3 questions for Niki de Schryver from COSH!
Empowering consumers, brands and retailers in cities to shift from a polluting fashion industry to a GREENER, circular and ethical one. This is Niki de Schryver's ambitious mission with COSH!
COSH! – Conscious Shopping Made Easy
In a world where small local sustainable businesses and fashion entrepreneurs are overshadowed by big fashion retailers and their false sustainability claims, COSH! not a “nice-to-have”, but a real “must-have”.
The Online platform used for? COnscious SHopping easy for consumers and creates visibility for local, more sustainable businesses. Regardless of budget and style, COSH! offers inspiration for everyone! More than 25.000 digital users find what they are looking for at COSH! when looking for objectively verified fashion brands. This makes COSH! the largest Belgian fashion tech platform today.
About Niki de Schryver:
Empowering consumers, brands and retailers in cities to shift from a polluting fashion industry to an eco-friendly, circular and ethical one. This is Niki's ambitious but much-needed mission with COSH! Niki knows the fashion industry thanks to her 18 years of experience as a production manager and strategic advisor for European luxury fashion brands such as Bruno Pieters Antwerp and NEHERA Prague. She also worked in omnichannel e-commerce for 10 years. This wealth of experience was the foundation for COSH!
1. What was and is your motivation behind COSH!
My motivation for COSH!, which stands for Conscious Shopping, comes from a deep-rooted belief in the power of conscious consumption. I have always been passionate about sustainability and ethical practices and saw a huge gap in the market for tools to help consumers make conscious choices. COSH! was born out of a desire to fill this gap and provide people with the information they need to shop more sustainably and support brands that have a positive impact on the environment and society. I wanted to empower people to make choices that align with their values, driving collective change towards a more sustainable future.
2. What do you advise our readers: What can you do specifically for a better future?
For a better future, I advise readers to start with small, conscious changes in their daily lives. Start by understanding your consumption habits and their impact. A big help in this is downloading our tool, the Digital Wardrobe App "The Acquired". Start by photographing 10 items in your closet and you will see how quickly you can get excited about the pieces you already have in your closet and digitize the rest of your closet too. The average person only wears 20% of their closet. If you track and monitor the cost per item of clothing in the app, you will soon be wearing 65% of the clothes in your closet.
When something new is needed, choose products that are more sustainable and ethically produced. On COSH! you can easily find local shops near you (and their webshops). There you will find local shops with more sustainable options to suit your own style and budget: new, rented or second-hand clothes, jewellery or gifts. This way you support companies that are transparent about how they work and are committed to sustainability. Also, educate yourself on environmental issues and advocate for policies that promote sustainability. Remember that every little thing counts and that together we can make a big difference.
3. HOW DO TRAVEL AND SUSTAINABILITY GO TOGETHER FOR YOU?
For me, travel and sustainability go hand in hand because I value responsible and mindful travel practices. I want to explore the world while minimizing my carbon footprint. This means choosing more environmentally friendly accommodations, traveling by public transportation, supporting the local economy and local upcycling companies and second-hand shops, and of course respecting the natural habitat.
I also value slow travel, which allows for a deeper connection with destinations and other cultures and reduces the carbon footprint associated with frequent flying. It is important to me to learn about and respect the cultures and environments I visit to ensure that my travels have a positive impact on the places and communities. For me, sustainable travel is about making choices that protect and preserve the beauty of our planet for future generations.
Photos: COSH!
Cecile Meier
Cécile is a freelance author and sustainability strategist. She enjoys traveling to the fullest: getting to know different cultures, listening to other languages and discovering new things either by the sea or in a (big) city always fascinates her. The stories and intentions of the Good Travel hosts are particularly important to her.
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