How To Support Authentic Diversity as a Small Business
Creating an ethical company these days is no small feat. Our world has gotten so large and complex that many companies have decided to forgo ethics for the sake of their bottom line. But here at Origami Customs, we believe that ethics and diversity are non-negotiable. We would commit to supporting diversity even if we never said a word about it. However, we talk about it so much because we’re seeking to inspire others to do the same.
Our business, rooted in gender-affirming care, is committed to creating authentic diversity, supporting trans and gender-diverse communities, and staying true to ethical values. We’ve built an inclusive, community-focused company that produces garments and prioritizes the well-being of our staff and customers.
With thoughtful policies, supportive products, and careful representation in marketing, we challenge the norms of traditional business practices. Our goal is to foster a more inclusive, thoughtful space while navigating the complexities of scaling ethically and dealing with the challenges of a biased world—all while staying connected to our community and values.
Sharing Knowledge
Part of our commitment as a company is to create free education that supports our queer and trans community. Among other things, our founder Rae often gives talks or consults with other businesses to help train them in ethics and how to support our community better.
We wanted this information to be freely available to anyone interested, so we’ve written this (admittedly giant) blog to share some of the ethical and diversity tips that we share with other organizations. Whether you’re in a non-governmental organization, small business, or a collective, you can use these tips to authentically uplift trans and gender-diverse folks within any structure.
This text was adapted from the presentation titled “Supporting Authentic Diversity in Small Business,” presented at the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s OUT for Business mentorship program in 2024. It will cover the following: Our experience as a leader in gender-affirming care, how to center trans and gender-diverse experiences, how to showcase authentic diversity in marketing, and how to combat censorship.
About Origami Customs
For the past 15 years, we’ve been leaders in the gender-affirming garment industry, pioneering fashion technology that moves beyond the gender binary. It’s always been important for us to lead with innovation, inclusivity, and community, and we believe that starts at home. We've created an inclusive framework that centers the experiences of trans, gender-diverse, and queer individuals, both in how we support our staff and serve our clients.
Our production studio, located in Montreal, is run entirely by trans and queer staff, ensuring that our team truly reflects the community we serve. With a majority neuroatypical team, we embrace diversity on many levels, making our company a truly inclusive space. We have supports in place like mental health and menstrual leave days, as well as health and gender-affirmation benefits that are on the cutting edge of what can be provided.
Outside of our employees, we work to provide gender-affirming support to those who have limited access, especially underserved groups facing multiple layers of oppression. We’ve given away thousands of free gender-affirming compression garments, and have developed many free educations and trainings. To expand our reach, we’ve built a global network of NGOs that help distribute our garments and education to those in need. We now work with over 50 NGOs worldwide, and we’re proud to donate more than 500 pieces each month to support these communities.
Authentic Diversity- How Do We Know It’s Not Lip Service?
If you are a business looking to support a community you may not be familiar with, here are some questions to ask:
- Are we relying on people in this community to proactively educate us about their experience, rather than putting in the effort to educate ourselves?
- Are we replicating systems of power and oppression?
- Are we playing into stereotypes we may not be aware of?
- Have we considered the ways people may benefit from their privilege, or conversely may be disadvantaged?
The Ways That Origami Customs Implements Diverse Care
Taking Care of Yourself As An Entrepreneur
An ethical business needs to be built from the ground up, and that starts with the founders. Before bringing on employees, it's important to create a structure that supports our individual needs as entrepreneurs. Many of us have diverse requirements to function well within a capitalist structure, and as small business owners, we get to decide what works best for us.
Even if we don’t have formal healthcare benefits, we can still incorporate healthcare practices that support our well-being—like taking stretching breaks, eating regularly (instead of just one “lunch break”), or even enjoying regular massages. Sometimes, we might even work from bed! It’s all about setting work hours around our care needs, focusing when we’re at our best, and listening to our bodies for when we need to rest or move.
Sustainable Scaling- Starting To Think Bigger
When we’re wearing all the hats, it can feel like we’re drowning in tasks, but sustainable scaling is about starting to think bigger without getting overwhelmed. Luckily, there are tons of free resources for small business owners, especially here in Quebec, like online forums, blogs, podcasts, and more, which can be super helpful before we’re ready to invest in paid help.
Hiring staff is a big step and can feel daunting, but there are other options if you’re not quite ready yet. Mentorship programs like YES Montreal, freelancing platforms like Fiverr, and even CEGEP interns can be great ways to get some extra support while staying manageable. Just make sure that whatever labor you are bringing in is well cared for and getting the maximum benefit from their work exchange.
Creating Gender-Diverse Staff Care Policies
Adding employees to any business means considering how to best support a gender-diverse staff. At Origami Customs, this starts with doing our own research about what supportive options we can possibly offer, and by listening to our staff about their needs. We try to go over and above what’s “acceptable care,” like offering extra paid menstruation and sick days for everyone, plus a benefits package that goes above the average, with options for both medical and non-medical gender-affirming care.
On top of that, we provide emotional support and regular check-ins for those navigating medications, mental health, or transition-related care—because we understand how much of a rollercoaster the gender transition process can be! We also make it easy for our team to update names and pronouns in all HR and communication systems whenever needed.
When it comes to our content and models, we follow community-sourced guidelines for photographing and editing visuals of trans individuals to ensure respectful representation. We also allow our models to have a final veto on all imagery. We understand that being photographed as a trans person can sometimes come with gender dimorphism, and we would never want something to go live that makes someone feel uncomfortable in their body.
Creating Structural Supports- Reframing Productivity
We believe in creating structural supports that help reframe productivity, both for ourselves and our staff. We don’t measure the success of our employees only based on how many products they’ve produced in a day. We do this by asking a simple question: How do you want your success to be measured?
We introduced this in staff evaluations, which has been very successful. Whether it’s setting SMART goals, listening to customer feedback, or even reflecting on how you feel physically and emotionally at the end of the day, these are all valid measures of success. At the end of the day, we all want our business to thrive, but it’s just as important that we enjoy the day-to-day journey, too.
Outsourcing- Values-Based Scaling Decisions
When it comes to outsourcing and scaling, we often face two paths: one that’s easier/cheaper, and one that’s more ethical. Unfortunately, outsourced labor often falls on women of color, especially in roles like internships, whether paid or unpaid.
That’s why doing a values audit is important—it helps us stay focused on making decisions that align with our principles. It’s essential to ask ourselves who we’re choosing to work with and how we’re supporting marginalized identities in practice. At the end of the day, we believe in putting our money where our mouth is. Exposure isn’t enough- especially marginalized people deserve proper compensation for their work.
Centering Trans And Gender Diverse Experiences With Customers
Addressing Clients With Respect and Care
When it comes to working with clients and customers, we focus on making everyone feel comfortable and respected. We use discreet packaging and make sure our email signatures, contact forms, and even our salutations are non-gendered. Automation, like auto mailers, is also set up with inclusivity in mind. We never assume anything about someone’s name and always respect how they identify themselves—whether they use a first initial, or last name, or prefer neutral honorifics like "Mx."
We also make sure to include pronouns in forms across all platforms to keep things clear and respectful. In terms of language, we say what we mean! For example, instead of “Men’s” and “Women’s” washrooms, we use terms like "toilets" and "urinals" to keep things neutral. Especially in fashion, we question assumptions about what a “woman’s” or “man’s” body looks like. If our products don’t interact with sex organs, we try to rethink any assumptions we might be making about our clients, and we aim to be as clear as possible!
Removing The Binary In Undergarments
Since we make lingerie, we used to have to talk about assigned gender at birth, or more specifically, what’s in people’s pants! When creating garments that are fitted to the body, we need to know how much room to build into a garment and so we have to define the “gender” of the garment. However, having clients label a gender in order to buy a product didn’t feel good to us.
So few years ago, we decided to invent technology that would allow us to move away from the binary categories of “women’s” and “men’s” so that anyone could buy any product that fit their anatomy. To make this work, we created a selection where people could identify what size “gusset” they needed (that’s the fabric between the legs). By letting people self-select, it became easy for them to choose the styles that worked best for them. We call this category “undies for everyone!”
Diversity in Marketing
When it comes to diversity in marketing, we really have to ask ourselves: who’s being represented and spoken to? Did we build this audience intentionally, or did marketing trends shape it for us? We work hard to choose and represent diverse intersections and to hire models who may have reduced access to employment. It’s crucial to make sure everyone we feature represents our community, and is comfortable with how they’re being seen in different spaces.
For instance, I once worked with a model who, after seeing their photos, didn’t feel like their gender was affirmed the way they wanted. We talked it through and even created a form for future models, asking questions like "How do I want to feel in these photos" and "How do I want my body to be represented." This led us to develop a better, more inclusive studio protocol.
Niching Down
When I started out, I made the classic mistake of trying to be everything to everyone—at one point, I had over 300 options on my website! However narrowing down my offerings to a core selection of pieces, around 30 with a rotating seasonal lineup, helped me focus on supporting the needs of the clients. I wanted to focus on developing the technology of the gender-affirming products that were the most needed.
The key to finding your niche is listening to your community. When I was back in Victoria, BC, I saw how my TGD (trans, gender diverse) friends were DIY-ing their own undies, swimwear, and even packing harnesses. We collaborated, prototyped together, and eventually put the designs online to see what worked. There’s so much knowledge in what others are already doing—you don’t need to reinvent the wheel!
Vulnerably Showing Up
I also shifted to a more personal narrative in my branding and began being more open about my process and story. Before, my copy felt detached, almost like it was written by cis people for trans folks. Being more vulnerable and open about my own experience allowed me to connect more authentically with my community.
We’ve learned that people don’t want polished, overproduced content—they want to see real, raw, unfiltered stories. Collaborating with non-influencers and focusing on authenticity is key. You can’t please everyone with representation, but staying true to your brand values is what matters.
People in the gender-diverse community are unfortunately used to support being lip-service only. However, at Origami Customs we’re trans-owned and trans and queer-run, so we’re not just selling to the community, we actually are the community. Talking about our stories and meaningful experiences with our gender-affirming undergarments helps build trust with our community members. Our experiences can also help educate and reassure clients who are just starting their transition.
Navigating Biases and Trans Censorship Online
Dealing with Censorship
The internet can be a strange and challenging place for businesses like ours, especially when algorithms and censorship come into play. Social media platforms are built with biases that often deprioritize or flag content from marginalized groups, like gender-diverse folks. For example, in September 2023, we lost 40% of our sales because Google started banning trans-related keywords and blocked our ads. That hit us hard, and we had to get loans to stay afloat.
The censorship of trans bodies is frustrating and unfair, to say the least, as we have to do so much work to make our products “palatable,” for social media and search engines. We’re beholden to standards that cis companies aren’t, and so all we can do is continue to find creative workarounds to promote our products. Competitors use options like removing trans-related words (like renaming binders as "compression vests,") but we're working to rebuild through more compassionate platforms like Reddit, and our mailer.
When it comes to online strategy, finding the right platform for your content type is essential. Whether it's TikTok for videos or Instagram for aesthetic shots, don't waste your time on platforms that don’t work for your style. A solid mailer is another great tool because it's uncensored and directly reaches your audience.
As a gender-inclusive brand, it's important to acknowledge gender identity rather than erase it. Are we trying to make products for everyone, or are we addressing specific gaps in our niche? Staying connected with our community and addressing pushback, especially in today’s climate, is crucial. Even negative press can be an opportunity—rallying your audience as a champion for minority rights can turn the tide.
Lastly, for collaborations and affiliate marketing, it’s about finding people with good values, not necessarily high follower count. Look for genuine connections with people who are already part of your community and bring unique personal experiences to your story. Building real, long-term relationships with people who sincerely love our products is always better than a one-off promo code.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, creating an ethical and diverse business is never easy, but we've learned to adapt and stay true to our values. The challenges with staff support, scaling, censorship, and competition are tough, but they’ve pushed us to be more creative and authentic in how we connect with our community.
For the businesses out there who are deciding if they want to go to the effort of creating an ethical and diverse business, we assure you, the challenges are worth it. Knowing that your company is creating true support for instead of harm to individuals, makes it all worthwhile.
At Origami Customs, we’ll continue to commit to focusing on what really matters—sharing real stories, creating supportive products that meet a need, building meaningful relationships, and staying transparent about who we are. It’s been a journey, but we’re growing stronger and more resilient every day, and seeing how much we’ve helped people makes this path non-negotiable.
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