A Bittersweet Farewell

Hey. 
 
There is no easy way to share this news, so we'll just say it: Seams Better is closing its metaphorical doors.
 
(Brace yourselves... this is a long one. Though, we've never been known for brevity.)
 
It is hard to type those words, and we know that for many, it will be hard to read them, too. 
 
We've known for a while that the business we dreamed up, that so many of you love, isn't a financially viable one. The model doesn't work in the ethical space... which is particularly crushing, because it works for you. Completely unaware of our troubles, many of you have reached out to say how we've totally changed how you shop and you don't know what you'd do if we went away. 
 
What a dream that is. We did what we set out to do. We took the guesswork out of ethical fashion for women all over the US. We made it easier for you to make the right decisions about the clothes you're bringing into your home, because we sent carefully vetted and curated pieces to your doorstep. We've even seen many of you take the knowledge and tools we've shared with you into your lives beyond Seams Better. And we've made some new friends in the process -- for reals! That's the beauty of small business. Even an online business like ours can help to build community.
 
In a way, we won. Then why are we closing?
 
There is a want for this business. We know that with absolute certainty. When we first dreamed up Seams Better, we thought, "this is something we want, so there must be others out there who would want it, too." And y'all, we were right! The number of style quizzes we have received that answered the "How did you hear about us?" question with, "I googled ethical clothing subscription boxes" is truly staggering.
 
But, like many others in the ethical fashion world, we have found that this work has unique challenges.
  • We can't compete with fast fashion margins or prices. Ethical fashion is more expensive to produce because of the nature of the materials used and the fact that every person in the supply chain is paid a living wage. But this means it's more expensive to buy -- both for us and for our customers. To keep retail prices competitive, ethical fashion brands carry a much lower markup than traditional fashion brands.
  • The amount of inventory required to send out our Better Boxes not only costs more than we can recoup with what's kept, but it also goes against one of our core principles, not to overconsume.
  • At the same time, we've been operating with insanely low tech, which has prohibited significant growth, and improving that situation is... laughably beyond our means.
We have seen some of our own brand partners, as well as many other businesses in this industry, struggle (and close) over the past few years.  We ourselves have worked tirelessly at this for over three years without a paycheck. We've searched high and low for a pathway there, but we can't find it... and a business is only sustainable if it sustains the people working it, too.
 
Those are the broad strokes. There are many more nuanced issues at play, and we did not come to this decision lightly. We have explored several possible pivots and we have spoken with knowledgeable business investors. We have lamented and we have shed actual tears. But ultimately, closing our doors feels like the right move at this time.
 
Things you need to know now:
 
1) We are continuing to fulfill Better Boxes through our February 28th Styling Fees (that means anyone who hasn't received their Winter box yet still will).
 
2) If you skipped your Winter box and this announcement has changed your mind about that, now's the time to let us know! We're happy to send you one more Better Box before we go.
 
3) We have lots of inventory from past seasons we need to move out, and we're exploring some really fun ways to do that, so stay tuned!
 
Friends, family, strangers who trusted us to style you from across the country... we are eternally grateful for the opportunity we've had to serve and get to know you all over the past couple of years. You have challenged us in ways we couldn't have even imagined. This was a crazy task. We were crazy for taking it on. But you never looked at us like we were crazy. You trusted us. You believed in us. You celebrated us. And we don't regret it for a second.
 
THANK YOU.
 
We remain... a little better every day,
Logan & Susan