We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anita Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anita below.

Anita, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

There were two big shakeups in my life that led me to start my business. And here’s the story.

First, back in 2019 I lost 3 family members within a 6-week span. No exaggeration. I found myself traveling back and forth between Tennessee, Atlanta, and California. And the third person I lost was very close in age. It really shook me to my core and I thought about the old cliche’ that life is short. This time, it hit me like a ton of bricks. And I wondered if I was really living the life I desired…and would I be brave enough to do so before it was too late.

Fast forward, I decided to leave my corporate job in 2021. But my motivation was not part of the ‘great resignation’. Remember, I had a wake up call 2 years prior. And now, I found myself evaluating my values as part of my new mission.

There I was in the middle of my closet feeling anxious and overwhelmed by my pile of clothes and accessories. “Do I really have this much stuff? I thought I already donated a bunch of things. Why do I still have so much stuff?” These are the questions I asked myself.

Of course, I knew the answers even if I was reluctant to acknowledge the truth. And now, it was staring me in the face. My years of choices had caught up with me. I used to blame the size of my wardrobe on my career. After all, I used to be a ‘road warrior’ with a heavy travel schedule as a sales manager. I needed to always look professional and pulled together for meetings, conferences, you name it. There were plenty of suits and dresses and blazers and pumps, and plenty of necklaces and bracelets…and, and, and.

On top of that, I was active in my church and served on different auxiliaries. I also sang in the choir (you know, the progressive kind that doesn’t wear robes anymore) so every Sunday or holiday or special event called for everyone wearing the same color scheme. And what’s a girl to do if she didn’t already have those solid colors in her closet? Yep, you guessed it. Shopping time! What’s one more little blouse gonna hurt?

It turns out, it hurt way more than I previously realized. For starters, my wardrobe had turned into a bunch of one-offs. My closet had become little silos. See, I couldn’t exactly wear all the sparkly stuff I had bought for church or special occasions to work. And when I needed a rapid-fire solution to “fit in” for an event, I often bought some inexpensive, fast fashion item.

Usually, this meant materials that were not only unsustainable, but they were likely made in a sweatshop somewhere and I never gave a 2nd thought to the poor people who were either under aged or under paid who put it together.

By now, you’ve likely heard some of the alarming statistics about the fashion industry. For instance, only 2% of garment factory workers in the world earn a living wage. And fashion is responsible for 10% of the harmful greenhouse gas (C02) emissions globally. Or how about this one? Ninety two million tons of clothing end up in landfills every year. That’s the equivalent of a dump truck full of clothes every second.

Here I was guilty of contributing to the problem. Don’t get me wrong, I would donate instead of just trash my belongings. But I also knew that donation centers can’t sell or use all the items they receive. They try hard. But a lot of stuff still ends up in landfills where plenty of materials don’t even decompose.

The hard truth is consumer demand (i.e. my former buying habits) is what drives this problem.
And the more I learned about the magnitude of my choices, the more I realized I needed to do better.

This is when I decided to go all-in on some of my interchangeable, vegan leather handbag ideas. Millions of consumers are waking up to the painful truths about fashion’s environmental impacts, and they’re looking to make changes. I wanted to capitalize on this sentiment while producing the concepts for modular handbags.

So I set out to find manufacturers and production partners. I went to trade shows, I interviewed a bunch of prospective companies, and I did my homework. I even worked with an attorney to help me file for design and utility patents (which have issued…yay!).

There is a lot of ‘greenwashing’ in fashion today. While the number of brands offering more sustainable alternatives is growing, no one else is offering a unique solution of an interchangeable, vegan bag. And this makes my endeavor that much more exciting.

Anita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Anita Thomas and I’m the founder of Lavāda. My company offers the only patented, 4-in-1, vegan leather handbag made from cactus leather. We help people have more fun and function in their wardrobe by rotating their style to compliment their outfits without having to transfer the contents of their base bag.

And we also help people achieve their sustainability goals by offering a luxury accessory item that is made with PETA-approved and bio degradable materials.

Before I went down the corporate path, I had an interest in design having learned a lot from my mom who is an expert seamstress. I even took some fashion courses, including pattern design, in college. After some significant life changes–including some personal health wake-up calls that helped me to change my diet and lifestyle–I’m returning to my creative roots. And I’m having a blast in the process.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the idea that everyone that’s doing something you want to do is just naturally gifted or lucky enough to have the right network to be successful. The reality is this: everyone has to start somewhere and you never know how much effort someone else is putting into their craft or business. We can all be as successful as we think we can be if we’re willing to learn, apply ourselves, put in our 1000 hours, and just do the work.

I’ve attended some conferences and trainings recently that truly drove this point home for me. I had assumed that the people on stage just had it all together. But one by one, as they started sharing their origin stories, I learned about the hardships, family dynamics, and failures before success. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Things are not necessarily easier for other people. Results occur if we’re willing to go the distance.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Selling physical products is not for the faint of heart. Let me start by saying that! It’s a lot different than selling digital products or courses. For me, I work with manufacturing partners to help bring my physical products to life.

Initially, I went to trade shows and searched directories in order to meet prospective partners. I had to learn about their capabilities, ask some questions, schedule follow-up calls, and even meet in person at their physical location. I will say, it is a time-consuming but very critical part of the process. After finding a party that may be a good fit, the next step is to start the sampling process.

This is where things can get interesting. In the fashion space, I’ve been told (and experienced first hand) that you may have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince. Some companies will say they are capable of achieving certain standards in craftsmanship, but nothing will put skills on display like an actual sample. And you may have to go through a couple of rounds to refine the sample before you’re satisfied. Then, you have to deal with production schedules and understanding what reasonable turnaround times look like in order to stock your store and deliver inventory.

Having strong communication with your partner(s) is key. So I learned that it was equally important to find people who were great at what they do, but can also be a great fit from a relationship perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lavadabags.com