Sustainability & Future-Proofing Your Business | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 313: Selina Ho, Recloseted

My guest this week is Selina Ho, founder & CEO of Recloseted, a company that is working to transform the harmful fashion industry. She learned she had to do her part after learning the devastating truths behind garments.

Selina gathered a team of all-stars — from sourcing experts to material scientists – and leveraged her own business experience working at startups and Fortune 500s to help amazing slow fashion clients. 

When she’s not working, Selina loves to hike and snowboard, meditate/do yoga, or cook a new recipe.

3:57 – Selina 101

• Recloseted is the first one-stop consulting agency for sustainable fashion.
• The company helps launch and scale sustainable brands and make existing companies more sustainable.
• She wore a polyester shirt at work and broke out in a rash. That led her down a rabbit hole of what’s in clothing.

7:39 – What she has learned

• A lot of synthetic materials are made out of oil.
• Cotton uses so much water.
• Selina was shocked by the treatment of garment workers.

15:42 – How she helps companies

• Recloseted works with companies to determine budget, resources and goals. 
• Many of the owners are creative, passionate people who need business knowledge.

21:07 – Bumps along the way

• There are trials and tribulations and rough patches, but you need to keep going.
• You haven’t failed until you stop.

25:13 – Leveling up

• At every level of business, you become a better version of yourself. You keep leveling up.
• A big thing has been realizing and learning how to lose control. When it’s your business, you really like to hold on tight.
• You need to trust other people to do good work, and you need to empower them. 

30:43 – Future proofing your business

• Sustainability is not a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. 
• Make sure your finance and business is sustainable and in order.

39:20 – Recloseted Radio

• Selina talks more about this topic on her podcast, Recloseted Radio

41:24 – Get to know you

• Favorite meal? Poke bowl
• Something we’d never guess about her? She’s very outdoorsy

FEATURED QUOTES

For me, a big thing has been just realizing and learning how to lose control. When it’s your business, you really like to hold on tight.

You need to trust other people to do good work, and you need to empower them. 

At some point, you need to not be the smartest person in the room. 

https://www.recloseted.com/

Thank you to our partners of the show!

Are you looking to clean up your household cleaning products this year? MamaSuds would like to help! The best way is to simply start with one product. Every time you run out of a specific cleaning product, replace it with a non-toxic one. Another tip, purchase a product that has multiple uses. The MamaSuds Collection has many multiple use products (castile soap or the toilet bombs are just a few!). Their blog has lots of great tips and a castile soap recipe that you can print and make a lot of your own effective cleaners! Give them a try at www.mamasuds.com and don’t forget to use the coupon code MOLLY for 15% off your order!

I’d like to thank our other partner of the show and that’s Tradlands. Tradlands is an INCREDIBLE sustainable fashion brand that believes in clothing that you can live in NOW and love forever. Clothing that not only makes you feel like your best self, but also fits in a way that flatters. Their gorgeous dresses, pants, tops, and more are designed to move with you throughout your busy days. Their Nico dress is my dress in a love language —not only does it have sleeves, but also POCKETS and you know how I feel about dresses with pockets. I love how comfortable and stylish each piece – and they come in colors like classic neutrals or vibrant hues. One of the things I love most about Tradlands is their focus on sustainability and creating small batch clothing that lasts… they never over produce what they make and focus on only the highest quality materials. And you know how much I love supporting small businesses, too. Check them out at https://tradlands.com/businesswithpurpose and use the code MOLLY20 for 20% off!