Photo by Pangea Kali Virga featuring
Lyfe Brand Tee shirt Masks
Pivot MKT is a beacon for what the future of sustainability might look like. Co-founded by sustainability pioneer Valeria Savino, this brick and mortar fashion and lifestyle boutique serves as a communal hub and collaborative institution, featuring an array of sustainable brands, transforming a retail space into something extraordinary. Pivot MKT offers shoppers so much more than just quality products, and includes educational opportunities as well as a fiber recycling center as part of a holistic approach to sustainable consumption. We got a chance to interview Valeria concerning her latest collaborative project, The Museum of Sustainability, which you can continue reading about below.
Last year Valeria Savino, co-founder of Nomad Tribe and Pivot MKT, created the Museum of Sustainability pop-up, which took place during Fashion Revolution Week 2019 in the city of Miami. The week-long event featured an Art Exhibit curated by Las Project featuring the work of 9 artists who explore different issues related to fashion, like: gender equality, environmental awareness, the industry’s reliance on plastic, waste and traditional technical skills. This first edition counted with 8 fashion designers and more than 30 local sustainable brands that collaborated to create an immersive experience which helped visitors understand the fashion industries' most pressing issues and their role in being part of the solution.
Valeria is back at it for the 2nd Edition of the "Museum of Sustainability", dedicated to all the activists, sustainable brands, small businesses, climate scientists, bloggers, influencers and the public in general who raise their voices to bring about change and help us navigate towards a more sustainable future. Valeria believes that now more than ever, "this is the time to double down on our messaging, we need to find better ways forward, we need to rethink what we buy and how much we need, we need to have a better understanding about where things come from and how they are made, we need to account for the true cost of what we produce. It is time for action."
This exhibit will start in Miami, ground zero for sea level rise, but aims to travel to different locations around the world. The main goal is to show consumers that they do have a choice when it comes to making better decisions for the environment and our collective future.
You can check out the Museum of Sustainability by REGISTERING to physically attend the museum, APPLY to have your work featured, or SEND a product for consideration. Attend virtually online HERE
Let the distance keep us together.
a chat with valeria savino
co-founder of the museum of sustainability
What inspired you to create the Museum of Sustainability?
The 2nd Edition of the "Museum of Sustainability" is dedicated to all the sustainable brands, local designers, climate activists, bloggers, and the public in general who raise their voices to bring change in the fashion industry and help us navigate towards a more sustainable future.
What are you hoping to achieve through the Museum of Sustainability?
Our main goal is to show consumers that they do have a choice when it comes to making better decisions for the environment and our collective future. Also, we want to promote all the small businesses, brands, and designers that put all their efforts into making the best products they can by using traditional and circular practices in these times of crisis. #shopsmall
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What are some of the highlights from your first Museum of Sustainability?
We are transforming our retail store into a Museum of Sustainability featuring brands and local designers. We are incorporating a launch area along with The Citadel to provide a different and safe experience to everybody.
How can people get involved with the Museum of Sustainability (as an artist and as a spectator)?
MoS: Museum Of Sustainability pop up is going to open starting June 4th and we are going to go Live on Ig on at 12 pm to share with our audience a tour of the space and the pieces exhibited. Everybody is welcome to visit us we’ll have a check-in process as well as an appointment service through our website to ensure the practice of sensible social distancing and maintaining a safe environment for all.
Who or what inspires your sustainability practices in your business and personal life?
After a few years of working in the industry as a designer, I felt I had the responsibility to research and make better choices when making new products. I wanted to get to know the people making my products, finding quality materials to work with, and adding a flavor of doing good to the experience of buying new garments.
Where do you think the future of sustainability lies in fashion?
A circular economy is the future of fashion as well as reframing value and consumerism. Today more than ever we are very clear about what we really need in our lives, and it’s not the 6 collections a year the system has been pushing in the past years. Mixing traditional manufacturing techniques, artisan craftsmanship, biodegradable, and upcycled materials is a good way to start.
How has COVID19 impacted your life and business and how do you think it will impact the Museum of Sustainability?
It’s been very confusing and scary in so many ways, but at the same time it’s been a confirmation that our concept and mission as a business are on the right track. We just need to adapt and do everything to survive in a moment where the whole fashion industry is falling apart and especially with a lot of retailers closing their doors.
We are reducing our store to half of what it was before, focusing on supporting our community the best we can and thinking about how to evolve the educational side of our business.
As sustainability entrepreneurs there is a lot we need to learn from the current situation. Just as the epidemiological community has been ringing the bell on scenarios like this one for decades, the climate scientist community has also been ringing the bell about the threats of climate change. In both cases, the general public and elected officials have been slow taking action. Our hope is the first lesson we take from this is to take scientific consensus more seriously.
Climate scientists, activists, non for profit organizations and sustainable brands have been warning the world on climate change for decades, and while the public slowly embraces their message, we are still not taking this seriously enough. But that is understandable; it is hard to get people to change.
Do you have any advice as to what people can do to be more sustainable on a day to day basis?
Start with research. Be curious about where things come from and where they usually end up. Be conscious about why you want something new. Read the label on your garments. Dare to make things yourself. Support local and small sustainable brands. Recycled as much as possible.
THE AUTHORS
Valeria Savino is co-founder and Creative Director of Pivot Mkt., Valeria Savino, created the first sustainable department store in Miami. In 2015, she co-founded Nomad Tribe, a conscious clothing brand committed to designing better products and less waste through the use of recycled materials and traditional techniques of manufacturing. Currently producing small collections in Guatemala, Peru, and Miami. She is passionate about raising awareness of textile waste in an impactful manner, by creating visual elements and designs that inspire and encourage people to adopt better habits when buying and disposing of their clothes.
Pangea Kali Virga is Executive Producer and co-Founder of Miami On Sight and is a full time fashion designer, stylist, creative director, and producer. You can learn more about Pangea at www.pangeakalivirga.com and on Instagram @pangeakalivirga.