How Entrepreneurs Can Build Consumer Brands That Are Both Sustainable and Desirable

Entrepreneurs build sustainable and desirable consumer brands by combining strong product quality, clear environmental standards, emotional appeal, and rigorous execution, proving that responsibility and desirability can reinforce each other at scale.

Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship in Consumer Markets

This special Movers & Shakers episode highlights how entrepreneurship can be a powerful lever for positive change in everyday consumption.

It features Sébastien Fabre, a founder whose career embodies the idea that businesses can be both impactful and commercially successful.

From Proven Success to a New Mission

Sébastien Fabre is best known as the co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, a platform that transformed second-hand luxury into a mainstream, desirable model.

Building on this experience, he launched a new venture driven by the same ambition: aligning consumer desire with more responsible habits.

Designing Sustainable Products People Actually Want

Sébastien is the founder of Agua Blanca, a brand creating clean products for the home, laundry, and body.

The brand’s approach focuses on:

• High-quality, effective formulations
• Clean and transparent product standards
• Design and branding that make sustainable choices appealing

Sustainability is integrated into the product, not positioned as a constraint.

Making Sustainability a Source of Desire

A key insight from the episode is that sustainable products must compete on desirability, not only on values.

Successful consumer brands:

• Solve real, everyday needs
• Deliver pleasure and trust
• Make responsible choices effortless for consumers

When sustainability enhances the experience, adoption accelerates.

Lessons for Consumer Brand Builders

This conversation illustrates how entrepreneurs can reconcile impact and growth.

Key takeaways include:

• Start with product excellence
• Embed sustainability into the core value proposition
• Leverage brand, design, and storytelling
• Apply startup discipline to execution

Building for good does not mean compromising on ambition.