Blue Cast: PoliticallyInFashion Founder Hilary Jochmans on the Intersection of Fashion & Government
Fashion is a serious economic driver, but Hilary Jochmans says it is often overlooked in the broader commerce conversation. In her earlier hometown of New York City, she pointed out that fashion is the second biggest industry.
“A lot of times the notion of fashion gets lost in the the economic scene. You see fashion as fun and flirty, and forget that this is a major business,” said Hilary, the president of Jochmans Consulting LLC, a boutique government affairs practice, during the most recent episode of our Blue Cast podcast. “So I wanted to see how I could marry my two interest—both professionally and personally—in fashion.”
Now based in D.C., Hilary combined her background in politics and interest in fashion to found PoliticallyInFashion, a community that teaches workers in the industry about legislative developments. Launched in 2020, the platform allows businesses of all sizes to engage on this topic.
When it comes to fashion legislation, there’s a lot to keep up with lately. For one, the New York Fashion Sustainability Act was introduced, which if enacted would make companies with over $100 million in revenue that operate in New York disclose their supply chain.
Hilary sees more opportunity for transparent information that is easy for consumers to decipher. “You’re starting to see more and more consumers want to align their values with their spending habits, but they need to have the tools to be able to do that,” she said.
Another of Hilary’s endeavors is advocating for the creation of a fashion czar. Originally introduced as a concept in a Fast Company article by Elizabeth Segran, the idea has gained traction. “The concept is to have a senior adviser who really has the ear of the president, and someone who can look at all the issues impacting the industry, really at sort of the 30,000 foot level, and can see where all the pieces on the chessboard come together,” explained Hilary. This could be everything from labor issues to supply chain problems.
Companies should also keep an eye on the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, which will be reviewed in 2022. These provide a basis for avoiding misleading environmental claims about products.
“If you are a company that is doing the right thing, you want to see the Green Guides be out there and be robust and make sure that…the other people operating in your space are held to the same standards that you hold yourself to, and level the playing field here so that you can have a successful business,” Hilary said.
Listen to the full episode here.
BLUE CAST by TENCEL™, a podcast series created on Carved in Blue by the TENCEL™ denim team sharing in-depth talks to the denim community at large, and the Fashion Impact Fund, a charitable fund supporting women entrepreneurs to accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to an ecosystem that values people and planet, have collaborated on a special edition five-part podcast series named ‘Solutionist’ in honor of Women’s History Month.