Consumers aren’t the only ones walking away from fast fashion. Designers and other professionals working behind the scenes are saying goodbye too. “There are already so many things being made and thrown away each year, so we strive to reimagine things so that they are exciting to the modern eye again,” says Elisa Niva, designer behind the ethical fashion brand, Antheia the Label. Waste and excess are two major polluting points of fast fashion. On average, Americans throw out 80 lbs of clothes yearly. And, many of those pieces of clothing are made from fabrics like polyester (a plastic based material) that can take up to 200 years to decompose. By repurposing cotton fabrics or crafting organic dresses with sturdy construction details like French seams, Elisa is working against the idea of waste to create a brand that embraces slow fashion. And, her tags are made from compostable paper too.
Yet it wasn’t that long ago that Elisa was working on a different side of the industry. “I come from a background of fast fashion and I wanted to get away from the idea of chasing trends that will come and go in a month or twos time.” she says. During a trunk show in Philadelphia, the designer and her business partner Liz, offered guests a taste of their beautiful fabrics and craftsmanship while they shared their story about building their ethical fashion brand, their sustainable goals. “We are striving to be more sustainable with each coming season,” Elisa explains as she shares her story of going from fast fashion to ethical designer.
What changed your way of thinking about fast fashion?
I think spending time in India and seeing the vast range of factory conditions (some good some not so good), we as consumers in the west are so removed most of the time from the idea of actual people making all of the clothes and most the of the items we have. I didn’t agree with the respect and way of working that I observed at some places. This is a massive industry and me complaining wasn’t going to change anything so I thought the best way for me to make a difference was to initiate change in a small way
Sustainable fashion education is still so new. How are you learning and educating yourself about your environmental impact as a designer?
All of it! I have become super interesting in the idea of repurposing old things and making them modern to new again as a way to be sustainable and am currently working on ways of integrating that into our product line in the future more!
What ways do you think the fashion industry could do better to help brands become more sustainable?
I think the customer caring is a huge part of this, I think as brands and businesses we need to do a better job of explaining the difference and the process behind what we are making in the interest of transparency and showing the customer why it may cost more.
What were some of the first sustainable initiatives that you made for your brand?
Finding a manufacturer that we trusted the ethics of so we knew that the people that were making our clothes were treated respectfully always. Medha is extremely trustworthy and precise and we both liked her and trusted me immediately. Also loved working with a fellow woman small business owner!
What sustainable goals do you have for 2021? 2022?
Organic and recycled cotton! Plant dyes! Repurposing old things that would be thrown away into something new and timeless!
What draws you to work with Indian artisans?
The craft and the history of the craft in India. Each state in India and even each village has different specialties and craft they have passed down. Its so inspiring to me and what a shame to have that all be lost to history!
What is one of the biggest sustainable lessons that you’ve learned since starting your brand in India?
How hard it is! Finding reliable vendors that deliver good product on time is not that easy and takes a lot of work to make happen. Definitely a learning curve we are still in finding all the pieces and fitting them together.
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