Ok, so this will likely be the only post I ever make on a forum like this but I felt I needed to share my experience discovering, following and subsequently not trusting and unfollowing grace/tala in the last few months.
First time I saw Grace, she came up on my LinkedIn. I read the article about her that was shared and was amazed - an influencer that had tried to use her business acumen for more than merch, but to create a sustainable affordable active wear brand. A girl the same age as me, doing amazing things and making big moves in a hugely male-dominated business world. Inspiring! All I had were feelings of respect and admiration. I sort of forgot about her after that, but followed her on LinkedIn to keep up with her success.
Now, I should explain: I'm VERY into sustainable living. I'm a climate activist, vegan, don't buy brand new clothes apart from ethical small brands kind of girl. I've been working on ethical fashion projects for 6 years. I follow a lot of sustainability influencers, including @sustainablyvegan. She posted about Tala underwear and how great they are for a young company. I remembered who that was made and followed Tala. Initially with plans to make an order as I'd recently started getting really into fitness and was looking for good-quality, sustainable fitness gear I could afford as a broke, renting student. I also followed Grace. This is when it starts to unravel.
Firstly, her insane wealth flaunting bothered me. I wondered how she could be SO wealthy from her businesses/influencing, so did some digging - she comes from some dirty, powerful money. Nothing ethical about how her family got rich. Doing up her house, there was NO focus on "sustainability". She absolutely has the coin to source second hand and be more responsible about her choices. That struck me as odd given the image she tries to portray. Didn't love it. As an older follower, I also felt she has a responsibility to her younger followers to stress that her lifestyle is abnormal and is more of a result of her privileged background than anything else (who does an internship with an investment bank at 16 without some SERIOUS connections - my friend with a 1st class master's degree in international finance can't get one of those because they're SO competitive).
She talks about being vegan, but then posts non-vegan sweets, selfies in her mirror with her non-vegan/cruelty free perfumes etc. in the background. Again, seems like she's suddenly blind to sustainability when it's Chanel she wants. That REALLY bothers me. Privileged white girl using sustainability like it's a disposable trend when the lives of indigenous people are being destroyed by the environmental actions of the companies her and her family are associated with. Green washing gets me SO mad. So at that stage, I unfollowed her as I was sick of her.
Now, TALA. I'll keep this brief. Customer complaints constantly not being addressed, poor quality, "finished" in Portugal (likely made in china, to be finished somewhere you could literally just be putting the tags on), saying bamboo fabric is sustainable (it isn't) and £25 bamboo cutlery. Never answered any of my genuine questions as someone who cares about sustainability and wanted to know more. It's sinister how much they lie/bend the truth/practice green washing. It preys on the good faith of young girls who don't know better and think they're making better choices. Unfollowed them too.
So, there you go. My two month journey through following grace. 0/10, would not do again.
sustainable qween x
