Small clothing brands owned by females are supported less than male owned clothing brands, shocking right? Not really. For those of you searching for a list of small clothing brands ACTUALLY owned by women to support because let’s face it, large brands get enough support. I hope this list provides you with the inspiration to change your shopping habits, and put your wallet forward for women in yet another industry dominated by men.
Small Clothing Brands Are Owned by Who?
Diversity, inclusion, sustainability, and ethics are among the conversations happening within the fashion space both on social media and in real life recently. But a pressing question that appears to be completely ignored is, what small clothing brands are female owned? I mean, actually female owned.
Why are we not adding female owned into our list of qualifications a brand must meet before we purchase? Could it be the lack of information out there? When I searched key phrases such as ‘female owned’ and ‘women owned clothing brands’ the search volume was lower than 100 searches per month- world wide. Astounding really.
Men design for women, we know this, and this post isn’t aimed at pinning one against the other, it’s meant to give you the knowledge to make different decisions! Be more mindful of who owns the brands you shop at, and give you the nudge to shop female owned small clothing brands more often.
Female Owned Clothing Brands [ this list is ongoing so check back for updates]
- Encircled
- Samara
- Doen
- Rouje
- Selva Negra
- House of Aama
- Proclaim
- Knix
- Brunette the Label
- ai Toronto Seoul
- Better off Alone
What are Female Owned Clothing Brands
The definitions are a bit tricky. Female founded businesses are businesses that are created by a woman or women. According to WBENC, a U.S based organization that certifies businesses as female owned if they need a certain requirement. WBENC Certification validates that a business is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by a woman or women. Therefore businesses in the U.S must reach this 51 percentile to be considered female owned.
Women owned businesses can have male co-owners as long as they don’t own the majority. It’s not consumers fault really, brands sometimes make it too complicated by promoting the female co-owner more or using certain terms like women run. For example, according to Forbes Rihanna owns 50% of Fenty Beauty while Bernard Arnault owns 50 percent, Rihanna’s ownership percent is just shy of WBENC Certification, however many people still believe the cosmetic brand is female owned because Rihanna’s face is all over the branding. Like mentioned above many brands will use marketing tactics such as phrases like women run to make it seem as if women own the brand, but this is simply not true.
Why Women own Less Fashion Companies Than Men
Female owned clothing brands are less common because of a variety of complex reasons that simply cannot fit and be explain in one blog post. But to sum things up women are disproportionately affected by life circumstances than men, a few include:
- Women have babies meaning they need to take time off to have said baby and manage childcare afterwards. Let’s sum this up by saying pregnancy discrimination
- Sexism in the workplace
- Gender bias from investors
- Racism
- It was, at one point in time, illegal for women to own a business without a male counterpart involved
How to Know if a Clothing Brand is Female Owned
You can do a quick Google search of the brand to see if any information comes up regarding ownership. Learn terms like co-owner, women-run, women founded, female launched in order to differentiate them and get to know the people behind the brands on social media. This is the great thing about small brands, the people behind them are more likely to chat with you and respond to your questions.
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- 18 Amazing Indigenous Clothing Brands to Check Out
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- 16 Black Owned Cruelty Free Beauty Brands That are Really Unique
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