Eco Fashion World

It all starts with an idea; an idea you can’t let go of, an idea that inspires you to the point of breathlessness each time you think about it. You know if you don’t act on it, it is going to haunt you for the rest of your life. This is your time to bare all, your moment to pour everything you have into something you love and truly make a difference. These few sentences describe the birth of Banuq.

Davide Grazioli was brought up in Milano, a city where fashion permeates everything. In Milano, Grazioli worked primarily as a multi media artist with a strong focus on the environment. Specifically, he often used fabric and embroidery as his mediums which organically transported his talents into the world of fashion.

Grazioli recalls hearing of organic cotton for the first time in 2003. He was in India when he met a very passionate designer who taught him the intricacies of vegetable dyeing and weaving. During this time he became more aware of the huge environmental impact of conventional fashion and consequently, he made a firm commitment to create fashion and art with sustainability in mind. Grazioli’s first ideas for a collection were born of his experiences in India.

Mauro Pavesi, the co-founder of Banuq who is also originally from Italy, has an educational background that includes a degree in Communications and Public Relations, as well as a master’s degree in Developmental Studies. After graduation he worked as a volunteer with the United Nations in Zambia and Burkina Faso. From his experiences, he felt it was too difficult to influence big changes from inside large organizations and next began to map out the business plan for Banuq. His plan revolved around the idea to create a supply chain that would keep resources in Africa through to the finished product instead of exporting the raw materials to other countries, often resulting in materials touring the world several times (sometimes for relatively simple productions). Research and discussion of this process revealed that environmental and social costs are heavily ignored by many companies. Upon completion of this business plan, Pavesi won the Development Solution Award in Denmark which allowed him to begin networking and traveling to Africa to explore suppliers. This was the very early genesis of Banuq. Although the two started working on the Banuq project in 2007, if counting from official launch, Banuq is just now a year old.

The primary effort at inception was to create the collection fairly and organically with an entirely African supply chain from the first yarn to the last button. Banuq uses a fine Egyptian organic and fair trade cotton and organic linen, both transformed into different woven and knitted fabrications. The materials are pesticide-free, chemical-free, and fertilizer-free, certified organic, and derived from a development project that aims to enable African countries to have high quality local supply chains. For these reasons, Banuq likes to call their cotton bio-dynamic. Banuq buttons and buckles are handmade using wood or coconut shell from Ethiopia or Tanzania.

Grazioli and Pavesi believe that charity is not the best way to incentive poor countries and emphasize this with a mantra that reads, “We believe in TRADE more than AID.” They have seen clear examples of how ineffective charity can be in Ethiopia where communities have been put in a passive receiving position. Through the Banuq project, they spend time with the people they work with, helping them to sharpen their skills and ultimately improving their situations actively by helping them to become self sufficient. Banuq cooperates with companies or NGOs that help people to have steady jobs and fair salaries, encouraging them to plan for the future of their families, making them understand that there is a direct link between the quality of the work they produce and their future.

What distinguishes Banuq creations with regard to look and style is a personal approach in design aimed at creating garments that do not look new the first time they are worn but at the same time never look old; timeless and elegant but relaxed with high functionality. Banuq is for the traveler, the explorer, the person on-the-move who wants to wear quality stylish clothing consciously constructed with a profound respect for all life. There is an obvious representation of African culture through the use of vibrant color and richly textured fabrics. The latest collection is appropriately titled “Living on the Edge,” as they aim to compel the masses to constantly push boundaries toward betterment.

With the arrival and passing of Banuq’s first birthday, the fairly new company faces challenges with a deeply impressed set of values and work ethic that will surely carry it to further success. They are riding their dream and making it into a reality. Banuq believes in constantly testing the quality of everything they do to improve and create opportunity though value and beauty. Banuq believes in the power of ideas!

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form