The Ovrbloom HatBag launches: traceable and ethical fashion!
A blog from Network Member Ovrbloom.
My name is Jess Strain and I’m an award winning textile designer using my sustainable fashion expertise for good. As both a business owner and lover of fashion, I’m sick of seeing greenwashing absolutely everywhere.
Did you know that 60% of the environmental claims from brands such as H&M, ASOS and Zara could be classed as “unsubstantiated” and “misleading”?
On Thursday 28th July I launched my traceable and ethical accessories brand Ovrbloom with a bang… I’ve created the Ovrbloom HatBag which is exactly what it says on the tin. I also provide a transparency report about the origin of all the hats materials which is linked to the product by a QR code on the garment tag. I launched with two designs: Heartbreaker Red & Green Snakes, and every HatBag is handmade in my Bristol studio.
I hosted a launch event in my studio and it was very well attended with a substantial amount of orders made on the night. It was such a relief after months of hard work getting the product to how I wanted it to be, designing a website and sorting all the logistics of a launch campaign and event. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my mentors that’s I’ve had access to via the Young Innovators Award and Business West. They’ve kept me on track every week and held me accountable to my milestones that I set myself at the start of the year.
During the event I showcased all of my ‘failed’ prototypes, gave a talk about my journey as a young entrepreneur and hosted an interactive fabric painting session. I’m going to turn this painted fabric into a collaborative one off HatBag that will live forever as an archive piece showcasing everyone that got involved with the very first launch of Ovrbloom.
I’m over the moon with how it went and I’m now setting my sights on developing new limited edition designs and the transparency reporting service to see how I could offer it to other small fashion businesses.
The Ovrbloom HatBag is now available to purchase and are limited to only 15 designs each. Shop exclusively at the Ovrbloom website.
