Pajama Entrepreneur

Touch2Give is a company launched by Claire Chung, an Asian-American entrepreneur based in Lisbon, Portugal, whose mission is to create a portal for independent designers of luxury goods to sell and promote their products. The Touch2Give shopping site launched in December 2009. According to Claire, the “new luxury” is not based on price alone, but on the quality and uniqueness of the goods. Touch2Give also carefully selects the designers featured on the site to ensure that the products are made in a socially responsible way. Touch2Give donates 5 percent of commissions earned from the sales, to philanthropic causes.

From fashion-forward ethical and sustainable brands to luxury made-to-order couture brands, Touch2Give unites brands from all over the world to not only sell but to share business synergies. They also provide customers a “vetted” showcase of emerging designer and independent brands. There is one common denominator that unites the brands and that is PASSION for what they do in life.

I visited the Touch2Give site and fell in love with the beautiful jewelry and clothing, and the gorgeous bags, for example, this stunning Sunset Orange Gloss Python Westbourne bag by Notting Hill Design which is made to order (see below).

Other must-haves that I found on the site are elegant ballerina flats and stunning swimwear (made to order), as shown below.

Q&A with Claire Chung

What is your background? Were you always in retail?

My background is a bit unusual. After working at Citibank Art Advisory and launching Christie’s Client Advisory services in Hong Kong, I went to Milan to attend design school. I wanted to launch my own jewellery brand because I saw a gap in the market for “accessible” luxury jewellery . I launched my jewelry line called Dendara and debuted at Paris Fashion week, then went on to the Basel Jewellery Fair.

Why did you start Touch2Give?

The idea for Touch2Give rose out of three ideas:

(1) I saw the movie “Water” by Deepa Mehta and it really moved me. A week later, I read an article in the Economist which revealed how, even today, among less educated and lower caste Indians, widows are abandoned and forced to live a life of denial and poverty when their husbands die. I started thinking about how I could help by producing a collection in India and giving these women jobs, as no one would even hire them. I started a process of learning about social responsibility and seeing how the fashion industry (making clothes, jewellery) were “crafts” traditionally done by women, and in developing countries it is their way out of extreme poverty. It is a way to provide for themselves and their children. Economic freedom equals empowerment. I thought I could bring many independent brands together — united we could be a powerful economic force to get a more effective source for production and raw materials, and  use our capital power to shift and make changes, both by supporting “responsible” manufacturing and providing jobs to women since branded and luxury products give them more money and a higher position in the value chain.

(2) From a business point of view and as a niche brand owner, I saw an opportunity in the market to help independent and niche brand owners sell directly into the marketplace and our business model is made to be flexible and to help these brands grow their business. The fashion cycle is too long and it was always the niche brands that were financing the business of big retailers with their very demanding conditions of sales, so with our portal, the brands sell directly what they have on stock as well as being able to put up one sample to make “Made to Order” products. Many are still producing in “luxury” workshops and are providing customers with truly unique and high quality pieces at “affordable” luxury prices.

Using the theory of the “Long Tail”, I believe that the online marketplace is probably one of the best for any niche product because brick and mortar distribution will always be limited.

(3) As a global traveller, I see the big retailers and manufacturers squeezing out smaller brands. Yet these small brands are the ones who are truly innovative and provide true luxury products. Luxury is no longer about a hefty price tag; indeed a large number of expensive luxury items look vulgar and cheap. Today many people yearn for a return to true luxury, which is about quality and rarity. You won’t find our products selling in every major city in the world, so when you buy a piece from one of our designers, it makes you feel very special.