysia, ten or so years ago – it was even harder.  You know why?  The people who bring these clothes to us are men.  I’ve been to one of these places before, in Port Klang and even for me, damn, it’s overwhelming.  There are some women but they're mostly men with fanny packs and the bum bags and they were literally ready, lining up to go and rummage through these bales of clothing.  Of course, these are not fashion-centric men.

N:  ‘Business’ men.
H:  I mean, back then obviously these thrift ‘shops’ only catered to migrants or immigrant workers because they can't afford to buy things at the malls, right?  So all those places that you see in Chow Kit, they only cater to that crowd.  And then you have places like Amcorp Mall, there is only a collective of people who liked thrifted clothing, but then again, when I go there, it's not as curated, it's messy.  Back then it's even worse because you only have lots of jeans and lots of Harley Davidson type leather jackets, and maybe some Nike t-shirts and that’s it.  So I really have had to scour through racks and racks and I have had to be incognito even, wear my most ugliest baju and dive into some of the most shittiest, kookiest areas just to find interesting stuff.  I did find a Jean Paul Gaultier dress one time, though.
 
N:  Wow!
H:   Yeah, it was a legit one.  This is like seven years ago before it became like a hit vintage item to score.  Now, an archive JPG top would cost you anywhere from 1000 ringgit to like 5000 or even more, up to 7000 ringgit just for a shirt.  So you do find these finds, they're just not everywhere.  And it's harder for people to find items in a centralised place, especially for women.  I actually had this idea if it weren't for COVID, that I wanted to contact the guys from either at Jalan Jalan Japan or 2nd Street… asking them if I could be their chief curator or something!  I would help select pieces that would be appealing to the more contemporary buyer.  There are such things as dated items, you know, like what your grandma wore that you can't wear at all.  And then there are pieces that your grandma has worn, but you can still wear again.   These are timeless pieces, they can be worn again and again and again until it's worn out.  I've seen so many of these pieces, it’s just that they haven't put them into proper sections.  So the buyers miss out on these.  That is an issue in Malaysia.  Also, plus size women, there definitely is a limit on nice clothing for them.  I don't know if the people who select these items from the bales deliberately just choose oversize clothing, because again, these are men that are doing the sectioning.  I have seen on 2nd Street where they have the warehouse open to public right next to the shop in Subang.  I see women sifting through these bales.  But then again, you end up wasting the clothes, because people aren't going to buy the not-so-pretty pieces, or they're not styled in a way where it's pretty.  This is why I envy European vintage stores, because they know how to curate these items.  They know how to style these items on their shop mannequins or in their social media accounts, they're so savvy.  Whereas for us, it used to only be very utilitarian, for the working class, and those who couldn’t afford to shop at high-end or even mid-range labels in the malls like Padini.  I dare say thrifting for vintage has now become elitist – there are really cheap, unattractive clothes for the masses, and then there are high-end stores that sell stuff from overseas, upward of 1000 ringgits.
 
N:  There’s no middle ground, for the rest of us.
H:  Yeah. 

N:  Interestingly, however, most thrifted items in Australia, where I am, are for the middle-class, but started off as charitable places for those who are on lower wages.  And curating is definitely the right descriptor, because even here where we sell them, mostly organised by religious-affiliated institutions, like Sacred Heart Mission or St Vincent de Paul, colloquially knowns as ‘Vinnies’, we have volunteers who curate their shop windows.  I had an IG Live earlier in the month, and when this question about availability of clothing in varying styles popped up, I told my audience there’s actually so many ‘bigger’ sized clothes and designs that end up in Malaysia!  I’ve seen it!  My client operates in Port Klang (Malaysia) and sorts and remanufactures clothing that don’t sell here.  So I have to wonder, who sorts these clothes!?  I reckon there’s a business opportunity there, for sure. 
H:  Yes, curating is so important.  It teaches Malaysians who don't believe in thrifting, or just completely against wearing second-hand clothing, that you can breathe life into these clothes once more.  You can be so much more fashionable wearing these clothes instead of clothes from Zara and everything else, because it's all about how you style them and how you honour these clothes on you.  There’s value in these pieces, the wearability factor is super high.  I remember visual merchandising work in some of the thrift shops in London was fantastic!  I didn't think I wanted the boots that I saw in this shop until I saw how they styled it.  Trying to make these clothes look appealing to the public – you can definitely make it look expensive!  In the past, working with some clients there are limitations, like you can't wear this with that, which is completely against my ethos of fashion styling.  In their heads, they only want to wear Gucci because they think they’re ‘expensive’, or ‘exclusive.’  I had a hard time trying to convince them you can wear vintage or second-hand and still look great.  Just because you wear designer labels or new clothes... this doesn't automatically make you feel expensive.  It's about how you carry it and how you sell it.  And once I’ve convinced them they are shocked to see how they can stand out and look different!  If you know how to wear them, you can definitely make it work.  So I have been toying with this idea for so long.  Jalan Jalan Japan, if you’re reading this, just give me access to all your clothes because I love I love love.  I wish I could have access to your coats, I don't mind being in a sweaty warehouse, because I love digging through the stuff.  Haha!

N:  On a positive note, I think the tide is turning, I think we both agree that people are more conscientious about the things that they buy now.
H:  Yeah.  And based on my vintage posts, I have so many people DM-ing me I want this, I want that… there’s actually a good business in it, too.  It's just that it's a lot of work for me – one person to have to do the sifting, the sourcing… it's time, energy and money.  Which I don't mind doing because I end up buying for myself even.  But I wish I had the opportunity to do this full-time, which I can’t, not right now.  Nowadays, even massive celebrities, they're no longer pulling clothes from designers.  You know, they're actually pulling clothes from vintage curators, like, Pechuga Vintage, or NL Official Vintage… people have started to actually go to them to find these rare, archival pieces to wear to events.  This is the new status of dressing that is unattainable to the general masses in a way now because obviously, they're a lot more expensive to procure.  But the trend is heading towards this.  A lot of thought comes into it when you do decide to dress vintage.  At the moment, the younger kids, they're doing this so well.   And I think the younger generation is going to pick this up.   And, because of Instagram, Pinterest, all these visual stimulations they are exposed to…. it's just amazing to see what they can pull off, and they're already being entrepreneurial from such a young age.  So, this generation is embracing the changes already… they're going to be the ones that are going to pave the way to more sustainability in fashion.  If you look at Carousel there are tonnes of pages where college kids or high school kids are buying oversized Tommy Hilfiger shirts and turning them into cropped tops or shorts.  In Depop they are upcycling clothes.  I am seeing that trend currently in Malaysia.  It's just not that mainstream yet, but we’re getting there.
 
N:  Thinking about the future and how we can have a society that embraces thrifting and styling, what else do you think is the missing puzzle in this piece?
H:  We need to go back to our roots.  I used to buy these mengkuang basket bags in Bangsar, they're made by artisans in Terengganu, and these costs about 40 ringgit, but Marni, the Italian brand, they’re selling similar products for 5000 ringgit!  Why would you buy that when you can support our local craft?  Embrace your batik makers, too, for example.   There’re so many ways you can embrace sustainability, it’s not just buying stuff made from sustainably produced materials, it is also about supporting the craftsmen, the artisans with local knowledge who have been doing this for generations… you'll soon realise that this definitely enriches your life, broadens your mind.
 
N:  Yes, I always keep telling people that, in Malaysia, we need to figure out what sustainability means to our own heritage.  We don't need to compete with what sustainability means to the rest of the world.  Everyone has their yardstick.  What we've seen is that globalisation has made Western aesthetics taken over what we think we want to achieve, or to ‘look’ like, it’s made us lose some of our own aesthetics.  We need to be propping up our own local industries because we owe the future of our heritage to them.
H:  Yeah, I'm very hopeful for that, because I do want to see our local industry flourish.  I've been following a lot of like activism pages – yours is the best in fashion by the way – one of the contents I really like watching is about the Native Americans and how they are showcasing their heritage on TikTok.  I find that very interesting because obviously, it's a culture that's completely been swept under the rug by the American media.  So, seeing them out there and seeing how they are fusing that with their Western-style fashion is so cool!  It’s a bit like, ‘I am American, but I'm also Native American.’  So, you can definitely merge differing style aesthetics but also embrace your culture.  The sense of pride the wearer would feel… it just warms my heart.
 
N:  Definitely.  I think that’s the future of fashion.  We’ve got an interesting IG Live coming up in August where I’m interviewing a couple of indigenous brands in Malaysia to celebrate International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples and I’m looking forward to a bit more insight into their individuality and how their heritage informs their brand ethos, and how does this contribute to impact.
H:  I'm actually really curious to see what other brands that I can support because – this is probably the same with you – the further you are away from your home country, the more you want to be connected to it somehow.  So I’d really love to tap into that, after this whole COVID mess is finished.  I would love to go to Terengganu or Malacca again and discover all these local shoe makers, there are tonnes of these craftspeople and makers in Penang that I didn't get to explore.  So let’s reconnect to our roots and see how we can put them back in the fashion map, because this is something that you can't get anywhere else.
 
N:  Well, on that note, thank you so much for your insight, your wisdom, and your time, Haida.
H:  Thank you, Najah!

Even though we ended the recording of the conversation, Haida continued to speak candidly on her experience with fashion in Malaysia, and we promised each other to explore more sustainability in fashion topics.  Stay tuned!
 
Don’t forget, we’re already halfway through our Fashion Detox challenge that runs from July through to September.  How are you going with this?  Feel free to DM us on Instagram and report back on your progress.
 
Here is a list of places that Haida highlights as places to get into thrifting:

• Jalan Jalan Japan, multiple locations.  Avoid the Subang and Cheras stores, they are always popular!  Try the less popular ones for a chance to find good pieces.
• 2nd Street, Subang
• Amcorp Mall, PJ
• Shah Alam Sunday market
• Summit USJ

 
Najah’s list of marketplaces where you can thrift:

• Kantin, Gombak (@kantinsg) – there are a few thrift stores next to the open-air food stalls here that sell thrifted as well as vintage items
• @ethrift.co
• @quirkthrifts
• @veganmilkcloset
• @preloveaddiction
• @secondchance.beleaf
• @circlecloset
• @thryffyofficial
• @yuuse.me
• @backtoclassic.my
• @bintejivintej

 
Do you know of others that we’ve missed out on?  Please share these with us!

According to the movie’s synopsis, “Trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives.  It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world.  It is the root of our deepest wounds.”  In the movie, Dr. Maté presents the viewers with a new vision: a trauma-informed society in which parents, teachers, physicians, policy-makers and legal personnel are not concerned with fixing behaviours, making diagnoses, suppressing symptoms and judging, but seek instead to understand the sources from which troubling behaviours and diseases spring in the wounded human soul.
 
I think the movie speaks to everyone today, as anyone can relate to its messaging.  From how trauma can be affected by childhood bonding to how trauma can lead to underdeveloped emotional coping mechanisms, to reasons behind addiction, to destructively riding the wave of capitalism… and then Dr Maté makes a poignant case on healing and self-worth, through the eyes of people he has treated or spoken to.

​There are many clips of famous people included in the movie, but one segment from a long interview of Dr. Maté by Tim Ferriss, the famous entrepreneur, really got me.  I hope you’ll be able to watch the film if you can, but in that conversation (which you can find here) Dr. Maté asks Tim why, returning from a trip, was he so angry to see his ‘to-do’ list was not done by the person he had hired to do them.  
 
Dr. Maté and Tim discusses how there could be a few good (logical) reasons why the tasks weren’t done, like that person might have ADHD and can’t follow through, or the person could have been in an accident, etc.  Tim’s automatic emotional reaction was to think that the person who didn’t do the task didn’t care about him or respect him. 
 
Now how relatable is this scenario? 
 
Dr. Maté says, “We don’t respond to what happens, we respond to our perception of what happens.”  What follows the next 3 minutes is that he dissects Tim’s reaction to a trauma in his past, with such precision that you just can’t fault his method!  The conversation then ends with how you can reframe a challenging moment from learning from it and then turning it around as a tool for empowerment.
 
Now I know listening to something as simple as this doesn’t seem like a massive realisation for everybody, because I do believe that most of us can and have processed a similar scenario, learnt from our emotional outbursts or reactions in one shape or another.  What’s amazing here is however, the link back to an unconscious part of Tim’s memory, in the distant past, to his actions today was so stark – and Dr. Maté was able to unpack these with such meticulousness and returned him back to the present, fairly quickly.  
 
Watching that clip is a reminder for us all. 

Similarly, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, a psychologist I regularly reference who works in organisational psychology and self-motivation and coaching, also starts his work with trauma.  He says that trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens for you.  In his 30-Day Future Self Challenge (yes, I am a graduate), he doesn’t move through the course without asking his participants to really look at their trauma (or traumas).  He provides a ‘trauma transformer’ tool in his work to reframe the ‘it happened to me’ scenario into ‘what can I learn from this’, and uses these as the key starting points for radical self-transformation for self-growth.
 
In his book, Personality Isn’t Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story, Dr. Hardy says:

​Before I make the case for healing from trauma as a key to healing the world, let’s talk about trauma. 
 
First of all, trauma is not a bad word!  We’ve all experienced “trauma,” whether we think we have or not.  I always thought that trauma had to come from a one-off, ‘mega’ shocking experience, but after watching that Tim Ferriss interview, I’m now reassessing what kinds of trauma I might have been subjected to that I hadn’t yet realised!
 
The Wisdom of Trauma movie came with a bit of a booklet on trauma, and states that there are three types: Shock Trauma, Developmental, and Transgenerational.  You can download the booklet here.

I don’t see myself falling in any of those categories, and subscribe perhaps to a more general definition.  Here’s how Dr. Lisa Firestone describes it:

In today’s world, our measure of success, or how we measure ‘value’, is often reported as Growth Domestic Product (GPD), which tracks how much money is spent by society, not why. 
 
The clear winner here is of course, money.  Yancey Strickler, author of “This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World”, wrote on Medium that humanity needs to look at a post-capitalist world where we measure our livelihoods by value that is not tied to money.  He says, 

What drives our materialism, or better yet, why do we desire wealth?  The short answer is: capitalism.
 
Capitalism is a system of economic production whereby business owners (capitalists) acquire the means of production (capital) and hire workers who get paid for their labour.
Capitalism is defined by private property rights, capital accumulation and re-investment, free markets, and competition.  Modern economies in much of Western society today are organised under the banner of capitalism.  
 
While capitalism has certainly helped propel innovation and prosperity in modern society, it can also create inequalities and contribute to market failures.
 
The economist and philosopher Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations in 1776, in which he described the birth of a new form of human activity: industrial capitalism (nearly 250 years ago.)  Generally regarded as the father of modern economics, the core of Smith's thesis was that humans' natural tendency toward self-interest (or in modern terms, looking out for yourself) results in prosperity.  Smith argued that by giving everyone freedom to produce and exchange goods as they pleased (free trade) and opening the markets up to domestic and foreign competition, people's natural self-interest would promote greater prosperity than with stringent government regulations.

​I have my own views about Smith’s musings – especially his theories of establishing new colonies and ‘causes of prosperity of new colonies’ – because as I see it, as much as a nation can market freely, if you’re ‘industrialising’ Europe, you couldn’t really go very far without some form of colonial exploitation in its future.  And guess what has happened?  (Insert rolls eye emoji here.)  
 
I’m certainly no economist, but outside of my very limited understanding of all of Smith’s work (The Wealth of Nations really should be read in conjunction with The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759), the wider accepted consensus of Smith’s capitalism is that he came from ‘cooperative’ capitalism principles whereby if all goes to plan, everyone benefits from distributed ‘wealth’ and ‘prosperity’, and therefore, human being’s overall well-being. 
 
Indeed, the alleviation of poverty was one of Smith’s central concerns, as he states, explicitly and repeatedly, that the true measure of a nation’s wealth is not the size of its king’s treasury or the holdings of an affluent few but rather the wages of “the labouring poor.” His version of equity was that or relativity, however – differences in wealth and income can happen, but prosperity is relative. 
 
Capitalism in the way that Smith envisaged, has become a bigger beast in societies we operate from today, and have cycled through many iterations; the latest the subject of many criticisms on its shortcomings.  One could only describe our newer strain of capitalism, also known as classical liberism (or interchangeably described as neoliberalism, economic liberalism, or economic fundamentalism) as being socially and environmentally destructive.  We are supposedly chasing ‘prosperity’ as defined by one narrow goal – wealth – but we are doing so at the expense of the prosperity of flora and fauna, respecting planetary boundaries, spiritual happiness, social capital, and intergenerational equity.

​In countries like Australia, where the public sector enterprise of socialism exists to overcome the disadvantages of private sector (or, let’s just call it, business) capitalism, Smith’s original intent for wealth and prosperity for all is under threat, as businesses very often influence state policy and affairs, and the government has failed to properly fund upgrades to infrastructure, provide public housing, drive down income inequality, regulate the media, look after citizen’s health services, and other public ‘good.’ 
 
But how did we get here?  Smith’s theory on industrial capitalism lacks proper explanations for pricing or a theory of value.  This is a little bit more complicated to explain but basically, because of this void, it wouldn’t be extravagant for me to say that since that day, we’ve been pretty confused.  (A bit on Smith’s theory of value and explanation of price can be found here.)

And here we are, in the evolution of man in the 21st century… we’ve been conditioned to ask what is the value of a product, and subject its price to what we think is its value to us, instead of simply… valuing something that isn’t necessarily a product for our consumption or enjoyment, or valuing a product or venture, not just based on price, but based on a whole swathe of outcomes or purpose.
​

In the book Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari writes about the moment when early humans learned how to cultivate wheat, and how human life changed from hunting and gathering to farming.  These early humans thought they had tamed wheat, Harari writes, but in reality, wheat had tamed them. From that point on, a huge amount of human energy went into growing wheat. We did whatever wheat wanted us to do.
 
It’s the same with money.  We think wealth means we’ve mastered money, but in reality, money has mastered us.  We live in a universe of infinite potential, and yet we allow financial ROI (return on investment) to define the limits of what’s possible.
 
The form of capitalism as we know today is not the capitalism that Adam Smith envisioned. It’s bastardised, according to the author Simon Sinek in this interview.  Milton Friedman in the late 1970’s theorised that the responsibility of business is to only maximise profit within the bounds of the law, but completely disregards ethics.
 
The good thing is, the idea that businesses need more varied measures of success than simply profit and growth, or valuing these in terms of money, is in more ways than one, already here.  Many economists all over the world are acknowledging capitalism, as it exists today – is broken.  Moreover, economies cannot become completely divorced from the demands of democratic majorities, and the role of governments.
​

Sinek has often been quoted to state that purpose is the very reason to have (a) business.  Growth is not a purpose (or shouldn’t be the purpose of a business.)  If you break this down, individuals must also then, operate towards their purpose.
 
How do we find our purpose, or our ‘Why’?  By healing from our trauma (or traumas.)
 
Surely, none of the reasons for being is to constantly shop, consume, or produce our way to happiness.
 
If we want to heal the world, then let’s heal ourselves first.

​When exploring the biggest threat facing brand sourcing executives today, security of supply and trade is big external factor that has been quoted as having an effect on a brand’s ability to function well.

There needs to be a complete reinventing of planning, negotiation and order placement in fashion.  The current system of purchasing is unsustainable in today’s mode of supply and demand volatility.

Current challenges include:

• the need to weather cost increases
• overproduction – there is need to eliminate late orders and order revision frenzy
• lack of knowledge of sustainability at sourcing and at suppliers’ end makes trying to navigate this space harder

Often, in fashion companies, teams work in functional silos and this can be counter-intuitive in achieving visionary and practical goals.
​

We know there’s inequality in fashion’s supply chain in waste management.  A better model of purchasing could really welcome in a new era of more sustainable way of production.  Here are some ideas that are making noise in the industry, and should be followed through sooner, rather than later:

• There is a push to fashion to have fewer suppliers, not more.  Even before the pandemic hit this has been talked about to achieve consistency and streamline planning and ordering.  The consolidation of brands’ supplier base will make for better relationships and greater transparency.
• There’s benefits of operating in regional bubbles – where your production is localised to what’s available, regionally, and forces for innovation.
• Near-shoring opportunities is now more relevant than ever – bringing back suppliers, production facilities and materials back nearer, instead of much further away.
• With all of this, fashion brands (or manufacturers) can look at broad-scale supplier partnership programs to favour guaranteed demand supply.

​​

Of course, the question remains: is a section of the industry that is so distanced from the average consumer truly in a position to radically change the way fashion as a whole views its relationship with sustainability?  Well, the answer lies in the role Haute Couture can play in shifting perceptions of sustainability and its appeal to the everyday consumer.
​
As Joy et al (2012) have found, one of the biggest barriers to embracing the slow fashion movement for consumers is its lack of overall appeal.  To most, the concept of slow fashion brings up images of plain clothing with little stylistic interest.  When compared to fast fashion’s constant offering of new, trend-led items that offer the immediate gratification of reinvention with one impulsive swipe of our credit cards, aesthetics always seems to trump ethics.  That’s further complicated by the fact that, to most consumers, fast fashion seems to exist outside of their environmental consciousness.  As the same study found, young people – the very demographic that most embraces fast fashion – seem to view their consumption habits when it comes to clothing as existing outside of the sustainability conversation, even if they are otherwise open to environmentalism.  When combined, these two factors make slow fashion an incredibly hard sell to most.  That’s where Haute Couture comes in.

885 words, 4 mins read
 
Globally, most of material that goes into clothing ends up either in landfill or an incinerator (about 73% of all material produced.)

Please note; I have listed the designers involved in Design to Sustain at KLFW 2019 here, and any associated information on their collections.  The designers whose sustainability credentials in their collections I cannot vouch for, due to a lack of publicly available information, is marked with an asterisk (*)
 

• Daphne Lim *

• SeanSheila (@sean_sheila) *
• KlothKares (@klothlifestyle)
• Ayu by Tarik (@ayubytarik) * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0BTbPekUf4
• SURI (@surilifestyle) 
• Biji Biji x Tsyahmi (@bijibijiethicalfashion @tsyahmi) https://bijibiji.co/pages/shop-klfw2019
• Bev C (@bevcclothingbrand) https://www.bevcclothingbrand.com/bev-c-klfw-runway-collection

 
For a list of Malaysian brands that I’ve recently discovered that I believe do some good work in the sustainable fashion space, I have provided this below, correct at time of writing.
 

• Kain Movement (@kainmovement)
• Munimalism (@munimalism)
• Tanoti Crafts (@tanoticrafts)
• Cotton & Sago (@cottonandsago)
• Nysa Kapas (@nysakapas)
• Happy Hopscotch (@happyhopscotchmy)
• Sustainabbbility (@sustainabbbility)

 
Give these brands a follow, if you haven’t already!  As per usual, if you are a brand who is interested in going on a sustainability journey, but don't know where to start, then this is where you call me.  I provide assurance services for sustainability claims that backs up your credibility in this space.  Remember: sustainability is a journey, not perfection, but if and when you do go down this enlightened sense of business, however small your footsteps start — please do it right.

Join us in our Slow Fashion movement with the hashtags #ConscientiousFashionista and #wardrobetruths on Instagram, and follow us at @fashinfidelity. 


Tags: #KLFW2019 #KLFW #fashion #designtosustain #kualalumpurfashionweek #kualalumpur #rethinkandreconstruct #ethicalfashion #sustainablefashion #ecofashion #greenfashion #responsiblefashion #circularfashion #circularity #conscientiousfashionista #fastfashion #slowfashion #sustainability #wardrobetruths #fashioneducation #fashionisnolongertrendy #fashion #saynotofastfashion #fashionnews #innovation #design #designthinking #designingoutwaste #unsdg #sdg 


Shameless plug: for 10% off your purchase at Biji Biji Ethical Fashion, please use my affiliate code 'SEBIJINAJAH' at checkout (excludes their KLFW runway collection.)