Vincent van der Holst Of BOAS On Why They Are Embracing Slow Fashion and Renewable Consumption

An Interview With Monica Sanders

You need to be a role model. I haven’t bought from my own company just because I didn’t need even more clothes. I will use, repair, and share what I have before I buy pre-owned at BOAS. Buying more is not always the answer.

As ‘slow fashion’ grows in popularity, more fashion companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Renewable consumption has been gaining popularity for a while, as people recognize its importance, and many fashion companies want to be a part of this change. In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders in the fashion industry to discuss why they are embracing slow fashion and renewable consumption. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Vincent van der Holst.

Vincent is the CEO and co-founder of BOAS, a marketplace for sustainable and pre-owned fashion that donates all of its profit to save children’s lives. An advocate of effective giving and one of the leaders of the Consumer Power Initiative, Vincent was named a Top 10 Social Responsibility Thought Leaders of 2022 by Illuminem. Before starting the ethical business journey with BOAS, Vin worked for consumer goods powerhouses adidas and Samsung.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

Growing up in one of the richest towns in one of the richest countries, I had an amazing childhood. My parents were great at parenting, they gave me a lot of love but told me I had to work for my money. So I delivered the mail, worked at the grocery store, and carried a beer backpack (yes that exists) selling beers at festivals.

I studied business and entrepreneurship in Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Rio de Janeiro. My career was in marketing and data and took me from supply chain management at foodora (UberEats competitor) to marketing for adidas and Samsung. I also worked for a bunch of startups and some NGOs like Warchild, Save the Children, UNHCR, and the Red Cross.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

During my time in Rio, studying at a private university, we were invited to the house of someone who was very rich. We had pizza and beers at his hilltop house with a pool. The hilltop looked down on the biggest favela of Rio, the favela where I had a party the week before.

I remember how awkward it made me feel to see the difference between rich and poor so clearly. That was the first time I clearly understood how amazing my life and my opportunities were.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I once spent $15,000 worth of ads for a business-to-business company on a click-farm in a small town in Bangladesh. I did a whole investigation into it, but even though it’s obvious to most people that the market for expensive B2B software is mostly outside of Bangladesh’s rural towns, Google refused to give the money back.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

To me, success for business leaders is measured by what they give, not what they take.

I consider myself still early on my path to success. We were able to improve the lives of a few children with the profits we donated so far, but far from our goal of saving one million lives.

Perseverance, resilience, a clear vision, and assembling great teams are fundamental.

The top leaders of our time, like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, share these traits. Personally, I consider them unsuccessful leaders. One can say that the companies they have built have a net negative impact on society. I’ll take saving lives and the planet over shareholder riches every time.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

BOAS is a Profit for Good startup. That means that we donate not just some but all of our profits with the mission to save the lives of one million children.

It’s not without its challenges, but our business model helps us get a lot of positive attention and opens doors that otherwise would remain closed. Ultimately people prefer working for and buying from a company that donates to charities they like rather than shareholders they don’t know.

From job applicants to content creators and thought leaders, people are thrilled to join our cause and support us. Recently BOAS was endorsed by New York Times bestselling author Rutger Bregman, boosting our growth significantly.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.”

That’s a cheesy quote and fear is often useful, but for me, it means a lot. I used to have an anxiety disorder, where I was afraid of being afraid. I can tell you that’s a pretty vicious cycle because after a while you’re afraid of being afraid of being afraid.

I’m now much better but I have decided that fear will not lead my life. Starting BOAS was a little terrifying but that’s how I knew I had to do it.

Who is your fashion hero or heroine? Why?

The singer Mike Posner. He became ‘successful’ and had everything, except a ‘why’ to live for. He lost his friend Avicii and figured out he actually had nothing, so he decided to get rid of everything but his guitar and some old clothes.

He’s my fashion hero because he owns the stage with just that guitar and his beat-up outfit. I like this bit from one of his songs (check out the live acoustic version): “I’m living out in LA, I drive a sports car just to prove I’m a real big baller ’cause I made a million dollars. And I spend it on girls and shoes. But you don’t wanna be high like me. Never really knowing why like me.”

Why did you decide to create and use a sustainable business model for your fashion brand?

It’s as clear as day that we can’t afford to lose precious time protecting our planet. Such an immense cause feels detached from our day-to-day lives, making it virtually impossible for people to change their behavior.

We felt that there was a gap. Businesses, especially in consumer goods and fashion, have the unique opportunity to bring habit shifts to our fingertips. Unfortunately, most are still pursuing shareholder returns over doing good.

When we launched BOAS, there wasn’t even a debate. We adopted a sustainable business model from the first step. Our goal is to make sustainability and circularity the natural choice for consumers.

What are three things we should all know about “slow fashion”?

• Quality is key — the quality of fabrics and other components is crucial for ensuring a garment lasts, as well as how you wash and repair your clothes.
• It’s better for your pocket — whether you buy less or choose pre-owned items, you are likely to spend less while helping the planet.
• It’s fun — going on a treasure hunt in flea markets or thrift stores, finding a unique piece of furniture, upcycling your clothes into a new outfit — there are so many opportunities to feel excited.

Can you please explain how it can be fashionable to buy less, wait a little longer, or even repair clothing?

Between the proliferation of digital platforms that enable the reselling of pre-owned items and the growing public cry about climate change, the slow fashion trend is picking up speed.

In my work at BOAS, I interact with content creators that prove that slow is fashionable. We see fantastic engagement across social media on accounts that showcase creativity in repairing and upcycling clothes, tips for finding hidden pre-loved gems, and how to raise kids sustainably.

The cherry on top is that all of these actually save folks money, which is especially appealing in the current economy.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Slow Fashion Brand”.

1 . You need to be a role model. I haven’t bought from my own company just because I didn’t need even more clothes. I will use, repair, and share what I have before I buy pre-owned at BOAS. Buying more is not always the answer.

2 . You need great people. Great people build great companies, and great people increasingly choose good companies. As a sustainable company that also donates all profits, our impact is much larger than most companies, which helps us attract and retain the best talent. Not many workplaces support you in saving lives when you’re not a doctor, and it gets our people out of bed on Monday morning.

3 . Patience. Building a slow fashion brand is mostly… slow. At first, you put blood, sweat, and tears into your brand and see little return. After a while, you’ll find something that people want, and society needs. Then you’ll know your hard work pays off.

4 . You need to take care of yourself. You can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep well, exercise, and spend time with your loved ones. Do that and you’re able to put in the 10 years you need to build a successful slow fashion brand. The hustle culture is dead, nothing is less productive than a burned-out founder.

5 . You need to have fun. It’s a terrible cliché, but life is way too short and feels way too long when you don’t have fun. Work isn’t always fun and it doesn’t always have to be, but you should try and surround yourself with colleagues that you enjoy spending time with.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I believe the Profit for Good movement is one of the best ways to dramatically improve the world.

Imagine you have 10 trillion dollars. You could use about a quarter of that money to avert climate disaster (1.7 trillion) and double the income of the 740 million people living below the poverty line (about half a trillion).

There are 5 million children dying from preventable diseases each year so you donate some more to give them access to the medication, prevention, and surgeries they need, saving most of them. You’ll have quite a lot of change left, so what would you do with that?

Now stop imagining. 10 trillion dollars is the amount of profit generated in the world every year.

Despite being an incredibly tough task, Profit for Good can be a viable path. Companies like Patagonia demonstrate that it’s not only achievable, but they are growing faster and are more profitable now that they donate their profits. People already like buying from such companies, we just need more of them to pave the way.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

We write blogs about these subjects and you can follow me on LinkedIn where I often write what’s on my mind.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!

About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org.