By Sesa Graham
Marshall Conley is the co-founder of slø, a sustainable fashion company that’s vision is to give the world equitable, functional, and fitting fashion sustainably. Conley also works as the Chief Marketing Officer for slø.
He has lived in Michigan for most of his life and attended Caro High School later to attend Eastern Michigan University for finance and marketing.
Growing up in the Great Lakes State, Conley remembers a time from his youth when the roads were littered with trash, the rivers and beaches that he once swam at posted notices of contamination, the Flint water crisis, and the drastic climate changes occurring worldwide lead to his interest in sustainability.
He shared insight on how “The Fast Fashion” industry accounts for 10% of overall carbon emissions and leaves 85% of everything they produce in landfills. The message that he wants to send Fash Fashion is that it doesn’t need to be this way.
Sustainability is a unique topic because not many people know what it means to be sustainable, especially in fashion. After all, not many companies offer it.
Because of industrial negligence, it is now up to all of us to develop sustainable practices to clean up fast fashion’s mess. slø wants to prove to fast fashion that profitability, affordability, and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive and that they too can change their ways while adopting a climate-positive business model.
When reflecting on the goals that Conley has for his company, he said, “We’re on track to becoming one of the biggest breakout fashion brands since Spanx in 1999. If achieved, I think then Big Fashion will see the power of listening to their community and adopting the zero waste model that we’ve created.”
He finds passion behind slø’s mission, which helps keep him motivated every day. slø created a product that people have wanted for a long time. Women have wanted a consistent sizing system that works for us all, bigger pockets, reinforced thighs, and belt loops.
Members of LGBTQIA+ have been forced to shop in clothing sections labeled ways they don’t identify with, and people have been made to feel as if their bodies are weird because stores don’t carry their fit.
“I see all these people gathering in our comment sections rallying behind this project, and it’s really beautiful,” Conley said.
He began building slø shortly after joining a company called MNTN Co., a sustainable clothing company making shirts in an effort to help build an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, founded by his now partner, Kristian Hansen. They realized they weren’t solving enough of a problem when Hansen recalled a TikTok he made after accidentally thrifting women’s jeans, only to discover an absent pocket, went viral.
Conley noted that balancing life and the startup can be more challenging than one would think. “It’s a lot of early mornings, late nights, working all weekend, being away from friends and family, putting out fires and pivoting, but we do it because we want to, not because we have to,” he said.
Small-town dreams can become your reality, don’t give up.
Sustainability helps balance the health of the ecosystem while striving for a better future for generations to come. A greener world is a better world.
“I’ve often said that starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down.” -Reid Hoffman, Founder of Linkedin
