A journey to sustainability

I love fashion. Sadly, I also used to be very much in love with fast fashion. I hate to admit it, but I was an addict with an unhealthy obsession for Zara.

In my previous role, as an academic, I spent a lot of time researching and lecturing on the business of fashion and its negative impact on the environment, its lack of economic viability and social inequality. I know, I should have known better, right?

But, like many other experts, it was only over time and through education that I concluded the fashion system was, and still is, broken. The problems range from the fast-paced fashion calendar to the overproduction of goods that encourage, and ultimately depend on, overconsumption to sustain a broken economic model. And that’s only the start. The lack of traceability and transparency in the fragmented supply chains, the exploitation of land, labour, and exotic animals, and the level of greenwashing that has seen sustainability become a profit-driven marketing strategy rather than inherent to business values, also play a key role.

Eventually, these realisations led me to an overwhelming feeling of guilt and I made the fateful decision to embrace conscious consumerism. Ultimately, it changed my life, allowing me to realise the dream of launching my own slow-luxury brand, Beira, which crafts limited-edition investment products for the discerning conscious consumer.