While fashion typically relegates most of it’s eco coverage to the April issue, Triple Pundit (or 3p if you’re in the know) is one of the world’s most well read B2B focused websites on ethical, sustainable & profitable business with over 350,000 unique monthly readers. Recently, 3p announced a four-month focus on sustainable fashion, published with the support Levi Strauss &Co. To find out more about this series, I caught up with Editor-in-Chief (and my former college suitemate – so cool!) Jen Boynton to learn more about how sustainable, eco-friendly fashion brands can work with the site.
Also – make sure to mark March 11 on your calender – Triple Pundit is hosting a one-hour Tweet Jam with Business Fights Poverty to lead the conversation about key sustainability topics facing the fashion industry.
Name: Jen Boynton
Title: Editor in Chief
Publication: TriplePundit.com
Circulation: 350k/mo
Email: contact@triplepundit.com
Email always.
About a week in advance is perfect.
There’s probably a pattern but I have no idea what it is – email is 24/7
TriplePundit (3p) is a B2B publication covering the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit). When it comes to fashion, we’re most interested in the business side of things – how companies manage to produce sustainable clothing while meeting consumer price, quality and trend demands.
We’re also interested in what sustainability means for the apparel industry and have launched a massive series (current articles available here) to find out! In the series, we’ll be exploring whether sustainable apparel means: recycled materials, designing for durability, sustainable suppliers, better cotton, organic cotton, fair trade, locally made or something else entirely. There are many sustainable apparel companies, each with their own perspective.
Editorially, we’re most interested in unpacking how sustainability is defined and why; but we’ll illustrate the articles with images of pretty clothes for sure.
Throughout the year, we’re interested in stories about social and environmental sustainability from clothing companies large and small. I’m also interested in pitches about the apparel industry in general: fast fashion vs. durable clothing, innovations in the modeling industry to support a wider variety of body sizes, clothing recycling and reuse projects, etc.
Each publication has its own niche. The pitches that stand out are the ones that read as if they come from someone who reads the publication and really “gets” us. I know that’s not realistic when you’re pitching 500 publications, but it may be worth spending 5 minutes reading the publication to tailor your pitch to its unique take.
The pitches that stand out are the ones that read as if they come from someone who reads the publication and really “gets” us.
Other than that, I love a pitch that includes a newsy hook that’s on point with our core topic – the hook could be a substantial milestone (environmental, social, and/or financial) and it should always connect to the triple bottom line.
A quality press release with all the facts is always a help. For fashion-related stories, go ahead and include us with some images we’re free to use.
I know publicists get a bad rap from editors, but a publicist who truly tries to make my job easier (and I know a few!) is worth her weight in gold. I count a few as friends and I always give their pitches special attention because they only send me quality stuff that’s highly aligned with my publication’s editorial. I like hearing from them because they make my job easier.
All those relationships began with the publicist asking me what sort of pitches I was looking for – that is to say, they tried to understand how they could help me rather than looking to push their latest client for a short-term win. True relationships are mutually beneficial. Now that I’m thinking about it, all my best relationships with PR folks began with them offering to take me out to lunch! I guess I’m a cheap date.
Oh man. There is this one guy who is trying to pitch some initiative of his dad’s (at least the subject of his pitch has his same, unusual last name). I got 5-6 of these notes, and they seemed sweet because of the family connection. Even though this pitch wasn’t a good fit to put a writer on, I decided to write back and explain why and offer the guy a guest post. As you know, editors get a lot of pitches, and I only reply to say “no thanks” to a tiny few, but he didn’t appreciate my effort at all or see it as an opportunity to build a relationship. He replied and basically just repeated his earlier pitch verbatim. Now he sends me the same email once a month. When I see his name in my inbox I just delete his emails unread. I tried to help him and he didn’t bother to listen, and now, if he actually has a decent pitch, he’s SOL because I won’t open his emails.
We get a lot of consumer-oriented pitches, which are a sure sign the publicist hasn’t done their homework. There are many great sustainability sites for consumers, but we aren’t one! Make sure your pitch jives with the publication’s intended audience.
Photo Credit: Michelle Griffiths
