REFIND APP IS DRIVING POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
By: Hillary LeBlanc
As the sustainability movement grows, it comes as no surprise that there is an increase in the sense of community surrounding the people most passionate about saving our planet through fashion. One brand has sought out turning an online shopping experience into growing a sustainable community in innovative ways. They have recently rebranded to grow from curated online shopping to including talks, seminars and panels as regularly as possible across America and soon beyond!
First-generation Mexican-American Loriza Ibarra is the founder of Refind.Shopping a hub to connect brands with community, shopping experiences and even more than meets the eye. After studying business, entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Texas in Dallas Ibarra “realized the immense potential for beauty in the world, even within an industry that seemed riddled with flaws. While the fashion industry certainly has room for improvement, I believe that positive change can be achieved through community and collective impact”.
Ibarra would define Refind.Shopping as “a dynamic fashion hub at the forefront of sustainable fashion. It serves as a platform for discovery, experiences, and a vibrant community that celebrates innovation, empowers brands, and drives positive change in the industry”. Not only can you shop on the platform, but Ibarra hosts panels, seminars, and talks around America with topics in line with sustainability.
Through her work in retail as a personal stylist, Ibarra felt her personal styling skills helped prevent some of the mass returning of product occurring at the store. Her curiosity around what happened to returns, unsold sale items and damaged items led her to realize many must be as unaware as her. She wanted to build a community for people who wanted to be sustainable shoppers but had questions on the proper ways to do so, also hoping to create a safe space for people to make mistakes and grow through their journey of shopping intentionally. “Encouraging sustainable shopping is not only about reaching conscious consumers but also inviting curious consumers to join the movement. By educating and providing resources, we empower individuals to make more informed choices. It is my goal to foster a community that supports people in using what they have and making a positive impact, no matter how big or small”.
Fostering community is pivotal to Ibarra. Within ReFind, Ibarra has created several speaker series’ outside of hosting fashion shows at SXSW, panels at New York Fashion Week and pop ups around the USA. “The fashion industry can be very gate kept and limited to who gets the platform to speak, share, or participate and that is something that I’m diligently working to break. I know that being able to shed my perspective on the industry could encourage others or maybe even shed a light on what can be done and let people know that it doesn’t matter where you are on your journey! The amount of creatives, designers, and thought leaders I have met in this space encourages me to keep going and know that I'm not alone and by holding space for people to be seen, heard, and to be known is incredible. So doing workshops, panel discussions, creating space for us at SXSW, and NYFW is important to our business model because we are creating opportunities for these brands, companies, designers to share with the community what they are doing. The result of this is collaboration, partnerships, and strong community”.
Participants at Refind.Shopping’s events have shared that they "loved what the panelists had to say about the future of fashion and sustainability. The event was packed and the speakers all had diverse industry experience that was both relevant and informative." Another participant found the panel to be an “inspiration, not only because of its showcase of beautiful brands focusing on sustainable fashion/production but also because of the community that Loriza is building here in Austin. It felt amazing to be in a room surrounded by people who have the same passion for changing the fashion industry. ReFind is creating a space to discuss and develop ethical practices as well as weaving a network of change-makers to collaborate with.”
This palatable passion from the community Ibarra has been fostering is why she decided to rebrand Refind.Shopping. “Before we were just a marketplace but saw such a demand for more opportunities to connect, network and we want to fill this gap! We will be relaunching our marketplace but doubling down on in person experiences because we believe that’s where we can really move the needle, inspire conversation and allow more discovery of people/brands who are really making an impact”.
Ibarra and the Refind.Shopping team have been pulling away from using ‘sustainability’ and shifted to saying “future of fashion” as they feel sustainability is the only way forward. “The future of fashion is recycling, mending, upcycling, and supporting slow fashion designers. I think that the majority of individuals have an understanding that the amount of mass production and use of toxic materials and dyes are detrimental to the environment and the hands behind the garments. I think it is a great period in time to continue to educate, speak on and lead by example”.
Being an online curated shopping experience, ReFind.Shopping has seen how the trend of quiet luxury has taken flight and hopes that this will shift the way we value pieces. Ibarra feels that shopping by aligning your personal style and not chasing trends would help people continue to feel excited about their pieces. “I would love to work with curators who source vintage pieces and implement them into ReFind to be discovered. I think there is still much education around this, but I think this primarily is making discovering your personal style so unique and glamorous. I think we’ve learned to romanticize our coffee runs, or skin care routines. Now let’s romanticize the most intentional closet for each of us. This will take time, investment and understanding, but that is what is so special about it. It’s just for YOU”.
Ibarra hopes that her platform and the future of fashion will move toward glamorizing getting custom pieces created by your favorite designers, more ateliers, and more mending services. “I think it is difficult to convince people the importance of sustainability when there are so many things going on in the world, but I think encouraging this unique pursuit for intentional pieces to live in your closet is something that is easier for people to get on board with and gravitate towards. BUT it is quiet luxury, so this will only be adopted by people who are currently on this journey to be able to afford this approach to sustainability”
Ibarra recognizes that shopping more intentionally and investing in pieces best suited for consumers is one way to help with climate change but there are many ways to make an impact and no specific approach is better than the other. “Doing what you can with what you have is always the best choice”.