WEBVTT - Noonday CEO on Ethical Giving for the Holidays

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Well, it is the season of giving. We're

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<v Speaker 1>getting into it in a real way. Let's take a

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<v Speaker 1>minute to think about how we're doing it. Jessica Haniger

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<v Speaker 1>is here with me, Back with me, founder and CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of Noonday Style, author as well. She's based down in

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<v Speaker 1>much warmer Austin, Texas, but lucky for us she's here,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe not so lucky for her in the frigid Northeast.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see you, It's great to be back. All right.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is so timely, obviously, which is part of

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<v Speaker 1>the reason that you're here. But I do feel like

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<v Speaker 1>here in and this goes back to a conversation we

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<v Speaker 1>had in this studio. People are being a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>more thoughtful, more holistic about what they're giving, where they're

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<v Speaker 1>sourcing their gifts. But the question is how do we

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<v Speaker 1>actually do that. You've got an answer. Gifting is so personal,

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<v Speaker 1>and when we can gift something that is handmade and

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<v Speaker 1>has a story and a connection to it, I think

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<v Speaker 1>the gift receiver not only receives that gift, but also

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<v Speaker 1>gets to receive this story that goes along with that gift.

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<v Speaker 1>And what's so powerful is we're primarily an accessories brand

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<v Speaker 1>and so when you're able to give a handmade accessory

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<v Speaker 1>made by a woman in another country through Noonday Collection,

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<v Speaker 1>you actually empower that gift receiver to become a storyteller

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<v Speaker 1>for that product as well, Right, because we all love

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<v Speaker 1>to be able to tell someone something about what we're wearing,

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<v Speaker 1>or what we're reading or or whatever it is. So

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<v Speaker 1>remind us how this works, sort of how you created

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<v Speaker 1>this network and what it looks like. Yeah, So Noonday

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<v Speaker 1>Collection is a socially responsible fashion brand and we're creating

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<v Speaker 1>meaningful economic opportunities for people around the world. We partner

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<v Speaker 1>with thirty artists and businesses and some of the world's

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<v Speaker 1>most vulnerable communities that have traditionally been left out of

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<v Speaker 1>the marketplace, and we create a marketplace for these beautiful

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<v Speaker 1>handmade goods. And we do that through a network of

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<v Speaker 1>social entrepreneurs that we call Ambassadors. So it's a direct

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<v Speaker 1>selling model. So we're creating economic opportunity for women across America.

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<v Speaker 1>These women gather in their homes, they have their friends,

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<v Speaker 1>gather friends in their homes, and they are stylists and

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<v Speaker 1>storytellers who gather. They earn an income while making an

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<v Speaker 1>impact on these artists and partners, and so tell me

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit more about the artisans themselves. How do

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<v Speaker 1>you find them, because obviously they're not necessarily just easily.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't just pick up the phone. Yeah, necessarily. I

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<v Speaker 1>know you travel a lot, so we do you do it.

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<v Speaker 1>We're nine years in and so we have been able

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<v Speaker 1>to scale businesses that might have started off as boutique,

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<v Speaker 1>small mom and pop shops. But we've come alongside these

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<v Speaker 1>businesses and we have helped them with upfront capital, We've

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<v Speaker 1>helped them with collaborative design, We've partnered with them over

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<v Speaker 1>the long term, and so now we have a name

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<v Speaker 1>in the marketplace. A lot of the ways we find

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<v Speaker 1>people now is they it's inbound people come to us.

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<v Speaker 1>The outbound is more if we're really wanting to make

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<v Speaker 1>an impact around a certain social issue. So for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>the Burmese and Thai border, we have been able to

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<v Speaker 1>work with a small group there that works with refugees

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<v Speaker 1>um that have come out of Burma, and now they're

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<v Speaker 1>making small, little porcelain gifts for us. And we start

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<v Speaker 1>small with people and we might try one skew see

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<v Speaker 1>how it does, and then we slowly scale back in

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<v Speaker 1>the day when it was just me in my living room.

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<v Speaker 1>We I first started with a young couple Jollia and Daniel,

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<v Speaker 1>and they were a mom and pop artisan small group,

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<v Speaker 1>and we scaled them. Now they have a hundred full

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<v Speaker 1>time employees. So that process of how we partner and

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<v Speaker 1>find people has changed as New Day Collection has scaled.

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<v Speaker 1>I do love the idea that we throw around the

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<v Speaker 1>term mom and pop and in your case, like you

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<v Speaker 1>literally are talking about like moms and pops. Yes, I

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<v Speaker 1>am in a very specific and literal way. So talk

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<v Speaker 1>to me a little bit about this sort of broader

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<v Speaker 1>trend of ethical giving, because you know, whether it's talking

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<v Speaker 1>with someone like Dana Thomas, who was on our show

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<v Speaker 1>earlier this week, who's just wrote a book called Fashionopolis,

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<v Speaker 1>like we're thinking a lot more about where things come from.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that a sort of permanent change? Do you think? Like?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that one of those things sort of like once

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<v Speaker 1>we learned we started to learn about where our food

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<v Speaker 1>comes from, we started to be more mindful about that.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that same sort of thing happening in apparel and accessories?

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<v Speaker 1>You think right now? Absolutely? And I feel like Noon

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<v Speaker 1>Day Collection has been one of those brands that has

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<v Speaker 1>led the way once you know you can't unknow and

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<v Speaker 1>when you realize that you can actually use your purchasing

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<v Speaker 1>power to affect change. Not just make a donation to

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<v Speaker 1>a favorite charity, but how can you have drive those

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<v Speaker 1>dollars into a way that's empowering other people to start

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<v Speaker 1>their own businesses. That is, it's a powerful tool that

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<v Speaker 1>a consumer now has. And yes, in the same way

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<v Speaker 1>that the food industry has become much more transparent farm

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<v Speaker 1>to table, I do believe there is a slow fashion movement,

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<v Speaker 1>a movement, a conscientious fashion movement, where people are willing

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<v Speaker 1>to make more mindful choices around how they're going to

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<v Speaker 1>spend their dollars. Well, it was interesting to hear Dana

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas talk about this too, because she was saying, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not just about looking at the label, and this

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<v Speaker 1>goes to your point of storytelling, like you sort of

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<v Speaker 1>got to go underneath it a little bit because listen,

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<v Speaker 1>there are sweatshops in l a and in Texas and

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<v Speaker 1>probably New York, uh right near here as well, so

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<v Speaker 1>sort of really understanding the story behind it, and people

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<v Speaker 1>do to your point, sort of appreciated story. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it is a counter narrative in a lot of ways

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<v Speaker 1>to this like quick, superficial, you know, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>Life that we lead wanting to know that narrative a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more. There isn't a lot of transparency around

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<v Speaker 1>the supply chain in the fashion industry. I think it

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<v Speaker 1>can be a little bit overwhelming for a consumer, which

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<v Speaker 1>is why Noonday Collection really leads with not what we're against,

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<v Speaker 1>but what we're for. And we're for creating empowering economic

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities through artisan crafted goods that are made with fair

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<v Speaker 1>trade principles. All right, we are Bloomberg, So I gotta

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<v Speaker 1>ask you your business growing? It's growing, Yeah, yeah, we have.

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<v Speaker 1>We grow through ambassadors. We grow through New Day Collection ambassadors,

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<v Speaker 1>and we have more ambassadors this year than we've had

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<v Speaker 1>last year. So I'm on here to let the world

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<v Speaker 1>know about this amazing business opportunity. To where can they

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<v Speaker 1>check it out? Noonday Collection dot com. All right. Jessica

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<v Speaker 1>Hanager is founder and CEO of Noonday Collection. Here with

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<v Speaker 1>us in New York City. She is spreading the word,

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<v Speaker 1>leaving the warm confines of Texas to join us here

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<v Speaker 1>in New York City. We really appreciate it's always also

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<v Speaker 1>the author I should point out it's a really terrific book.

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<v Speaker 1>I was able to get a copy of it. Imperfect

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<v Speaker 1>Courage Live a life of purpose by leaving comfort and

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<v Speaker 1>going scared came out in It's really terrific. Also a

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<v Speaker 1>great gift idea for this holiday season.