Only Chill Vibes was a stylish sustainable urban apparel brand built upon three main pillars; (1) Being kind to our environment; (2) Being responsible with our resources; (3) Treating our fellow garment workers like human beings.

Conventional cotton farming ruins the environment and has for the last 30 years been a complete nightmare for millions of farmers. So, Only Chill Vibes decided to use an alternative, 100% organic cotton. All our apparel was in accordance with Global Organic Textile Standard, produced from Indian organic cotton farmers and certified by the Control Union and Soil Association Certification. This means that the cotton is completely free from toxic chemicals and pesticides. Not only that, but organic cotton uses up to 91% less water and 62% less energy compared to conventional grown cotton. In other words, it is farmed in touch with nature, as it should be.

Slow fashion is about consuming and creating fashion consciously and with integrity. It connects social and environmental awareness and responsibility with the pleasure of wearing beautiful, well-made, and lasting clothing. The main way Only Chill Vibes did this was by printing or stitching the designs onto the garments as orders came in, thereby reducing waste on any unsold sizes of specific designs.

We all have a right to a safe and healthy work environment, a living wage, and a legally binding contract. That’s why organisations like Fairtrade are working for farmers’ rights in developing countries. They help them get organized and make sure they are guaranteed a minimum price for their crop. On top of that Fairtrade premiums are given to villages for investments in schools, infrastructure and other social improvements. That’s why we ensured that all the organic cotton being made was farmed by Fairtrade certified farmers and manufacturers. In fact, they were and continue to be regularly audited for social compliance and are running active monitoring programmes in accordance with standards advocated by the International Labour Organisation, the Ethical Trading Initiative and other international bodies.

While Only Chill Vibes was successful, it would have taken more time, money, and energy to nurture it into a more established urban apparel brand. Additionally, I wanted to focus more on gaining experience in the life science industry. So, while the experience of running the business for two years taught me a plethora of useful skills and gave me some good stories, I closed it down during the summer of 2019. But, sustainable fashion doesn’t end with the closing of Only Chill Vibes, in fact, we're just beginning to see the start of what will likely be the future of fashion.

• Utilised HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build the companies e-store
• Developed a sustainable supply chain to limit the emissions from the cotton farm to the customer
• Conducted extensive competitive intelligence on sustainable fashion brands, as well as, established fast fashion urban apparel brands
• Generated a balanced budget, conducted forecasts, and financial statements.
• Developed effective social media marketing campaigns on multiple social media platforms