Amahlia Stevens: Founder & CCO of Vitamin A

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be

you just want to make sure you will get knocked down but just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi, everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi, everyone. It’s Kara Goldin from the Kara Goldin show and I’m so excited to have my next guest here. What am I new favorite brands vitamin A Amahlia Stevens, and she is the founder and CEO of vitamin A. And she wasn’t new to the swimwear world. She’s designed for many, many brands over the years, many brands that we all know and love. And it was after her experience, working with a little known not so little known founder of Patagonia Yvonne Shannara, that she decided to try her hand at creating the first premium swim fabric made from recycled nylon fibers. And since then, the company has incorporated several more sustainable high performance fabrics along with eco conscious textiles like organic cotton, linen, recycled cotton, all of those super great things that we all want to be purchasing. So Amahlia is a true force. And I’m so excited that she came on the show today to share her wisdom with us. So welcome, Amahlia, how are you?

Amahlia Stevens 1:52
Hi, Kara. Fine, thank you. I’m actually very, very pleased and honored to be here. And thank you for for inviting me. Nice. Absolutely.

Kara Goldin 2:05
Very excited. So you’ve achieved tremendous success over the years as a designer, and now you’re an entrepreneur, you’re not supporting other entrepreneurs, as you’ve done and other companies over the year, you decided, over the years, you decided to go out on your own, I bet you didn’t snap your fingers. And it all happened overnight. It was a process a journey. And so did you always think that eventually you would start your own brand? I

Amahlia Stevens 2:38
don’t I don’t think No, I didn’t have I didn’t know if anything planned. I’m not a big planner. Spoiler alert. Yeah, I’m not a big planner. And you’re right, it absolutely was a very evolutionary process. And kind of like one thing led to another. And no, I didn’t ever plan on starting my own brand. In fact, I don’t think I was even so aware that there was, you know, a swim industry. When I first started, I was really it was a passion project. And I was making bikinis for myself, because there was just a void, that I couldn’t fell for what I wanted personally,

Kara Goldin 3:20
that’s awesome. So how would you describe vitamin A to somebody who just met you and and didn’t exactly know what you were doing? Maybe something that you’re most proud of?

Amahlia Stevens 3:33
Well, the thing I’m most proud of, is that vitamin A is the pioneer of the Sustainable swim movement. So the whole industry that as it is right now, there really isn’t, aren’t too many new brands that start that aren’t sustainable in some way or try to be or, you know, bigger brands that are working towards a shift or at least their marketing towards a shift. But yeah, I feel very, very proud that I knew that vitamin A was able to pioneer the first textiles and really the entire concept of sustainable swimwear. So

Kara Goldin 4:15
take us back if you would when you decided that this was an opportunity, what hole did you see in the market then?

Amahlia Stevens 4:24
So at the time, I was vitamin A originally was a boutique design firm. So it was my studio. And I was designing for other brands like you said one of them being Patagonia and basically my studio myself I specialized in telling authentic California stories. So brands very small brands that wanted to branch out into apparel but didn’t really know how and larger brands you know, like a Patagonia or Levi’s red one When I did concept design for them, you know, they would call me and have me either either start with a, their existing brand concept that that tweak it or or tell the story from a, you know, a very authentic California point of view. And so brand ID, and then the actual designs that fit a lifestyle that I lead and lead and was always very comfortable portraying through designs, and that was what I was doing at that time. And I was, you know, as a creative director or a creative professional, I was traveling for all my clients. I was always I mean, it was pretty much never home. I was based in Laguna and I was traveling between New York, Europe, a lot of Polynesia. I was in Tokyo a lot because I was doing a lot of denim at that time. But I was living in a bikini, you know, most of the time, even when I was not in the water, I would wear my swimsuits as like undergarments. And you know how we all do now in California, but at that time, I remember, you know, people asking me like, is, is your bathing suit? Or is your about is your bra a bathing suit? Like it was just like, such a novelty. But anyway, yeah, so I was looking for really swimwear that to match my aesthetic, which was just more elevated and understated a lot of neutrals, black, white, grey, chocolate browns, you know, topes. And that was not a reality in swimwear, in least in this country. At that time, this was late night views. And, you know, I founded vitamin A in 2000. So, you know, jeans were still really low. But bathing suits with that time were really, really high. There just wasn’t anything that self monitored at that point. And it was kind of this market where it was like, either you were Missy, the very kind of Midwest Mom, no offense to Midwest moms, I love them. They’re my customers too. But they have evolved, you know, with with vitamin A, and, and, and we have evolved with them. But it was, you know, that kind of department store very large fit to and bright, bright, bright colors or juniors at that time. And there was kind of nothing in between, like nothing really designer or contemporary, nothing that felt modern, that kind of went with a modern woman’s wardrobe for lack of a better term. So

Kara Goldin 7:49
you just talked a lot about the design part. So when did you actually start to dig into kind of what it was made of like the fabrics, obviously, sustainable fabric and how you make it is definitely part of your ethos of your brand. Now, what was the point maybe what was the year that you really started to say, I want to do better.

Amahlia Stevens 8:14
So Well, when I first started, obviously, it was it was vitamin A was was very, very small and tiny. And like I said, I was really just doing suits for myself. And I had my design firm vitamin A so a lot of my clients and my clients wives, and they were also wanting these suits. And so I was making them as kind of one offs and then teeny tiny runs and and needless to say, I did not have leverage to kind of create the my own fabrics. At that time. I was just buying stock fabrics from premium Italian Mills, who offered beautiful colors and beautiful quality. But there was no there was nothing sustainable. And and I I wasn’t looking for that because it just, it hadn’t arisen in my mind yet. You know, this was still like late 90s, like I said, and so the concept wasn’t there, but around 2000. And right around that same time when I was starting to make my own bikinis. I did this project for Yvonne at Patagonia, which lasted a couple of years. And it was it was it was very interesting because it was a while let me let me start over. I was hired as an outside consultant to design and merchandise and create kind of the brand identity around the product. But also, I was trained internally as if I were a full time employee at Patagonia so I had to go through like their rigorous training process and education process which Totally blew my mind. Because it was there. And then that I learned Yvonne story and how he developed Patagonia’s you know, quintessential outerwear fabric microfleece. And how he developed it was really again, just out of his personal need, he was a climber, he was using wall to keep warm, but it would get wet. And, and so, so he developed this microfleece product, but it was made from plastic. So as you know, his journey evolved, he realized that he didn’t want to be kind of perpetuating the fossil fuel model of, of textiles. And so he really helped me, I mean, he pushed his suppliers. And it was not, you know, easy, nobody came up with that idea and sold it to him, he came up with the idea, and he really, you know, forced his supply chain, obviously, with, with a much bigger, much more power, you know, in the industry that his supply chain was forced, and, you know, finally went along and did develop this product for him out of recycled plastic bottles. And that was, you know, so inspiring to me, when I learned that whole story and how it came about, and how hard he had to work to really, you know, to push him to change his supply chain. And that is kind of what got me thinking, Well, you know, it’s a synthetic fabrics, when Mars is synthetic fabric, this should be easy, you know, if they, if they can make plastic bottles into micro sleeves, surely, they can make it into into, you know, performance swim fabric. So I started at this point, it was a few years, you know, down the road where vitamin A had scaled a little bit and was, I was very big fish in a very small pond. So, you know, vitamin A, I think, was and still is kind of known as the gold standard of swim when it comes to fit when it comes to quality when it comes to, you know, attention to detail. And so, consequently, my suppliers in Italy, in Canada, and in Spain, France, California, I had, you know, suppliers all over the world, and they really wanted my business even though it wasn’t, you know, a large, there wasn’t a large business by any means. It was an iconic brand and an important brand for them to be a part of. So when I went out to my mills and said, you know, hey, I want to, you know, do something out of something sustainable? Well, at first they started pitching me like, oh, yeah, we’re developing things like that. And they started pitching me on corn fiber fibers made out of corn, which was actually right, your I can see you shaking your head like now, actually, it sounds so good. And it was a really nice marketing story. But it turned out to be much less sustainable because of the amount of water needed to produce the, you know, the gases that would be generated from that. I mean, for so many reasons, it was actually just kind of a green washy marketing ploy for lack of a better word. And then, you know, no, that’s no good. What else do you have? And so I got, I was presented with some, the best bet than any of my males could find was this really heavy scratchy fabric, it felt like a workout fabric. And it was not luck. It would, it wasn’t at all what my customers were used to, from vitamin A. And so. So at that point, I really figured out that I had to develop that. So you know, they all kind of just put their hands up and they were like, you know, it’s not, it’s not important. It’s not a direction that we’re interested in pursuing because there’s no market for sustainable swim. And that was, the resounding message that I was getting from my suppliers was that there is no market for sustainable swimwear, which I just love that. Obviously, like, it is the market but yeah, so I had to it really it took me this was around 2004. So a few years into it, where vitamin had started to grow 2005 Somewhere around there where we had started to grow in popularity where I had, you know, really had not forgotten what I learned from my time at Patagonia and that that rich education about Yvonne story and how he developed and poached his suppliers and, you know, that just kind of stuck with me and as vitamin A grew and scaled and became more important to our suppliers, it finally came to a point where, you know, I was able to have some, some leverage to say, you know, this is what I want, let’s develop it. And so it was on my dive, I had to invest a lot of money in trial and error. And finally, in 2010, I was able to bring to market. Well, it launched. So I guess I brought it to market in 2009. But brought to market, what was called the Green Vizzini collection. And why it was called the Greek TV collection is because the one supplier that could do a performance fabric that met my standards, aesthetically, and technically, the one supplier in Italy could only achieve three colors that that time, that would pass the test because very rigorous testing for for swim fabrics, color fastness light that has been being able to stand up to saltwater and chlorine, and these colors were black, white, and this crazy line. So I was like, Okay, I’ll, I’m just gonna go with this, you know, this is they were like, you know, take it or leave it, you can drop your program, or you can, these are your three colors. So that was the first launch of the green bikini collection, which launched to wholesale because there was no direct to consumer at that time for vitamin A, in 22,009, and then launched to the public in 2010. And then it was, was interesting. Yeah, that was that was when it started with a product that was made from recycled nylon fibers. So fibers that would have gone into landfill, we were able to divert them, and, you know, re cycle them and reuse them.

And that was that was just the start. I kept, kept working, kept working. And ultimately, by the next year, it really was perfected. And it was our, our, our kind of signature fabric, which is eco lab. And that was made here locally in California very close to my studio in Laguna Beach. And that that was tremendously exciting. So but at that point, I was able to launch a little bit more of a robust capsule with and I still remember the colors, it was like this gorgeous, you know, burnt orange and a very sophisticated rich taupe color, a natural color, and then of course, black. And so that was the real, I think, like the beginning of the real journey into sustainability. And what year was that? That was 2010 and 2011. So 2010 It it launched to the public and the green bikini collection. And that was the kind of the prototype for eco Lux that I developed in Italy. And then the the final perfected version, which is still a core part of our business today is eco lab that’s developed just right here locally in Southern California. And that is made from recycled nylon fibers. And we also have a version that’s made from plastic bottles, which is our our Eco less than our our Eco rib BT which is the bottle technology, which is an ode to Yvonne and his microfleece inspiration. And yeah, so from there, we kind of developed more textures, rib textures, and you know, various textures going going into, I guess what’s what’s more trendy, or trendy today? Yeah, I would never really call vitamin A trendy, it’s just not. So

Kara Goldin 19:04
they’re classic, amazing.

Amahlia Stevens 19:08
You know, still fresh and was like, a total joy for life and adventure and travel. But you know, we’re talking bikinis but so, but yeah, we try and, I mean, it is it’s more than just trying, I mean, definitely, I’ll have six that I still love, you know, and still wear for for many, many years, and they don’t be you know, before they wear out. They don’t like get old in terms of their styling. You know, so

Kara Goldin 19:41
that’s important. Now they’re, they’re classic and lovely. And definitely you talked about the color, there’s no fading. I mean, they’re just beautiful, beautiful quality products. So what was probably the biggest roadblock that you encountered in those early days. Obviously you were You were in your test mode and 2009. And you knew that you would have to keep iterating and making the product better. But was there any roadblock that sort of stands out as like, oh, gosh, I don’t think this is going to work. We’ve we’ve got to, you know, do something else. I mean, I think there’s so many entrepreneurs that run into roadblocks and have these moments when they think, you know, this just isn’t gonna work. Either a supplier goes under or something big happens along the way, maybe all the does come out in the water, I don’t know, something, something along the way that you really thought we’ve got to figure out a way to get through this,

Amahlia Stevens 20:44
oh, my gosh, too many dimension. But just from from a product standpoint, and in the biggest, the first biggest roadblock was simply that the fabrics didn’t exist, and that the whole flight supply chain didn’t want to explore the possibilities with me, they just have felt so shut down, kind of at every door, you know, it’s just like, it’s not a thing that people want or care about. So we’re not going to invest in it kind of thing. And that’s why there isn’t any, any sustainable fabric of you know, what you’re looking for, doesn’t exist, because people don’t, don’t want it, there’s no market for it was literally what I was told. So that was quite a roadblock. And so it did take three or four years of just me investing, you know, researching, developing, and then trial and error. Until the enough testing had been done that it was able to be, you know, perfected and brought to market that was the first roadblock. And then once I brought it to market, I was actually really simple. Like the an even probably bigger roadblock was that my customers, my wholesale customers, for the most part, there were one or two exceptions, but for the vast majority, they did not care. And they were very clear that you know, we’re not interested, we don’t have customers that come into our stores, looking for a sustainable bikini, they look for a great fitting bikini and gorgeous color. They love your fabrics, they love your trim your hardware of your innovative cuts, they love all those things about vitamin A, they don’t, that’s what they want. And that’s what we want. So we’re really not interested because it was also because it was new technology in you know, very undeveloped and untested other than in vitamin A. The Mills weren’t selling it to anybody else, either. So at first, we were exclusive, which made it much more expensive. And so that was kind of the pushback from the retailers were like, they, they were fine if I wanted to do that. But they were very clear that they didn’t care and they didn’t want to pay the extra for my obsession with sustainability, you know, or Yeah, wish for how did you get around that then they didn’t care because they vitamin A was so hot for them. And they were just like, we love the burnt orange. We love the toe, we love your colors. We love your cuts, we’re gonna buy in any way, but we’re just telling you, we don’t, we don’t buy into your concept. So they bought it anyway. And then there were a couple of notable exceptions. Holt Renfrew in Canada being one of them, who they, they really embraced vitamin A, in the whole concept of sustainability. And now they have their H project, where, you know, that’s all they do is focus on beautiful brands, you know, emerging and established sustainable brands that they, you know, have that focus. So there were a few customers who did get it and love it and want to lean into it. And it aligned with you know, their ethos as well. But for the most part, it took years until I would say like, the end customer and other designers started getting excited because as soon as eco Luxe was perfected, and we started moving into eco ribbon, more textures. The Mills realized that you know, oh, vitamin A, they’re not just a trendsetter in terms of styling, right? They’re also a trendsetter in this concept of, of sustainability and raw materials. And so they started selling it. And other designers really liked the idea and really wanted to be part of it. And in fact, even as soon as it was perfected i I call my friends at Patagonia and I’m like, You guys need to switch fabrics because they were still using conventional nylon for their swim fabric because that’s all there was. So I introduced them to the mill, the Caliph r&d. And it basically, you know, kind of snowballed from there, the rest of the industry followed. And now, it’s it’s table stakes. I mean, there aren’t any high performance, luxury fabric mills that don’t have a deep focus now and in sustainable, diverse and fabrics.

Kara Goldin 25:24
I love that. Do you think also, when you started your own direct to consumer business, it really started to grow the rest of the brand, I think that that’s, you know, part of the challenge that when you are wholesaling to other people, and they’ve got these other brands, you know, that don’t do exactly what you’re doing to make the fabrics better, that it’s hard for them. But when you’re doing your own thing, then you control all the marketing and the education and and people will still go look inside of those other retail locations that you might be selling. But would you say that that was a big turning point in your brand as well?

Amahlia Stevens 26:06
Um, definitely you you hit a really important point. That was always a challenge. Because until we, we started selling direct, I mean, we had a website, and it was informational. And we had a lot of visitors and we had a lot of traffic for a website that wasn’t even selling anything. But, you know, for the most part, it was only once we really invested in in social media, and were able to start telling our story directly, that that story. You know, it resonated and are our customers started speaking to us and telling us that that’s important to us, and that aligns with our values. And it’s so interesting, because I think what was that challenge, to your point about, you know, having to rely on on our retail partners to tell our brand story, which isn’t their job, you know, a little bit, part of it is, you know, they’re excited about brands, but they’re not going to go into depth because they have many brands, and they have their own brand as retailers as well. So, you know, the fact that like, we were able to turn that roadblock into a real positive, where now we have these loyal customers that have been, you know, wearing vitamin A for for two decades now. And now their daughters are discovering the brand. And because they are aligned with our values, and they’re, you know, they see us and they know us to be authentically aligned with their values as much as our aesthetic. It’s kind of like, it’s a rebirth now. And it’s very, it’s very exciting.

Kara Goldin 27:56
So you’ve done a ton around inclusive sizing, too, I’d love to have you share a little bit about that how vitamin A has paved the way for more inclusive sizing. Um,

Amahlia Stevens 28:11
that’s, that’s interesting, because the way that that started is, I Am I used to, I used to model swimsuits when I was in college when I was a teenager. And I would, you know, get boxes and boxes and boxes, and I just, you know, part of it, most of it was the aesthetic. But also, I, I didn’t, I wasn’t the same size on the top and the bottom. And at that time, the 90s like it was there wasn’t blush in the 80s or 90s like there just wasn’t mix and match sizes. Bikinis were sold as sets. And I remember you know, because it bikinis were my, my obsession as long as I can remember so I remember being a teenager and I remember the first one I purchased myself with my own money I remember you know, pretty much every one of those little friends that I ever had those little bikini friends like they were they were all very near and dear to me but I remember that frustration of going into stores and you know I was like an extra smile on top and a smile on the bottom which felt like I was like totally deformed you know and I think that that was the age also of like fashion magazines and make yourself better because you’re not good enough and and so I just you know always had this body complex because I wasn’t the same size on the top of the bottom but like not that many people are obviously but a few stores would let me trade and do you know like a small top and a medium bottom and inlet me, you know mix and match but for the most part I just had to, you know, suffer and just wear a set that either the bottom was too small or the top was too big. And there wasn’t really much way of getting around that. So initially, and really, for about the first 15 years of business, I was the fit model. So, it was always, you know, I always, as I matured and aged and changed my body change, and I had kids, and I mean, I was every size from our extra small, to our extra large. I was every size, telephone, Every bit of it. And so, and I was always in football at all. And so I always figured, like, okay, you know, if, if it fits me, and I’m very, I’m not a model or a fit model, I’m very, you know, kind of your average woman, if it fits a real woman, and then you know, when it gets something customers, it’s going to, they’re gonna love it. So it was just kind of always that concept of like, buy by women, for women. Also, before I ever launch, any style, it gets were tested on a number of friends and co workers. Like, again, we do have fit models, and we do have an insane tech team that does it, right. But we CrossFit, everything on real women. So you know, we’re very meticulous about the fit and making sure that so many different body types can feel really comfortable and supported and confident. And that’s, that’s always been the approach.

Kara Goldin 31:44
I love it. How do you just how do you decide which suits to create and colors and things like that? Is there anything that inspires you? Along the way? Do you feel? I mean, obviously, you’ve got your classics that you’re doing. But as you start to come out with innovative styles, where do you look for inspiration?

Amahlia Stevens 32:05
Um, I think, Oh, I mean, I kind of everywhere I’ve, I have little motto for myself, like Inspiration is everywhere. It really is, it can be, of course, whenever I’m traveling, inspiration flows. And it could be anything, it could be, you know, the pattern on some beautiful dishes, it could be something I see in an art museum, or it could be, you know, anything. One time I was, I was in Colombia, and I was in a little cafe and I see this, this old couple, and they’re, they’re like having their tea together. And lady was wearing this very adorable, you know, suit, but like, very polished, with a big fabric rose, you know, flower on her suit, to match her suit. And I was like, Oh, that’s so cool. And I ended up, you know, developing a trim that was a little fabric flower made out of the bikini fabric. And then Jessica Alba wore that suit. And then that kind of took off and went crazy, you know, back in the early 2000s. But like, it can inspiration can come from anywhere, a lot of times just wandering at the beach, just in Laguna just swimming. I’ll just, you know, feel like, Oh, I wish that this strap did this or I wish that this leg was a little higher or a little lower a little this or you know, and I just kind of just feel inspiration sometimes rather than see it? Oh,

Kara Goldin 33:44
I know. I love that. So what would you say is the hardest part of growing a brand? You obviously supported a lot of incredible entrepreneurs over the years and kind of their vision. But now the buck stops with you. Right? And what would you say is kind of the hardest thing and and creating a brand that maybe you just didn’t realize until you were actually doing it? Oh,

Amahlia Stevens 34:16
for sure. It’s the operations and finance side of it. Not my skill set not my core competency for you know, by any means I had to do a lot of learning and I still in learning, but that that’s always been the biggest challenge for me. And certainly, as it started to grow that that was that was really hard. That was really hard. Keeping up with with all the moving parts and the fact that you have to, you know, buy so far in advance in order to you know, just secure your raw materials and In grey guides, and just the whole, the amount of planning and financial knowledge that, you know, an operational knowledge that I don’t have. And so you need to really have good partners that that can can handle that side of it.

Kara Goldin 35:19
Did you bring in people then too, early on? Yeah. And at what point did you do that when you were first getting started about

Amahlia Stevens 35:30
five years in, I realized because it was like, it’s the vitamin A, was, it was originally just my design studio. And the beginning for a side gig like, just as my personal passion project that started growing, you know, very organically, and I would really, like, I didn’t have sales reps, I would just when I would go on all my inspiration trips and my my shopping trips. For all my clients, I would bring a little tiny bag, like a bag, and it would have my, you know, six different bikinis, silhouettes, and my six different colors, and it would all be in that little bag. And I would you know, wherever I was shopping, you know, whether it was Barney’s, or Bendel’s, or Fred Segal or scoop, you know, back, back in those days, or beams and Tokyo or St. Barths hotel, like these, all these places that I love to shop became my customers, they were my first customer. And I would just kind of, you know, be in there, doing my thing shopping, and I would have my little bag and, you know, eventually meet, meet the owners or meet the buyers? And yeah, so you felt that way. But in to answer your question, sorry. It was about five years into it. So 2005 that I brought in some partners. And that was important, because I was realized that’s awesome. This is much bigger than I could possibly handle myself. I couldn’t do those.

Kara Goldin 37:03
Yeah, well, and that’s hard to as a founder as a fellow founder. I mean, bringing, bringing people in is always a little bit scary. But I also think that once you do it, and you find the right people, too, sometimes that takes a few iterations to do that. But you find the right people to really help you build your dream. I think it’s a it’s a big, it’s a it’s a big undertaking a big trust issue, too. And but ultimately, if you can eventually get it right, it, it definitely can work.

Amahlia Stevens 37:38
Yeah, I do think you’re right. I think it’s, it’s hard to well, it wasn’t it wasn’t that hard. Because I felt like I was in a place where I can’t do this myself. So it is hard to find the right partner. But I think it’s not. For me, I’m very collaborative, and I thrive and get energized from collaboration of any sort. So, you know, I would rather be learning those skills without having to own those skills, if that makes sense. You know, collaborating and learning, I

Kara Goldin 38:13
think, yeah, that does make sense. So if, if you could go back now and do just one thing differently, what would it be?

Amahlia Stevens 38:24
Oh, I would have, I would have launched direct to consumer much earlier. We didn’t launch our DTC until 2016. Wow, yeah. And we were we were always kind of wanting to be be loyal and true to our retail partners, which we still are, and will always be in that will always be a very important part of our business, for you know, so many reasons, but but definitely that relationship direct to your customer to be able to share your messages and to hear directly from that end consumer. That’s just priceless. And so yeah, I wish we would have started that a little earlier.

Kara Goldin 39:09
And you built such a great social to and you and I were talking I get your emails too, and I love them. I mean, it’s just there’s so much inspiration, what are you most excited about for the brand that’s coming up.

Amahlia Stevens 39:23
Um, I’m really excited about always the innovations around materials and processes. I’m very, very excited about a new fabric that we’re just now launching, which is called relax and we have the exclusive the industry to start for this year with with this product, but it’s, it’s really cool. It’s it is a recycled nylon, but it’s made from 100% post consumer waste. So whereas our miniature eco Luxe, is made from pre consumer and it does divert industry waste from the landfill. So it’s very important. And it does, you know, good work. But what is what, what it does that’s a little different is it pulls out fishing nets from the ocean. And that’s what it makes. That’s what it uses. So that’s why it’s 100% postconsumer, it pulls out the, the abandoned fishing nets from the ocean, and then it not only, you know, re directs those, those resources, so it eliminates some of the demand for Virgin nylon, by using these nets, but it also has the potential to save marine life from the risk of getting caught up in those nets. And that is also, you know, a really important benefit that our, we had thought of before. So that’s new and exciting. Just anything around, plant anything around materials and process innovation is what gets me the most excited right now. We’re also doing more with our plant based nylons, which, you know, I see as the future, I think it’s still a very nice, tiny part of the industry. And it’s kind of like, I feel like it’s 20 years ago all over again, where it’s really hard to get the mills to get behind this, this very new technology, but we’re making some plant based nylon out of castor beans. So it’s really cool because they’re, they’re creating fibres from castor oil versus petroleum. So it’s a big step forward. And and that really excites me too. I

Kara Goldin 41:58
love that. Well, I love how much you’re you’re learning along the way and, and finding things to learn about but also how you’re leading this industry. So and sticking with it and putting stakes in the ground around doing better and watching others follow, which is incredible, even giving people the name of manufacturers like you were saying telling somebody that Patagonia at one point that they should definitely look into this. I mean, I think that’s how you make the industry better. Right? And you just get people to jump in and do better and show them how so, so incredible. So Amalia, thank you so much for coming on and sharing with us everyone needs to go to the vitamin A website, as Amalia mentioned to there’s there are plenty of stores that are carrying it as well. We’ll have all the details on in the show notes. And of course, it’s on the website too. But thank you again, and thanks, everybody for listening. Have a great rest of the day.

Amahlia Stevens 43:08
Kara. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the time that I spent with you and appreciate you inviting me on. Thank you. Thanks.

Kara Goldin 43:17
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would, please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my book on daunted which I share my journey, including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And thanks everyone for listening. Have a great rest of the week, and 2023 and good bye for now. Before we sign off, I want to talk to you about fear. People like to talk about fearless leaders. But achieving big goals isn’t about fearlessness. Successful leaders recognize their fears and decide to deal with them head on in order to move forward. This is where my new book undaunted comes in. This book is designed for anyone who wants to succeed in the face of fear, overcome doubts and live a little undaunted. Order your copy today at undaunted, the book.com and learn how to look your doubts and doubters in the eye and achieve your dreams. For a limited time. You’ll also receive a free case of hint water. Do you have a question for me or want to nominate an innovator to spotlight send me a tweet at Kara Goldin and let me know. And if you liked what you heard, please leave me a review on Apple podcast. You can also follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at Kara Goldin. Thanks for listening