Tamar Kate, the eco friendly fashion brand created by the brainchild of the same name, is on a mission to minimise our carbon footprint. Tamar is a fierce BossBabe who isn’t afraid to step outside of her comfort zone to create a brand that she believes in, where each piece is made of Sustainably Made Organic ‘Modal’ Fabric, and is designed so that the fit is both relaxed and effortlessly stylish. The line can transition from day to evening, and is an essential addition to any wardrobe.

Putting the middle finger up to fast fashion, we just had to find out more. Here, we chat to Tamar to find out more about what makes her tick…

What lead you to launch your brand?
Fashion industry ethics and the intensely negative impact it has on our planet.

Also a desire to be my own boss and see if I had it in me to create a successful business from scratch. So I had a spontaneous idea to start a t-shirt company, with one eco-friendly fabric and one colour. Simple, but I was definitely in over my head. My main thinking was if I change just the fabric of the most commonly worn article of clothing, the t-shirt, to an organic -eco-friendly, sustainably made fabric, what sort of impact could that have on the fashion industries overall impact. How often do we buy new tees? What do we do with your old ones? The old ones most likely end up in landfills in third and fourth world countries. First world garbage becomes third world problems. Those synthetics are not biodegrading nicely! They are polluting the ground soil and water with all kinds of chemicals. Aiming to be a zero-waste company is a must. I am hoping to inspire others to find ways to make their own business and overall life choices more eco-friendly while still doing what they love. We can all lesson our individual carbon footprint.

What’s your philosophy?
Education through Fashion, Life Philosophy? Too many, but I would just say, recycle, reduce, reuse, rescue your pets, being kind is so cool, science is real, Live, Laugh, Love & Peace!

Tell us about your ideal customer…
The eco-conscious fashion forward person. I want everyone to feel as though this is their brand! That TK represents them! Comfort, style, longevity, & eco-responsibility. All ages should feel they can wear my pieces and feel chic and cozy and put together at the same time. All while knowing their fashion isn’t hurting the environment through our sustainable practices and zero-waste efforts.

For any aspiring fashion designers, what advice would you give?
Well, since I am still an aspiring designer I would just say keep going. I feel like I am in over my head almost daily, but what else can I do except keep getting stuff done until its done? It always gets done and you need to remember that. Make daily lists of tasks to accomplish. I do my easiest tasks first so I can check off as many possible tasks and then you just feel productive and driven. Learn to multi-task, respect others time, figure out how you will time manage projects. Always think down the line end goal so you have direction. Your direction can change daily, but just have it. Don’t work when you know it’ll be half done, because you will end up redoing crappy work and wasting time and money. Take a break and breathe, re-group and eat. I constantly forget to eat.

Since you launched your business, is there anything you would do differently?
I would do almost 50% of what I did differently. Building a brand is a massive learning experience, daily. From spending, sourcing, researching more… I didn’t do a degree in fashion, so even learning ‘fashion vocabulary’ was something I needed to do, understand fabrics and learn about the environmental impact this industry creates. Brand building is a daily game changer. You learn, see, hear, read new things every day so I feel as though the direction I set for myself is constantly changing. So I think in the beginning I would have taken some basic fashion courses. At this point I know it would have made a world of difference.

In 2020, where do you plan on taking the brand?
I am hoping to get started on two other collections I have in mind, but realistically, everything takes much longer than you expect so those will probably be done by 2038 ;p But seriously, for 2020, I just hope I can grow my brand and reach more fashion forward thinking people. Whatever I can do to help the environment while still being able to do something I love is the goal. There is no reason why we can’t still do what we love in life while trying to be as eco-friendly and responsible as possible. You don’t need to be perfect, I am NOT, just make the changes where you can contribute.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed, if so, how do you combat this?
I feel like I am experiencing mini strokes everyday from stress and the weight of knowing its all on me, good or bad, succeed or fail. Am I making the right decisions, choices, purchases, am I doing everything in the right order…I am in my head much more than I am sure I should be, but I really over analyse everything until I am comfortable moving forward. I’m not the right one to ask how to combat stress, honestly, if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. I need help in this area!

If you could get on a plane tomorrow and visit anywhere, where would it be and why?
Any secluded island with clear blue water and the sounds of animals in nature to listen to. Definitely no tech would be allowed on my island  Private beach access and a record player with Bob Marley Legend on repeat. Obviously, my furries (Oscar & Beanzie) would have to be there with me!

Tell us something about yourself that people would not know…
Growing up and all the way through undergraduate school I wanted to be an interpreter for the UN. I may have told a handful of people.