May 25, 2021

Sustainable Style For Every Day with Ashley Klein of Akala

43 minutes

Ashley Klein, the founder of sustainable brand Akala, joins me for episode 20 to talk about how and why she started her own brand after working in the fashion industry across varying roles from design to e-commerce.

Ashley lives in Seattle with her husband, with baby on-the-way! Akala is currently her side hustle, as she works full time in addition to being an entrepreneur, in hopes of growing Akala to a full time operation.

Ashley studied Fashion Design at Purdue University and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and she has spent close to a decade across the fashion and e-commerce industries. Her goal is to create a new kind of fashion business that fills a gap so many customers are looking for: versatile, inclusive, and sustainable fashion.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why Ashley wanted to start her own brand after working in the fashion industry in many roles from design, to marketing, to styling.

What Ashley researched before starting her brand

Why product development was more of a challenge than Ashley expected

How Ashley balances sustainability and affordability within Akala

The sustainable textile innovations Ashley’s excited to incorporate into her brand

What inspires Ashley’s designs

How Ashley found factories that offered low minimums and aligned her values

People and resources mentioned in this episode:

Akala website

Akala on Instagram

Ashley on LinkedIn

Evrnu circular textile technology company

LA Textile sourcing trade show

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