In episode 62, hear how Bianca Bellantoni has built her sustainable fashion brand, Bellantoni, to be kind to animals and the planet – and how she’s grown as a designer and business owner in the process.
Bianca Bellantoni is a Canadian designer and the founder behind the sustainable and cruelty-free clothing brand, BELLANTONI, which she started in 2017. She has her Bachelors of Design from Toronto Metropolitan University and completed her studies with a focus on zero waste sustainable fashion. Her passion to become a sustainable fashion advocate started in 2012 when she learnt about the devastating effects the fashion industry as a whole was having on the environment, on animals and on the people who work within the supply chains. She knew she had to be part of the change, which led her to start her own sustainable fashion brand from the ground up. Since starting her brand, she has been a top 10 semi-finalist for the Canadian Sustainable Fashion Awards 2018, has spoken to students at universities and has been featured in OMNI News, Alternatives Journal, CBC and the Georgia Straight.
The mission behind BELLANTONI is to help people dress well while being kind to animals, people and the planet, and they do so by using certified sustainable and recycled textiles, manufacturing locally in Vancouver and planting one tree with TreeEra for every clothing piece sold. Each piece is thoughtfully designed to easily transition into anyone’s wardrobe and often has an element of modularity to it, which gives their customers multiple ways to wear their pieces.
BELLANTONI also takes responsibility for their textile waste through their Re•Nu Project, a zero waste initiative that aims to (Re)define the new (Nu) by giving new life to textile waste. They use leftover deadstock and scraps from their own production and from the fashion industry to create zero waste products such as their scrunchies, masks, Re•Nu Gift Wrap, and more. They also recycle all of their small fabric scraps with the local textile recycling company, Fabcycle.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The things about the fashion industry that almost made Bianca stop studying fashion design
- How Bianca got involved in the sustainable fashion community
- What Bianca learned about fashion entrepreneurship from her job at a vegan outerwear startup
- How Bellantoni incorporates its values of being kind to animals and the planet
- The limitations and creative opportunities as a sustainable brand
- How Bianca organizes her business and timeline for both wholesale and retail orders
- What a day in the life for Bianca looks like
- How to be creative while designing more commercial, basic products
People and resources mentioned in this episode:
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