Brand transparency

Everlane is credited with coining the term "radical transparency". It defines their approach for revealing exactly what goes on behind the scenes of their clothing production. But how does absolute honesty pay off in the competitive world of fashion and apparel, and especially in e-commerce?

In 2011, Everlane launched its first and only product online: an affordable t-shirt. Five years later, the basic apparel company made $100 million in revenue and it has its refreshingly unusual business model to thank for it. By inciting audience attention and retaining brand loyalty through honest marketing, Everlane is a prime example of how brand transparency pays off in business benefits.

Can you tell the difference between a plain white Walmart t-shirt from a plain white Calvin Klein t-shirt? If you say the only differences are the brand and the price tag, you wouldn't be too far from the truth. Most markups in the apparel industry come from branding rather than an actual difference in production quality. Everlane chose to reject this trend in its effort to be an e-commerce company that keeps costs low for its customers.

Everlane's transparency tactic is to reveal the exact production process – and the costs associated with each step – as a part of its brand DNA. Their product line has since expanded from the simple white t-shirt and Everlane now offers a pricing breakdown on five of their popular products, including modern loafers and denim fabric.

Here are the costs for producing a cashmere sweater:

Materials ($26.65) + Labor ($12) + Transport ($0.60) + Duties ($1.61) + Hardware ($1.60) = Total cost ($42)

According to Everlane, traditional apparel brands markup their products five to six times the actual production cost. Everlane prides itself on a mere two to three times markup, selling the same sweater for $100 retail instead of $210 that most brands would sell it for. With a simple, transparent cost breakdown, Everlane is communicating a powerful message to its customers: Here's what we paid – here's what you pay. You won't get ripped off when you buy our clothing. We believe in honest business transactions.

Many e-commerce brands take the cost-saving benefits of online retail and pocket them for the benefit of the business. Everlane turns that around and shares the benefits with the consumer, spreading the effects of fair commerce to everyone who engages with their brand, from the factories to the customers.

"Exceptional quality. Ethical factories. Radical Transparency." These are the founding values that define the brand's business direction, taking Everlane to the next level of success with a roadmap that clearly outlines the values it strives to bring to its customers. Using their approach to transparency as an example, I can break down two obvious ways Everlane benefits from their honesty:

1. They give people a reason to trust in their brand
"Ethical factories."

By sourcing their products from a verified supply chain, Everlane has no reason to hide who makes their clothes. They promise that they only employ people who are treated fairly, highlighting how important it is for Everlane to have a personal relationship with each of their factory owners.

Because Everlane has woven ethical manufacturing into its core, the brand benefits twofold by being transparent about its production line. On one hand, they get a thumbs up for being honest about who they're working with. On the other hand, they get another thumbs up for working with the right people. A win-win situation.

Like we talked about before when we asked, "Is your brand trustworthy?" Everlane comes full circle when it comes to walking the talk. Customers are buying into the simple apparel brand because of the wholesome, no-frills, humanity-based lifestyle it promises and Everlane can prove they are practicing what they preach from start to finish.

2. They show they understand their audience by communicating with them directly
Michael Preysman founded Everlane to fill a gap in the market created by apparel brands that applied heavy markups to their products. He chose e-commerce over a brick-and-mortar business and social media over traditional advertising. Both were cost-saving methods that allowed him to provide better value to customers.

This meant Everlane had to bring the brand experience to people digitally. So how did they get people to believe in its product value without ever touching or trying the clothing? By sharing the stories of how they make each product and breaking down its costs in clear black and white.

The brand regularly interacts with its audience to answer their concerns through conversations on Twitter and Instagram. Real customer feedback is constantly implemented into product designs and pricing, showing people that the brand is listening and adapting.

For a generation that has been heavily marketed to since infancy and well-versed in unrealistic advertising promises (Sunday morning cereal commercials and school fundraiser box tops sound familiar?) Everlane managed to capture their trust and attention through honest communication alone. Their understanding of what people wanted to hear and see resonated with a target audience that transformed into brand loyalty. 

With Everlane, it wasn't just about what they were saying. They took it a step further and backed their words with what they were doing. And it's the honesty projected from both sides that earned them the trust they experience today.

So how can your business take Everlane's radical transparency as an example for your own business?

Start with your foundation
Are your brand values and brand promises built on an ethical foundation that promotes trust? It's about having a strong, authentic mission that goes beyond making money. People want to buy into brands that are about more than the everyday transaction. What kind of good does your brand do in the world and is it good enough to be one of the highlights of your brand DNA?

What about your production line?
If there are aspects of your business that you aren't proud of at this stage, make a change now before it comes back to embarrass you. No business is perfect when it first starts out, but by taking ownership of any mistakes made along the way, you can turn the learning experience into an advantage in your brand story.

I'm not saying every business should reduce their profits like Everlane to invite that kind of trust, but make sure you're putting the right amount of value in your product to really benefit your customers in the end. If you can openly share where that value is coming from, maybe it's an amazing entrepreneurial supplier or a qualification you've worked really hard for, your audience will appreciate the transparency and get a better picture of how valuable your product really is.

Refine your marketing
If you're an e-commerce brand, you might face the same challenges as Everlane when trying to prove your trustworthiness from behind a screen. Try documenting what goes on behind the scenes of your business or use social media to provide real-time updates on what's going on, shining the light on the people who make your business possible. The more you share, the less you hide, putting people's minds at ease when they engage with your brand. Use marketing as an opportunity to prove that your brand promises are being delivered.

With digital marketing, time is not your friend. Staying relevant in today's minuscule attention spans means updating marketing content at a breakneck speed. Gone are the days where brands could take the time to craft out eloquent slogans or perfect photos to shape their image. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with the creativity, you can always rely on honesty to communicate real messages that tell your brand story like it is. Social media has the power to be a marketing tool or a documentation tool; from a business perspective, why not both?

On the Internet, there's nowhere to hide
Generation Z now has $44 billion in annual purchasing power, according to the National Retail Federation. This doesn't include the Millennials and Generation X who all now have Google at their fingertips every waking moment of the day. This is all of us. Your target audience is probably one of us. We have the power to research any potential purchase at lightspeed and its the information we discover about a brand that can sway our spending decision.

When your business is transparent about its operations and honest with its brand promises, the consistencies build into a snowball effect of positivity. Customer reviews on Amazon, tagged posts in Instagram, commented replies on Twitter – you want every part of the conversation to cohere with what your brand is promoting. Be honest and be real and your business will benefit from the crystal clear understanding between your brand and your customers.

Everlane is a brand that took e-commerce further. While they began with a focus on costs, they transformed it into a conversation about value, crafting a product line that put ethical values on display. They put consumers' concerns at ease with radical transparency about their operations and gave them a reason to believe – and a reason to buy – Everlane's brand promises.