Why does the fashion industry suck so much and can I do something about it?

I’m Jake, the Co-Founder of STIX, and 3 years ago I’d just finished recording a podcast on fashion and was shocked at just how bad it was. I had to do something about it. There must be another way?

So started the long, winding, often painful journey of diving into the world of fashion. A world I had never worked in before. A world I knew little about. 

From this journey (a tumultuous journey marked by up’s and downs, many dead-ends and a heap of failures!) STIX was born. 

So what's the story of STIX? What's our mission? And what are we doing to change fashion?

Our Story:

Back to that podcast. I’ve always loved nature. Over the years, and particularly since I became a dad, that's morphed into a passion for sustainability. A desire to want to protect it, both for me and for future generations. 

Life didn’t initially take me this way. I ended up as a recruiter in the Tech world, and then set-up my own recruitment company, Venture Up. But it wasn’t my passion. 

So in 2021, I decided to start a sustainability podcast, called The Greenscore (you can still find us on Spotify!). I did it with a sustainability scientist )she was far cleverer than me!). It was about how we as consumers could make changes in our everyday lives that really made a difference and that empower you to make more change. 

We’d take a common consumer product, interview an expert, and look at what was shit and then look at the sustainable alternative. We did all sorts of things. Jeans, Tampons, Nappies, Coffee, Beer. One of our most popular was on Toothbrushes! 

One of our first ever episodes, we interviewed a company called MUD Jeans. They are awesome - they were one of the first to pioneer a rental model. They are awesome. 

Why this episode was transformational for me though was that it was the first time that I learned just how bad fashion was. And not just what I knew to be bad - Shein, BooHoo etc. No, it was also mainstream fashion that was also screwing our planet. 

I had to do something. 

STIX:

And so the journey to STIX began! 

STIX was born out of two learnings. The first one was that whilst a lot of the fashion industry sucked, you COULD do things differently. Fashion didn’t have to be bad for our planet. You could have stylish, quality clothes that were made sustainably. The big brands and mainstream fashion industry just didn’t want to change. 

The second was that I found it really hard to find those brands who were making clothes sustainably. I’d have to sift through pages after pages on Google. And even if I did find something, how did I know it was sustainable anyway?

Why wasn’t there one place to shop for quality, stylish and sustainable menswear? Why wasn’t anyone curating a collection of such clothes? 

STIX was born! 

Our Mission and Our Actions:

So our mission is simple. It is to make it simple and convenient for you to shop for quality, stylish menswear that does not screw our planet. 

And in the process we are hoping to do our part to change the fashion industry by showing consumers that who they spend their money with can directly change the direction of the industry. 

We’ve got a clear set of sustainable principles by which we vet brands we work with. We do all the hard work for you. So you can shop knowing that what you are wearing is better for our planet. 

We’re building a community here at STIX of people who want to look good and feel good. We’d love you to join us! 

Jake, Co-Founder, STIX