Tips For Launching a Sustainable Fashion Business

00:00
Hi! You're watching a new season of the Green New Perspective Launchpad, a webcast series where we talk about sustainability across various industries.
We're kicking off this season with a conversation on sustainable fashion and design. Unfortunately, the fashion industry is still one of the most polluting sectors in the world. So, today, we’re diving into what sustainable fashion really means, and I have two amazing guests with me.
Let me start by introducing the first one. I'm going to read this out because I don’t have it all memorized!
Ivana Biočina is a master of textile technology and engineering and the author of two excellent books:
Modus Vivendi Asean: Political, Economic and Social in Fashion, and
The Tyranny of Fashion: Using Adornment in Search of Identity.
I’ve read them both, they’re fantastic if you want a deeper understanding of sustainability in the fashion world. You can order them through Book Depository, so definitely check that out.
Ivana is also the head of the recently launched Institute of Sustainable Fashion, which focuses on local production, education, and spreading awareness about sustainable fashion.
My second guest is a designer who works in costume and slow fashion. We’ll hear from her shortly as we explore what slow fashion is and how it contrasts with the fast fashion system dominating globally.
My name is Dunja, I’ll be your host. This interview is about 30 minutes long, I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please hit that subscribe button, and let us know in the comments what you liked or disliked so we can keep improving our content.
That’s it from me for now. Let’s wait for our guests to join.

01:59
Hi Maria! How are you?

02:06
Hi, hello! I’m great. How are you?

02:09
Good! I’d like to jump right into the questions because we don’t have a lot of time, so let’s use it wisely.

Q: Can you both briefly introduce yourselves and tell us how you got into sustainable fashion? What did you learn about the industry that motivated you to try and change it?

Ivana, let’s start with you, especially since you’ve written books and launched an educational project. Then Maria, you can follow with your journey into sustainable design.

03:06
Ivana:
People love a good story, right? I wish I had one of those big “eureka” moments, but honestly, that wasn’t my case. I was born into it. I grew up in a small town, in a working-class family with a single mother. I was very connected to nature, but I could always sense that something was off, the balance of the system, of life itself.
Part of my family was involved in environmental work and the green economy, so I was aware of the issues from a very young age. I wore “Save the Planet” t-shirts as a kid. It was always a part of me.
As I got older and went to college, I started to understand the bigger picture, looking at what was happening in places like Greece or here in Yugoslavia in terms of the textile industry. That’s when sustainability began to take shape in my mind.
Back then, it wasn’t even called “sustainability.” It was just environmentalism or activism. But I’ve always questioned the system and felt that something was wrong. Once I started doing research, digging into the data, it all became clear. The system wasn’t working, even in the ‘80s. It’s worse now in many ways.

Q: Was the system actually better back then or just different?

05:02
Ivana:
That's a complex question. There's this myth that the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s were some sort of golden era for the textile industry, but that’s not true. Even then, we didn’t produce our own raw materials; we were dependent on imports. The real golden age was in the 1920s and ‘30s. Back then, we produced about 96% of our raw materials domestically. That was a closed-loop system, and we were among the top hemp producers in the world.
So yes, there was a time when we had a truly sustainable model, but then it collapsed. Today, we’re somewhere in between, neither at the beginning nor the end.

Q: And globally? Has sustainability improved or declined overall?

07:08
Ivana:
When you choose to follow a sustainable path, you have to hold two realities in your head at once: that things are worse, and that things are better.
We have ultra-fast fashion chains now, which are terrible. But we also have sustainability becoming part of the mainstream conversation. There’s a lot of greenwashing, sure, but there are also real communities, movements, and individuals pushing for change. It’s all happening simultaneously. You just have to choose your path.

08:08
Maria:
My story is a bit more of a classic fashion story. I had the opportunity to showcase my work at Croatian Fashion Week. I did a couple of shows, but quickly realized, it wasn’t for me.
The pace was too fast. I couldn’t keep up creatively, and I didn’t want to. I needed time for proper design and craftsmanship, so I chose to slow down. That was back in 2016, and I started doing things my own way.
At first, I wasn’t fully focused on sustainability, but I knew I didn’t like what was happening in the industry. So I started using what I had around me: deadstock fabrics, natural dyes, even printing my own fabrics. With every new collection, I challenged myself to go further, to explore more. I’m still on that journey.
No one is 100% sustainable. But for me, it's a constant process of pushing forward.

10:21
Q: Is it difficult to be a thriving sustainable designer in an unsustainable system? What are the biggest challenges, materials, workers, self-funding, or brand growth?
Maria:
It’s definitely easier now than it was in 2016. I actually consider myself lucky because I live in a smaller city and a smaller country. There's a tight-knit community here. You can collaborate with people around you and grow your brand in a more grounded, personal way.
That kind of setting is great for fashion brands, it gives you the space to evolve and find your path. But at the same time, greenwashing is everywhere. A lot of what’s labeled “sustainable” isn't truly sustainable, it’s just trendy.
Still, there are so many options here for reuse, recycling, and upcycling. I’m fortunate to be in an environment where that’s possible. It’s not easy, but it is a choice. Once you make that choice, you just have to stick with it.

12:19
Q: You mentioned Ivana is doing fabric recycling. Can you tell us more about that? What are you doing through the Institute for Sustainable Fashion to reduce textile waste?
Ivana:
Maria is a classic fashion designer, and I love that. My approach is different. I call my work “peasant design”, simple, down-to-earth clothing. But I don’t consider myself a fashion designer. I’m more of a storyteller.
I think one of the biggest issues with sustainability today is that it's still being pushed through the same old lens, the same straight-line, production-focused mindset. We need to reshape the narrative.
Lately, I’ve been very focused on raw materials, because they’re the beginning and end of the cycle, and the most problematic parts. I work with antique linens, old cotton, materials that carry history and meaning. I want to tell a new story rooted in the past.
Upcycling was my starting point, even before I knew what that word meant. Back in high school, I would go through my mom’s closet and redesign her clothes without telling her! I just wanted to create something unique, something that broke away from monoculture. That’s how I first tapped into this idea of individuality and sustainability.
Now, my business model is based on selling sustainable clothing, and that allows me to keep the educational parts of my work either free or low-cost. So yes, I upcycle, I rethink materials, and I tell stories through fabric.

15:00
Q: Since you’ve both witnessed important steps forward in sustainable fashion, what do you think about the role of new technologies? And what about economic models like degrowth? Do you see them actually taking hold?
Maria:
Degrowth is really close to my heart. It’s not new, it’s been around since the '80s, but it’s still just a theory in most places.
To me, it’s very similar to slow fashion. It's about slowing down production, improving quality, buying and producing less. That’s how I approach my own brand. I release just two collections a year, by choice. It’s enough.
The future isn’t necessarily about new tech, it’s about taking a step back. Degrowth means including your local community, hiring people around you, getting to know your customers, and helping them understand your values. It all starts with education.

17:00
Ivana:
I completely agree. It's all about reshaping the story. We need to tell new stories, involve people, and bring creativity into how we educate.
Local is essential. As Maria said, it's not about fancy tech, it’s about reconnecting with our past. Our region has a rich heritage in industry and agriculture. We should be learning from that and applying it to the present.
Sure, better technologies help. But I’d like to see a real change in raw materials, maybe a small revolution in textile agriculture. That’s where I’m focused now: trying to inspire young people to get involved, to connect with others doing work in natural dyes, fibers, and pigments across Europe.
Design is great, but it all starts from the soil. The new story begins with nature.

19:34
Dunja (host):
Yeah, I have to say I’m really excited about biomaterials too. And there’s actually some promising development happening here in the Balkans around that, which is exciting.
Thank you both. I hope this was fun for you. I know our listeners and subscribers will learn a lot from this conversation.
We’ll be back in a few weeks with another episode of the Green New Perspective Launchpad webcast.
Bye!