Sustainability doesn't sell. Stories do.

When I first started my handmade, sustainable fashion brand nearly twenty years ago, I believed that being ethical was enough to make people care.

I thought that if I focused on quality, craftsmanship, and sustainability, customers would naturally choose my brand over fast fashion. After all, why wouldn’t they? It's the best choice for people and the planet, it seemed obvious.

But I quickly learned a hard truth: sustainability alone doesn’t sell. Not because people don’t care, but because they’re overwhelmed. They’re distracted. They’re scrolling through an endless sea of marketing messages, with fast fashion brands flooding their feeds with influencer hauls, discount codes, and next-day shipping promises. More, more, more for less, less, less.

In that noise, my slow fashion brands was struggling to be heard.

And what I learnt was that the brands that grow fast aren’t just the most sustainable—they’re the ones that tell the best stories.

Too many slow fashion brands lead with what they sell: organic fabrics, ethical production, and sustainable packaging. And while those things are important (and desperately needed for the future of our industry), customers don’t buy based on logic alone—they buy based on emotion.

The brands that thrive are the ones that go deeper. They don’t just say, 'This dress is made from deadstock linen.'

They tell the story.

• Why they chose that fabric.
• Where they found it.
• The craftsmanship behind it.
• How it feels to wear it.
• The people behind the brand.

Because customers don’t just want to buy a sustainable product. They want to feel something. They want to believe in the brands they support.

And this is the storytelling gap in slow fashion.

The biggest challenge slow fashion brands face isn’t just competing with fast fashion pricing—it’s making people care enough to choose differently.

And that’s why story-selling is essential.

The most successful ethical brands do three things differently...

1. They make customers part of the journey. The most compelling brands share their origins. They let customers in on the ‘why’—the moment that sparked the business. When customers feel personally connected to a brand’s mission, they become invested in its success.

2. They put people at the centre of their brand. Fast fashion sells trends. Slow fashion sells stories. The brands that stand out are the ones that show real people—not just product photos. They highlight the artisans who create the pieces, the customers who wear them, and the impact they’re making.

3. They show, not just tell. It’s not enough to say a brand is sustainable—it has to be proven. Behind-the-scenes content, supply chain transparency, and storytelling around materials and ethics bridge the trust gap between sustainable brands and their potential customers.

If slow fashion brands want to grow, they need to stop leading with facts and start leading with feeling.

Because facts inform—but stories inspire action.

The ethical brands that scale are the ones that understand this shift and embrace it. And the ones that don’t? They stay stuck, frustrated that their messaging isn’t cutting through the fast fashion noise.

And this isn’t about budget or resources—it’s about strategy. The brands that lean into storytelling, build emotional connections, and make their audience feel something are the ones that thrive.

And that’s exactly what I'm diving into in my upcoming F*ck Fast Fashion workshop—to help slow fashion brands scale, stand out, and make a real impact.

Because in the battle between fast fashion and slow fashion, stories—not sales—are the real advantage.

Claire.