In the mid-2000s, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing someone carrying a Feed tote bag. The reusable tote bag, made of burlap and stamped with “FEED THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD,” swept the fashion world which was just becoming familiar with charitable-focused brands. Flash forward 15 years, and Feed is now a registered B-Corp brand that has provided over 126 million school meals to children in need. Alongside Toms shoes, Feed was an early brand to make a name for itself through a charitable initiative. While Toms gives away one pair of shoes to someone in need for every purchase made, Feed instead donates a fixed amount of money from each product sold, which is built into the cost of the product. For example, a purchase of the Feed 10 Bag helps provide 10 school meals for children in need. Feed works with two giving partners: the U.N. World Food Programme for global giving and No Kid Hungry for U.S. domestic giving. The dollar amount is donated by Feed to one or both of its giving partners, which then allocate and distribute meals through their network of governments, schools and relief workers around the globe. “Our brand, products and business model have evolved with the times and consumer demand, but the mission hasn't changed,” said Lauren Bush Lauren, co-founder and CEO of Feed. Over the years, Feed has expanded its assortment beyond its iconic tote bags to include home goods items like aprons and mugs, as well as wallets and crossbody bags. It has had partnerships in the past with beauty brand Clarins and also Ralph Lauren, via a capsule collection. In addition, it sold through Whole Foods and Target in its early years. Glossy Podcast host Jill Manoff spoke with Bush Lauren about the ins and outs of Feed, including what role wholesale plays, how the company has focused on sustainability and whether the so-called rise of the conscious consumer has worked to the company's advantage.

Ten years ago, despite a lack of fashion experience, Janessa Leoné launched her L.A.-based namesake fashion brand best known for “cool girl” hats. In the years since, after admittedly leaning heavily on Google to learn the ins and outs of running a fashion business, she’s grown the brand sustainably and without outside investment. It’s earned celeb fans including Meghan Markle and Taylor Swift and, as of 2021, it has a store in Los Angeles.  “I started this [brand] quite blindly; I didn’t have a business plan or go out with this extraordinary intentionality,” Leoné said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “If I did, I might not have done it, because I didn't realize what was actually required.”  Leoné owed the brand’s success to its authenticity and slow, organic growth. Its birth at the start of the Instagram era, as well as its early fans in the fashion industry, worked to get it off the ground. More recently, Leoné has worked out some kinks in-house to ensure the brand’s growth trajectory.  “I used Covid to pause and assess and analyze what was working and what wasn’t working,” she said. “There were a lot of broken systems within the business, plus unsustainable ways that I was trying to show up in this business and that I was expecting other people to show up. And so we went through a metamorphosis… I hired a contract COO to help me problem-solve and look at the org chart, and say, 'What roles are we missing?' We now have extraordinary subject matter experts, and it feels like this massive machine that is growing.”