Meet Laura Wey, Co-Founder of Puratium

Puratium's goal is to become one of the biggest digital learning platforms around sustainability. Raising awareness on the importance of going green in your life. In addition to consistently analyzing brands around the world that promote themselves as sustainable in one way or another, Puratium also focus on building partnerships with companies that will make a difference, such as planting trees, donating a certain amount of money to charities revolving around the environment, and helping out Universities/institutions that want to collaborate on projects around any of these topics. 

We had the pleasure of interviewing Laura and find out more about Puratium and her vision on sustainable fashion.

1) When and why did you decide to promote sustainability? 

A few years ago, whenever we were doing groceries, we started realizing that we had more packaging than actual food in our bags (particularly because of single-packaged goods within another bigger one). It triggered a change in our mindset, as we did not understand why most supermarkets did not make it easy for any of us to 

A) Buy package free (or at least, let us choose a more sustainable option) and  B) Indicate more clearly where the product was grown/comes from so that we did not have to spend quite some time deciphering labels each time.  

Bearing the above in mind, we looked for zero (or at least) low stores in our neighborhood that mainly offered local and organic products. Beyond the challenges around food production and consumption today, the pandemic allowed us to realize the impacts of our daily habits, whether for transportation or fashion. 


Instead of (simply) making some efforts here and there, we decided to create our own eco-hub - a place explaining sustainability, veganism, zero waste, and other crucial topics that can allow all of us to make better eco-friendly choices in our daily lives. 

 

Laura Wey directora de Puratium

Laura Wey Co-founder of Puratium

2) What are the big challenges you’ve had to face?

We had to accept and navigate the differences between us, and our friends and family. Not everyone was ready to hear that we make our own odor-free laundry detergent and that I had reusable period panties. The other one is discipline: sometimes we forget our reusable containers or bags and there is always a bit of guilt kicking in when we buy conventional packaging. To live a more sustainable lifestyle takes patience and self-care. 

 

3) How do you think the consumer will be able to distinguish truly sustainable brands from those that are merely greenwashing?

Educating yourself is key, hence the importance of reading extensively on the topic from various reliable sources and recent research. Attending workshops is another way to be able to decipher the issues beyond fast vs slow fashion, and fast vs slow food. 


One important way for us to be able to determine if a brand is truly committed is to look for a combination of mandatory information that should be easily available on their website: a code of ethics, a list of materials and ingredients that are 100% understandable even if you're no chemist, a description of the supply chain, a commitment to community work & diversity and inclusion, trustworthy certifications that ensure for example that no harmful chemicals are being used and that the products are made by fairly paid workers, and lastly, a brand that is fully cruelty-free. 

 

If you cannot find these elements easily, or if for some reason the brand is using green logos everywhere within a clear context, be on the lookout for fakery intended sustainability. 

4) How do you see the future of fashion? Do you think that real change is really going to happen?

It's already happening! We see a growing interest from customers expecting transparency from fashion brands. We wish it could grow even faster; as most of us know, fashion is responsible for a significant amount of carbon emissions globally (around 10% last time we checked), and with climate change's disastrous effects, we need to embrace the issue from various angle. 


That is, our consumption and transportation habits as a whole. We can only hope that the future of fashion will only be about slow fashion - with locally sourced and recycled materials, preferably plant-based, and made in decent conditions thus promoting quality and handicraft over cheap and temporary features. 


Fast fashion, unfortunately, due to its (insane) affordability and ability to offer so many options every two weeks, still seduce a significant portion of customers. We need to work together to make slow fashion the new normal: affordable, long-lasting, and not only perceived as destined for day-dreamers.

 

5) What do you like best about Canussa?

Its intention to support small & medium businesses, its ambition to offer high-quality vegan leather that is free of toxic chemicals, the traceability of each SEAQUAL made piece, its minimalist style which reinforces the change of long-term wear (thus avoid the fashion fatigue symptom that pushes some of us to renew our wardrobe every year).