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EcoWalk. Interview with Bruno Pinheiro, CEO of “Grow From Nature”: Cork Looks and Feels Amazing

“We are improving our designs, working with Cork and another sustainable and natural leathers. “

Bruno Pinheiro CEO, Grow From Nature
www.GrowFromNature.com

natural cork purseBruno, can you tell us a bit about your journey into fashion design industry? Did you take a traditional path and attend fashion school? Hey Sheeba, no I didn’t go to any fashion school, in fact, we had started learning 3 years ago on Youtube. At the moment we have designers working with us on the designs of our products.

What drives your passion for creating a sustainable fashion? Sustainability will be the next generation of organic and natural products, they can be durable, renewable, natural and with an amazing look.

How would you describe your design aesthetic? Can you tell us more about the sustainability features of your label? Why did you choose cork to work with and what makes it so special? Cork is one of the main resources in Portugal, it looks and feels amazing. Our designs are inspired by Nature, Cork patterns represent Nature. We are improving our designs, working with Cork and another sustainable and natural leathers.

What is the target group of people for Grow From Nature and which unique characteristics can your customers find in Grow from Nature brand? What defines your style? Our target is everyone, sustainability will be something that people will look different in the next years, we can do our bags, shoes, and clothing without hurting the planet and animals.

How durable are your products and is it possible to increase their longevity? Could you offer an upgrading and/or a repair service to your customer? Year after year Cork is improving in terms of durability, now is about of 5 years but in the near future will be more.

accessories made of cork grow from What was the timeline from having an idea to actually creating the product?  We had one year preparing everything, from manufacturers, times of deliveries, brand, design, places to showcase (Green Fest, sustainable events), internet (website, Etsy, Amazon) and local store in Portugal.

If you could choose any figure to be the face of your upcoming collections who would it be and why? If I could choose any figure will be Elon Musk, he represents the future and he knows how important is sustainability on the human evolution.

natural cork handbag grow fromDoes the fact that you make eco-friendly bags make it harder to stay on trend? In my opinion, the trend is sustainability and vegan attitude for the next years, so we are on trend. For the good of animals and planet Earth.

People say that ethical and sustainable fashion is too expensive. How do you usually respond to that? At the moment it is here in Grow we have all this in consideration, we are working to have better prices.

What do you think what impact does hyper-consumerism and mass production have on the environment? Hyper – consumerism… is driving us to wars and similar, extinct animals, climate change…and more.

What in your opinion is the most important thing to look for in environment-friendly fashion? For environment- friendly fashion is important to keep working with main recourses that can be renewable and vegan…

Grow from nature bagsWhat are you fascinated by at the moment and how does it feed into your work? Now we are teaching people what Cork is and for what it can be used, it is really cool to see the reactions.

What were the challenges you have come up against in your journey to create a sustainable fashion brand? The most challenging is the shipping times to arrive to our customers, from Portugal to the US is about 15 business days, in the near future we will work with Amazon to have better shipping times.

Where do you see the sustainable fashion industry going? Have you seen more interest from consumers lately? From the last 2 years we had experience with lots of people asking for our products, for vegan stores and events, so in my opinion, the industry is growing.

In your opinion, what new idea or innovation is having the most significant impact on fashion design? The idea that animals are not to wear, it will change all the fashion industry for better in my opinion.

From your point of view, how have you seen the sustainable fashion industry change or develop since launching Grow From Nature? The industry is growing and growing, that is what I was expecting. In my opinion, it is the next step of human evolution in accessories industry.

What advice would you give to aspiring eco-entrepreneurs, especially those with an interest in sustainable & eco-friendly fashion? My advice is before starting any brand or store, educate yourself about all the sustainable and vegan leathers, explain to your customers why a sustainable leather and they will pay a bit more to have your product.

Is there anything you learned about your customers since you have started Grow from Nature? The thing that I have learned is that people are always looking for something different something that makes an impact.

grow from nature bag and hatGive us a little hint! What can we expect to see from Grow From Nature in near future? You can expect to see a lot of new products, for example, shoes, hats, pillows and more. We are going to mix Cork with another amazing sustainable leather to add a bit more elegance.

Where can our readers find out more about, or follow, your work? We have our Website www.growfromnature.com, Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/GrowFromNature, Instagram www.instagram.com/growfromnature/ and facebook page www.facebook.com/growfromnature.

How do you incorporate sustainable living in other areas of your life? We are helping the local communities cleaning the plastic of the sea and recycle this old plastic.

How has being a designer changed your life? This idea had to change the way I see the world right now. So it was an amazing experience until now.

What superpower do you wish you had and why? Power to recreate the way we see the world and this planet.

What do you do to recharge your artistic side? When I need to be creative I close my self in one place for two three days to see if I have any inspiration during this days.

Please tell us one fact about yourself people might find surprising. I had flown to the work for 10 years seeing the good and the bad about the planet we live in, experience cultures, ideas, the way of living.

Best,

Bruno Pinheiro

Thank you, Bruno.


Published 2018 April VOL I: BUY NOW

grow from nature
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