A loan of $5,000 helps me to build my brand through ordering inventory that adheres to my standards for ethical and sustainable responsability.
Flora Lou Boutique is the culmination of my long time love affair with fashion and my recent realization of the evils of the fashion industry. Currently the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, only second to the oil industry. The environmental impact of fashion is only one of the ways the industry is polluting the earth. Fashion production is long known for it’s ethical issues, but people don’t seem to be concerned. I have created Flora Lou to help bring awareness to the need of transparency within the fashion industry. My online shop is curated to insure that every article being sold is held to the strictest standards for sustainable and ethical production. I want to create a place where women can shop without fear they might be supporting an industry that is careless with the environment and it’s people.
Flora Lou Boutique is a new e-commerce and pop-up shop. The pop-up shop will be located in various locations throughout New Hampshire and Maine, with hopes of opening a mobile boutique in the summer months. Currently Flora Lou Boutique carries sustainable and ethical women’s clothing and accessories. I carefully research the standards of environmental and social responsibility as well as the transparency within the supply chain of each brand. I like to know as much information about the manufacturing operations (weather they be within the US or for outside of the US I like to know they are produced fair trade). Transparency of where their materials are sourced, and how their production affects the environment (i.e. organic cotton, vegetable dyes, low water impact fabrics) is also important to me. Current collections include Ali Golden, Curator, Tonle, Raw Earth Wild Sky, Esby, and Synergy.
Flora Lou Boutique will use this loan to purchase inventory for the store. $5000 will go to the purchase of new inventory for the upcoming fall 2016 season, the other $5000 will go towards the purchase of a mobile retail unit to increase sales and availabiity to consumers. I believe both of these purchases will increase the revenue and profit of Flora Lou exponentially. Flora Lou has a chance at being the first ethical and sustainable mobile boutique in New England, and this loan would expedite the process of opening. Opening Flora Lou has become my passion, and most of my savings and income is being put into the business presently. This loan would have a profound effect on my personal financial situation as well as the financial situation of Flora Lou because I believe the purchase of new inventory and a mobile retail unit would increase sales and recognition of the store ten fold.