Founder Portraits: Adila Cokar
September 5th, 2019
Adila Cokar is passionate about responsible supply chains and ethical fashion. She has a few successful apparel businesses under her belt and in 2014 founded Source My Garment Consulting Inc. to help fashion entrepreneurs create responsibly made products. Adila joined the Social Ventures Zone in 2017 and has since then pivoted her business, became Fair Trade Certified, and wrote a book that is about to launch!
How did you come up with the idea for Source my Garment and why did you start it?
Adila: I myself had sew many challenges (pardon my pun), and often felt helpless with the lack of information and people out there to help when I first started. Over the years, more and more people started approaching me for help and so my business steered towards the consulting direction. My mission is to also support smaller, underrepresented factories overseas and connect them with my clients. Clothing is a very laborious form of art and no matter how many units are sold, it is still made by people.
What drove you to apply to the Social Ventures Zone and incubate your business with us?
Adila: I knew my social enterprise was ready for the next step and I stood behind the planet, people, and the need to profit. The Social Ventures Zone has been a great place to be around like-minded social innovators. The connections, learnings, and friendships I’ve made along the way are invaluable.
Tell us about your latest undertaking: The Good Tee. What is it and what gave you the idea to start this initiative?
Adila: The Good Tee (external link) is a relaunch of my 2007 line, Pure BlankZ Organic Fashion–collection of “blank” styles created for clothing companies to print their own designs directly on the products and replace the back neck label with their own brand name. Pure BlankZ was recognized by Apparel Magazine as one of the Top Innovators of the year. The relaunch focuses on The Good Tee being Fair Trade Certified; which solidifies my mission and passion to help farmers who are at risk of poverty. I’m very proud to produce an even better, more sustainable version to help businesses make socially impactful buying decisions.
Your business went through a pivot - can you speak to how your focus changed as you were running your business and some learnings from this experience?
Adila: When I joined the SVZ I was initially working on a platform to help apparel brands streamline their responsible manufacturing process. However I saw that relaunching The Good Tee and writing my book, as well as maintaining Source My Garment as a consulting business would be a better move for me as an entrepreneur. My mission is and has always been about helping other brands and paving the way towards responsible manufacturing.
You just wrote a book! Walk us through the process of deciding to write The Source My Garment Book.
Adila: It really started as a small FAQ document to help my clients better understand the manufacturing process, and help the developers create the platform I was working on before the pivot. I spent almost four years doing this, and soon realized I can put it all together in a comprehensive book that will help my current clients and pass along my knowledge to others as well.
The Source My Garment book is the ultimate step-by-step insider’s guide for entrepreneurs and fashion start-ups to build a thriving, prosperous, and sustainable design business.
What is your favorite part of the Source My Garment Book and the process?
Adila: I didn’t expect the book to be as much of a process as it was. Writing a book is really like creating a work of art. I enjoyed putting together the concept and story, as well as the visuals. I love how it’s a comprehensive book that reads like a story yet is filled with so much useful information. Every brand does things a little differently in terms of manufacturing processes so it was really challenging coming up with a happy medium.
"With The Good Tee, I hope to invite the businesses whose missions revolve around sustainability to practice what they preach, when it comes to purchasing products."
What’s next for you and Source My Garment/The Good Tee?
Adila: It’s time to end the days of the throwaway merch. I want to reach as many businesses as possible and educate them on the environmental and social impact of purchasing apparel. With The Good Tee, I hope to invite the businesses whose missions revolve around sustainability to practice what they preach, when it comes to purchasing products.
