OUTLAND DENIM SEES PROGRESS IN CROWDFUNDING EQUITY CAMPAIGN
Outland Denim has announced through its equity crowdfunding campaign, that it has raised 1.32 million Australian dollars and welcomed 1012 new investors from around the world. Amidst COVID-19, the brand achieved the fastest equity crowd raise on Australia’s best performing platform Birchal.
The majority of Outland Denim’s new investors are aged 40 or younger. Approximately 63 percent of investors are female, and 42 percent of investors reside in Queensland, Australia.
“We are so humbled by the support this campaign has received amidst the personal and professional challenges we are all facing due to COVID-19,” said James Bartle, founding CEO of Outland Denim. “I cannot thank everyone enough, who has backed this brand and become a part of the Outland Denim family.”
The campaign offered the public the opportunity to become a part-owner in the Australian-owned Certified B corporation for as little as 250 Australian dollars. Eighty percent of investors invested $1,000 or less. Equity crowdfunding follows a similar process to conventional crowdfunding; however, contributors receive shares as ownership in the company, opening investment opportunities for non-traditional unaccredited consumers.
The raise will expand Outland Denim’s sales and marketing efforts as well as introduce third party production capabilities under the operating name ‘Maeka’. Global fashion label Karen Walker is the first to begin working with Maeka, with product already in development.
Investors of Outland Denim bought into more than just a denim brand – Outland Denim is known as the world’s most humanitarian and sustainable denim brand. Outland Denim jeans are proudly crafted in the label’s stand-alone production and finishing facilities in Cambodia, which offers holistic support, training and employment to young women who have experienced exploitation, human trafficking and other human rights violations. The company provides a living wage, education, and other benefits for its staff, and each of its seamstresses are trained across all aspects of garment making.
In late 2019, Outland Denim opened its first stand-alone Wash and Finishing Facility equipped with state-of-the-art water and energy reducing technology, allowing the brand to have greater control over its environmental impact while pursuing their social mission and further becoming a leader in the sustainable denim space.
Outland Denim has been worn by some of the most influential individuals in the world including Meghan Markle, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Mulroney, Eric McCormack, and more.
So satisfied I decided to be a part of this initiative. Four years living in Cambodia taught me the width & depth of the opportunity this company is providing to women who the rest of the country either exploit or turn their back on. The give & receive of social impact investing puts the monetary objectives as secondary behind the ability to improve oneself in life, whether as an exploited girl removed from the street, or as a wee shareholder stakeholder wearing the resulting feel good product. When the $ returns comes – that decision will have reached its peak.