041 – Maxine Bédat of Zady – Understanding the Basket

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Conscious fashion and lifestyle…

Maxine Bédat (Co-Founder of Zady, a lifestyle destination for conscious consumers) joins Pavan Bahl (OS Fashion), Rob Sanchez (Manufacture New York / Ralph and Remington [Episode 22]) and Marc Raco (The Hope Is Project and Monkey Radio), in studio. Bédat shares how her company tells the story of how beautiful products are made, manufactures its own clothing, and explores the environmental and labor aspect of the crazy world of apparel such as the waste that often goes into making clothing (such an example of 700 gallons of water going into the making of one t-shirt). News of a report from McKinsey on e-commerce and luxury brands responding to consumer buying habits leads to discussion of the growth in luxury e-commerce and its impact of Zady, how normal it is to buy clothing online and what role discounting plays. Why companies born online need a physical space, and how e-commerce is a reflection of the reality of the world. Luxury at 6% is big deal, the effect of access to luxury goods, the message Maxine would like to hear from customers, rethinking your closet, thoughtless consumption, the pollution of fashion, polyester vs. cotton, wearing oil, how micro beads from polyester can impact oceans and plankton, regulation limitations, the stone age of understanding in fashion, and the meaning of true organic in fashion vs. organic labels.

Bédat talks the focus on transparency and the facts, understanding the problems of sustainability and what’s being done about it out there, and how we are in a clothing education and information age. Bédat reveals the inspiration for Zady starting with the Rwandan Criminal Tribunal in Tanzania, dried fish and baskets. Zady’s role on finding brands who do it right and putting them online, why the company does its own fulfillment, why they share story of product and how that is also the story of America. An appreciation of Oregon, Pavan admires garments on the site, the importance of accurate sourcing, the amazing origins of the Zady name, a return to quality, and how baby names could present SEO challenges. Why Bédat’s team built their own platform, the qualities of hemp, favorite fibers, fiber trading cards, the importance of transparency, what keeps Maxine most on her toes with Zadys, the complex process of bringing a product from farm to customer, implementing new technology/innovation, a focus on technology needs and better connection in supply chain, her pending influential trip to DC, the most popular sustainable products, thinking about what happens to clothing when we’re done with it, how buying something we really love leads to consciousness, the impact of planned obscelence and fabricating micro trends, and the prevalence of discarding clothing, Plus, Off The Grid Questions brings genetic engineering, spirit animals, the draw of New York City, the influence of Norwegian Minnesota, and Prairie Home Companion.

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