What it Means to Be Sustainable with Maisa Mumtaz-Cassidy, Founder and CEO of Consciously
Building a marketplace that highlights ethical and sustainable brands
Do you know where the shirt you’re wearing came from? Not the brand, the actual fabric. Do you know who constructed the shirt? If you’re a brand owner, do you truly know the conditions of the workers who you are sourcing goods from? Are they being paid fair wages? Do they have a safe environment to work in? For far too long, these questions were left not just unanswered, they weren’t even being asked. But in today’s world, the consumer is more aware of and cares about all aspects of their products, and they are voting with their dollars to support the brands that are doing things the right way. The problem is, though, that it’s often hard to know for sure which brands are true to their word when they say things like they are “ethically-sourced,” “fair trade,” “vegan,” or any of the other buzzwords that they have identified. That’s where Maisa Mumtaz-Cassidy comes into the picture. Mumtaz-Cassidy is the Founder and CEO of Consciously, a curated marketplace made for sustainable fashion, and she decided to pursue this path after growing up in the garment industry in Bangladesh.
“I started contemplating on how I could show up in this industry in a way that creates a positive impact,” Mumtaz-Cassidy said. “So that’s really a catalyst for where I’m at today, but there was definitely a moment where I was like, ‘Why have I chosen this path to be part of such an exploitative industry?’ And I almost had this existential crisis, and I just had to take a step back and ask myself, ‘how do I want to show up?’ And I began to explore sustainable fashion and I started learning more about it. And then I discovered that there’s this community of really amazing brands that are doing impactful work while creating beautiful, timeless, high quality products. And on the consumer side, there are people who want to shop ethically made products, but have a really challenging time navigating and understanding that space because it’s overwhelming for the average consumer. It’s so multifaceted, there’s so many layers to it. There’s an overwhelming amount of information that people aren’t able to consume. But they are increasingly inspired to shop from environmentally and socially conscious brands. So building a marketplace that makes it easy for people to shop with all the brands already vetted, made a lot of sense. And so I built Consciously.”
At Consciously, Mumtaz-Cassidy has identified certain sustainability criteria she measures brands against before they are included in the marketplace. They include fair trade, vegan, handwork, transparent, womxn-owned, BIPOC-owned, small batch, and eco friendly. To find out if a brand meets these criteria, Mumtaz-Cassidy asks the hard questions. And she encourages brands and consumers to do the same.
“Ask questions like, ‘Hey, where are you sourcing your fabrics from?” Mumtaz-Cassidy said. “And, ‘How can you ensure that these are truly dead stock? Or how can you ensure that your workers are being paid what you say they’re being paid?” And then when you’re asking questions, if they’re not able to really give you an answer, or it’s kind of like a vague answer, you can sniff that out. And then also if you have doubts or uncertainties, ask for documentation.”
When you have clarity and all the information at hand, it’s easier to make the best choices. And, by asking questions, brands are having their feet being placed on the fire and they are being forced to look inward and be more conscious of the work they do and who they partner with, which ultimately will lead to better practices across the board.
To hear more about Consciously and the move to sustainable fashion, tune into Up Next in Commerce.
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