How to Pitch Your Ethical Fashion Brand to Ash & Rose

If you're the owner or designer of an ethical and sustainable fashion brand, and you're looking to sell your collection wholesale to Ash & Rose (or another boutique like ours), read on!

We accept new brand pitches via email at info@ashandrose.com.

If you're a start-up brand, here are 10 things to keep in mind before you send your pitch:

1. Just like you, we're a small business too (our buying "team" is mostly one person). Each week a few dozen new brands reach out to pitch their collections. Most follow-up with a series of emails, so we're talking many thousands of cold pitch emails hitting our inbox each year. We do read everything but unfortunately can't respond to everyone.

2. If you're reading this, then you probably already know our basic philosophy behind ethics and sustainability. If you're not familiar, then please read our Impact Guide to learn more about our mission. We don't expect perfection, but if your brand doesn't match our ethics we won't respond to your pitch.

3. Don't assume that just because your brand is ethical or mission-driven, it's a great fit for our shop and our customers. Take a look at the products we're already selling, and pay careful attention to our aesthetic (think creative-chic) and our price range (we may LOVE your high-end luxury goods, but that's not what we sell).

4. We don't work with brand new brands. We believe you need at least 3-5 seasons to test your collection (think Etsy, craft fairs, trunk shows), get feedback and refine your product. Starting a new brand is hard work, but you'll get better every season and eventually produce a strong collection of boutique-ready best-sellers!

5. Make it as easy as possible for us to buy from you. It's best if you have online ordering available, either through your own website or an online wholesale portal (we really like faire.com right now). Or, let us email you a list of things we want to buy and you take care of the paperwork.

6. Don't tell us your entire life story in your first pitch email. We want to see some pictures, get an idea of your prices, and get the 1-2 sentence version of your mission. You should always attach your linesheet to your first email - don't make us follow-up just to see your products and prices.

7. Speaking of the linesheet...make sure it's really easy for us to access! Host it online (a popular choice is issuu.com) or send a PDF. Don't send files that are too huge to download, or unusual file types that are hard to open. Keep the linesheet itself simple, and make sure it shows ALL the pertinent information about each product, including price and materials along with clear images.

8. If you're in the Boston area, or you have a rep that can visit us in person, that's great. If you want to send a sample for us to evaluate, that's great too. Please do not bring your collection to the shop without making an appointment, or send an unsolicited sample in the mail (this will NOT improve your chance of getting bought). It's always best to email first. 

9. We don't regularly travel to attend trade shows right now (our buyer has two babies under age two), but we've found lots of our current brands at NEAC, NY NOW, and the UBM shows in New York City. We have no plans to travel beyond the Boston and NYC areas for trade shows.

10. Be patient. Even if we adore your brand, it can take 6 months or a year for us to actually place an order. We're a small shop with a small budget and we move slowly. If we don't place an order right away, do keep sending updates about your amazing new products. We'll read everything and eventually might place an order!

Ready to pitch? Introduce yourself and send your linesheet to info@ashandrose.com.