Purpose Beyond Profit: Nicole Bridger on Creating Supplier Loyalty
institute B caught up with whirlwind fashion icon Nicole Bridger and found out how she gets the best out of her suppliers and why staying loyal isn’t always a good idea. Also the importance of losing fear, embracing love, and who she won’t invite to dinner.
Nicole Bridger is a fashion line for a new generation of women who want to look effortlessly chic while maintaining a commitment to the earth and its people. Tailored from the highest quality ethical materials, every item flatters the natural curves of a woman’s body, making her feel graceful and elegant in any setting. Ninety percent of the Nicole Bridger line is manufactured in Vancouver, while the remaining pieces are produced in Fair Trade factories overseas.
Institute B: Supply chain is an area of business that requires the greatest amount of cooperation and communication. How do ensure you are getting the best from your suppliers?
Nicole Bridger: Best to me is about getting a quality product in a way that I can feel good about. So the fabric needs to function for my customer but needs to be less harmful on the environment and made in an ethical way. I work with suppliers that are fairtrade, GOTS, bluesign, ocotex etc. These certifications help reassure me on how they conduct their business and if it’s a fit for me. Finding new suppliers is hard so I try to continue working with suppliers that I like, continuing the relationship and improving the quality as we work together. We receive sample fabric that we test to make sure it will perform how we want it to after washing and wearing.
How do you ensure they are getting the best from you?
I help support my suppliers by paying what they ask for, I don’t bully for lower prices. I also pay on time and in full. I treat my suppliers with respect as I like to be treated in return; it makes for a long-lasting enjoyable relationship. If times are tight and people are pulling favours for me or giving me their time to help out, I always thank them with clothing. It’s important to show your appreciation, without any of these people we wouldn’t be here.
Part of your ethos is ethical manufacturing. Can you explain how you determine that?
Basically, is it encouraging positive change or not? Are the workers being paid fair wages? Is the working environment safe and clean? What is the impact on the environment? What is the waste water management? I heavily rely on the certs for the mills that are overseas. It’s not perfect but it is what we are able to manage at this time. I always promise to do the best we can with what technology and resources are available to us at the time.
Respecting the environment is an integral component of a sustainable supply chain. How do you see people and spirit fitting into it?
We talk so much about being ‘green’ and to me that’s just one part of it. What’s the point of being green if people are suffering at the same time? Earth, people and spirit. They are not separate, they are one. As our spirits awaken and grow we are more inclined to care for each other and our planet.
You explain “Be” the title of your inspired 2013 Spring Collection as “Be just as you are without fear, without judgment, without expectation.” This is incredibly powerful statement and so relevant in the world today. How do you live that personally and in your business?
I’m certainly not perfect at it all the time, but try to be aware of. Fear is what keeps us from being our best truest selves. It keeps us from shining our brightest light. If we can see fear for what it is, then it can no longer have a hold on us and we are free to make our choices based on what is truly right for our higher self. If you see that each of us is just doing the best we know how at this point in this lifetime, then judgment becomes unnecessary. Instead you find compassion for each other and for yourself on the journey. It is when we lay expectation on each other that we are not allowing each other to be. If someone is being in a way that doesn’t work for you, it is ok to have boundaries that may form a different relationship with them. But you are doing that for yourself instead of trying to change someone else.
Basically there is only love or fear. And I don’t mean love, like ‘in love’. I mean love, alignment, flow, connectedness. And the more we shift to love and let go of fear, the better the world will be. It’s happening.
The competitive advantage of embracing suppliers as partners often outweighs the strategy to jump from one supplier to another based on price, geography etc. Can you explain your philosophy on supply chain management?
I can’t ignore price, that’s an important factor. But it just isn’t the only factor. I don’t want to make some amazing product that no one can afford so it’s not helping anyone. I want to create something that is accessible to most. So I ask: Is the price within my range? Is it made ethically? Is it made out of something that is sustainable? Is this supplier in line with our values? How will we ship it here? And time will tell if that supplier becomes like a partner or not. But don’t stay loyal to a supplier just for the sake of it. Things change, maybe new ownership isn’t in line and its time to move on. Maybe with a little help, a supplier can become more in line. Who knows, each situation is different. Treating someone like a partner means treating them with respect and is how I treat everyone, even those that have harmed me. I just might not have them over for dinner!
You recently purchased a factory. What prompted you to do so?
It’s been part of the vision since I created Oqoqo for Lululemon. Chip taught me that being vertically integrated was an essential part of being financially viable in the apparel industry. The former factory owners used to joke about ‘giving’ me the factory and they practically did. It’s what I was hoping for I just didn’t think it would be this soon. But having the factory which manufactures other lines has created another revenue stream for my company that has allowed me to hire my team full time and now we are really seeing change and growth in the company.
In light of the terrible news of over 900 factory employees dying in Bangladesh due to dangerous work conditions, how do you approach your working environment?
It was a devastating thing, but now it has made the conversation main-stream. Which is the only way change is going to happen. Those lives were lost and it won’t be in vain if we change things for those living in similar circumstances who are suffering every day. We only just moved into the factory in November. I didn’t want to make any changes in the first 3 months, just so we had time to learn the ropes. Now we are starting to make some changes. Even just by cleaning up the place, making it a nicer environment to work in, giving her a coat of paint, paying more fairly, honoring down time. I want this factory to be a place where people are excited to come to work in, where they feel valued and appreciated and inspired to be their best.
You are known for using sustainable fabrics. Can you highlight the benefits to your customers and the environment for us?
Toxic chemicals aren’t good anywhere. Against our skin, on our crops which gets into our waterways which then affect our health and the health of our children. Carcinogens and hormone disruptors. If we can find a way to live in this world without them then lets do it. Otherwise things are gonna get really messy and they have already started.
Check back for next Thursday’s Purpose Beyond Profit when we talk to Saul Good Gifts on how to be the change through generosity – not charity.