Yes Friends lands £20,000 from Deborah Meaden for ethical fashion push
What's the deal? Yes FriendsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Bristol-based ethical clothing brand, has raised £20,000 (roughly $26,483) from Dragons' Den investor Deborah MeadenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in an angel round. The deal, which values the company at £1 million, gives Meaden 2% of the business — twice the amount founder Sam Mabley originally asked for.
What does it do? Founded in 2021, Yes Friends sells affordable, ethically made clothing, starting with a £7.99 sustainable T-shirt. It now ranges from underwear to corduroy jackets, using Fair Trade and organic cotton, and is certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
Why now? The raise follows Mabley's appearance on BBC's Dragons' Den earlier this month. Meaden said she was "quickly impressed by both the high quality of the clothing and the impact that Yes Friends has already had."
What's the endgame? Mabley wants to prove ethical clothing can be affordable and profitable, and to bring rivals along with him. "We want to be the brand at the forefront of championing change across the industry and working with other brands to do that as well," he said.
The company already pays a living-wage premium and runs a checkout tipping scheme that lets customers give directly to garment workers. Together, those efforts have raised more than £56,000 for workers to date.
The signal: The investment lands as governments and cities push back on fast fashion. France has restricted fast-fashion advertising, and Bristol City Council this week announced limits on ads for fast fashion, SUVs, cruises, and fossil fuels on council-owned sites — a shift that plays to brands built on lower-impact production.
Read more: positive.news
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
