Meet Helga Douglas | Founder of Svala

We had the good fortune of connecting with Helga Douglas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Helga, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I founded Svala as I was very interested in sustainable fashion and was unable to find the kind of bags and accessories that I was looking for. I started writing for various publications about local, eco-friendly fashion in Los Angeles and being exposed to other founders inspired me and gave me the confidence to start my own brand.

What should our readers know about your business?
Svala bags and accessories are made from premium, sustainable, plant based materials such as cork and Piñatex®.

Our cork fabric is sourced from Portugal, which is known for producing the world’s most beautiful cork. Cork, the bark of the cork oak tree, is beautiful, waterproof, stain resistant and durable. The harvesting of cork is done in a sustainable manner so that no tree is damaged during the process – the harvesting actually helps the tree absorb CO2 and therefore the environment!

Piñatex® is a natural, innovative and patented new material, made from pineapple leaf fibers gathered by partner farming cooperatives in the Philippines. Piñatex® fibers are the by-product of the pineapple harvest, which brings new income streams to subsistence farmers, allowing them to fully utilize their crops. No extra land, water, fertilizer or pesticides are required to produce the raw material.

We recently introduced MIRUM® into our Svala line. MIRUM® is a categorically new, plant based, vegan material made by NFW with zero plastic. It is currently the only vegan leather alternative on the market that does not contain plastic. MIRUM® is USDA certified 100% biobased, made from a combination of virgin natural materials such as natural rubber, plant oils and cork. In addition to having an extremely low carbon footprint, MIRUM® requires no water during the manufacturing and dyeing process. At the end of its life, MIRUM@ can be recycled into new MIRUM® or ground up and returned safely to the earth.

Svala products are handcrafted in a world-class, downtown Los Angeles factory which ensures that the workers are paid a fair wage and have comfortable working conditions. I love manufacturing close to home as I can be a part of the process and know who is crafting the products.

I decided to make Svala a direct to consumer company so that we can offer ethically and sustainably made, handcrafted products, made with the highest-quality, vegan fabrics, without the traditional retail mark-up. As selling wholesale typically requires brands to increase their prices up to 250% or more, I wanted to cut out this process so Svala can offer the best of sustainable luxury with a modern approach to pricing and access.

Svala was awarded the Best Vegan Brand of 2020 by the sustainable luxury Eluxe Awards which was very exciting. Moving forward, I am excited to expand my business and increase our charitable contributions to various animal and environmental organizations as well as our carbon offset program. We recently partnered with Ecologi so a tree is planted with every Svala order.

Starting a business is never easy and there have definitely been challenges along the way but I think half the battle is just making the decision to start and committing to keep pushing forward, even if it is one small step a day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was coming for a visit, I would definitely take her to the Hollywood Bowl and the Walt Disney Music Hall and check out what musical acts were on that week at all of the other amazing music venues such as the El Rey Theatre, the Troubadour and the Greek. One of my favorite things about LA is all the musical creativity happening every night. I have seen so many incredible musicians and bands play and would definitely want my friend to experience that.

I love doing yoga with friends and family so I would take her to my favorite yoga studio YogaWorks in Venice. I would also love to show her some of the beautiful hiking trails LA has to offer in Malibu, Runyon Canyon and Topanga and we would bring my puppy Gaia.

We would also definitely visit Santa Monica and Venice Beach as well as all of the beautiful beaches in Malibu and drive along the incredible coastline. LA has amazing art galleries and museums so we would definitely check these out including the LACMA, the Getty and the Getty Villa.

My favorite restaurants and places to eat in LA are Malibu Farm, Gracias Madre, Cafe Gratitude, Little Beach House, Geoffrey’s, Erewhon, Crossroads and Plant Food + Wine so I would love to take her to experience these amazing places.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mother has always been an inspiration to me. For as long as I can remember, she has always been committed to natural living and sustainability and had a passion for design. The inspiration for Svala’s name comes from Iceland, where my mother is from. Svala means swallow in Icelandic and this bird is a symbol of love, loyalty, freedom and hope in many cultures – everything that I wanted my brand to stand for.

Website: https://svala.co

Instagram: https://instagram.com/svalaco

Twitter: https://twitter.com/svalaco

Facebook: https://facebook.com/svalaco