Slow and Steady Circular Strategy
A Jackalo Update
As an advisor to children’s clothing company Jackalo, I meet with the founder, Marianna, every month. We spend our time talking about how things are going for her brand as related to circularity, or, as related to resale, repair, remanufacturing and recycling.
I did a post a while back on their circular strategy.
I love working with Marianna because she thinks about the design of her clothes from the very start, knowing she wants to have a positive impact and knowing she wants her clothes to be loved and reused for as long as possible before being recycled. She designs for circularity.
I wanted to share an update today on her progress related to extending the lifecycle of her clothes, and I hope you will have the same feeling that I do, that this is DOABLE. This is not a go-to-the-moon project, this is work done little by little, month by month with a larger vision to guide the way. We all make decisions every day about the products we make, what materials go into them, how they are made, if they are reused, repaired recycled, etc; Marianna makes these decisions with circularity as her north star, and in that way, it’s pretty straightforward. Here’s how she talks about it:
The need is to think about the full life cycle, think about it from day 1. I design clothes so they will last, I design for the idea of real durability. If more companies could be producing with natural fibers (ideally organic and GOTS certified) and/or dead stock, we could have a huge impact with very approachable changes.
For me, producing in (organic) destock doesn't add challenges to our process, in fact, it's a little bit easier. The process of producing my own fabric is so complex. Even getting the color right is a challenge! The process and time to get materials and colors exactly right is hard and can delay things. Sometimes it’s easier to just see what options are available. I see what I like and what I don’t like- these colors align with trends, these don’t, and it’s a faster process to choose from what’s available and just move on. Selecting from deadstock IS limiting, but that’s not bad because it makes my choices easier and faster.
I love this deadstock commentary from Marianna because this is human nature! Given hundreds of options, who isn’t overwhelmed? I feel this way in the grocery store- WHY SO MANY OLIVE OILS? It drives me nuts. Just give me a few options and don’t make it so hard to choose.
Marianna and I have also been spending time talking about:
Marketing: what are the best ways to incorporate take back, resale and repair messaging into her regular, ongoing emails? How can she make this a part of Jackalo’s customers’ expectations and deepend loyalty over time?
Resale: Jackalo offers resale and Marianna wants to get more products into the program. She wants to understand what her customers do with Jackalo items when they are done with them- Do they give them away or donate them? Do they pass them on to siblings? This is some research Marianna has been wanting to do so she can more fully understand the journey her products go on. We discussed a potential survey to customers or maybe a small research project for an intern. Marianna already gets some of this information out of regular customer calls that she uses to inform their overall marketing strategy. These calls are a great way to tease out some details about customer needs for resale.
Repair: Jackalo offers repairs for their items in partnership with MendIt and Old Flame Mending. MendIt processes customer requests, which then go to OFM for repair. Jackalo also has a direct relationship with OFM for bulk mends that come in through their TradeUp program; these are items that customers are done with and Marianna may need to repair in order to resell. Marianna has built solid partnerships with MendIt and OFM, and they have set up the program so it can grow over time. Love it!
Remanufacturing: Marianna has intentions of offering a remanufactured collection, that is, a collection made up of post-consumer textiles, cut and sewn into her kids patterns. This is no simple feat, so we shall see how it goes, and I look forward to sharing more about that experience if and when I can!
I hope after reading this it is clear that Marianna has embedded the circular life of her products in many, specific ways, none of which are overwhelming or all-consuming. This is all part of how she wants to do business, and I am inspired every month when I chat with her about the progress she’s made.
Any business can do this!
I am always around and available to chat with you if you want to think about painless ways to make this a part of your business’ future.
Diverse and Successful Partnerships Cohort 2025
Check out our the new Untangling Circularity website!
We are having an info session this week about our upcoming cohort:
Thursday (tomorrow) 1pm EST
Let me know if you’d like me to add you to the invite,
Ciao!
Cynthia