Interview with Rachel Isenschmid, Co-Founder Ananda Zurich

Rachel Nguyen Isenschmied, Co-Founder of Ananda, Founder Empower Womena Asia, Found KIBV - Keep it beautiful Vietnam

PATRICK ROTH: I see more and more eco-friendly Fashion Brands on the market. Your brand manufactures lovely handbags with Piñatex. What does sustainability mean for you?

RACHEL ISENSCHMID: Sustainability to us is the mentality, from conception to building a business, without forgetting to make positive impacts to the environment and people along the way. That is why, before starting Ananda Zurich, we made careful research about suitable materials and we designed a concept that fit to our philosophy, our intention being to maximize its impact.

Piñatex is not only an environmentally friendly material due to its plant-based characteristics, it also helps to resolve an existing problem having to do with the waste from pineapple leaves. Piñatex also improves the quality of life for local farmers in developing countries. The concept behind Ananda Zurich is to focus on elegant and multi-functional design helping to capsulize wardrobes and raise consumer consciousness for sustainable materials.

PATRICK ROTH: Is vegan leather a more sustainable option?

RACHEL ISENSCHMID: First, what we probably need to talk about is the question: “What qualifies as vegan leather”? Even plastic-coated materials can be considered “vegan leather” and are perhaps the most widely known and common variety of the vegan leathers. In the past, people called them “faux leather”, meanwhile this term has been re-branded and the same products are marketed as “vegan leather”. Although plastic-coated fabrics are technically vegan, they are not necessarily a sustainable option. According to Greenpeace:

“PVC is is the most environmentally damaging plastic. The PVC lifecycle — its production, use and disposal — results in the release of toxic, chlorine-based chemicals. These toxins are building up in the water, air and food chain”. 

Nevertheless, there are companies today who produce plant-based vegan leather that does not resort to the use of plastic-based products like PVC or PU leather. Brands like  Piñatex ,  Desserto  and  Mylo  are creating leather from pineapple leaves, cactus and mushrooms, respectively to make sustainable options. The choice depends on how deep and how far brands want to go in following a philosophy and discipline when it comes to their own definition of sustainability. We only consider a product sustainable when, after taking all the factors into consideration, including the consumption of resources, a positive balance remains.

PATRICK ROTH: Why have you chosen Piñatex to manufacture your handbags?

RACHEL ISENSCHMID: Our first experience with Piñatex was when my partner (Yuchen Shadeli) and I were pursuing our master’s degree in the “Product Management in Fashion & Textile” program at STF. Early on our teachers were very keen on the topic of sustainable fashion and we were introduced to many innovative materials considered the future of sustainable fashion. We were fascinated with Piñatex from the appearance, durability and story. It is a novel and promising alternative leather material with great potential for the fashion industry. With this background and inspiration, we have chosen Piñatex as the vegan leather material for our handbags.

PATRICK ROTH: Where do you see the Fashion and Textile industry going in the next five years and what is driving this change?

RACHEL ISENSCHMID: In the next five years, the two major drivers for the Fashion and Textile industry will be Sustainability and Digitalization. These two factors will create a trend by defining how fashion, production and consumers will behave in the future. Especially, since the whole world is dealing with the pandemic, the fashion industry has suffered heavily and needs to change in order to adapt to this and the coming new situation. Sustainability will become not only a trend but also root more deeply into brand and consumer consciousness.

Sustainable fashion will slowly become mainstream. Instead of running after mass production pieces, consumers will be interested in products that are more personalized and sustainable. Circularity and regenerative manufacturing practices will be what put the brands into higher level of sustainability thanks to efforts to upcycle and minimize CO2 footprints. Digitalization also plays an important role in fashion, especially the digitalization of the supply chain. This will have a comprehensive impact helping to shorten the gap between supply chain and customers.

PATRICK ROTH: You are a person who thinks a lot about sustainability, and you are also active in the fashion industry. What are your personal goals for the future?

RACHEL ISENSCHMID: Being particularly passionate in sustainability topic, I understand this is not an easy journey and it needs time until everyone takes action. Besides Ananda Zurich, I have been involved in various projects contributing to sustainability, including educational programs and promoting sustainable products. This will still be my goal in the future. One of the projects I am currently working on with our team in Vietnam, is to provide raw pineapple fiber which we hope will bring the sustainable fashion industry another resource for a natural based material. I am originally Vietnamese, and I also hope that Ananda Bags made of pineapple fiber will continue to include the story of farmers in Vietnam.