Anita Thomas of Lavāda: Five Strategies Our Company Is Using To Tackle Climate Change & Become More Sustainable

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Be scared but do it anyway. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart, to be sure. And getting started is just the first act of courage. There will be many things that surface which require even more fearlessness. Educate yourself, network with people in your industry, and find ways to stay motivated.

As a part of our series about how companies are becoming more sustainable, we had the pleasure of interviewing Anita Thomas.

Anita Thomas is the inventor and founder of Lavāda, the only quiet luxury, vegan brand that offers a 4-in-1 interchangeable handbag. Anita believes that stewardship is the true hallmark of sustainability that drive meaningful change, so she’s built a company that’s environmentally responsible from the ground up. Her goal is to give changemakers and trendsetters who aspire to achieve good stewardship an option that doesn’t require sacrificing style and versatility.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I used to travel a great deal for work and needed to go from one function or city to another, which often required changing outfits and bags more than once in a day. There were times when I forgot something essential in the process of transferring items, which is where the ideas about interchangeable bags came from. I actually had ideas about interchangeable handbags for years and finally stepped away from my corporate career to bring them to life — after going on a personal journey to improve my health, live a greener lifestyle, and reduce wastefulness as much as possible.

But in many respects, I’m also returning to my roots. I grew up in a family where we did everything we could to stretch a dollar. I watched and learned from my incredible seamstress mom who made our clothes and a bunch of household décor, which included everything from drapes to Christmas items. She taught me how to look at things differently and reimagine ways to transform everyday items into something else that would extend their usefulness and life cycle. I didn’t know it then, but those lessons were an important setup for my sustainability practices. It was true stewardship in action.

What is the mission of your company? What problems are you aiming to solve?

Lavāda’s mission is to be the premium, versatile option for sustainable handbags and accessories, while empowering people to have a fun and personalized experience with fashion. Our goal is to reduce wastefulness and extend the life of the items we buy and use, while reducing overproduction and cruelty in fashion. Which is why we only work with partners and manufacturers who bring extraordinary quality to the table.

A huge problem in fashion is the use of materials that can’t go the distance, which consumers experience as a higher-than-normal turnover in their closets. But at Lavāda we source the types of raw materials and elements that help make the finished product something that can stand apart for its integrity. And this also gives people more value. Because beyond a brand’s name, people should feel like they’re getting their money’s worth in more ways than one.

Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?

We’ve intentionally chosen nopal cactus as the raw material for our vegan leather handbags and clutches, which are PETA-approved. It’s a cruelty-free, organic, and sustainable alternative to traditional leather — minus phthalates, toxic chemicals, formaldehyde, and PVC. Cacti are also carbon-eating machines, they absorb carbon dioxide at night and require no irrigation. Plus, it only takes a few mature leaves to produce one linear meter of fabric. New leaves will resprout in as little as six months and it can take up to eight years before they need to be replanted.

Cactus leather is also a USDA Certified Biobased Product, along with meeting OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification. It’s engineered with a proprietary Bio-Polymer, which is partially made from organic renewable compounds so that it decomposes faster. And the dyes come from organic pigment with zero heavy metals.

For our packaging, we use 100% cotton dust bags and try to use recycled cardboard and plastics wherever possible. Lavāda also offers limited edition clothing collections where we practice slow fashion. Our items are all made-to-order, which drastically decreases bulk and overproduction; one of the biggest issues in fashion today. This also helps reduce the likelihood of sending tons of unused items to landfills each year.

How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?

When it comes to fashion, sustainability has become a buzzword that largely represents the types of materials used, or the elements involved in production. But I think what companies should really be focusing on is the appropriate volume for consumer demand, along with the end-to-end lifecycle of apparel. Being responsible to both customers and the planet, and exercising this responsibility for every item produced can certainly lead to increased profits. For starters, businesses have upfront costs for manufacturing, shipping, wholesale distribution, retail expenses etc., so unused inventory is a huge profit killer. Shifting to more sustainable practices would reduce and/or eliminate unused inventory, which would mean fewer operational costs and greater ability to reinvest into other areas of the business in order to grow and scale.

Beyond that, consumer perception and cancel culture can also be a big hit to a company’s bottom line. Take H&M, for example: They produce hundreds of millions of items every year, and in 2018 they were called to the carpet for having $4.3 billion of unsold inventory. It was also reported that they, along with other clothing producers, burn unsold goods. Practices like this have no place in a sustainably sound and responsible future. Eliminating these practices will help build goodwill and ultimately attract more loyal customers.

The youth-led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are a few things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement?

1. I think parents can start by teaching their kids about recycling and upcycling. They can involve their kids in the process of sorting materials for the recycle bin. And they can help their kids repurpose items that are slightly damaged but could be given an extended life.
2. Read labels. It sounds very straightforward, but help your kids learn about what’s inside any given item so they can learn the differences between materials. This way they’ll learn which ones are more sustainable than others.
3. Watch documentaries together. Online streaming platforms have several family-friendly programs filled with lessons on sustainability, such as A Plastic Ocean, which is on Netflix.
4. Take your kids to thrift and consignment stores. Even if you don’t end up buying anything, it’s a great way to educate kids on what to look for in quality materials that last a long time. And it’ll become clear to them which items hold their value, the more they’re exposed to different types of materials. This will help them become wiser consumers in the long run.
5. Amp up the messaging around stewardship. Talk to your kids about what it means to be a good steward and help them explore the different ways they can practice good stewardship.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Here are the five things I wish someone had told me before starting my business:

1. Be scared but do it anyway. Starting a business is not for the faint of heart, to be sure. And getting started is just the first act of courage. There will be many things that surface which require even more fearlessness. Educate yourself, network with people in your industry, and find ways to stay motivated.
2. Adjust if needed, but never give up. Challenges are so normal in the life of an entrepreneur and business owner. You may be tempted to throw in the towel, but don’t give up.
3. Expect delays. In my [fashion] space, there is a lot of reliance on others to get things done and bring your vision to life. So, planning and setting deadlines is a must. And you should probably cushion your timeline by a few weeks to account for setbacks. Something may happen that delays production or shipping, but if you’ve accounted for potential challenges, it won’t affect your deadlines that you’ve set internally.
4. It usually costs more than you expect. Like a home renovation project, things rarely stay within the initial budget you outline. Anything from material costs to necessary design revisions can introduce scope creep. So be prepared and understand the tolerance you can operate within to deal with cost fluctuations. If necessary, make concessions on the less important elements. And if you’re working with a financing partner, communicate expected variances.
5. Other people’s work ethics will not be the same as yours. There are people and businesses whose values do not match your own. While I was certainly no stranger to doing my homework on companies, including due diligence and asking the right questions upfront, I was not prepared for some actors in my space simply lying about what they claimed to be able to do. We had to kiss a few frogs before finding the trusted partners we work with today.
6. No one has ALL the answers. Educate yourself, network, talk to others, learn from others, align with trusted allies, and form a team of advisors. But just know that at the end of the day, you’re still going to have to make the tough decisions. It is your business, after all. And no one is going to be more invested than you in its success. So, trust your instincts along with the input you receive from others.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My mother is my inspiration and my muse. In fact, I named the company in her honor. She is someone who dealt with her fair share of hard times and uncertainty, but always found a way to rise above and remain resilient. She is the person who taught me the most about stewardship and resourcefulness. And because of her example as a freelance seamstress, it gave me not only an early education in fashion, but entrepreneurship as well.

I’m also fortunate to have had a number of strong mentors in the business world who have helped shape my thinking, and in many cases helped me to think bigger.

You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I want to help change the way we all think about and approach fashion in three ways:

1. By reducing our carbon footprint.
2. By finding new and interchangeable ways to use things.
3. By reducing our consumption so we don’t continue to see massive environmental impact from textiles.

Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?

One of my favorite go-to quotes is, “Excellence…is not an act, but a habit.” It is attributed to Will Durant, an American historian and philosopher. And it reminds me to keep pushing and forming the small habits that will pay off with big results, even if it takes time. It also reminds me to have patience because anything worth doing is worth doing well.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

Visit Lavāda’s official website and blog at www.lavadabags.com, and follow us on social media: @lavadahandbags For example, Instagram: https://instagram.com/lavadahandbags

This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Thank you for the opportunity to have such a great conversation.