JC Report launches, plus a call for more responsible fashion

I’m delighted to announce the launch of JC Report’s new web site.

I’ve been an avid reader of the JC Report since its launch in ‘02 and jumped at the opportunity last fall to work with the company’s founder on strategy, marketing and financial matters.

Six months later, after intense collaboration with a fantastic team of staff and advisers, it’s exciting to see a number of exciting new growth initiatives come to life, starting with the new web site.

JC Report’s mission is to become the most sought-after service and community offering filtered global fashion and style intelligence and connections to discerning readers worldwide.

I always find it inspiring to see mavericks with lean resources like JC Report tackle big incumbents like Conde Nast and Fairchild - the free market at its finest. (There’s also nothing like a horde of well-heeled, powerful competitors to up the ante on strong vision development, planning, alignment and execution.)

As an aside, I must say here that I often wonder about the role that fashion and style play in our lives…

On the one hand, I appreciate the creativity, design, excitement, allure, power and sense of identity attendant to fashion and style.

On the other hand, fashion and style - and the marketing machines behind them - clearly fuel our hyper-consumptive culture - e.g. fast fashion, must-have items, that’s so last season.

Fashion companies have also historically been laggards when it comes to sustainable business practices, with some notable exceptions (some of which we’ll feature here soon).

My hope is that JC Report and other influential fashion players - media, retailers and brands - will assume leadership roles to help foster a more responsible, sustainable fashion and style ethos, one that helps wean the Western world off the manufactured “need” to buy, buy, buy.

Perhaps the greatest cause for optimism comes from today’s younger consumers, who increasingly expect brands, media included, to demonstrate sound environmental stewardship.

News Flash: Indie Breakfast Club’s tagline, which changes like the wind, is now “seeking fulfillment and positive change through entrepreneurship”.