Crowdfunding empowers a denim dream for Outland

Despite the challenges of Covid, the ethical denim brand Outland managed to almost double its growth last year, attracting new investors.

James and Erica Bartle at their Outland Denim office in Mt Tambourine: ‘Denim wasn’t a category that was really flying off the shelves during Covid.’ Picture: Luke Marsden

Talk about timing. For the second time in as many years, Outland Denim has conducted a crowdfunding campaign as Covid-19 wreaked havoc around the country.

“Last year the lockdown fell upon us right as we were launching, quite similar to this time,” founder James Bartle says.

But it appears that, like last year, grassroots investors are still happy to invest in the company that is based on ethics and sustainability, and works to keep women in Cambodia out of the human trafficking cycle.

The second round resulted in similar results to the first, and just shy of Bartle’s hopes for the campaign. A total of 890 investors took up the offer, raising $898,000; 95 per cent of investors are Australian residents.

Just over half were women, and 65 per cent invested less than $1000.

Outland Denim ready-to-wear February 2021.

Like many fashion brands, Outland faced a number of challenges when the pandemic hit, including a six-month closure of its Cambodian facility, and the loss of its global department store accounts.

The brand quickly invested in its digital strategy and infrastructure, switched to a largely direct-to-consumer model, and managed overall growth of 92 per cent.

Bartle believes that this has helped with the second round of investing.

“We’ve had 12 months of proving to our investors that we can deliver, and also that we didn’t go under during Covid,” he says.

“Denim wasn’t a category that was really flying off the shelves during Covid,” he adds with a laugh.

“And because we communicated (those updates) monthly to our investors, I believe that’s gone out to the market and that’s what’s giving investors confidence in us now. There’s always interest from venture capital and private equity in investment, but nothing can compare with what you get from having 900 investors becoming your customers, becoming your advocates.”

The first round of investment in 2020 raised $1.32m from 1000 investors.

“I really believe this brings in people from all walks of life that are genuine about wanting to have impact with their investment dollars.

“So yes, you’re investing because you want a financial return on this, but you also want to be able to make investments that align with your own moral compass. I believe that’s the biggest thing that gives us the cut-through.”

Bartle says the company will potentially look at a third and final round of funding, either via crowdfunding or private equity.

The denim label was launched in 2016, purportedly to train, employ and empower women in Cambodia, to keep them out of human and sex trafficking.

Meghan Markle wore a pair of the jeans on the Australian tour with Prince Harry in 2016, resulting in global recognition and sell-outs for the brand.

The facility in Cambodia is now producing denim pieces for other brands, currently for New Zealand’s Karen Walker and Byron Bay’s Spell, and the company is in talks with other brands that align with its ethical credentials.

Outland also expanded its offering into ready-to-wear pieces earlier this year.