Deborah King, the founder and CEO of Global Measure is an Industrial Engineer with a post-grad in Sustainable Fashion Production. startGBC has the pleasure of sharing Deborah’s journey with you for the June 2022 spotlight!
About Deborah King
Deborah King is the CEO and founder of Global Measure – Canada’s first social enterprise focused on certifying the sustainable and ethical impacts of fashion businesses. She has over ten years of experience working with diverse teams in fashion, supply chain logistics and quality management. Her passion for circular and ethical fashion and her knowledge of various frameworks including ISO, B Corp, ITIL, Lean and Six Sigma, drove her to have important conversations around positive climate action in the fashion community.
Academic Background
I’m formally educated as an Industrial Engineer, with a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Toronto. I’m also certified as a lead ISO 9001 auditor, ITIL v3 and as a LEAN/Six Sigma greenbelt. I also obtained a nanodegree from Udacity in front end web development. I also have a post-graduate certificate from George Brown College in Sustainable Fashion Production.
What made you want to become an entrepreneur?
I’ve always been very passionate about the fashion industry and female empowerment. I was at a pivotal point in my professional career which motivated me to go back to school and learn more about how I could personally make a difference within the fashion industry. Entrepreneurship became a clear path to help drive the changes I felt were necessary. After speaking to many inspirational leaders, teachers, and mentors, I decided that this was the right path for me.
Why did you create your business?
The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world and a major contributor to climate change. Fashion brands often rely on long and complex supply chains that utilize production facilities in several countries.
I created Global Measure to help to mitigate the impact of climate change. For established businesses and also to prepare new businesses, by helping them to ensure their practices stay within the planetary boundaries. My business uses a comprehensive certification standard to perform a risk assessment of fashion brands’ supply chains. I believe by increasing transparency into the fashion production process, we can help drive more positive climate friendly consumption.
What successes have you enjoyed so far with building your company?
I have been very fortunate to collaborate with a number of notable organizations. These include Women4Climate TO, which is run by the City of Toronto and C40 Cities, and Climate Ventures, which is facilitated by the Center for Social Innovation. My organization is also looking forward to taking part in the upcoming Collision Conference this June, where we’ll be featured as an Impact Startup. We’ve also built strategic connections and relationships with networking groups like The Forum, which promotes female entrepreneurs.
What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming, but if you prepare yourself with a solid plan, goals, and a vision you’re already halfway there. I’ve found that by having these fundamentals established it becomes easier to meet the right people and find the resources that can help you succeed.” – Deborah King
Website & Socials
Website: https://globalmeasure.org/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/globalmeasure/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/global.measure/