Kaia Mar Blog

When creating Kaia Mar, we have been researching the sustainable fashion sector a lot. And we’ve seen many "green" and "sustainably made" brands who just capitalize on the sustainability trend. So we thought it would be useful for you to learn how you identify if the brand is sustainable or just greenwashing. Make sure you save this post and send it to your eco-conscious friend so that more people can support truly green brands.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking to buy eco-friendly clothes and accessories: 

1. Check the materials. 

When it comes to textile clothing and accessories, consider choosing vegan, plant-based material. The options include pineapple leaves, apple peels and cactus textile. Also textile made from recycled plastic and much more. These materials  look and feel just like the actual animal-origin leather but have much lower environmental cost. For example, the environmental cost of cactus textile, which we use to produce Kaia Mar handbags, is 300 times less than the environmental cost of bovine textile. 

Unfortunately, not all vegan material is actually good and sustainable. Many of the vegan textile products on the market are made of 100% polyester, a petroleum-based material that is not biodegradable. 

2. Consider the dyes. 

Dyes are not the first thing you think about when buying clothes and accessories. But it is really important to know what dyes brands use since many of them may contain heavy metals and toxic elements. 

Luckily, there are alternatives. Here are 4 types of eco-friendly dyes that are better for you and the environment: 

• Fiber-reactive dyes. As it comes from the name, these dyes react directly with the fabric making the dye a part of the fabric. Fiber-reactive dyes use less water, salt and heavy metals than normal fabric dyes. Because the color is permanent, clothes can withstand many washes and still retain their original color.
• Biodegradable dyes and pigments have been found to be an excellent choice for designers who are looking at ways in which they can reduce their carbon footprint. These environmentally friendly products do not require the use of heavy metals,  amines and inorganic salts. Usage of fiber-reactive and biodegradable dyes helps to reduce the consumption of water and environmental pollution.
• Azo-free dyes are free of nitrogen based compounds that release aromatic amines. These organic compounds contain no heavy metals, so they're much better for the environment than their counterparts - azo dyes.
• There are many different types of natural dyes that can be used to color fabric. These include  dyes derived from plants, fruit, algae, fungi, marine invertebrates (like starfish and sea urchins) and bacteria. The best thing is they're all biodegradable so you won't have any worries about running into environmental problems with them in the future. 

3. Look for brands that prioritize transparency.

Notice what the brands share about their manufacturing process. Make sure if they clearly speak where and how their products are produced, share the information about labor conditions, and have third-party certifications (Fair Trade, SA 8000,PETA etc). 

Why should you care about that? Well, here is the thing, if a shirt from a big mass-market brand priced $5, it means that it’s manufacturing cost is around 5-10 cents. And for a factory to promise a large amount of item units for the price of 1 -10 cents each, they need cheap and fast labor. This leads to factories hiring kids, abusing women to work 80 hours a week to make sure the factory itself makes a profit. It's a long line of people trying to make money and gain the most profit possible. 

If you chose not to support this violation of human rights and labor laws, don’t hesitate to ask for more information. Brands that are making sustainable and ethical choices will not shy away from any questions you have in regards to where their garments are made, by whom, or what fabrics they use. 

4. Explore small businesses 

You can make a difference in the fashion industry by choosing to support sustainable small businesses. These brands create amazing things, made of vegan and biodegradable materials with minimal water waste and air pollution while still providing you with great quality clothing and accessories! 

Unfortunately, they cannot compete against fast-fashion giants who produce new items every season and spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns. But you know what? Your choice can make a difference. Look for sustainable fashion brands and see if they are truly green or not by following the tips above!

The world needs more people who care about how their clothes and accessories are produced.  Use these tips when making purchasing decisions to be sure you'll get your money's worth while still being good stewards over our beautiful blue marble up there...

Those who say we should dream big are right, as what was just an idea for us back in 2020 turned into a business for Kaia Mar a year later. The brand is off to a start on Kickstarter, where people, or in Kickstarter’s terms backers, can order their early bird bundles of the very first Kaia Mar production.

One of the main reasons we started Kaia Mar was to provide people with sustainable and high-quality bags and accessories. This is why a lot of attention is given to the materials from which the products are made as well as the manufacturer who would ensure successful production of the items. To get off on the right foot, we started working with reliable partners. One of them being Desserto – a leader in cactus textile production and another important partner Veshin – a sustainable fashion manufacturer. Together with their help, we created products that we dreamed of and wished for others to have. So, let’s look at our first collection?

Presenting – Kaia Mar products  

Handbags

- Phone bag: a small bag for the most important items such as your phone, wallet and keys created for those who are tired of not finding their essentials fast enough. Small and classy, with secure magnetic closure. 

- Boxy bag: little black dress seems to never go out of style, and now so does this new Kaia Mar bag that will complement any outfit with its modern and classic design. 

Straps

When creating these simple, versatile and functional handbags, we also wanted to bring fun and uniqueness to our products. This is why we created Magji and Calipso straps. These colourful and one-of-a-kind straps are interchangeable, meaning that you will be able to create a new look while needing just one great bag. 

As this year United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) has already started, it is important to find out what changes it will bring to the fashion industry. The climate change crisis has been a headache for everyone: from government leaders to individual people. Among them are brands and their owners who feel enormous pressure and responsibility for what is happening with the environment. 

Since everyone is tackling the same problem, the best thing, in this case, is to unite and use everyone’s power and resources to work on the solutions together. This is why some of the greatest fashion organizations, consultancies, forums and brands decided to write an open letter to the leaders and address some of the main goals the fashion industry needs to achieve in the nearest future. So, what are these goals and how they are going to shape fashion? 

- To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050;

- To usefully eliminate waste;

- To encourage businesses to take responsibility for their supply chain;

- To educate people and especially children on how to re-use and repair their clothes;

- To think of solutions to tackle climate problems having in mind that the occurring business model is focused not on profit and loss but on a wellbeing economy. 

These new collectively set goals mean that there needs to be a lot of work put in to stop the damage that has already been done and make the fashion industry a more transparent, responsible and honest place. This can only be achieved if “players” of this industry take a hard look at what’s been going on in the recent past and honestly admit what their mistakes were. Next step is to correct these mistakes. This change can be truly hard but necessary to implement.  

Have you ever asked yourself why you started following someone? The reason for this usually is that we get impressed by their lifestyle, it gets interesting to see how they change throughout time. But not all changes are for good: after a while, we start to notice that an influencer’s account reminds more of a billboard than a real person’s account.  

From influencers to genuinfluencers

What makes someone a successful influencer? The audience. To attract an audience, they need interesting content that goes together with good deals and promotions. With time people started to realize that even their favourite influencer who they followed for years might be talking about some amazing product not because they truly believe in it but because they have bills to pay. For this reason, influencers became more scrutinized by their audience. Why did this happen? People got tired of ads and constant promotions - all they want and need is entertaining advice. Seeing the influencer promoting different brands of the same product raise suspicion about how much they believe in what they do. And sometimes all people need from influencers is some educational and involving content rather than urging them to buy something.  

Who are genuinfluencers? 

Genuinfluencers are micro-influencers who are there to spread awareness on certain problems, give important information and make an impact when we’re trying to make an informed decision. Now people are very much involved in solving environmental problems and changing one’s habits to become more sustainable, so they look for someone who could inspire and educate them on topics such as conscious fashion. One of these influencers is @emsladedmondson, who is on the list of 100 UK Leading Environmentalists. She is the founder of @charityfashionlive encouraging people to choose second-hand clothing to create stylish outfits instead of running to fast fashion stores. 

A new approach to brands and people 

Genuinflunecers are there to give out information and advice and not to sell products. However, brands are very interested in such people as they are trustworthy and valuable. Genuinfluencers present things to others that they first find interesting themselves. They dig deep to get to the bottom of things and present it to the public. They manage to convey their interest and knowledge to others by not thinking about the profit first. 

 Have you already noticed the rise of genuinfluencers? 

We already talked about the advantages of vegan material. And if you're already letting that amazing feeling sunk in as you see your new faux textile bag, we're here to serve you some useful tips on how to make sure that your product would be there for you longer.

It’s no surprise that the design of the product plays an important role in production. However, it’s not enough to just “plan” the way a garment or an accessory will look like. Production is as essential as everything else. But you might end up surprised by the fact that not all designers like to pay attention to who their manufacturer is and how they run things. So, let’s see what is crucial in this journey and what designers should take into consideration.

Fashion history taught us that every period has its signature looks. Designers of different epochs created pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories that still come back as fashion trends. It also shows that there was a clear distinction between genders and cultures. But now, we live in times when all these boundaries are fading away. 

Gen Z and its state of mind

Recently we talked about gender gaps and new things that young generations such as Gen Z are implementing in their daily lives. 

Malai makes materials that are “completely vegan product and as such you could even eat it”. Products such as shoes, bags, wallets, etc., made from Malai are water-resistant and sustainable as they are made from bacterial cellulose that is grown with the help of coconut waste.

Leap by Beyond Leather provides us with plant-based leather made from apple waste. They produce high-quality, rich looking material using waste that is left from juice and cider production to create next best thing in vegan material manufacturing.