Constructing Group And Empowering Ladies One Bag At A Time

The present style trade is damaged. For many years, customers have chosen the newest developments for affordable costs, on the expense of the underpaid, exploited, staff and it doesn’t need to be that means. However since 2014, Parker Clay has proven {that a} extra moral and sustainable style trade is feasible.

Drawing inspiration from Ethiopia’s cultural heritage, Parker Clay collaborates carefully with native artisans to create premium leather-based items and equipment that mix conventional strategies with trendy design. Their dedication to sustainability is mirrored of their use of Ethiopian full-grain leather-based sourced from environmentally pleasant tanneries, in addition to our efforts to reduce waste and empower communities. Parker Clay’s product vary consists of meticulously handcrafted leather-based baggage, wallets, equipment, and residential items that showcase timeless model and distinctive high quality.

I just lately had the possibility to speak with founders Ian and Brittany Bentley about how a dream of theirs became a Licensed B Company that can also be a Greatest For The World winner, a recognition for being one of many prime 10% of B Corps in a sure space. They emphasised that the center of the model is a mission to empower weak ladies in Ethiopia. Via their partnership with native organizations, they supply coaching and employment alternatives for these affected by human trafficking. By supporting these ladies, they assist break the cycle of poverty and contribute to the betterment of their communities.

For the primary time, Parker Clay is inviting the general public to assist its call-to-action by way of Regulation A crowdfunding. A part of the Obama Administration’s JOBS Act, firms, this regulation permits non-accredited buyers to put money into non-public firms.

Learn extra beneath for extra about Parker Clay from my dialogue with Ian and Brittany.

Christopher Marquis: Let’s begin firstly, how did Parker Clay start?

Ian Bentley: My spouse and I created Parker Clay in 2014. In 2011, our household visited Ethiopia for the primary time and it was simply us 4 – myself, my spouse Brittany, Parker and Clay (yep, their names got here first). In 2012, Ethiopia grew to become our dwelling. We adopted our second daughter whereas residing in Addis Ababa, the capital metropolis. Whereas residing there, we labored with organizations empowering deprived ladies by way of rehabilitation, abilities improvement, and job creation. Assembly these ladies and witnessing the transformation that may include only a teaspoon of alternative deeply moved us. We have been impressed to proceed rising this model to have fun native supplies and Ethiopian craftsmanship and share it with a broader viewers.

Marquis: Are you able to say extra in regards to the services or products Parker Clay provides and what units the model aside?

Brittany Bentley: At Parker Clay, we craft premium leather-based baggage to supply dignified employment and uplift ladies out of exploitation. We offer higher — higher baggage and higher manufacturing to make a greater world. Our merchandise are handmade with full-grain Ethiopian leather-based at our firm’s manufacturing unit in Ethiopia. First, the leather-based is sourced from native tanneries, we then start manufacturing: slicing, stitching, ending, and transport to our achievement location in Santa Barbara. We personal our total provide chain, which permits us to create a extra sustainable enterprise mannequin.

One factor that makes us stand-out is that we don’t take shortcuts. We obsess over sourcing, stitching, and each final grain of leather-based, leaning into centuries of Ethiopian leather-working custom. Our baggage are constructed not simply to final, however to get higher with age — a declare we’ll again up with our Lifetime Assure. These baggage change lives at each step of their journey.

Brittany Bentley: Parker Clay has additionally been a Licensed B Corp since September 2018. assembly the very best requirements of verified social and environmental efficiency, transparency and accountability. We now have additionally received “Greatest for the World” for Group Affect the previous two years. The method isn’t simple, it’s a prolonged and detailed course of that for a lot of manufacturers ends with out certification, however that is necessary because the rigor of the evaluation is what makes the certification so necessary. It’s proof that what you say is what you do, and I feel that is one of the vital necessary points of the B Corp certification. We simply renewed our rating to 112, inserting us on the prime of the checklist by way of leather-based items productions worldwide.

Ian Bentley: And our staff are actually a part of our enterprise. One in all my favourite recollections is when a girl, now pricey good friend, Meselu got here as much as me at our manufacturing unit in Ethiopia and confirmed me her son’s report card. Her pleasure and pleasure have been spilling out of her shining eyes – due to her alternative, she had been in a position to afford to ship him to highschool, and he had acquired straight A’s and was first in his class. It’s such an necessary story as a result of it’s not simply the chance for ladies, but it surely’s reworking future generations.

Marquis: What’s the long-term strategic imaginative and prescient and mission for Parker Clay?

Brittany Bentley: Via rising our neighborhood and fundraising marketing campaign, we hope to create a long-lasting impression by way of sustainable employment for ladies in Ethiopia. We plan to construct new retail shops in a few of our key markets in 2023-2024; we’re tremendous pleased with the expansion we’ve needed to date. We now have retail areas in Playa Vista, San Luis Obispo, Denver and naturally our flagship in Santa Barbara. We even have plans for extra wholesale accounts in addition to collaborations with like-minded manufacturers. We simply moved into a brand new manufacturing unit in Ethiopia with room to broaden and we plan on hiring extra ladies.

Ian Bentley: We now have additionally launched a fundraising marketing campaign that was impressed by the thought of constructing the neighborhood. Via our vertically built-in provide chain, we’re altering the style sport completely and dealing in the direction of eliminating quick style. This thrilling new chapter for Parker Clay is one thing we would like our clients to be part of. Because the starting, we constructed our firm on the foundational proverb that claims, “if you wish to go quick, go alone, if you wish to go far, go collectively.” The crowdfunding felt in step with this precept. We now have constructed a neighborhood of consumers who’ve helped scale our impression by buying merchandise. Via the crowdfunding marketing campaign, we need to supply not only a product however the alternative for a monetary return. By democratizing the funding course of clients can actually make investments the place their values are.