Founded in 2015 by Matteo Ward, Victor Santiago and Silvia Giovanardi, Wråd was initially launched as an Instagram account and non-profit educational movement raising awareness around the real impact fashion has on people and the environment.
According to Ward, the key moment that launched this venture was the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh, which occurred in 2013. “Back then I was co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at Abercrombie & Fitch and I already knew Victor [Santiago], who was an art director and photographer. After the tragedy we started to question the costs of the fashion industry globally,” said Ward.
Both Ward and Santiago quit their jobs to travel across Europe and sensitize an increasing number of people on the matter, documenting their journey on Instagram. Word reached Giovanardi, who left her position as senior designer at Etro to join the company, as well as a range of Italian entrepreneurs already operating with a sustainable approach across different industries, who wanted to join the cause. Among these, Susanna Martucci, chief executive officer of the Alisea company and inventor of the Perpetua pencil made of recycled graphite, inspired the first product Wråd introduced.
The Graphi-Tee endorsed by Perpetua is a T-shirt dyed with
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