“In my former career, I saw a lot of things that I wasn’t happy with. I think if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem,” says Jo-Anne Godden, who worked as a lingerie and swimwear designer, before she set up RubyMoon in 2011.
“The textile industry is the most polluting industry, second only to oil,” she says. “A sixth of the world’s population works in the garment trade, and most of them are women. So if [this] industry could turn itself round, it would have [such a] positive impact.”
Godden says her experience of working with upmarket fashion brands, was “probably the best of the best in terms of manufacturing overseas,” but describes seeing women working long days, living far away from their families in dormitories and using six of their 10 days’ annual holiday to travel back home. For her the experience raised the question: “Why is it women in certain parts of the world are purchasing multipack bras, just to keep other women living in those conditions?”
RubyMoon is a social enterprise making sustainable swimwear and activewear, that’s designed by Godden and manufactured in Europe, “where we can guarantee the conditions for the workers”. They only use fabric created from abandoned fishing nets in the Mediterranean and North Sea, and all of the company’s profits are reinvested as business loans for women in 11 developing countries.
“We pick the women we invest in each month, via lendwithcare.org, which is part of Care International,” Godden says. “Investing in women is really important because they in turn invest more in housing, nutrition, education for children, as well as it being really empowering for them.”
While the business has a strong ethical message, Godden adds that the biggest challenge for her has been promoting the brand and setting up the e-commerce arm of the company. “It’s been a huge learning curve for me. I didn’t know anything about e-commerce [or] becoming a retailer. There’s investment needed in time and resources to have an e-commerce business. It’s not as easy as people make out.
“When people hear our message they love it, but just getting people to hear it is a real challenge.”
After a recent trade show in Lyon, Godden is hoping to open new wholesale channels and to export more. The website will of course remain a key distribution platform and there are plans for a redesign this year. She is thrilled to be one of the digital innovation award winners and thinks the customer analytics and reporting that SAP Anywhere will prove particularly helpful.
“The more information you have, the better. [E-commerce] is quite daunting but if you have something like this, it gives you a push to get involved. It’s the really good boost that we needed.”
Toby Davidson, vice president of product strategy for SAP Anywhere and one of the competition judges says: “It’s inspirational to see businesses like RubyMoon Design work towards a cause that they feel so passionately about. Technology can offer a helping hand to Jo-Anne and her team, allowing them to continue their admirable work in the community.
“SAP Anywhere is a great tool to help them grow and spread their message to a wider and relevant audience. We are excited to take their business to the next level and offer the necessary support to achieve this.”
This advertisement feature is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with SAP Anywhere, sponsor of The Disruptors hub on the Guardian Small Business Network.
