Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Sadia Sharmin of Cotonly Is Helping To Change Our World
An Interview With Penny Bauder
Launching a successful company is just the beginning of a long journey, and it’s the best journey you will take. I have had so many successes in my career helping other small and large companies succeed and it’s nothing like the feeling I had after I launched my own brand. The road ahead is long and I am excited to continue the journey!
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sadia Sharmin.
Sadia Sharmin is the founder of Cotonly, a sustainable, low-waste line of kids’ clothes. As an MIT graduate, Sadia used her background in creating scalable platforms and processes at Fortune 500 companies to create a sustainable production process used to manufacture Cotonly’s clothing line to reduce waste.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
You are currently leading a social impact organization that is making a difference for our planet. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
As a natural problem-solver and MIT graduate, and with close ties to the garment industry from growing up in Bangladesh, I realized that the fashion industry was prime for disruptive innovation. I launched the brand Cotonly leveraging the latest technology to ensure that its clothing designs and samples are 100% digitally produced. This unique approach streamlines the production cycle to reduce waste and conserve resources. It can take up to 2,700 liters of water to produce the cotton needed for a single t-shirt, so reducing the production cycle and eliminating waste is extremely important. Cotonly is focused on heirloom quality clothes that can be passed down to the next generation to enjoy.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
Growing up in Bangladesh, I was well aware of the negative impact the textile manufacturing industry had on the environment and on workers — Bangladesh is the second largest garments exporter in the world! My family rarely bought any new clothing for this reason. Anything “new” I received was given to me by my older siblings and cousins, and I would get excited because they held many special memories of the people who had worn them before me. It felt great to bring a brand to market that is hand-me-down quality and can be part of the circular economy and sustainable consumption.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest them. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
As a mom of two small children, I recognized the need for high quality, sustainable children’s clothing. The clothing my children wore would barely survive a few washes, and with my children’s sensitive skin it was nearly impossible to find high quality, 100% cotton products that they would feel comfortable wearing.
From my own childhood, I remember receiving clothing that had been passed down from generations. Not only did those pieces hold amazing memories, but they also were sustainable without even trying to be because they were made from high quality materials that could survive years of wearing. It was at this moment I decided to solve this problem, which is how Cotonly was born.
Many people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
You start with an idea and that is going to change without exception. The key is to talk to as many people as you can, your customers and suppliers. Understanding the market drivers and constraints is key. As an entrepreneur, there will always be roadblocks and challenges, but it’s about facing them head on and accepting that some things are just out of your control. Being flexible is key to success and without these hurdles I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
One of the biggest challenges I faced was when I found out all styles that featured a zipper were delayed by several months, which affected photoshoots, our fall collection launch, and more. Instead of letting this situation ruin months of hard work, I decided to pivot our production process by creating a sample less production that allows me to produce samples digitally, which in turn, reduces production time, cost, and even more importantly, waste.
Because of the fast production turnaround this enables, I was able to change my production plan completely to switch out styles I was producing to styles without zippers and still launch in time for this year. Typically, such a change would take months of planning and coordination with the factory to implement.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson or take away you learned from that?
The ‘tech pack’ or specs for my styles had a typo in the size that I failed to notice. The typo consisted of a “T” that stands for “Toddler” after all sizes and not just sizes 2–4, where “T” is usually used. As I was doing sample less production, I didn’t catch this until I had the first shipment of one of my styles in hand. For a large brand this would have constituted an unforgivable error and potentially the whole batch would have been rejected. I recognized however that consumers are probably smarter than that and could ignore a “T”. I accepted the batch and prevented a huge amount of waste from being created.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
Without a background in apparel production, it would have been impossible for me to launch the brand without help from my family members in Bangladesh who were close to the garment production process. They spent hours helping me understand the end to end production process. This was invaluable to me in recognizing the inefficiencies and finding a solution for a more sustainable supply chain for apparel, such as with the sample less production process.
Are there three things the community, society, or politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
There are currently no additional government incentives for a brand that chooses to produce ethically and sustainably that leads to significantly higher production costs. For example, organic cotton price is about 1.5–2 times higher than regular cotton price. Also, you can produce in a “sweatshop” at half the cost of producing in an accredited factory with transparent labor laws and certifications. Without additional incentives, brands have to pass the entire additional cost to consumers in the form of higher prices. For smaller brands, this becomes a very difficult choice to make and survive with the higher costs.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
Sustainability is an interesting way to scope out product innovation focusing on spending less resources and money that can lead to profitability. In my case, I focused on sampleless production, which saved me thousands of dollars in production cost, shipping and product photography that I could pass on to the consumers in the form of lower prices.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
As an entrepreneur, you can have a destination in mind but can never plan your journey. I had defined a certain path to the brand launch that quickly changed and I learned the importance of being agile and flexible at every step of the way. For example, when I started, I thought I could choose any fabric and color for my designs and soon had to narrow it down to only four fabric types due to large minimum order quantity requirements of materials and dyeing.
The importance of being persistent — there will be challenges at every step and before you are done being triumphant at overcoming one obstacle another will present itself. For me, the challenge started with finding a factory that was GOTS and OEKO TEK certified, and was willing to work with my small order quantities.
Be true to your beliefs and don’t cut corners. I was determined to not sacrifice the quality of my products and as a small brand that was extremely challenging. For example, I wanted to use YKK zippers, one of the highest quality zippers used by the best brands. Ordering that in my small quantities proved to be a challenge, the shipment was delayed and as a result all my zipper styles were delayed by over a month. In the end I am grateful I made those choices and I can stand confidently behind the hand-me-down quality of all Cotonly products.
Think outside the box and you will find a solution. Most of my styles had zippers and when the zipper was delayed, I thought I would miss the holiday season and would have to postpone the launch. I however thought outside the box and recognized that with my digital design process I could switch out some of the styles with zippers to styles without zippers and still launch in time for the holidays.
Launching a successful company is just the beginning of a long journey, and it’s the best journey you will take. I have had so many successes in my career helping other small and large companies succeed and it’s nothing like the feeling I had after I launched my own brand. The road ahead is long and I am excited to continue the journey!
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
What I tell my children is every small decision they make helps to save the world for later. Part of it is creating awareness of their actions with the positive impact on society and planet, and building the understanding that the world can only stay beautiful if each of us are doing our small part to preserve it.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself” — Rumi has been such a tremendous inspiration throughout my life and this quote in particular is very relevant to my life’s journey. I learned that realizing my dreams despite all the obstacles can have such a huge impact and a step towards making the world a better place.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
A long time ago, as an intern at Microsoft, I had the opportunity to attend a barbecue at Bill and Melinda Gates’ house where I met Bill Gates. Now, one of my dreams is to one day meet Melinda Gates. Especially coming from Bangladesh, I am so grateful for the impact the Gates Foundation has had in fighting inequity in the world. As the first woman in my extended family to travel outside my country for higher education, I am so excited about Melinda Gates’ recent pledge towards Gender Equality! I am excited about the impact it is going to have around the world to enable more women like me to break out of their traditional silos and pursue their dreams.
How can our readers follow you online?
My readers can follow my shop on Instagram and Facebook with the handle @cotonly.shop. I am also working on a platform to enable small brands to launch easily and sustainably. I welcome small brands to reach out to me at sadia.sharmin@krouture.com if they are struggling with their brand launch and sustainable sourcing options and hopefully I can help.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
