Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
MY SWEDISH CAREER

JOBS

‘Fashion is this big industry that can really do better’

The Local talks to US social entrepreneur Stefanie Smith about transparent fashion and why Sweden's startup scene is about more than just tech.

Published: 25 July 2016 06:59 CEST
'Fashion is this big industry that can really do better'
Social entrepreneur Stefanie Smith. Photo: Elinor Magnusson

It was a combination of her interest in fashion and background studying social science that made Stefanie Smith jump on the offer when a friend asked for her help with a new clothing startup with a twist.

“The idea was to offer customers more transparent clothing for their children. There are a lot of organic and environmentally friendly alternatives around, but not much information about where the clothes actually come from. We hope to close that loophole,” the 28-year-old tells The Local.

Together with Maria Frank and Blerta Deliallisi she founded Pitupi, a slow-fashion children's clothing range which aims to create jobs for disadvantaged women in northern Albania. With Smith living in Lund, southern Sweden, and her co-founders based in Germany, much of the work is done online.

“We focused on Albania because Maria is married to an Albanian and Blerta is Albanian herself, so they had a lot of insight into social issues there and also the fashion industry,” says Smith.

The trio officially opened the digital doors to their webshop last week, after spending the past months selling the clothes from a small boutique in Malmö and via email orders.


Stefanie Smith with some of Pitupi's clothes. Photo: Private

It has been an exciting ride for the American – born and bred in Phoenix, Arizona – who, when she came to Sweden six years ago for university, had no idea she would end up sticking around, let alone add her name to the Nordic country's long list of startup entrepreneurs.

“I came here to do a master's programme at Lund University. I hadn't been to Sweden before and didn't know anyone, but it sounded like a cool adventure. And then, as I'm sure happens to a lot of expats, I met my 'sambo' [a Swedish word for a co-habiting partner]. So school brought me here and I guess love kept me,” she smiles.

Smith and her colleagues managed to set up Pitupi's small-scale clothing factory in a poor region of northern Albania with the help of a crowdfunding campaign, generous international donations and a lot of inspiration from the up-and-coming southern Swedish startup community.

“This is a really good place to start a business. There is understandably a lot of talk about Stockholm, but there's a lot of things going on in Lund and Malmö, incubators, accelerator programmes… you don't even have to go across the Öresund to Copenhagen,” says Smith.

While Swedes are quick to jump on health and eco-conscious trends, social responsibility issues have been comparatively slow to take hold in the world of fashion.

Several internationally famous clothing brands still have the majority of their items sown up inside industrial-size factories run by half-anonymous subsidiaries on the other side of the world. As a consumer, it is often tricky to find out exactly who made your garment and under what conditions they worked.

“Social initiatives are in our fabric in the US, we don't have the same dependency on the state [as in Sweden] so grassroots initiatives have a bigger effect. (…) But people are going past just wanting clean and honest food options to also wanting to know more about what goes into their iPhone, who makes their furniture and so on,” says Smith.

“We're closing all of these loopholes in this big industry that can really do better.”

With Pitupi, she and her co-founders strive to increase this transparency and social responsibility. Not only does it focus on environmental sustainability, but also the social impact of fashion. All items are signed by the seamstress, and customers can then read her story on the website as well as a financial breakdown of the cost of the garment.

“Say you want a hat. You can then click on the specifications to read about everything, including the origin of the material, the labour cost, how much they're making,” explains Smith. “And if customers have more questions they can contact us and we can find out. (…) We can't support the women by ourselves, so we have to listen to the customers.”

The production is based in a northern Albanian village called Krajn and aims to empower women and help them become financially independent, so that they do not fall victim to forced prostitution, domestic violence or other hardships. The long-term goal is to use future revenue to train the seamstresses to take over management of the workshop.


Entela, one of Pitupi's seamstresses. Photo: Pitupi Clothing

Smith says that the response from customers in their focus markets Sweden and Germany, and the US and UK, has so far been positive. And she is confident that the growing interest in transparent slow fashion – as opposed to big business production – will help social entrepreneurs such as herself thrive.

“I sometimes find the focus on tech when people talk about startups frustrating,” she admits.

“It's great, but it's important to remember that it's not just the big IT stuff that's going to have an impact on Sweden – there are a lot of small-scale initiatives that are just as valuable.”

For members

READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

READ ALSO:

Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

SHOW COMMENTS