Inspiration & Process | Native Dubai Vegan Bag Collection
We have just completed January where we celebrate everything vegan. During the month we fell in love with a few vegan things and one of them was Native Dubai by Rachna Malkani’s 3 vegan bag collection a part of the Native Dubai spring 2022 collection.
Made from cactus, the vegans bags are so beautiful (one as seen in the photo above) that we had to feature them in our inspiration & process segment! Below Rachna Malkani of Native Dubai shares the inspiration and process behind the bags.
Inspiration:
• Durability of the Material with a luxurious finish was not easy to find in one product.Not all Vegan is environment friendly.
• The main factors to decide … I needed to have a reliable source of supply. Be able to have colour options and the product that can be used in all ranges of products that we make. As you must be aware, we have quite a wide selection.
• Cactus Leather also felt very Native in its essence. It’s like when you think of Cactus, you think of the Desert. It felt complementing to our origin, Native Dubai being a UAE home grown brand.
• It has durability and tensile strength to make it workable for bags and accessories.
• It also has a range of colours and the option of Matt or lacquer finish, which comes quite handy when we are creating different concepts for our collections.
• We are working with Desserto. In fact, one of the reasons, we chose Desserto with Cactus, was also the detailed stats and reports they share, giving clear comparison of how well they are tuned into keeping the environment impact at the forefront of their whole production process.
• Because many a times Vegan doesn’t equal environment friendly. It just means it’s not animal leather. However, if it’s still PU (Polyurethane), then it beats the purpose of being Vegan. Because you might feel great not having any animals harmed.
• It has taken us 4 years to find a solution to our vision, but we finally found the partner in doing so.
• For other vegan options, for now we are focused on Cactus and will continue to explore it further in our upcoming line of products. However, if Pineapple and Apple Leather can grow into providing the reliability and consistency of quality and supply, we are open to fresh and new ideas always.
• It’s still a market that’s becoming aware of the need for sustainability, which applies to our personal and lifestyle choices as well. The biggest encouragement and help come from the visionary leaders of our Nation, as they are always talking about it, launching,and adopting innovative ideas, to reduce the carbon footprint as a Nation.
• Internationally it’s becoming a much more adopted and conscious practice amongst consumers.
• Having our eyes set on the global stage, we must make sure we are showing up with intention and purpose always as a Brand. As a home grown brand, we want to make sure they see a companion is us, who matches their Fashion, luxury, and ethical needs in one Brand.
• Listening and adapting to the needs of our everyday increasing consumers is our top priority.
• Sustainability is still such a young drive, so much more research and data are needed tokeep ourselves tuned into the progress and growth of it, as we move with conscious intention and purpose towards it.
• For now, we are applying practices to the best of our ability and understanding, with an open mind towards learning and adapting to changes as and when they are needed.
Process:
• These details are so important and yet so often missed out in the fanciness of using the word vegan and sustainable, as its trending.
• One of the reasons as I mentioned earlier of choosing Desserto, is their comprehensive approach towards the process of creating the Cactus leather. They work on it by enhancing it with certified organic feedstock like cactus and mixing their materials with recycled fibres.
• It takes approximately 3 leaves of cactus to create one linear meter of Desserto. Thenonly cut the mature leaves of the plant without damaging the plant itself, enabling repeat to harvest every 6-8 months from the same plants.
• This helps in avoiding waste accumulation by making the materials biodegradable and rescue useful feedstock from the oceans and landfills and give them a new life. They share a great deal of their process on their website, making it a very assured space for their environment conscious clients.
• On the use of cotton and silk, I’m yet to come up to speed. Not still completely aware of their larger role, more research is needed from my side to share my viewpoint on it.
We loved reading this and getting behind the scenes of the making of these cactus bags.
Who says a Vegan bag or lifestyle is only for January? Snap one up on the Native Dubai site here.