ReSuit, founded by Nada Shepherd, EMBA '18, revolutionizes fashion by promoting sustainability and responsible consumption. The platform lets users monetize their closets with a proprietary algorithm ensuring a perfect fit. Join the ReSuit community for guilt-free, sustainable fashion enjoyment through their user-friendly app.
The essence of being an entrepreneur is having ideas. Ideas on how to improve the world or ideas to solve specific problems. The best, most robust ideas have not only practical implications for the world but are generated from the heart of the founder. Nada Shepherd’s company, ReSuit, is one of those heart-inspired business ventures.
Essentially, ReSuit aims to let you monetize the contents of your closet and get a handle on your “stuff;” whether you want to rent, sell, or buy clothing (accessories or beauty products too).
ReSuit’s proprietary algorithm ensures the items will fit your body. Despite the vagaries in sizing that any shopper is familiar with. Your size 6 skirt in Brand A may fit you perfectly but someone else’s size 6 in Brand B may break your heart! Shepherd would tell you emphatically the fault is not with you - it’s merely the caprice of the fashion industry.
The Heart of the Matter
Shepherd knows the fashion biz, from a high-level academic business viewpoint down to hands-on drafting skills making the actual patterns.
She spent nine formative years studying in the performing and visual arts, achieving a B.Sc. Double Major in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, where she graduated as an Ivey Scholar with Distinction. She also has a Diploma in Fashion Design from The International Academy of Design and Technology, and spent 18 years in the fashion industry; 10 of those running her own fashion line.
It's safe to say she knows the industry – the good and the bad.
The bad…
The negative impact of the “biz” is probably something none of us like to dwell on, but it is well documented.
The constant creation of cheap, trendy items to satisfy the “must have now” mentality is a detriment to the planet. The wastage is huge. The factories where these garments are made and the employees churning them out should make us think twice about mindless consumerism.
Of the 70 million garment workers worldwide, 75% of those are women – but if we suddenly stop buying these items what happens to these workers? It may offend our North American sensibilities to think of young workers in a factory but the alternative of no work at all isn’t a happy thought either. There is no easy answer.
Shepherd visited factories in China and acknowledged that not all factories are poorly run. A lot of them invest in high-tech equipment and run clean operations.
Designers often have no choice but to source their items abroad as there are very few North American factories capable of producing clothing in the volume required.
Shepherd notes that Chinese factories may be slowly moving away from the garment trade and tending toward producing high-end technological items. What happens to the female factory workers in that situation? Again, there is no easy solution. Shepherd intends to invest 2% of the company’s revenue in what she calls a “do-good fund” to help ease the situation of these workers. It’s not the ultimate answer, but it is something that meshes with her moral compass.
Shepherd believes a logical starting point would be understanding the realities of "substance over stuff and conservation over consumption."
There is also the impact on the wallets of the female population to consider. Women generally earn 30% to 50% less than their male counterparts. Female careers can be interrupted by child care, elder care, and a variety of other family demands that primarily fall on women. All of which slow down or de-rail a woman’s career trajectory and long-term earning power. Society demands females not only show up but show up looking good into the bargain. This means our smaller paycheck repeatedly takes a big hit to meet this expectation.
Shepherd notes many women bought into the theory of “investment dressing” – stocking up on a lot on big-ticket pieces as mainstays of work outfits thinking it would somehow pay dividends in the future.
This orchestrated cycle, carefully crafted by influential fashion entities, serves a singular purpose – to effectively divest women of their financial resources by perpetuating a perpetual pursuit of the latest "must-have" items. It’s a vicious cycle.
Shepherd feels this is largely a trap. She would rather women consider investments as solid financial acquisitions -stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, not designer jackets.
Joining the ReSuit Revolution
Joining the ReSuit community makes it fun and guilt-free to enjoy fashion again. You can have the pleasure of wearing new items while limiting the perennial problem of excess. Sharing your closet with like-minded individuals who champion quality over quantity is a great way of shaking up the status quo and fully enjoying fashion.
Once you have downloaded the ReSuit app and set up your account, you can search for items to buy or rent based on style, designer, location, category, or fit. You then send the owner your request to purchase or rent, or save it to your shopping bag and continue browsing. Once you connect with another ReSuiter, you can use the in-app chat to arrange for the handoff of items: meeting in person or using sustainable shipping.
Payment is seamless and occurs once both sides of the transaction have entered an authentication passcode right in the app. The owner of the item gets paid directly. ReSuit does not store any of your financial information, or hold any funds. They don’t handle the fashion items or the money.
So, with ReSuit, fashion isn't just about clothes – it's a bold statement, a pledge to sustainability, a kickstart for positive vibes, and, of course, a whole lot of fun!