We had the good fortune of connecting with Taryn Sage Larock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taryn, what principle do you value most?
I really value integrity.  This matters so much to me, not only personally, but specifically professionally with the company I founded – Sage Larock –  because we wanted to set the bar of how we do things from an ethical & sustainable perspective very high from the beginning. As we continue to grow as a business, we continually find ways to not only meet the high standard we have set, but also to be more sustainable and keep finding new ways of operating & producing in an ethical manner. So I feel that integrity is really important, as it means you are always striving to do the right thing, even when nobody’s watching.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sage Larock is an LA based sustainable & ethically produced women’s wear brand, founded in 2015. We currently do swimwear & activewear made from recycled fishing nets & non-toxic dyes, and soon we will launch organic, plant dyed lingerie.

After researching garment production & the fashion industry, I learned that much of what is being produced is not conducive to people or the planet being healthy, so I began to look into how this could be done differently, which is how Sage Larock came about. Much of the clothing that is being made – from fast fashion to luxury goods – have been tested positive for hormone disrupting NPEs, Phthalates, which are toxic to the reproductive system, and cancer-causing azo dyes. Our skin is our largest organ, so unfortunately any chemicals present in fabric or the dyes that are used on our clothing can be easily absorbed into our skin and then bloodstream. Beyond that, these chemicals are often dumped into waterways or the ocean, which destroys freshwater supplies and air/soil quality for everyone. Producing clothing in this manner is destructive to our health & the environment, so I have really worked for Sage Larock to do things in a way that is quite different from how the garment/fashion industry normally operates.
We produce everything ethically in DTLA, never using slave labor, and always using only organic, upcycled or deadstock fabrics, and only non-toxic/low impact or botanical dyes. I am a huge lover of the ocean, so I was pretty shocked when I learned that normally all swimwear and activewear (and around 70% of all clothing) is made from polyester or acrylic (petroleum oil based toxic plastic). So instead of creating new polyester fabric, which is the same PET plastic as plastic water bottles & chemically very intensive to produce, we only use upcycled ghost fishing lines & certified non-toxic dyes. Also, abandoned or ‘ghost’ fishing gear accounts for almost 50% of the plastic in our oceans, and contributes greatly to micro-plastic pollution, so we thought why not upcycle these nets into garments rather than producing more pollution just for fashion? The fashion industry has a ways to go to become sustainable & ethical, but I think using upcycled materials instead of producing more plastic & chemicals is a good start!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Even with so much of Los Angeles being shut down right now, there is so much to do and see still! I adore all the wonderful farmers markets around the city, especially the Wednesday Santa Monica & Sunday Malibu & Brentwood markets for their amazing organic produce. Lately I have also been enjoying going on full moon hikes in the Palisades. My favorite restaurants are always Little Pine, Moby’s great vegan restaurant in Silver Lake that has raised & donated over $750,000 to animal rights/rescue non-profits, and also Chateau Marmont, where I love having long brunches, and almost always end up staying to play some records & backgammon in their living room like lobby area. For drinks and good food, I adore Bar & Cafe Stella in Silver Lake – always great ambiance on their terrace and interesting people. Elf cafe in Echo Park has a great natural wine selection, and for fresh pressed juices I love Erewhon & Beverly Hills Juice in West Hollywood. I also love Little Dom’s Italian in Los Feliz, and the nearby Griffith Park to picnic, read, or walk around in, and the Los Feliz local bookstore Skylight books. I spend a lot of time at beaches, and always take guests to Little Dume beach, Zero’s Beach in Malibu & Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would love to give a shout out to the incredible non-profit Sea Shepherd! They are the most amazing direct action marine conservation non-profit, and I respect what they do to save our oceans & wildlife so much. I remember being 5 or 6 years old and seeing footage of their Founder Paul Watson & Brigitte Bardot in Newfoundland to see & try to stop the brutal baby fur seal hunts, and I knew from this point what they were doing was amazing and I wanted to help in any way possible. Sage Larock recently designed and produced sustainable women’s swimwear made from upcycled shark poaching nets for them, all to fund their life-saving missions, so a lifelong dream to be able help this amazing organization has come true in a way.

Website: www.sagelarock.com
Instagram: sage_larock
Linkedin: Taryn Larock
Youtube: Sage Larock

Image Credits
Rodney Ray, Dove Shore

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