Trade News | [Trade Person of the Week] Ha-eun Choi, CEO of Greenest
2025-02-27
[Trade Person of the Week]
Haeun Choi, CEO of Greenest
A Pioneer Carving the Path of Sustainable K-Fashion
"I had no interest in creating a typical fashion brand. I made sustainability the core of my business identity—and set a clear goal: to make sustainability the standard across the entire fashion industry."
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Sustainable Fashion Brand "Greenest"
That’s how Greenest was born. The name combines "Green" and the superlative suffix "-est" to signify the brand’s strong commitment to sustainability and eco-conscious practices.
After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), CEO Ha-eun Choi made a bold decision—not to remain in New York, the heart of fashion, but to start her own brand in Korea.
Her reasoning was simple: "No matter how fluent my English, I could never outperform a local. I realized I should start where I have the greatest strength and expand abroad from there."
Choi initially interned at a Korean fashion company for three months and received positive feedback. Still, she had already made up her mind to start her own venture. "Rather than spending years gaining experience only to launch later, I believed it was better to experience failure earlier and try something I truly love that could make a positive impact on society." In 2022, she founded Greenest.
With a clear mission, she didn’t waver. Choi was often unimpressed by other so-called “sustainable” fashion brands that fell into greenwashing or had poor design. Inspired by GANNI, a Danish brand known for its chic sustainability, she envisioned a similarly stylish and responsible label.
She started from the ground up—relentlessly sourcing eco-friendly materials, even when it meant countless rejections. At fabric fairs like COEX and through repeated visits to Dongdaemun, she sought sustainable fabrics. Most companies turned her down due to low volume and her early-stage brand status.
Then she turned to overseas suppliers. She reached out to fabric companies that supplied luxury brands like Hermès—and fortunately, her sincerity struck a chord. That stroke of luck led to direct, cost-effective imports of high-quality sustainable materials. One good relationship led to another, helping her find excellent partners for labels, packaging, and every stage of production.
Her persistent efforts to build a brand with consistent and authentic sustainability paid off.
Though she began by cold-calling and hustling, her passion and dedication laid the foundation for real progress.
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Adding K-Beauty to K-Fashion
Alongside her fashion line, Choi also focused heavily on design. She knew that for sustainable fashion to go mainstream, it had to look good.
She adopted a classic aesthetic, believing that timeless designs are inherently more sustainable. "If it’s trendy, it’s only worn for a season. But a classic piece can last for years."
Her brand philosophy resonated quickly. Within three months of launching, Greenist was picked up by DOORS NYC in New York. The brand has since expanded to Sonderlab in Jakarta and entered markets in Berlin and beyond.
In the midst of this journey, Choi unexpectedly entered the cosmetics business. While speaking with an Indonesian buyer, she learned there was strong local demand for Korean beauty products. Although she had no experience in beauty distribution, her drive kicked in—and Greenist expanded from K-fashion into K-beauty.
It was perfect timing. The domestic fashion market was struggling, and she needed a breakthrough. She began sourcing suppliers, and one buyer connection led to another.
Riding the K-beauty wave, Greenist now exports to 12 countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the UAE, the United States, Australia, and Mongolia. The beauty sector has now grown to surpass fashion in business volume.
"I guess sales come naturally to me," she laughs. "I keep in close touch with about 20 buyers, and I’m not shy about casual chats and small talk." One Indonesian buyer even asked her to help get a ticket to a Super Junior concert—which she did. That friendly and energetic communication style helped her build deep trust.
She didn’t plan on entering the beauty business. In fact, she didn’t even know how to write an export invoice at first.
Many of her buyers weren’t found through trade fairs or government agencies like KOTRA, but through her own cold outreach, visiting beauty shops abroad, and simply striking up conversations.
Greenest is currently a lean operation, close to a one-person company, but Choi collaborates flexibly with various partners and service providers as needed. Now in its third year, the brand has gained both clear identity and market momentum.
Looking back, she feels proud. Her sincerity seems to resonate. With approximately 1 billion KRW in annual revenue and visible growth in both brand awareness and exports, Choi says she has no regrets about choosing entrepreneurship.
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Making Sustainable Fashion the Norm
Greenest’s ultimate goal is to normalize sustainable fashion. However, Choi doesn’t always lead with the word “sustainability.” Instead, she focuses on beautiful design and quality that subtly introduce customers to ethical fashion. In overseas marketing, where consumers are more sustainability-conscious, she emphasizes eco-values more directly.
"In Korea, sustainability can still be a tough sell. When I labeled the brand as ‘sustainable fashion,’ I noticed hesitation. So I began positioning it as a ‘premium fabric brand’ instead."
Greenest has always used high-quality materials—not necessarily expensive ones, but carefully chosen for their ethical and aesthetic merit.
"If cost had been the main concern, I wouldn’t have started this brand at all. I wanted to create something real, and I believed consistency was key for consumers to truly trust us."
With the challenges of a high exchange rate, global inflation, and rising tariffs, 2024 is expected to be a tough year economically.
Choi plans to strengthen the cosmetics export side, riding the ongoing global K-beauty boom. She is also considering hiring staff and seeking investment to support her brand’s next phase of growth.
As the beauty business stabilizes, Greenest plans to re-focus on expanding fashion exports in the second half of the year.
Greenest is not just a product brand—it’s a movement for shared sustainability. With a clear sense of purpose and unwavering persistence, the brand may soon take its place alongside global leaders like Denmark’s GANNI or the UK’s Stella McCartney.
We look forward to watching how Greenest continues its journey toward becoming a global symbol of sustainable K-fashion and K-beauty.
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[Refernce: Trade News]
https://weeklytrade.co.kr/news/view.html?section=1&category=5&item=&no=94420
