There are inherent contradictions in any fashion brand trying to apply degrowth, she says. Early Majority is trying to get around this with heavy emphasis on its membership model. Lifetime membership is currently set at $358, which references the Fibonacci sequence, and the difference between member and non-member prices reflects the golden ratio, two mathematical sequences that occur in nature.
For members, products are priced at $196 to $930, which Howard says is “straight down the middle” for technical performance outerwear. Non-member pricing is more “luxury”, in line with Moncler or Arc’teryx. “It’s so expensive to make technical outerwear ethically, but we will never make cheap clothes. We want to make things that last, so our products all come with a lifetime guarantee, with free repairs.”
At launch, membership benefits include a member badge, newsletter content, early access to products, reduced prices, exclusives and a voice in product creation. Over time, these benefits will expand to include events, such as self-defence and direct action training, as well as product swaps, pre-orders, group buys and made-to-measure garments. “We can’t bank on those programmes just yet, because people need to love the product first, but it’s in our long-term plan,” says Howard.
The goal is to make membership so successful that non-member sales are closed completely. In its first month, membership accounted for 24 per cent of revenues, largely owing to the thousands of newsletter subscribers Howard has built up since early 2021. She says the brand will be successful in its degrowth mission when membership fees outweigh product sales in terms of revenue. “It’s always so much more satisfying to educate than to promote,” says Howard. “The challenge is how we grow and generate a return when our model is based on degrowth.”
Community has been central to this strategy, starting with a newsletter, Tools for Leaning Out. The brand will continue to publish content around the three pillars of activism, adventure and company development.
