Boma Vintage 1981

February 28, 2020By Suzanne Vetillart

Sustainable Brand Boma Jewelry Focuses on Circular Fashion by Releasing Pieces from its Vintage Archives

Seattle-based sustainable jewelry company celebrates nearly 40 years in business with the release of a Vintage Archive Collection on Friday, February 28

Boma Jewelry, a Seattle-based company founded in 1981, is experiencing a surge in attention with the growing demand from consumers for authentic brands who aren’t shy about transparency. Boma’s renewed interest in its vintage collections in particular is a sign of the times. Nordstrom’s See You Tomorrow and The RealReal are telling examples of how consumers are returning to heritage brands and shopping sustainably as an alternative to fast fashion.

According to reports by Global Fashion Agenda, the amount of waste produced by the fashion industry is set to total 148 million tons by 2030 - a 60% increase from 2015. (Source). Many shoppers are turning to secondhand and vintage items as a way to lessen their environmental impact. In The RealReal’s Luxury Resale Report 2019, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Allison Sommer said “We’re seeing resale shift people’s shopping habits in the primary market. As shoppers get savvier about how they invest and the impact as both a replacement for fast fashion and a barometer of value.”

For Boma, this growth in the brand’s heritage and original production pieces from its archives has brought a unique story to the predictable jewelry industry. Boma’s recent partnership with a local retailer last winter of a curated archive collection demonstrated the power of shopping for rare, one-of-a-kind products with a unique story. The collection quickly sold out.

Boma CEO Suzanne Vetillart predicts that the trend toward circular fashion will continue to grow in 2020 and beyond. According to recent reports by Thredup (Source) the resale market has grown 21 times faster than the overall retail apparel market in the last three years. Boma seeks to relaunch its full vintage collection online this spring with the goal of making archive collections a growing part of the omnichannel strategy. “We see a potential for our vintage archive to become a lasting part of our future growth and a real example of circularity in action,” says Vetillart.

Highlights

Boma is expanding its vintage collection due to growing consumer demand for resale and secondhand items

Boma estimates that its collection of vintage pieces is valued at $1 million and plans to re-circulate those limited-edition pieces as part of its circular fashion initiative.