Episode 17: Behind the scenes at Knickey: how this sustainable underwear brand sold out in their first week with Co-Founder & CEO Cayla O’Connell Davis
When Cayla O’Connell Davis, co-founder and CEO of Knickey, was in graduate school she stumbled across some truths that led her to strive to make a positive contribution to the fashion industry. She had spent years on the retail side of the business, in merchandising, design, styling, and sales. After graduation, she worked with a company that brought eco-friendly home goods to big retailers. While with this employer she was exposed to the organic cotton industry. The seeds from this exposure grew a couple of years later into a startup that she built with a friend around that industry: organic cotton underwear.
Most people are very familiar with cotton, and yet they don't understand the monumental difference between organic cotton and what Cayla calls “chemical cotton.” The latter can contains pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, chloride, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens, and theses chemicals remain on your garments, no matter how many times you wash them.
Knickey is also known for its underwear recycling program. This amazing program provides a free shipping label to send used and unwanted underwear to Knickey’s recycling facility, where the underwear is shredded and made into shoddy, which can then be made into insulation, furniture, and padding. You even get credit for a free pair of underwear on your next purchase!
In this episode Cayla also discusses:
Her passion for sustainability, resulting in a fully organic and Fair Trade certified supply chain
The use of body positivity and diversity in their models
How a Vogue story on Knickey led to them selling out of a six-month supply of product in six weeks
The handwritten notes customers send to say thank you for the product
If you’d like to shop their line, do so on their website (where you can also find the link to recycle any of your old underwear).
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