Ep. 103 Aneta Sofronova, founder of sustainable clothing brand Nusha on design evolution, the history of hemp fibre and all things earth-conscious design.

Topanga Moon

Today's guest is my dearest friend and most frequent guest on the Topanga Moon podcast! Aneta Sofronova is the founder and creator of the sustainable clothing brand Nusha, a brand rooted in earth-conscious production and clothing made from natural fibres and dyes that are healthy for you and the planet. I am thrilled to have her on the podcast to dive into her mission behind her clothing brand, the design evolution of her brand and how that is connected to her heritage, the history of the hemp fibre industry, today's oversaturation of toxic clothing, her love of using and cultivating plant dyes and so much more!

We dive into:

• The evolution of Aneta’s brand Nusha, the meaning behind her brand name. Her deep connection to plants, growing them and how that was infused into the original name of her brand Immortelle - meaning everlasting, growing in the Mediterranean. Design that can withstand the test of time. Using her nickname Nusha for the new name, it connects her to her roots and younger self - sweet sentimental and from her heritage.
• How hemp is meaningful for the region that she is from and important for her brand. Hemp is unlike any other plant and has so many end uses.
• How Aneta’s grandmother use to grow hemp in her village, and using hemp for so many things. Taking it down to the river for the retting process, breaking down the stocks to reveal the fibre.
• Uncovering the history of how we create goods and what fabrics we use and why. Hemp is one of the oldest textiles known to man. Even the word canvas, which is a type of woven fabric, the origin of canvas comes from cannabis.
• How hemp was used in the military, used in the ships that came over to America, even Henry ford was experimenting with hemp.
• There were two big industries that saw hemp as a big threat: the cotton industry which was popular in America, and the oil industry - which saw it as a huge threat because you could make biofuels and bio plastic from hemp.
• How it became illegal to grow hemp in North America.
• We discuss the toxins in our clothing and the fashion industry. Wearing petroleum products on our bodies.
• The creation of a campaign to demonize the hemp industry and thus making both marijuana and hemp illegal.
• We also discuss Aneta’s love of plant dyes, the intricate process and how using plant dyes beautifully connects her fashion to nature.
• Naturally dying fabric consists of many different steps - harder and more expensive but has been used for so long. The more we step away from what is harder to create the less we respect the garment.
• Aneta shares her favourite natural dyes and the different processes. We also discuss the energetic properties of natural colours, the significance of using certain colours like slate blue for porches, and the frequency of natural fibres.

You can check out Aneta's brand here: https://hellonusha.com/

@hello.nusha

@anetasofronova

And find Topanga Moon here:

https://www.topangamoon.com/

@topanga_moon