Why was it important for you to launch a sustainable business?
We, as a family, live in a very sustainable way and we felt the need to apply this lifestyle to our business too, as we believe that our contribution can have an impact on this society.
How as a family do you try to live more sustainably at home?
At home we recycle – the kids (aged 3 and 8) both know exactly what it means and they even build toys from pre-used cartons. We do not use single use plastic, we buy food at local markets and we bring our own grocery bag – so that’s why we made one! The household cleaning products we use are eco-friendly, so are the beauty products.
We buy clothes only when we know the origin or we buy second hand, which I love and I found incredibly cool finds. We love to know where anything we buy comes from.
We do not waste food – my husband Andrea is also a professional rugby player so that’s easy for us as we never have leftovers, but I am also learning to prepare food with as less waste as possible.
We use public transport or we walk as much as possible and we drive our car once every two weeks, when strictly necessary.
Why did you choose to use ecological synthetic leather for your bags?
One of the main goals of our project is to demonstrate that sustainable does not imply any kind of waiver in terms of style. Luxury is something that makes us feel great yet it is not necessary. So it not necessary to buy items that do not respect our planet. The ecological synthetic leather we use is plant-derived and solvent free but still it looks exactly like real leather. Some animal leathers are solvent-less but we could not retrieve the origin of the raw material and we decided that not having this information would have been a risk we did not want to take.
What is your ultimate ambition for Maria Lamanna?
We hope to have a positive impact on this society and become a relevant brand in the fashion industry.
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