Lingerie brands have become social media sensations, but Australian label Forever and a Day has a significant point of difference. Founder, Apryl Yii, is focused on the brand being sustainable. And this is at the forefront of the label’s ethos.

Marketing magazine sat down with Yii to speak about sustainability and whether it’s becoming the latest buzzword.

Forever and a Day founder Apyl Yii.

Marketing: Forever and a Day has really focused on being a sustainable brand, how important is this ethos to you?

Yii: Incredibly! ‘Sustainability’ is thrown around so much these days but it’s so important. It’s become something consumers consider when shopping from brands – to consider the footprint of their purchase on the world. 

The earth and its condition is a reflection of humanity and how we treat it and its negative effects have been more prevalent than ever. It’s important that we learn from industrial mistakes and be very conscious of how our consumerism affects the world. Understandably, it’s not always possible to be 100 percent sustainable in every aspect of your business or shopping practices, but certainly the culmination of small acts on the part of everyone (business and consumer) adds up to big differences. It’s this ethos that I try to apply to my business practices and continue to improve upon from manufacturing and eventually to shipping. 

It’s become something consumers consider when shopping from brands – to consider the footprint of their purchase on the world.

One of the things that can alienate sustainability is an increased price point, do you see this tide changing as sustainability becomes more spoken about importance?

Absolutely, I think the demand for sustainable practices and an increased conscientiousness makes it difficult to ignore when something is priced at a fast fashion price. Customers are challenged to shop slower and think harder about the things they buy. Of course, we all want things cheaper and more accessible, but brands being transparent about how sustainable (and ethical) processes makes it easier to see the value of the goods. 

It has a chain reaction – as the more educated consumers become, the easier it is for other brands to follow suit. 

Do you see brands ‘green-washing’ and ticking a box of doing the bare minimum for sustainability in order to get positive press coverage?

There definitely is an aspect to that nowadays for most brands, especially really established brands that need to keep up with current demands. It’s great that brands recognise sustainability is now an important aspect of ethical business practices but the danger is unsubstantiated claims and the lack of motivation to improve their sustainability model to get closer and closer to zero environmental impact. 

I also think that more credit should also be given to consumers who are actually starting to ask more questions and demanding proof of brands sustainability practices and how that aligns with their personal ethos. So with these things hand in hand, I think it’s a lot harder to just skim the bare minimum now. 

When marketing, is pushing that sustainability piece very important for you and your brand’s recognition?

To some degree. As I mentioned before, sustainability is an aspect to business that all brands will have to address to some degree. I don’t think it should be heroic, it’s the same world we all live in and therefore should be trying to play our part. If a consumer were to look at our business, I’d want them to find the information and show them that Forever and a Day is doing their part to contribute to a more sustainable future. 

What has been your marketing strategy so far, as it’s only launched in the last few years – do you primarily focus on digital and social media?

The marketing is primarily focussed on digital and social media through influencers and paid advertising on Facebook, Google and most recently, TikTok.