Sure, this week was packed with exciting things such as the launch of our new collection... Yet, we made some time for asking the co-founder of Spanish label 'Elisa Muresan', Miguel Mateo, a few questions.
Hi Miguel, could you briefly introduce yourself, please?
I'm Miguel Mateo, co-founder and CEO of the sustainable fashion brand Elisa Muresan.
When was ‘Elisa Muresan’ founded and what drove you into doing so?
Elisa Muresan began to be created in 2010 and was born as a brand in 2012. We wanted to dedicate ourselves to the world of fashion but in a manner consistent with our way of thinking,respectful of the environment and animals.
How many people work at the label, how important are big or small structures for you?
Right now we work with three people. It depends on what we understand by big or small. We believe that to be sustainable you can have a certain structure but not too big.
Do you mostly sell your clothes online or also in-store, and for which reasons?
We sell mainly in our store in Zaragoza, but also online. Online sales, at least in Spain, for sustainable fashion is still very complicated.
I am not very familiar with the sustainable fashion scene in Spain – is there a lot going on, can one notice a shift towards more sustainability?
The truth is, that for about 2-3 years we have had an important step with the appearance of many new brands and a great interest although we believe that there is still much to be done.
What difficulties do you often have to deal with and how to you solve them?
For us, the biggest difficulty we've had was finding fabrics. Here in Spain, when we had started, it was something really difficult which has changed and now it is a little easier. It was also and still is difficult to make customers understand what sustainable fashion really means, because they should change their buying habits and because they are paying the price they are paying - a fair price.
What does sustainability mean for you – in your job, but also personally?
For us, sustainability is a way of life, something that has to be present in all aspects of life, fashion, food, hygiene and personal care...It is to maintain a balance between the resources you use and the ability of the planet both to absorb them and to regenerate them. It is respect for everything that surrounds us both, nature and animals, they are not something of our property but we are a whole. Humans are not above these things, we belong to them.
How important are network-structures for you – do you regularly participate in roundtables or fairs etc.?
Network structures, collaborative partnerships... they are important because they make you stronger in the message and in the action.Maybe we don't participate regularly, although we have participated several times a year in talks at schools and universities. We are not very regular at fairs, as participants are not an objective and as visitors are usually outside of Spain, so the expenses skyrocket.
How would the ideal consumer landscape look like for you?
There was a real awareness of the problem, at this time in Spain we think that this awareness is starting to grow but still people make many excuses to continue with the usual shopping habits, excuses such as the wide variety of clothes offered by the big chains and at very low prices.
Yes, that is unfortunately very true - we are so happy though that labels like you guys are trying their best to make this variety also visible in the sustainable fashion scene! Thanks so much for answering our questions!
