Andrea Kelly
Andrea Kelly - CEO, Founder, Advisor
Andrea Kelly is the founder and CEO of Make Plus Equal - a company that helps advise outdoor recreational companies on the topic of size inclusion. Andrea has a professional background in working with major outdoor brands and noticed a misalignment in brand output and product need regarding size availability for outdoor clothing. Featured in Outside Business Journal as one of The 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry in 2022, Andrea advocates for all sizes in the outdoors and educates brands on how and why this issue benefits not only the customers but the companies’ bottom lines.
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BACKGROUND & INSPIRATION
Can you share a bit about your personal journey into outdoor recreation and what inspired you to start advocating for size inclusivity?
Moving from Southern California to Portland Oregon in the late ‘80s was a big climate shift for me. The PNW had so many different activities to participate in…. far beyond playing at the beach where I spent my childhood weekends.. I quickly engaged in a variety of activities our region provides: mountaineering, rafting, snowboarding, hiking, and camping.
As I got older and my body changed, I struggled to find gear that fit my body, needs, budget, and personality. As my options were limited, I settled for what was available…typically men’s product that didn’t fit my body correctly (and also didn’t necessarily function properly as a result), or the last color available on the rack.
For years I settled… for lesser quality & limited choices, understanding that a person my size in the outdoors was an anomaly and I’d have to make do to fit in.
How did you first get involved in activism within the outdoor recreation community?
I was fortunate enough to transition from one career path (software training/Product Operations) into another (Product Development) at one of the largest global apparel brands in the world. I applied for, and was hired onto their product team that built gear specifically for outdoor adventures. This gave me more visibility into the hole in the marketplace, and an opportunity to influence the brand to bring about change.
Who or what has been the biggest influence on your work in size inclusivity?
My biggest influencers, honestly, are people just like me. Folks in bigger bodies getting outside to do the things they love.
As the industry is finally evolving to be more inclusive (both in available products and imagery they’re using to represent their brand) more folks are participating in outdoor activities. They’re starting to see that they’re not the anomaly I thought I was, and now understand that they belong in these spaces too.
Seeing more diverse body types on the trails and slopes lights me up and keeps me me motivated to stay the course with my mission. Those are the folks I’m doing this for.
What was the turning point that made you realize you needed to take action in this space?
For years I thought I was the exception to the rule….that Plus sized folks participating in the outdoors was a niche community, which explained why no brands were building product for us. I would have to continue settling/making-do.
That changed in 2015 when Plunkett Research published a study finding that 67% of women in North America wore a size 14 and up (considered “plus size”).
Understanding that my community was not only not niche, we were actually the majority of the population was a huge-eye opener. Brands were only serving 30% of their potential customers, leaving money on the table, and limiting access to a massive community that had been marginalized.
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CURRENT WORK & IMPACT
Can you describe the specific work you do to promote size inclusivity in outdoor recreation?
With over 20 years’ experience in the outdoor apparel industry, I help outdoor apparel brands who are interested in, yet cautious to serve diverse groups of people, especially those outside of the “traditional norm”. By sharing countless years of hands-on experience, case studies, product and market knowledge, consumer insights, and customer relations, I guide brands to feel more confident about driving their business forward as they build more inclusive collections, more diverse marketing, increase their revenue and market-share, and grow their customer base by earning the trust of long-overlooked, loyal, excited customers who just want to get outside with their friends and families.
What this looks like on the ground level as I work with apparel brands includes everything from product strategy & line planning, design/construction/costing considerations, fit & weartesting, all the way through to Go To Market activations - including online/in-store shopability, consumer engagement, as well as connections to plus sized athletes & adventurers, and the communities they represent.
What are some of the key initiatives or campaigns you’ve led or been involved in recently?
I was so excited to help Trew Gear, a local technical outdoor snowboard brand here in Portland, with their launch of Plus sizes for both Men & Women in 2023. Helping them connect with a new demographic of customers through advertising & social media was a blast. I was overjoyed to help them share their products to folks who have been waiting a long time for a brand like theirs to serve them, and it was an honor to partner with a local business making quality technical product I believe in.
I have a few more brands I’ve been working with over the past year, but since their products haven’t launched yet, I’m not at liberty to share. But I can tell you good things are on the horizon for the Plus/Big/Tall sized community!
I’m also looking forward to kicking off 2025 as a Keynote Speaker at the 2nd Annual Fatcon Conference in Seattle, WA the end of January.
What are some successes you’ve seen in the industry since you started your advocacy work or at least in the past several years, if any?
While there’s still a long way to go, there are far more options for people of size to choose from. More brands are recognizing the need for inclusion, and are committed to becoming more inclusive in their offerings. We’re also seeing a significant increase in media representation, from ad campaigns, athlete partnerships, and affiliate work. This representation is just as important as product availability itself, as it informs a previously marginalized community that they do matter, they are valid, and they belong in outdoor spaces/activities just as much as anyone else.
Are there any ways you measure the impact of your work - either objectively or subjectively?
After building product for nearly 25 years, I can tell you it’s always invigorating to see product I worked on “out in the wild”, a.k.a. on an actual human being that paid money to purchase something my team built. There’s a sense of pride knowing I had a part in bringing that product to life and it’s out meeting someone’s needs in the way we intended.
Though I’ve stepped away from actually building product, I still get that same rush of pride seeing folks in the plus-sized community wearing gear from the brands I’ve worked with. Knowing that I have made an impact in their outdoor experience reminds me I’m doing the right thing.
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CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
Are there any misconceptions about size inclusivity that you encounter?
There is an assumption by the apparel industry that larger bodied folks don’t do athletic/outdoor activities. For that reason, there’s also an assumption that there’s not a need to build such product.
The irony is, this way of thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Lack of product availability is a barrier to participation. If you don’t produce the right gear that fits, performs, or provides necessary safety, it prohibits people from participating - which is why they don’t see us (and the need for product) outside.
If you don’t build it, they’ll never come. And if they never come, brands will think there’s no need to build it.
Can you share a challenging experience you've faced in this field and how you overcame it?
Back in my product management days, I walked into a local outdoor retailer that sold our brand’s product, knowing full-well they offered plus sizes. However, as I walked through the women’s department, anything in plus sizes was impossible to find. There was no signage anywhere indicating size availability, no sizing info on the fixtures, etc. Had I not known that they had the product in-store, I never would have even looked.
I even asked a sales rep if they carried plus sizes and where I would find them. The two of us wandered around the store until we came across a stack of graphic tees on a table fixture, stacked from XXS on the top to 3x on the bottom. There’s no way I (or any other customer) would have found that shirt, let-alone any of the other plus-sized product they had in the store.
The problem with being unable to find product that’s already available is just the tip of the self-fulfilling prophecy iceberg. Here’s how that cycle would have played out:
Customer can’t find plus-sized product so it doesn’t sell
Come inventory season, it’s left over and gets marked down, eventually going to close-out
Come season-end, sales data shows the majority of plus sizes went to closeout
Product teams believe the plus-sized customer didn’t want the product and there’s no demand, so they choose to discontinue/no longer offer a wider size range
I’ve heard time and again “the customer didn’t buy it so why should we make it?”
The problem’s not the customer. The problem is the retailer didn’t actually “sell” it to them.
It’s important to understand how this segment of consumer shops. They’ve been left-out and excluded as far back as they can remember. They have no reason to think a retailer - who has historically marginalized them in the past - is now going to cater to them unless the retailer tells them something’s changed.
There are so many things to “get right” when building product for a new demographic, from understanding the consumers’ needs, to building the right product for them, to communicating with them - during the building process as well as in retail environments.
As each of these focus areas are vital for success, I spend time with brands guiding them as they consider their new target consumer from end to end… from product concept through point-of-sale where a new customer walks away happy.
What strategies do you find most effective when encouraging companies to expand their size offerings?
Story-telling is key, and there are 2 types of stories to tell.
The first is the consumer story. Shared plus sized lived-experiences (both my personal experiences and similar ones from others in my community) paint a picture straight-sized folks may not have recognized or even imagined. You don’t know what you don’t know until someone tells you something different. And you can’t fix a problem until you know it exists.
Illuminating the problem from the consumers’ perspective is key for brands to begin solving the inclusion problem.
The second story is the business opportunity. It’s an easy numbers story to tell.
The Global Plus Sized Apparel Industry was estimated at USD 311.44 billion in 2023, projected to have a growth of 4.1% CAGR from 2024 - 2030.
And with nearly 70% of the US population wearing plus sizes, and so few brands building product to fit them, there’s a massive opportunity in the market. Showing companies they’re only tapping into 30% of a possible consumer base paints a very clear picture of possibility for not only growth in revenue and market-share, but to emerge as a leader in the inclusion movement.
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INDUSTRY & COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES
What role do you think media and advertising play in shaping perceptions of who belongs in outdoor spaces?
I honestly believe it’s just as important as product availability itself.
Imagery and communication is key. For folks who have been excluded for so long, we believe the stories we’re told. And if those stories continually show body types unlike ours, we don’t see our place in the world.
We all look to imagery for inspiration, and if we’re not seeing ourselves in the stories, we don’t believe the story is for us.
How do you engage with the outdoor community to raise awareness and foster size inclusivity?
Fortunately Portland has a very robust plus-sized community.
There’s an organization called ChubHubPDX that plans all sorts of size (and race and gender)-inclusive events throughout the year. One of the events they put on every summer is the 3 day Fat Joy Summer, including a pool party, plus sized shopping events, variety show, and block party with fat-friendly vendors, service providers, and organizations. Make Plus Equal has had a booth every year to meet with community members and get input on what they’d like to see from brands in the future.
I myself participate in outdoor events - hiking specifically, with organizations like Women Who Explore (not size specific, but women-focused) and Unlikely Hikers to connect with others who share similar interests.
And of course, having FatCon in Seattle now is a great way to gather with community. I’m looking forward to it’s second year.
Has there been any particular feedback that stands out to you, that you have received from the outdoor community regarding your activism?
On a small, very intimate scale, I was touched when an attendee of one of my Keynotes approached me after my segment to tell me she was going to go home and cut out all the labels from the inside of her garments. One of her takeaways from my presentation was that the numbers on the label don’t matter (and since every brand uses different size scales, they’re completely arbitrary to use in forming any sort of opinion about one’s body.) She’d decided she was going to stop letting the tags make her feel lousy about herself, and take steps to accept and care for her body as-is. This interaction was years ago and I still recall it like it was yesterday.
On a larger scale, I was honored to be included in Outside Business Journal’s 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry for my work on size-inclusion at Columbia Sportswear. I was pleased to be listed among many others I’ve looked up to and respected in my career.
How do you involve people of different body types and sizes in your work?
That’s another reason I’m so involved in both my local community and the wider global community. Having personal connections with so many folks of varying sizes & shapes, along with other small business owners in the plus-sized outdoor arena allows me to tap into others’ experiences and needs as a resource in my work.
Whether my clients are looking for consumer insights or product feedback (aka meeting with product teams), folks to weartest, or be involved in marketing (social media, affiliates, content creators, etc.) I look to the folks I’ve been engaging with and forming relationships with over the many years.
Their voices, their experiences, and their needs matter to these brands, and I’m fortunate to be in the position to bring folks together for the greater good.
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VOLUNTEER & PARTNER INVOLVEMENT
If you could implement one major policy change within outdoor brands tomorrow, what would it be?
There is a lot of buzz on the slowdown of DEI in larger corporations, and I believe it to be a detriment.
The beauty of having diverse teams is hearing diverse voices. Brands who continue to hire the way they always have don’t give themselves the opportunity to grow because they circulate the same stories and ideas. By bringing in a variety of talent, be it age, gender, nationality, race, size, or identity, organizations gain the ability to learn more about areas and opportunities that may not have arisen in the past.
Differentiation and uniqueness is what makes our world interesting and robust. More voices make for a better, more vibrant world.
How important is it for brands to connect/communicate with the communities they’re trying to serve?
If you build it, they will come….but only if you tell them you built it.*
For customers who are used to being overlooked and excluded, they’ve developed shopping habits based on those exclusions. If a brand has not served them in the past, there’s no reason for them to try (and fail) shopping with them again.
It is critical for brands to communicate to this “new to them” consumer that they’ve changed their offering, and there now is a reason to shop.
Additionally, including people from their target communities in the product process is key. One of the best ways to create product that sells is to evaluate what challenges people are having, and solve that problem with your product.
Without engaging with the community to understand and assess what they need (and want), decisions tend to be made in a vacuum, based on assumptions that might be incorrect, and may not do your target audience any good. And while historical data is also used in making business decisions, that data doesn’t always tell the whole story. History doesn’t necessarily reflect the current state of business or evolving trends.
Engaging with your target audience, in addition to other available data tools, will ensure you’re on the right path to meeting their needs.
