In Conversation With | Tomorrow's Tribe Founder Antonia Brown
I'm excited to announce Saywood has partnered with Tomorrow's Tribe, a community for planet lovers united by the desire to rewrite the narrative of the fashion industry. They exist to help you discover amazing responsible and sustainable brands, like Saywood, by partnering exclusively with brands that share their vision of transparency, community, and innovation.
Tomorrow's Tribe is an online space where you can shop, learn and discover. And it is a joy to share with you that Saywood is now available on their platform, because I think you will love them too.
I sat down with Tomorrow's Tribe founder Antonia Brown to find out more about why she founded Tomorrow's Tribe, her journey to get here and what sustainability, and especially sustainable fashion, means to her.
What is the concept behind Tomorrow’s Tribe and tell us how you came up with the name?
Naming a business is such a difficult thing, I remember someone saying to me ‘whatever you pick you will come to hate anyway’ and I thought ‘great!’ For me I knew the name needed to convey a sense of a community co-creating a more sustainable future. Then one day I was writing down some options and Tomorrow’s Tribe stuck. Luckily, I still love the name!
Pictured below: Antonia Brown, Tomorrow's Tribe founder
What was your personal why behind launching Tomorrow’s Tribe?
Tomorrow's Tribe is not just about clothes; it's an expression of self and a testament to the power of conscious consumerism. When we step out into the world, we always send a message and why not make it a positive one?
That’s really all Tomorrow’s Tribe is about; having one place you can go to where you know all the brands you see have responsibility and sustainability woven into their every choice. Shopping as it can be really overwhelming and you never quite know, especially when shopping online, what the quality will be or where its coming from, so I wanted to bring peace of mind to shopping.
Tell us more about your background and journey to get here?
The idea for Tomorrow’s Tribe came to me whilst studying a masters in Sustainability. I was looking around at all my friends doing ASOS and Zara hauls and I thought why is that? The reality is we don’t have much choice and so we end up shopping at a few select retailers, Tomorrow’s Tribe is about bringing you a different shopping experience. One where you can Shop by your Values and dress more authentically to you.
I started the brand after my masters whilst working alongside my full time job in financial services. I won’t say it’s an easy task, at points you question why am I giving so much time to this? It can feel quite an alienating process, but then something small but great will happen and it propels you on. Tomorrow’s Tribe is very much at the start of its journey but I’ve absolutely loved meeting fantastic brands and I feel very positive about what’s to come.
What do you hope to achieve with Tomorrow’s Tribe; the long term mission?
Tomorrow’s Tribe is as much about supporting independent brands from talented creatives all around the world, as it is about helping our customers discover investment pieces. What we are talking about here is community and this is our focus at Tomorrow’s Tribe. We are creating a place where people get to know the stories behind their clothes.
You have a beautifully curated platform. What is it that you look for in your brand partners?
Shopping can be really difficult. We are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of content everyday and this does not stop when we go to shop. Shopping on Tomorrow’s Tribe should feel like taking a deep breath so we go for quality not quantity. We carefully select the brands and the products we know our community will love. Too much choice is overwhelming and so this approach means finding the special birthday gift, or that perfect wedding outfit is easy.
We’d love to know more about your personal style… What do you see as your own style, what are your favourite pieces to wear and why?
Developing a strong sense of style is one way to curate a more responsible wardrobe because it means you don’t fall so easily into the trend trap… easier said than done. My style changes almost daily based on my mood from colourful, bold prints and cuts to more muted tones and traditional silhouettes. However what unites my style each day is that they are comfy. What I’ve learnt over the years is that I absolutely hate feeling uncomfortable, so if I try on a new piece of clothing and it doesn’t instantly feel great I have to remind myself it will never get worn. To me comfy is not mutually exclusive with hoodies and jeans, instead no matter what the item is first and foremost it must be comfortable to hold a hallowed place in my wardrobe.
My best investment piece are:
- Moschino black blazer, borrowed (on a permanent basis) from my mum
- Mulberry Piccadilly bag in chowder blue, bought from their sample sale in 2017
- Monki boyfriend jeans, bought for £3 at Dalston car boot
Sustainability and ethics are clearly central to Tomorrow’s Tribe. What does sustainability mean to you and what do you look for in the brands and products you curate for your customers?
When building Tomorrow’s Tribe, establishing our framework for partnering with brands was the most important part. We want consumers to be able to know what positive impact their purchases have. We have 5 categories we rate brands on before agreeing to partner with them:
- People
- Planet
- Animals
- Business Model
- Ambition
Each partner then must meet a minimum threshold of 65% to partner with us. You can read more about how we measure our impact here: https://tomorrowstribe.co/pages/about-us
What are your non-negotiables when it comes to caring for the planet and the people who make our clothes?
All brand partners must demonstrate their commitment to limited production, using high-quality and environmentally-supportive fabrics e.g. organic cotton, lyocell, deadstock, and finally they need to demonstrate how they support the talented workers in their supply chains.
Pictured: Saywood's Lela Colourblock Shirt in pastel green and blue
How do you hope the fashion industry will evolve in the next ten years?
It’s tough to take stock of where the fashion industry is because whilst we see an uptick in conscious consumerism we also see fast fashion getting faster. My hope would be that this diversion narrows and we all start swimming in the same direction.
I do however believe that herd mentality can be a beautiful thing, and if mobilised for a more sustainable fashion industry this could be a powerful thing. I remain positive that consumers will grow bored of wearing the same thing as everyone else on the highstreet or on the tube or on their instagram feeds, and instead opt for more unique brands like those on Tomorrow’s Tribe.
What is your one tip for sustainable living that you could share to help others along their journey?
The sustainable living movement can be didactic and make it seem like there is one way to ‘get it right’. At the end of the day we are all unlearning and relearning habits, so experiment with small changes and find a new flow that is accessible for you. After all, small changes that you can consistently make will be more sustainable than large changes you can’t commit to. Whether it’s swapping Tesco for the farmers market one Saturday a month, or heading to Tomorrow’s Tribe to support brands like Saywood next time you feel like indulging.
If this helped you please share it with a friend of sign up here to join Tomorrow’s Tribe’s community https://tomorrowstribe.co/pages/contact
