Originally posted on annikatibando.com (photos by Andrew Boyle)
Today I am really excited to share not only a great story and interview but I am thrilled to introduce a online retail destination to you. Modavanti, the sustainable style shopping mecca for ethical, vegan, eco, vintage, organic, made in USA … should I continue… contemporary fashions.
I reached out to the founders not long ago to inquire about featuring them here. I was thrilled when David Dietz the founder and co-owner of the Modavanti wanted to participate. It wasn’t long after that I met with Jesse, the Creative Director and co-owner. We met at Brooklyn Roasters in Dumbo and quickly dived into our mutual passions for sustainability, ethical and eco initiatives within fashion, health, lifestyle and so on.
Their story and journey in establishing Modavanti is inspiring and a true testament to honest integrity and intentions. I loved the moment when Jesse spoke about the community within the sustainable movement. Rather than designers, publications or competing retail destinations trying to be a proprietor about their initiatives, there is a real sense of community, conversation, sharing and helping to one another, as they all aim to achieve the same goals in mind; awareness, growth, action and momentum in the sustainable fashion movement.
Already within their second year of establishment they are gaining a strong following and consumer base, having been featured in Conscious Magazine, among others.
Modavanti is a full service shopping location offering contemporary to designer labels in clothing, bags, shoes, accessories, beauty, home and wellness lifestyle. They offer varied price points and great incentives, like their modacycle program. They are the ones to watch within the online social ecom market, mark my word!
See my full interview below…
Tell me about yourselves, your background and how you guys came to launch the company together?
Jesse and I actually met in the Middle East. Before Modavanti, we were working as conflict journalists in the Middle East covering the Arab Spring. I was writing for Policy Mic and Jesse was doing photography and digital media.
What motivated both of you to work in the fashion industry & to begin a fashion e-com destination?
It wasn’t so much that we were motivated to work in fashion as it was to “start something that matters.” We are interested by fashion and design but it was the opportunity to both have a social impact and create a successful business that attracted us to sustainable fashion. Most people don’t realize that the textile industry is the third largest and second dirtiest industry in the world behind agriculture and oil and gas. That’s not right and we felt compelled to do something about it and do it with style.
I would love to learn about Modavanti’s philosophy and goals through the e-retail site, could you share this with me?
Our goal is to be the recognized destination for the socially conscious consumer to find clothing that fits her values without compromising on style. We want to be the site that coalesces the sustainable fashion movement and brings it to the mainstream.
Through these philosophies, what initiatives do you have in place to achieve these goals?
We want Modavanti to be a site that you can shop the latest trends, discover the newest brands and learn about the latest advances in sustainable fashion. To that effect, we have launched many initiatives to achieve those goals. We started ModaCycle, which is a way for consumers to responsibly give back and receive site credit for doing so, we’ve thrown flash mob fashion shows to show that sustainability is chic and we have a blog where we highlight and comment on the best in sustainable style.
Tell me about the badge system, how does it work?
The badge system was set up to allow customers to be able to easily shop their values.
We have 8 badges. On the Eco-friendly side: Recycled, Vegan, Eco-materials, Organic, Vintage and on the ethically-sourced side: Made in USA, Artisan made, Fair Trade. Brands must meet at least one of the badges 100% to be included on the site although we look for and strongly encourage brands to meet more than that.
How do you ensure the brands you represent meet the sustainable badge guidelines?
We speak with the designers and founders of the brands, visit designer showrooms if they are local, work off of third-party certifications and research brands on sustainable fashion blogs and publications. We do our best to work with brands that were recommended to us as well. However, we recognize that until we are big enough to send someone to each brand studio around the world, that at some point, choosing our brands still comes down to trust and our intuition that are brands are sincere.
MODABLOGI 