The final of The Apprentice aired last Thursday, and Lord Sugar had to choose between two budding entrepreneurs to receive his £250,000 investment. The two finalists, Harpreet, and Kathryn had very different business plans. Harpreet wanted to launch a dessert parlour with both in store dining and online delivery options. Kathryn planned on launching a new matching pyjama business which provided options for all the family, including dogs. The latter of the two business plans got me thinking about the significance of sustainability when launching a new clothing business, which was something they only mentioned a couple of times in the show. Pre warning – this blog post contains spoilers for the final of The Apprentice!
When she first announced her business plan, Kathryn branded the pyjama brand as ethical and sustainable. This branding was scrutinised as she went on to say she will manufacture her garments for very little money in China. For me, sustainability is something which I value when looking to purchase new clothing. When I was younger, I was buying from fast fashion companies, and dressing in trendy items which I would only end up wearing a couple of times before thinking they were out of style. Of course, there are ways around this issue such as selling old clothing items on Vinted or Depop. However, this doesn’t completely solve the issue of viewing clothing items as temporary or disposable.
Kathryn frequently claimed on the show that she would redesign her items to stay in line with the trends, meaning her pyjama brand is a fast fashion business. With the strong consumer focus on sustainability, and ethical clothing brands such as TALA and Pangaia becoming so popular over the last 12 months, I personally don’t think that launching a new fast fashion business is a sustainable choice. Of course, there is a larger market within the fast fashion business, however more and more people are becoming aware of making ethical choices and beginning to move away from over-consumption.
However, the family feel of her brand may encourage consumers to buy one time and re-wear their pyjamas time and time again. This is an idea which I have been thinking about a lot recently as I have started to become more aware of my clothing choices. I buy a lot of clothes from Zara and am aware that they aren’t the most ethical company. However, I am making a conscious decision to only buy clothes which are suitable for many different occasions, and I think I will genuinely wear in a few years’ time. For example, I am graduating from university this year and so am thinking with every item of clothing I buy whether it will be suitable for the workplace. As brands become more aware of the consumers desire to be sustainable, we are seeing more brands greenwashing their audiences. As a result of this, I tend to do research into a brand before I buy from them, and then when I do buy, I want to buy products which I genuinely do like.
In conclusion, I think that Lord Sugar ended up investing in Harpreet’s dessert parlour as it holds more of a future. People are always going to want to buy deserts, whether it is for an occasion or just to treat themselves. Whereas matching pyjamas are a niche market which may not be as sustainable. What do you think?