Social Innovation
This clothing company is fighting poverty by investing in women
Go behind the scenes with the ethical clothing company ABLE, who are helping women in poverty to help themselves.
Barrett Ward had it all. A successful career in sales, a nice car, and enough money to travel the world. He was living the dream, but a mission trip to Peru in 2001, organised by his local church, would change Ward's approach to life, and suddenly that shiny car was no longer enough.
Ward saw poverty that shocked him, and decided to do something about it. The sales job, car and large salary was swapped for a role at non-profit African Leadership, and Ward began a journey that would eventually result in the creation of Nashville, USA-based ethical clothing company fashionABLE, or ABLE for short.
ABLE is fundamentally different to other clothing companies – it's just as much people driven as it is design driven. "If we want to end poverty, we must do two things," Ward tells us. "Create jobs, and do so for women."
Across the world, women are concentrated in the lowest-paid and least secure jobs, making them – and their children – more vulnerable to poverty. In fact, according to Oxfam, men own 50 percent more of the world's wealth than women. Ward wants to change that.
"We know women invest twice as much of their income into their families than men (80 percent versus 30–40 percent), and when women are paid wages that meet their basic needs, it leads to greater personal safety, and better overall health and education for each generation.
"We want to build a better world for the next generation – one with less poverty and more equality, where fewer people are sick, and where more children go to school. We get there by investing in women," argues Ward.
For ABLE, that meant creating jobs for women in vulnerable communities. The company started by working with Ethiopian women, and sex workers in particular. While they were grateful for charity, Ward explains, they were more interested in jobs that would help them to help themselves.
Since then, ABLE have worked with vulnerable communities a lot closer to home, helping women in Nashville who have overcome addiction and paying them a fair wage to make items like jewelry.
Out of the 86 people that ABLE currently employs, 83 are women. It's a ratio that wasn't intentional, says Ward. "Our work happens to attract brilliant women that want to use their gifts for good. Our entire leadership team is comprised of women, and I'm both proud of, and grateful, for that."
ABLE have put a lot of effort into finding partners with a similar mindset, and Ward points out that the company works with entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil to manufacture leather bags, clothes, and shoes.
"Those partners are just as meticulously sourced as the materials we use," says Ward. "We thoroughly vet all our partners to ensure they believe in and are supportive of our mission."
While Ward classes himself as the "least fashionable person in our office", the entrepreneur has entrusted the design of ABLE clothing to some particularly talented female designers with a keen eye for detail.
"We’ve hired designers who are not only experts in their respective categories, but they also have a real heart for our mission. They're interpreting trends coming more than a year away, and designing products that are current in their appeal yet will also have longevity. Our customers want to feel as confident in their clothes as they do about the social impact of their purchase."
ABLE founder Barrett Ward
© Ryk Otto/Red Bull
ABLE may not be your run-of-the-mill clothing company, then, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to get your hands on the latest trends and fashions. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"From the very beginning of ABLE, we knew it would be critical to design products that consumers wanted to buy, regardless of the mission," explains Ward. "When they get complimented, they get to share our brand's story with a new customer. We believe you don't have to sacrifice style to shop ethically, and we define our aesthetic as effortless, approachable, feminine, and timeless, with a nod to trends.
"We hear ABLE fans tell us over and over that they love our mission, but they keep coming back because they think our stuff is cute. If they can look good while feeling good about their purchases, they'll spend their money with us instead of at a competitor."
As for the future, ABLE is looking to inspire an entire industry.
"The entire point of ABLE is to impact the lives of individual women, and to challenge the industry to do far better," Ward says. "We want to show the world that there's a new profitable business model, which pays livable wages and treats all of its employees with the dignity and respect they deserve. Women and economies that are often overlooked have been massive contributors to ABLE's rapid growth."
