91吃瓜网

Spring 2020 | By Jenna Marina Lee

The transaction flashed across her screen 鈥� Kelsey聽Bressler 鈥�14 sold a bathing suit she designed to聽someone in New Jersey, and she knew right then聽she had a viable business plan.

鈥淚聽literally did the happy dance. They weren鈥檛 one of my聽backers. They weren鈥檛 on my email list. They weren鈥檛 a friend,聽or a friend of a friend,鈥� says Bressler, a Jupiter, Florida, resident.聽鈥淭hey found me organically, and that was amazing.鈥�

In 2018, Bressler started Soca Blue, a company that offers聽sustainable swimwear, hats, totes and towels. She earned her聽degree in sport and exercise science but says she always had聽an entrepreneurial drive and envisioned running her own聽company, so she minored in business.

Although she maintains a 9-to-5 job as a private banker,聽she says she has a passion for fashion and wants her company聽to have a larger purpose.

鈥淲hen I found this fabric that uses half as much water [to make], produces half as much waste, and uses recycled materials such as plastics, I thought, 鈥業 can actually be proud of what I鈥檓 doing. I鈥檓 not leaving this horrible footprint on the Earth,鈥� 鈥� Bressler says.

The fashion industry is one of the environment鈥檚 worst聽offenders. According to the United Nations, it accounts for聽about 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If nothing聽changes, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates 鈥渢he聽industry will use up a quarter of the world鈥檚 carbon budget聽by 2050.鈥� In addition, clothes release millions of tons of聽microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than聽50 billion plastic bottles.

After researching online, Bressler found Vita by聽Carvico, a fabric made in Italy from recycled materials,聽including fishing nets, carpet fluff and other discarded聽nylons. She also found an ethically certified聽manufacturer in Bali to craft her designs.

Her Kickstarter campaign funded her first聽collection, and she sold her product to customers聽worldwide.

Within the same year, she began designing and聽producing her second line, but she realized her goal of聽breaking into major retailers such as Bloomingdale鈥檚聽and Saks Fifth Avenue was a little too ambitious for聽the current size of her company. So she re-evaluated and聽slowed down but is as committed as ever to being successful.

鈥淚 offer really unique products, and I learned there鈥檚 nothing聽wrong in keeping it that way. I don鈥檛 need to go commercial,鈥澛燘ressler says. 鈥淪ixty percent of my clients are repeat customers,聽and that鈥檚 the best compliment I could receive about my product.聽I plan to stay true to what the brand stands for and continue to聽produce something that I love.鈥�

鈥淲hen I found this fabric that uses half as much water [to make], produces half as much waste, and uses recycled materials such as plastics, I thought, 鈥業 can actually be proud of what I鈥檓 doing. I鈥檓 not leaving this horrible footprint on the Earth.鈥� 鈥�

Kelsey Bressler 鈥�14