As we continue to celebrate Women's History Month we would like to bring light to another woman we work closely with, please meet one of our newest partners, Jen Zuklie.
Jen is the founder of The Soondle Society and recent collaboration partner on our "Lightly Loved" initiative. Jen graciously opened up about her business, female role models, and a bit of advice for female entrepreneurs. Read on to learn about the inspiration behind her mission to help parents trade their children's outgrown clothing and shop for items in the right size and season.
Tell us about your business. The Swoondle Society was founded as a way for parents to trade in their children’s outgrown clothing and shop for items in the right size and season. By collecting all the clothes under one roof we made it easy for participants to get the stuff out of their homes and with one order replace them. Instead of a traditional consignment, they receive a token they can trade for something of comparable value – e.g. send in a “Level 3” item - order a Level 3 item – any size, season, gender. Over the past year we have extended our capabilities to support other clothing brands in their desires to be more sustainable and launch their own “take back” and resale programs.
Who is a woman (or women) that inspires you and why? The easiest answer for me, are the women in my family. Sister, mom, grandmothers. Each are very humble and yet tremendous force of intelligence, logic, kindness, odd collection of skills and knowledge + tons of silly giggles. I am incredibly grateful to have them in my life and role models for myself and my daughter!
As a business owner, what advice might you offer to other female entrepreneurs? You may have a great idea, but man there is so much more to running a business than just your idea. Be ready to learn and be humbled daily.
You’re a mom to two little ones, how do you think we can inspire the next generation of young women (and men) to make a positive impact in this world? Modeling behavior and not worrying about “perfection”. Instead show mistakes and how to resolve and overcome them. Demonstrate perseverance and flexibility. Don’t let perfection get in the way of improvement.
Can you talk a bit about Swoondle’s impact and vision as a company? We want to make it easier for parents and brands to engage in circular fashion. Making conscientious shopping choices an easy part of their life. If something takes a lot more effort or cost it won’t be a lasting impact - yet if you make it something that fits into their current lifestyle choosing sustainability is a much easier decision.
What gets you excited about the future of The Swoondle Society? What’s next for your brand? As more customers and brands are realizing the need for “take back” and “resale” programs it’s becoming table stakes. I see a future where Swoondle can power the circularity programs for a consortium of children’s brands. Which would allow consumers to easily shop secondhand and retail with one seamless checkout.
Tell us, what’s your favorite Mightly piece? The sweatsuits are adorable!!