Clothes created from orange and lemon scraps, or from those produced by the wine industry. And again, denim jackets whose elastic part is made with natural rubber, which says no to microplastics and fast fashion. This is the green choice of HavanaEco, a brand born in 2022 and “son” of Toma Italian Brands, an Apulian group specialized in the creation, production and distribution of made in Italy menswear collections. The idea is signed by Verdiana Toma34 years old, who, after studying Marketing and Communication between Milan, Rome and London, decided to return to Savain the province of Taranto, to work in the family business and think of a new capsule of garments that demonstrate respect for the environment.
The return to Puglia
«I studied in Milan, I studied marketing topics in London, then I returned to Italy and attended a master’s degree in luxury goods management – she says Verdiana Toma -. But I have always had the desire and image of an adult me here in Puglia. I believe that, today more than ever, Puglia is a region that offers a competitive advantage. It is growing a lot: it has space and gives space to innovative ideas and to those who want to do things. This is why I have always kept the idea of returning in a drawer: looking at what is happening in the world and the way of working abroad, and then applying it in the family business.”
Born in 1994, Toma Italian Brands turns thirty this year. And, during the pandemic, she chooses to experiment on circular fashion: «During Covid we had the time to reflect on the strategy and trends that would characterize the market – he continues -. The thought that incubated the project is that of a business model of the textile industry that is no longer sustainable from an environmental and social point of view. The challenge, therefore, was to focus on the product, starting from the assumption that workers, artisans and human value are the first theme to be enhanced and protected.”
Innovative and sustainable raw materials
Thus in 2022 the first HavanaEco garments were born, which, already from the brand’s lettering, focuses on the ecological theme of the collection. And «eating makes you hungry»: «We started looking for suppliers who offered innovative and sustainable raw materials – he explains -. We realized that in Italy there are innovative startups and also consolidated companies that operate in this direction. And we have begun to introduce into our HavanaEco collection garments made with raw materials made from fibers composed of recycled cotton and waste from the citrus industry. We also introduced another fabric, a biodegradable denimwhich replaces the elastic part usually made of plastic with a natural rubber found in trees and which gives elasticity to the cotton, offering the comfort of stretch jeans but in a sustainable and biodegradable direction.”
For all these elements and for its genderless, artisanal and sustainable garments, HavanaEco has not gone unnoticed. In Sanremo, Alex Fiordispinothe drummer of The Kolors, wore a suit designed by the Apulian brand. And, most likely, she will do an encore for the band’s summer tour, playing “Italodisco” or “Unboy a girl” with fresh, cool and above all green clothes.
The plants used for the writings
The writings and colors on the garments are also natural, made with dyes, prints and inks based on pigments generated from plants present in the Apulian territory. And there are also many ideas for the next seasons: «For the spring and summer collection we are experimenting with linen, interpreted as the natural material par excellence, offering very beautiful colors always obtained through natural and artisanal processes – he concludes -. While for the winter we have selected a very interesting raw material that comes from marble waste.”
