Welsh clothing and lifestyle brand TOAST, which has had “great success in the UK” and is looking to replicate it responsibly in the US, has stressed “overproduction has to be the focus”.
Following the news that 99 per cent of its 2025 clothing collections were made from solely natural fibres, Rosie McKissock, TOAST’s brand director, explains that responsible operations and business growth can go hand in hand.
“TOAST demonstrates a different way to shop, guided by mindful consumption, better choices, and greater longevity,” she says. “It isn’t about persuading people to buy more things, but steering consumers towards products that will last and were made with consideration of their broader social and environmental impact.”
The brand’s responsible approach to fashion can be seen across its digital and in-store operations. She uses its Ship From Store offering as an example. This gives customers access to more of the products they want, while “ensuring the most effective use of stock”.
Additionally, by digitising its programme of circular initiatives the brand now have a deeper understanding of customer behaviour. This has empowered it to “evolve and tailor our services”.
“We are focused on driving brand loyalty while expanding our customer base, ultimately extending the lifecycle of more products,” she notes.
Growing responsibly
As TOAST looks to international expansion, targeting the US, McKissock recognises the importance of collaboration.
“While certain elements are solely in our control, when it comes to logistics and charity partnerships we also seek to work closely with partners who share our values. There is always a challenge in doing that due diligence to identify the right ones,” she explains.
Group effort
A sense of community is increasingly important when trying to clean up the fashion industry, and help shoppers make responsible choices.
“For many retailers, there’s understandable hesitance to invest in initiatives that don’t offer immediate commercial return,” notes McKissock. “However, the value of our services enhances the value of our products and therefore our community’s experience of the brand. The reward is longer-term loyalty and affinity – but also, we hope, a reduced social and environmental impact.”
She does understand that some ideas will be a challenge to justify commercially, especially in such a competitive market: “At times, it is essentially a speculative investment, driven by our belief that if it matters to us it will matter to our customers.”
An “industry-wide shift” is needed with the sector working together to “normalise” such initiatives.
“It might be an obstacle from a USP perspective if these services become more widely available, but the 
reality is that we need change at scale and on that basis, we see value in setting an example for the industry,” she adds.
Additionally, a holistic view of the whole supply chain is needed. McKissock says: “It’s easy to focus on the tangible aspects of what we do, like TOAST Circle, but those things are only important if we’re also supporting our suppliers and managing our manufacturing base responsibly, for example.”
She adds that TOAST acknowledges that “the job is never truly done” and it needs to work and reflect each year to “incrementally improve business over time”.
McKissock concluded: “As a society, we produce too many things and don’t use them for long enough. Fewer things, made better, should be the overarching goal.”
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