Ask yourself: is my business being truthful?

WORDS BY CHARLIE GLADSTONE
PHOTOS BY ARRAN CROSS

Late last year I wrote a newsletter for Gladstone / Hellen suggesting that truth is the new luxury, largely because, in business, truth is vanishingly rare.

This was catalysed by the news that, yet again (yet again), Italian authorities have found undocumented Chinese workers making luxury goods in Italy so that those goods can be labelled ‘Made in Italy’. One implication is that employing these workers costs a fraction of that associated with employing properly documented workers. And, as usual, (yet again) those luxury companies that found themselves in the spotlight deflected blame onto someone else.

It is so easy not to be absolutely truthful about what you do, what you sell, and how you operate. I totally understand that. But it is also pretty easy to be truthful, and this should give you a substantial competitive advantage. 

B Corp Certification is an excellent step in the right direction for many companies, not least because it forces those companies to ask themselves awkward questions and then to answer those truthfully. This certification is expensive and time-consuming, so it isn’t for everyone, but it is a step in the right direction for society.

Anyway, I believe that truth is the new luxury because it is rare, and because it gives every interaction, every product, meaning and soul.

On some levels this might sound obvious, but if you have a small business (well, any business, but one you can directly affect), then it’s worth interrogating how truthful you’re being with yourselves and your customers. 

How does this truth manifest itself?

Like this, I think.

First, there needs to be truth in the craft and materials.

This is an abstract place to start, but it is measurable because you can sense it in the same way that you can smell bullshit. 

There is a particular honesty in, say, a basket weaver working with local hazel in her shed. Or a ceramicist using local clay in his hand-built garden kiln. Or indeed, in Britain’s last remaining oak tannery. These are -generally and indeed literally- the people we work with. There’s no smoke here, no mirror. No bullshit. This toil is honest. These products are too.

Second, perhaps, is not making claims that are not true.

Not ‘greenwashing’ would be an example here. ‘Greenwashing’ in business is so common as to be almost normal, but I think that customers can see straight through it. 

Equally, not lying about provenance is important.

It’s common knowledge that many traditional luxury brands lie when it comes to where their goods are made and by whom. I’m at risk of repeating myself here, but in 2024, near Milan, Italian authorities discovered undocumented Chinese workers in factories that worked for certain marquee brands. That puts an interesting spin on ‘Made in Italy’ doesn’t it?

If you say ‘Made in Great Britain’, you absolutely must mean it in the most honest and transparent way. Try to be as truthful as you possibly can about where materials are made. It is not enough to ignore these things.

Then, purpose. 

Purpose is important here. But equally, it is an abstract, ambiguous word, so let me explain. I think that the purpose of our companies is substantially about doing right and not just talking right. 

Deeds not words. I promise you that if we say something is true, then we profoundly believe it is.

Authenticity is currently the most over-used word in branding.

But behind this, there is huge relevance to truth, because as we’re exposed to more and more brands online, a niche is what every small company should be aiming to create. There is absolutely no point in trying to mimic someone else; it never really works. Ergo, if you don’t have a unique point of view, don’t bother.

This sort of authenticity is the ultimate honesty. It’s about being yourself; expressing your own ideas, taste, colour palette, whatever. And for the customer, it’s a luxury because it offers them the opportunity to engage with something unusual and, in a universe crowded with stuff, this is rare and beautiful.

More soon. What do you think?