"The key moment was when I watched David Attenborough’s 'Blue Planet II' and realized how bad the plastic pollution in our oceans is"

small-shops: Hi, Beate! You have a Master Degree in Business & Economics and worked first for a solar power -, then for an investing and financing business. Even though both careers have had strong connections to environmental protection, none of them have anything to do with fashion. When and why did you decide to change industry?

Beate Baethke: Hi small-shops and thanks for inviting us. The key moment was when I watched David Attenborough’s “Blue Planet II” and realized how bad the plastic pollution in our oceans is and what it does not just for the marine creatures but for the whole earth. I was already in the process in finding a new career after my son finished school life. I am quite an aesthetical person and always liked well made and great looking fashion items, so I tried to combine the desire to express my creativity and my wish to demonstrate that fashion - one of the biggest polluters – can be in harmony with nature.

small-shops: You did 2 years of intensive research about eco-friendly materials and productions, before founding BORGANB. What are the most valuable lessons you have learned during that time?

Beate Baethke: First, there are already many new eco innovative material businesses out there which not many fashion designers either know or don’t use because these materials are usually more expensive than plastic. Secondly, there is lot of “greenwashing” in the fashion market and a lot of brands try cash in on the “vegan” wave, although most of it is made from products of the petro-chemical industry. Customers need more valuable transparency to take informed decisions .

small-shops: One of the biggest issues mankind has to face is an ever-increasing amount of plastic waste. This is why you found ways to produce high quality bags with zero plastics. How do you do that?

Beate Baethke: Based on my material research I started with a stunning fish leather , which I discovered on the Sustainable textile Fair in London app 4 years ago. I was stunned when I saw the material and even more stunned when I read that this was fish leather. I read about the company Nova Kaeru who makes it from waste of the fishermen in the Amazon, who use the fish for food and used to throw away the skin. And so the idea grew to make some really unique and minimalist bags without any plastic material in it. I talked e g to Gütermann, who kindly gave me some silk yarn to test whether it is strong enough compared to polyester and luckily it was. I found organic cotton zippers and a company for priting on TENCEL materials. We also use recycled cotton for the inside of the leather handles instead of prefabricated plastic tubes. The manufacturers are always amazed about it and they all confirmed that they have never seen anybody doing it like we do.

small-shops: How do you ensure that while your products are highly sustainable, also the workers are treated in a fair and ethical way?

Beate Baethke: Basically, I am under no illusion that a small start up has any significant market power to impose better working conditions on a company which is bigger than we are. That’s why we have no suppliers outside of the EU. The EU has put in place a set of labour rules to ensure strong social protection. They include minimum requirements on working conditions - such as wages, working time, part-time work, workers’ rights and they have become one of the cornerstones of Europe's social policies. In case of Nova Kaeru in Brazil , we talked to them about the workers. There is also a video on our website where the local people give their view about the making of the fish leather wish gave me a lot of comfort that Nova Kaeru has the wellbeing of planet and people and their local communities at heart.

small-shops: Currently you focus on high quality bags with timeless but still very unique designs. What other types of products do you plan to develop in the future?

Beate Baethke: We have plans to extend our leather collection also by smaller useful accessories, a few different styles, a smaller bag and for the next chapter we would like to use material made from organic waste material of the sea and agriculture. I am already visualizing beautiful minimalist and unique shirts e g in line with our basic philosophy.

small-shops: 15% of your profits will go to charity in the Amazon, Brazil. Can you please share what they do with this generous donation?

Beate Baethke: With the help of Nova Kaeru we still have to work out which exact Charity we will support first once we are generating profits, which is hopefully soon. But our idea is to support tribal communities against their fight against criminal intruders who steal their fishing grounds and also against the deforestation of the Amazon.

small-shops: Your company is clearly working on big innovations that puts you in the position of becoming a role model for many eco-brands. What advice would you give entrepreneurs that want to follow your example of creating a profitable and at the same time highly sustainable and ethical business?

Beate Baethke: I can only recommend daring to live your dream and put your heart & soul into it to make it a success. Reaching out to other brand owners , suppliers and other actors in this effort to transform the fashion business world is a refreshing and energizing experience . I still don’t know whether we will finally be financially successful, but we do all we can do to become an example of real transformation.

small-shops: Last but not least, we would like to ask you a personal question, asked in the end of all our interviews: If you could change one little thing in the world, what would it be?

Beate Baethke: That’s an interesting question. In the bigger scheme of things, I would if I could change the accounting system, integrate the external (environmental) factors of production into the accounting standard. Its sounds like a little thing but it would dramatically change supply and demand and immediately would reward companies which embrace working in harmony with nature.