We were lucky to catch up with Kaylin Balderrama recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kaylin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I first became passionate about sustainable fashion, I did a lot of research into the fast fashion business model as it is one of the most impactful parts of the fashion industry on the environment. As I researched why this business model is so successful I found that it plays off of peoples insecurities and desires to dress like everyone else. When a fashion trend becomes popular, fast fashion companies pick up on it quickly and sell mass amounts of clothing to consumers while they are “in” or “trendy”. After I made the decision to create a sustainable fashion brand, I had to think about what I wanted the brand to stand for, and also what I wanted it to stand against. I wanted to incorporate the trendiness that fast fashion sells but play off of it to show that no matter what trend a brand is selling- the coolest thing to care about is the impact the brand has on the planet. I originally came up with “It’s Cool to Care about your Impact” but for a brand name this is way too long so I shortened it to “Cool to Care”.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Kaylin Balderrama and I am the founder of a sustainable fashion brand called Cool to Care. Cool to Care has 100% recycled gear, that is screen printed using eco-friendly screen printing methods and shipped in compostable containers. We have t-shirts, tote bags, water bottles and sweatshirts.

One year I went home for Christmas and I was wearing a scarf. I looked at the tag to see what the brand was and saw “100% Polyester”. I asked my uncle what kind of cotton this was and he laughed and said “you know that’s plastic right”. I was absolutely shocked that this scarf I was wearing was made out of plastic. I didn’t even know plastic could be turned into a piece of cloth. The next day I started to look through my clothes and saw that a majority of them were made out of polyester, which inspired me to start reading and learning about the fashion industry including the materials, where our clothes are made and how they are made. I was in shock by the insane environmental impact the fashion industry had on the environment. Not only is polyester plastic but the fashion industry wastes mass amounts of water, uses sweat shops in developing countries, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and psychologically mess with our heads- making us consume like crazy. I also learned about greenwashing and how many brands were pretending to be eco-friendly when they were not. It was then that I made the decision that I was going to start my own clothing brand that was truly environmentally- friendly.

The biggest problem I would like to solve with Cool to Care is the lack of education there is out there on sustainable fashion. Sometimes when I tell people I own an eco-friendly clothing brand they are confused as to why there even needs to be a clothing company that is eco-friendly. When working on the designs for my gear I wanted to make sure they made a statement about slow fashion or the environment so that they would start a conversation. I also wanted to make sure my brand was very accessible to all sizes and genders.

I think Cool to Care is different from other brands because we are committed to being eco-friendly. While I was sourcing the material for my brand I had many opportunities to take short cuts that would have been cheaper and more convenient. Even though making sure my brand is truly reducing its impact is more work, it’s worth it. I will say it’s very easy to start your own clothing brand- but it’s whether or not you do it the easy way or the right way that will matter in the long run.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

A huge part of Cool to Care that I knew I wanted to focus on was creating a community around the brand. When I first launched the brand I had a Brand Launch at a local coffee shop in Austin to show that Cool to Care supports local businesses. After this I started hosting monthly clothing swaps in the Austin area where people can come and bring old clothes they no longer wear for other people to take. If as a brand your only intention is to sell goods, this is obvious to consumers. Although it would be amazing if people came to these events and purchased something from Cool to Care after, that’s not the reason I hold those events. Creating that community and trust around your brand will help your reputation in the market and will make selling your goods much more authentic.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

When I first started I didn’t utilize TikTok but now it is my best source for new clients. TikTok is great because your can post videos that are educational as well as promotional. I love using TikTok to talk about why sustainable fashion is important in the first place and educate people on why brands like Cool to care are important. It’s also a great visual tool to post videos of your gear that isn’t just a picture on Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cooltocare.online/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_cooltocare/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cooltocareclothing