INTERVIEW #125 UMA INTIMATES

Based in: Barcelona

Founded in: September 2020

Founded by: Marie Gutierrez Hurtado

Shop at: Online shop at www.umaintimates.eco. Shipping in Europe

Price range: 120€

Hello, what is the story behind UMA INTIMATES?

In my early 30s, I was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of Mother Natu­re in our lives, as well as our par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on in the des­truc­tion of the pla­net through our con­sump­ti­on. I was deeply concerned about my consumption. I became interested in Circular Economy and with that, I started ques­tio­ning my perso­nal values, and why I buy things. And I rea­li­sed that buy­ing clo­thes was my way of covering my emptiness, boredness and lack of purpose in my life. It was shocking to realise the amount of clothes, shoes and accessories I collected through the years. And even more shocking to know that my consumption contributed to the negative impact on Mother Nature and human suffering. I didn’t have information about how the things I was buying were made and by whom. I was determined to learn how can I choose to not support companies that don’t have ethical practices. Although I found some sus­tainable brands, 8 years ago we didn’t have as many options, I did not iden­ti­fy with any ethi­cal, high qua­li­ty, sen­su­al design under­wear brand. I asked myself: Why to give up the fee­ling of sen­sua­li­ty when wea­ring sustainable lin­gerie? A few months later, in the last hours of a Forest Bathing work­shop in Coll­se­ro­la, I was sitting on the ground in a sta­te of deep rela­xa­ti­on when sud­den­ly, I heard my voice loud and strong in my head: “You’­re going to make lin­ge­rie! Sus­tainable! Very sexy! A few months ago you saw an online cour­se on Sus­tainable Fashion! Sign up!”. And so, two years later, she launched UMA INTI­MA­TES an eco·sen­su­al lin­ge­rie brand made ethically in Barcelona. Today, I’m accom­pa­nied by many women who help me with wis­dom and empa­thy, giving this pro­ject their crea­ti­vi­ty and affec­tion. UMA INTI­MA­TES is a sacred dream that I share with them. “UMA INTIMATES is an Eco~Sensual lingerie brand that proposes a journey through the senses with its Sensorial packaging. The lingerie is made of Tencel, Eucalyptus pulp, and recycled Polyamide lace. The packaging is eco·designed to have a second life as a vegan leather bag and the garment labels are reused as bookmarks. "Women's behaviour is unconsciously modified when we wear lingerie. The neuroscientific explanation is that we are helping our brain to secrete dopamine. Women experience feelings of well-being and satisfaction. She is prone to act with determination and perseverance in achieving her goals. Decision-making tends to be sound because a proactive attitude predominates.” UMA's MISSION is to empower women by awakening their sensuality without compromising their ethical values, comfort, or the well-being of other people or the Planet. UMA's VISION is to contribute to a more humane society. Where human beings and Mother Nature are at the centre of the economy. UMA's vision is to be a company with great social and economic influence to promote and implement social and environmental projects.”

Is your lingerie completely produced in Barcelona? Can you tell us more about the worker's conditions and human rights throughout your supply chain?

UMA pro­du­ces its lin­ge­rie in a small work­shop in Bar­ce­lo­na, I’m invol­ved in every step of the process. The regu­lar visits to the work­shop and the time spent there allowed me to see first-hand that all the workers are treated with digni­ty and under fair working con­di­ti­ons and without risks to their health.

What materials are you using?

UMA INTI­MA­TES is a vegan brand! All its mate­ri­als are free of ani­mal products. UMA crea­tes lin­ge­rie with high qua­li­ty fabrics, to offer a lon­ger dura­bi­li­ty. The ori­gin and high qua­li­ty of the mate­ri­als used is one of our most important pil­lars. For this reason, we have carried out in-depth research, visi­ted trade fairs and cont­acted all the sup­pli­ers of sus­tainable fabrics we could find in Europe. Our fabrics are made of Ten­cel Lyo­cell, an arti­fi­ci­al fib­re that comes from the cel­lu­lo­se of euca­lyp­tus wood cul­ti­va­ted for this pur­po­se. The­se plan­ta­ti­ons are sus­tain­ab­ly mana­ged accor­ding to the FSC (Forest Ste­ward­ship Coun­cil) stan­dard. Ten­cel Lyo­cell has anti­bac­te­ri­al and breat­ha­ble pro­per­ties, and due to its ela­s­ti­ci­ty and soft touch, the lin­ge­rie achie­ves a second-skin effect. On the other hand, the lace is made of recy­cled poly­ami­de of Ita­li­an ori­gin of the highest qua­li­ty. This fabric has the Glo­bal Recy­cled Stan­dard cer­ti­fi­ca­te, which veri­fies the use of recy­cled mate­ri­als and respon­si­ble manu­fac­tu­ring under strict social and envi­ron­men­tal requi­re­ments, trans­pa­rent and traceable. Final­ly, we use a per­cen­ta­ge of ela­s­tic and trim­mings, pro­du­ced local­ly a few kilo­me­tres from Bar­ce­lo­na. Both com­ply with STAN­DARD 100 by OEKO-TEX cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­on. UMA belie­ves that the shift towards a more huma­nis­ed cir­cu­lar eco­no­my must be led by com­pa­nies. The­r­e­fo­re, all their actions must follow a trans­pa­rent and traceable poli­cy. On the website, you can find detail­ed information about our phi­lo­so­phy and sus­tainabi­li­ty, and if you are even more curious, you can always write us an email with your questions, and we will be happy to tell you more about UMA.

What are your other sustainability efforts and what do you keep in mind when designing?

The packaging eco· design: We have invested resources to achieve our sensorial packaging. We aim to create a sensory experience for women as well as develop a second-life packaging. The lingerie is received in sensorial packaging that is infused with Ylang Ylang essential oil, a revitalizing and energizing flower that lightly caresses the lingerie with its delicate fragrance. To intensify the sensory experience, a feminine infusion made of Mediterranean herbs is included, completing a journey through the senses with taste. The packaging is eco·designed to have a second life as a multi-purpose vegan leather bag and the garment labels have a second life as a bookmark.

Who is your typical customer?

Women and men who care about ethical consumption and are aware that their consumption has political consequences in our economy and society.

What is the feedback you get from your customers?

Messages like: “Without a doubt, this lingerie is the best I've ever had. The fabric is soft and comfortable, and the design is sensual and elegant.” “UMA is an experience. I loved the pampering of the packaging, to "play" to submerge it in water, the infusion, the text, and of course, the garments, the touch and the adaptation to my curves, it's a truly a second skin.

And I felt so empowered when I put them on - I felt more ME! “I received my order very quickly. I noticed the love that was put into it, the respect for the environment and the intention to create awareness through lingerie. The infusion gift within the packaging is an incredible touch. The garments are very comfortable and it feels like I'm not wearing anything. Above all it just makes me feel good.” “The designs are very sensual and at the same time very comfortable. I wear them a lot and love how it fits. Congratulations for this beautiful lingerie designed to honour women.”

We say proudly on our Website that the return percentage is 1% and for that reason, we are happy to offer you FREE RETURNS* and also, we'll take care of managing it for you.

What do you think needs to happen to make the fashion industry more sustainable?

In my opinion, there is little support for small companies that build ethical, transparent and traceable supply chains. Access as a small business to sustainable materials is x2 or even x3 times more expensive plus the minimum required, which is a big investment upfront. On the other hand, manufacturing in Barcelona is more expensive than manufacturing in other countries. UMA believes in local economy and that is the reason why we don’t move our production to cheaper countries.

What's happening next?

We are working on extending our range of sizes. In the last 2 years, we have received tons of messages about the lack of bigger sizes, this takes hard work because we need investment to develop new patterns, research materials, etc. So we are focusing on this, which is a beautiful process that takes all my energy.