Our sustainability story began in 2014 when we became one of the very first designer swimwear labels to commit to using ECONYL®, a 100% regenerated fiber, for our entire range. This commitment just happened to coincide with my move from NYC to Tulum; This city girl took a dive head first into one of the most diverse and wondrous ecosystems on the planet. It was not long before my ethically focused label would transform into a love affair with the natural world. Afterall, how could we not advocate for Nature, when she was so generously providing all the backdrops and adventures necessary to wear a bikini in the first place?
Since then, there have been a lot of lessons and a lot of growth, paired with some long pauses for reflection.
After 2 years living in paradise, I began to see the negative effects of social media & technology driven tourism on this magical little town. Seeing the jungle chopped down on a daily basis really started to affect me on a personal level. My heart was broken by it. But it forced me to take a hard look at my own lifestyle and take responsibility in how my choices were contributing to the damage of this sacred place. This deep awareness ignited a strong desire to raise the bar and take a whole new approach to the fashion business. And more importantly, I knew the changes needed to start at home, with my own lifestyle choices and habits.
As the vision expands, our newest mission is to move beyond sustainability and set the bar for regenerative fashion. Not merely striving to minimize harm, but using our successes to maximize benefits exponentially for the people and the planet.
Enter permaculture and whole systems design.
With lessons learned, a process personal transformation and a whole lot of research, we are now transitioning from a swimwear label to a conscious lifestyle brand. Slowly rolling out a range of essential products to complement and enhance a sustainable lifestyle, from soft effortless dresses, vintage homewares, to natural self care and cleansing rituals of all kinds.
As we have allowed our current collection to age gracefully, test its timelessness and sell organically over the past 2 years, we have been doing tons of work behind the scenes to design and implement all aspects of a circular system, using the permaculture ethics and principles as our road map. We consider not only the impact of our supply chain, materials and work environment but also the personal development and quality of life of our community, an organic marketing approach aligned with slow fashion values and deepening our relationship with nature daily.
Livable wages and avenue to personal abundance
Free time for personal growth, aiming for a 4 day work week
Flexible hours, focused on productivity rather than set schedule
Beautiful, clean and inspiring workspace
Ongoing learning opportunities
Health as a lifestyle
Organic farm to table meals
Fitness amenities in the workplace
Low stress, ample rest & relaxation
Daily connection to nature
Create no waste
Certified renewable, recycled or dead stock materials
Natural dyes or no water digital printing
Reusable/returnable packaging
Recycle program to return old unwanted items to be repurposed
Teach conscious lifestyle through brand content
Preservation and regeneration of natural spaces
Contribute clean air through 1 for 1 planting initiatives
Contribute clean water through on site filtration systems
Contribute to soil health with compost program & biochar production
Renewable energy
No hoarding of resources, redistribute to the community
Only produce according to demand
Circular economy
Give back more than what we take
Leave things better than we found them
Teach what we learn
Make decisions to benefit the next 7 generations
If you’re interested in digging deeper into permaculture, feel free to try out
the same year long course that got me started.
Generously created and shared by Heather Jo Flores, author of Food Not Lawns.