Sustainability

 

Sustainability is at the core of everything we do and drives all our decisions including the materials we use, our supply chain, the location of our production and our packaging. Svala designs are classic, timeless and made to last so you can use them as long as possible. Most of our designs are convertible, so that you can wear them multiple ways and have a more sustainable, versatile wardrobe. 

MATERIALS

We have searched the globe to find the most sustainable, beautiful materials to use for our products. Moving forward, we are committed to using only plant based materials that have a low carbon footprint including MIRUM (a plastic-free vegan leather alternative), Piñatex® (made from pineapple leaf fiber, cork and BioVeg. 

We only work with reputable material suppliers that have a transparent supply chain including Natural Fiber Welding (U.S.A), Ananas Anam (Spain), Coronet (Italy) and  Portugalia Cork (Portugal). 

To prevent material wastage, we save any leftovers to make smaller products such as our card cases.

As we often test with various new materials on the market, we typically donate any excess to FIDM in Los Angeles for their fashion design students. 

For further info on Natural Fiber welding click here.

For further info Ananas Anam click here.

For further info on Coronet click here.

For further info on Portugalia Cork click here. 

CHEMICALS

We are very mindful of chemicals in our supply chain. As an example, there are no synthetic toxins or plastics at any stage of manufacturing of MIRUM® and there are no chemicals on the Cradle2cradle list of banned substances used in production for Piñatex®. Our bag lining made from recycled poly (65%)/organic cotton(35%) from Carr Textiles meets OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Product Class 1 and Global Recycled Standard 4.0..

PACKAGING

Svala products are packaged in unbleached, organic cotton and Better Cotton Initiative cotton dust bags. Our hang tags are made from recycled paper. We do not use any plastic in our packaging. Our FSC-Certified, acid-free, recycable tissue paper is from the sustainable packaging service No Issues. 

SHIPPING

Svala products are shipped in unbleached shipping boxes. We also use biodegradable cellophane shipping tape. Through our partnership with Ecologi, a tree is planted with every order. 

FACTORY

Our bags are produced in downtown Los Angeles at a factory that is strategically planted next to the Metrolink to make it both safe and convenient for their employees when traveling to and from the factory and their workers are provided with yearly public transportation passes. They encourage their workers to stay hydrated, keeping fans at every workstation for added comfort and they are paid a working wage in compliance with the laws and regulations of the State of California. We visit the factory at least every month throughout the year.