Mila.Vert has recently joined Immaculate Vegan, a sustainable online marketplace showcasing a carefully selected range of like-minded vegan brands. The team behind Immaculate Vegan reached out to us, wishing to conduct an interview with Tina Logar Bauchmüller, the founder of Mila.Vert. The result is an insightful portrait of Tina – a designer, a CEO, a mother, and everything in between – written by the lovely Sascha Camilli.

We’re sharing selected excerpts below, while the full interview is available on Immaculate Vegan.

Starting a sustainable brand meant that Tina had to focus on material innovation in a way that, at the time, could prove tricky. “In the beginning, it was definitely challenging to find the materials that would fit my design ideas I travelled from Slovenia to Germany to a fabric fair in Munich to find the materials for my first collection. When I got there, I realised that what I was looking for simply didn’t exist – I couldn’t find the materials that would fit my sustainability criteria.”

But instead of giving up, Tina flipped the process on its head: “Eight years ago, the range of sustainable materials was limited, or I couldn’t afford to buy hundreds of meters of fabric directly from the producers, so I had to turn the whole process around. I first chose sustainable fabrics that I liked and were available to me, and then I let the fabric inspire me to come up with different designs.” As a result, the brand uses organic cotton produced in accordance with the highest environmental standards, Tencel™, EcoVero™, European linen and other low-impact fabrics. All Mila.Vert packaging is plastic-free, and production takes place locally in Slovenia.

Today, Mila.Vert (named after Tina's daughter Mila) offers a curated selection of sustainably made garments, refined in their simplicity, to a consumer who is very clear in Tina's mind: “Our ideal is a woman who’s determined, knows what she wants and won’t let anyone stop her. She’s kind, caring and loving towards others and towards herself. She’s bold, strong, voices her opinion and empowers people around her. She finds comfort in everyday luxuries like a quiet cup of coffee before the world wakes up, the feel of a soft knit on the skin, or the hug of a loved one.”

We thank Immaculate Vegan for giving us this opportunity and Sascha Camilli for great questions. Read the full interview with Tina Logar Bauchmüller on Immaculate Vegan’s blog.