An Interview with the CEO of DE Label: Voltaire Baranski

Video Transcript:

Chanee the Interviewer:

Hi Guys, today I am joined by the CEO, Voltaire Baranski, of the new revolutionary fashion company DE Label.

DE Label is redefining what it means to be a retail clothing company in 2030.

So, Voltaire tell me what specifically is your company?

Voltaire Baranski:

Well I have to say thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about the company. DE Label is a co-op company working with the purpose of sharing. So technically it isn’t my company it is owned equally by all our workers.

Currently in 2030 there’s a large focus on sustainability. Many consumers feel that it is their responsibility to be sustainable but really it does lie with the company as well and that is the message we endorse.

There’s also a large focus on the decentralisation of ownership from the top and that’s why we are a co-op that focuses on the sharing economy which is expanded upon in our vision statement.

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Chanee the Interviewer:

So, as a Co-op how does your role of the CEO differ from the usual corporate model where you hold the majority of the power?

Voltaire Baranski:

Don’t get me started Chanee it’s really different.

In a typical CEO position, the one that we’ve all come to know, it is all about maximisation of the shareholder’s wealth and not the workers. Another point is the CEO in a deep-rooted capitalistic structure has major influence over financial, social and environmental governance.

However, with a co-op all of us workers have equal say, as the founder I fell into this role of the CEO naturally, however I do see it as my responsibility to make sure DE Label fairly represents everyone and with an equal vote model our company does fairly represent them.

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Chanee the Interviewer:

Wow that’s really interesting Voltaire! So, where does your company as a co-op sit in the current capitalistic economy?

Voltaire Baranski:

Well a co-op put simply is a jointly owned company where all of its workers are working together voluntarily to meet their social, cultural and mostly economic needs.

We started DE Label with solely intrinsic motivations, as many ventures are in the digital economy do, however our model of a co-owned company and the notion of implementing a sharing process obviously struck a chord with people and ultimately led to our success. We now are lucky enough to earn enough money from DE Label so as we expand, our workers can all earn enough to ensure their cultural, social and economic needs are met. This is very important as we still live in a capitalist society, DE Label owes its workers the right to earn enough to lead an enjoyable life.

We had to establish DE Label in a platform economy which was extremely difficult, having to build a platform, attract users and then attempt to capture any value that may be generated in that ecosystem. Mobilising consumers to contribute, however, that can be is extremely hard.

This was very important as when first beginning we were faced with the decision of scaling up quickly and expanding quickly, by bringing in more innovators and workers so we could optimise the capture of consumers interests. However, it wasn’t in our interests as it wouldn’t have been fair to the co-op model that we had opted for.

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Chanee the Interviewer:

Wow Voltaire, I have to agree with you there. I think that companies should have an obligation to provide their workers with a wage that not only allows them to meet their economic needs but also their social and cultural needs too. Another reason why your business has been so successful is how you interact with your consumers via social media in particular Instagram. Why does the company interact with users and hashtags?

Voltaire Baranski:

The power of social media and Instagram in particular is something that cannot be under-estimated, it has time and time again proved to be a driving force that can push forward movements in our society, for example the American Presidential election of 2016 or the ginormous Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Instagram is primarily a photo-sharing app and allows us a group of people to show our customers not only what is new but also who is wearing these new products.

But also this notion of hashtags and participatory media it allows us to see our consumers wearing our products.

Hashtags allow our consumers to also be producing content that we can repost or share and give them the opportunity to further attention, this does blur the line between consumers and producers however this is something we have all be doing with the power of social media for years.

Our model of sharing is important here too as studies indicate that transactions that occur in a sharing economy often add value to the shared product and ultimately benefit society as a whole. Which is why the sharing of photos of our products is so important not only for the consumers but also for DE Label.

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Chanee the Interviewer:

How do you feel about your company having an effect on the current economic climate and serving as a model for the future?

Voltaire Baranski:

Look Chanee, it is really ego boosting to know that our notion of a grass-roots co-op owned model could be adopted by more companies or that the sharing economy could become more prevalent in the fashion industry. It proves to us, the company that we are doing the right thing, our model is sustainable, and it works.

Our sharing model, I think, is something that does make a lot of sense; as studies have found the production of physical and material goods is very expensive so pursuing business models that provide the framework for the sharing and trading of these goods is essential for a sustainable future.

The idea of the co-op model we have employed makes sense to me as it serves our employees well, it allows them to work in a job they enjoy and have all their needs met. We poured our work into this so we expanded slowly and still are, so all of DE Label’s workers’ needs are met.

It did require a lot of voluntary work at the start, however ultimately, I feel in a capitalist economy, this model of a co-op and sharing is the best way to ensure a more sustainable model than the current corporate greed is achieved.

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Chanee the Interviewer:

Well thank you for sitting down with me today, it has been really interesting and insightful and will hopefully garner more attention to this model.

Voltaire Baranski:

OMG thank you so much!