Is a business making any money from a $340 dress?
A clothing business owner has shared a break-down of the cost of making a garment to encourage transparency in the fashion industry.
Sera Choat owns My Keeper, with a collection of 1970s-inspired garments made from nostalgic fabrics. She designs and makes all of her own rental garments, rental kits, made-to-order garments, sewing patterns and fabric.
‘‘The majority of the fabrics are designed by me and printed on to natural fibres.’’
But with inflation rising, and the cost of running the business increasing since she started it eight years ago, she decided to share with her Instagram audience the cost of making one dress, as people opted for cheaper clothing.
Most of her garments sell for about the same price and use similar amounts of fabric.
She broke down the cost of the Milo Dress, which has a recommended retail price of $340. The cost of 4 metres of fabric is $120, her labour $10 for cut time and $90 for three hours of sewing, and $4 for the cotton, add GST and the total cost for the dress is $257.60, making a profit of $82.40
But then there are hidden costs. ‘‘Costs which people don’t often consider: rent, power, internet, website costs, paying outside providers such as Afterpay and Laybuy, tax, administration, petrol, accountant fees,’’ she said.
Choat, who lives in Auckland, hoped sharing the cost breakdown provided more transparency to her customers, and gave people a better understanding and appreciation of why small boutique stores were a bit more pricey.
‘‘Fast fashion is offered at absurdly low prices and this has become the norm,’’ she said.
‘‘Understandably, some people can only afford to shop for fast fashion, and I completely understand, especially with the inflation going on currently.’’
But she wanted to encourage consumers who were able to afford a more expensive piece of ethical fashion to do so.
‘‘For me, it is about encouraging people who are able to afford ethical fashion but choose not to.’’