The Happy Hour #445: Barrett Ward

“You do not have to be perfect before you are honest.”

Leading a fashion lifestyle brand might be an unlikely role for someone self-described as “not a fashion guy,” but that’s exactly where ABLE CEO Barrett Ward finds himself. As the visionary behind the rapidly growing Nashville-based company disrupting the fashion industry with a social conscience, Ward was inspired to start ABLE with the mission of creating sustainable economic opportunities for women.

While living in Ethiopia, Ward and wife Rachel saw firsthand how extreme poverty forced many young women to make difficult choices for money. They wanted to give women the chance to earn a living with dignity. In 2010, they began ABLE by employing women who had overcome the sex industry to make handmade scarves, and it has since grown into a lifestyle brand carrying all kinds of accessories and apparel. We have a great conversation about ABLE’s commitment to paying livable wages and how they became the first brand to publish their lowest wages in an effort to empower and protect the fashion industry’s vulnerable workers. I love what this brand is doing SO much and hearing the story behind it makes it all the more special.

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