Hampshire-based outdoor clothing brand Passenger has been making waves in fashion retail under the leadership of CEO Jon Lane, who has grown gross annual sales from around £500,000 since joining in 2019 to £100m in 2024, when it was named the second-fastest fashion retail business as part of Sunday Times' annual ranking of Britain’s 100 fastest-growing private companies, after women's sportswear brand Adanola.

Selling direct to consumer through its ecommerce website to a core consumer group of 25-to-35-year-olds, Passenger Clothing launches one collection per month, allowing the business to implement learnings on products and their demand on the go, growing profits and reducing waste.

Since July 2023, Passenger's sustainability initiatives have been lead by head of environmental, social and governance (ESG), Jane Blacklock, building on her almost two decades of experience working in sustainability and ethical trade.

Blacklock began her career in 2006 as a senior project officer for ESG consultancy Impactt, where she advised leading high street retailers including Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, Boden, Tesco, New Look and Seasalt on ethical trading strategies. In 2009, she left Impactt for in-house sourcing manager roles at Mothercare (2009-2013) and FatFace (2017-2021). In 2018, she was elected to the board of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), as non-executive director between 2018 and 2021. Her most recent role before joining Passenger Clothing was sustainability manager for DIY retailer B&Q (2021-23).

Currently solely responsible for managing Passenger's ESG strategy, Blacklock is looking to add to the team in 2025 as the business targets growth in the European Union and US, and seeks to bolster its green credentials with repair and resale partnerships.

Outside Passenger, she is also a trustee for Women Working Worldwide, a role she has held since 2021. On 12 March, she will take the stage at the Drapers Conscious Fashion Summit to discuss balancing business goals with ethical considerations as part of a panel comprised of Seasalt director of environmental, social and governance Christian Jermyn, Isabelle Meira founder Isabelle Alexander and Reju CEO Patrik Frisk.

Ahead of Drapers Conscious Fashion Summit, Blacklock shares her advice for understanding factory conditions and incorporating sustainability into a fashion retail business.

Where are you based?

Just north of the New Forest in Hampshire, UK. It’s really convenient for Passenger’s HQ in New Milton and means a lovely commute through a national park when I’m working from the office.

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

I have two young children, so mornings consist of corralling them into uniforms, and brushing teeth and hair before school. Once they’re in, I’ll be at my desk and catching up on emails and Google Chats from colleagues.

What is your coffee order?

An oat or soya flat white.

How would you describe your style?

At home I’ll be relaxed, in jeans or leggings and my favourite "Sunsets" Passenger sweatshirt. At work, I’d describe my style as the smarter side of casual: you’re more likely to find me in dark jeans and a blazer.

What tool or app makes your work easier?

Google Meet and Teams. It makes it so much easier to connect with remote colleagues and suppliers when you can see their faces, although nothing beats an in-person meeting for making meaningful connections.

How you switch off from work?

With a young family, I’ve learned to move from being "Jane" to being "Mum" very quickly. Switching off is a skill. When I do have a moment to myself, I relax by reading, walking and probably too much television.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Focus on the worker. Put yourself in their shoes: go where they go, wear what they wear – that is the best way to understand if the conditions they are in are acceptable.

What is the last book you read?

The last book I finished was a re-read of [George Orwell's] 1984. I decided to revisit it before reading [American writer Sandra Newman's 2023] recent reinterpretation of the novel, Julia.

One of the main challenges with sustainability is just how wide in scope it is now, and how much of the business needs to be considered. Regulations especially touch on all aspects of business activity from supply chains to logistics, marketing to governance. Sustainability professionals need to be generalists and experts at the same time – fully embedded in their company’s operations and decision making.

My advice would be to focus your strategy, making sure what you’re working on is meaningful and relevant to your business. This sounds really obvious, but it’s easy to get distracted when consumers are asking questions about really niche subjects. We shouldn’t be afraid to say, "Thanks for the question, but we’re focused on X right now."

If you did not work in the fashion industry, what would be your dream job?

Starting out I wanted to be a solicitor, so I studied law [and philosophy] as an undergraduate [at the University of Essex, 2001-05], which opened my eyes to human rights and then supply chains, and led me down my career path.

Now, if I wasn’t a sustainability professional, I would be expanding my trustee or non-executive director volunteering [which currently include being a trustee for Women Working Worldwide] and probably working in my local charity bookshop.