Interviewee:
Melissa Woods (she/her)
In your own words, tell us about your business, organization, or initiative.
I started Trued Apparel as a creative side-project in 2019. I’ve loved fashion all my life, and one day I decided that I would do whatever it takes to be able to get a slow fashion line off the ground. I wanted to create garments that were comfortable to wear and live in day-to-day, but provide just enough of a look to stand out — subtly. In my case, with my design sense, this meant lots of edgy, bold yet minimalistic pieces, mostly in black fabric. Five years later I’m happy to say that I’ve built a community of enthusiasts and repeat buyers that keep Trued Apparel going.
Tell us a bit about you and why you do what you do. Share your passions for your business, organization, or initiative.
At its core, I do this because I love creating things that become a part of the larger world; that become a part of someone else’s life. Clothing is an especially physical and embodied example, and one with expressive potential which can shift a person’s self-image. My day job is in user experience, which comes from the same idea of creating something to be worn in by other users — and is incomplete without them.
What is the last thing you read, watched, or listened to that had an impact on you?
Hypernormalization, a documentary by Adam Curtis about the origins of our current global power structure. Everyone should watch it (it’s free on Youtube) — but it has nothing to do with fashion! If you want to learn about the wastefulness of the fashion industry though, watch The True Cost.
What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you or your business?
Trued Apparel wasn’t conceived as a sustainable brand at first. I’ve never been a climate activist, or particularly engaged with climate concerns. It was only while starting Trued and making garments at scale that I wanted to be sure I wasn’t leaving a trail of plastic behind. This thinking has woken me up to climate discourse and the problems of consumer culture as extreme weather events have gotten worse and more frequent. There are contradictions in being in goods manufacturing while knowing we need to reduce our consumption overall, but my hope is to create garments that are well-loved, last a long time, and give you that special feeling when you wear them… I think about this a lot.
What is Creative Collective?
Creative Collective is a group of economic development strategists, small business supporters, activation specialists, and believers in the importance of the creative workforce. We foster growth, sustainability, and scalability for small businesses, creative thinkers, organizations, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Learn more and join Creative Collective at www.creativecollectivema.com/join
