Dress Like a Legend: Bamboo Clothes from Legend Clothes, LLC.

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I am here with Nicholas Narsavidze, Owner and CEO of Legend Clothing LLC. talking about what inspired him to make clothes out of bamboo.

Nick, I love your company Legend Clothes. Eco-awareness is a buzz word in business today, but with you it is not just a word, but the whole way you are doing business; from the original concept, to the production, down to the way you are labeling your clothes.

What is the inspiration behind Legend Clothes?

Our deepest inspiration behind Legend Clothing is to create abundant, high-quality environmentally-beneficial garments that are very alluring to the adult/young adult culture; be it skate, surf, snow, urban, and other forms of casual streetwear. We believe that the luxuriance of the fashion industry, these days, to produce high-quality garments is unnecessarily wasteful. There are many technologies that are readily available to produce high quality garments with low-emissions, low carbon footprints, and, in turn, better, higher-quality fabrics and garments at virtually no expense to the planet. The innovation is there, the product is there, and the quality is there, but the difference is that we are committed to using it and improving upon it.

Who is your target market?

We do not label ourselves under any particular market, audience, or lifestyle. We provide apparel for a wide-variety of consumers ranging from Skate, Urban, Snow, Street, Designer, Surf, etc. We believe our garments can apply to anyone. We use influential lifestyles of music, sports, and fashion to design our garments. Legend is concentrated in producing performance based eco-apparel with a supernatural style.

We talked about eco-awareness and sustainability at ASR. Can you tell me more about how you address these issues with your clothing line? Is it just the clothes? Or do you carry your ethics out throughout the marketing process as well (printed matter, advertising, etc.)

Great question. We do not stop at our garments when it comes to eco-awareness. In fact, we have a phrase that we like to use, “Raise ACTION, not awareness.” We believe that people are already aware of the issues that are happening in the world on a daily basis; thus we encourage action…simple action. We don’t need to see the whole staircase in order to take the first step in faith. We feel that providing to our environment is mandatory and not some incentive to sell. Some examples of our marketing and advertising actions include: printing our catalogs, contracts, business cards, and any other printed material on recycled paper; we are currently switching from traditional inks to all soy-based inks for our garments, and our paper printed materials; however, we believe that this is not enough, thus we are pushing the development of some of the new technologies which we will be using in the near future with our company to further deepen our eco roots. In a way, we do not think or dwell upon how “Eco” or “Green” we are; it comes naturally as our company’s responsibility.

I have heard that growing cotton is environmentally destructive. How is bamboo better?

Yes, in terms of growing, cotton is one of the world’s most environmentally destructive crops with regards to water and pesticide use. Unlike cotton, bamboo grows and thrives naturally without the use of harmful pesticides. Merely to grow cotton or other plants, chemicals and pesticides must be added simply to protect the plant itself. Not bamboo. Bamboo is seldom eaten by pests and does not get infected by pathogen. Why? Bamboo contains an anti-bacterial bio-agent called, “Bamboo Kun” which is a natural element that thrives inside the bamboo plant and protects it from pests and bacteria. Bamboo also grows faster than cotton, nearly 3ft a day! And, as you may guess, to speed up the growth of Cotton, or other crops, additives and chemicals must be added.

Could you explain more to me about bamboo as a fabric and as a sustainable product?

Bamboo is a natural, environmentally-friendly fabric that does not use any chemical additives. Bamboo fiber is a biodegradable textile material, thus the decomposition process does not cause any pollution to the environment. In turn, bamboo comes from nature, hence the “natural” label, and gets entirely returned to nature in the end.

I understand you recently took a trip to China. Tell me more about why you went and what you discovered.

Yes, we went to China to visit our manufacturers; we toured the beautiful city, and worked with them in their factory. Despite some of the rumors I have heard about China, the city that I have visited is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever travelled to. The Chinese people there are very hospitable and family oriented people; they have similar ethical backgrounds regarding business and friendship. I will definitely be visiting again!

Are you only making products from bamboo? Which products are those?

After we discovered all of the wonderful qualities of bamboo we decided to expand this wonder-fabric to other garments such as denim, hats, sweaters, etc. We are currently working on blends that are revolutionizing the industry regarding environmental impact and quality. Some of these blends have never been used before with certain garments and we are very excited to release them!

I was intrigued by your idea of providing a certificate of authenticity. Tell me again the story of how you came up with that idea. It seems to go with my idea of having a “Green Watchdog” to verify that companies who claim to be green really are doing what they say. In this case, you seem to be leading the industry into a standard of green.

Thank you for the compliment! I am really intrigued with your idea of the Green Watchdog. We had a very interesting phone conversation about all of these ideas! Yes, we will be providing certificates of authenticity of our fabric content, eco-action, statistics, and our name with every garment. We are compelled to stand behind our product, and lead this movement into the green standard. These certificates and authenticity labels will be in forms of tags, certified hanging tags, embroideries, prints, etc. The certificate will contain statistics of our finished garment’s impact on the planet compared to other fabrics and other forms of production.

I also liked your idea of the Green Logo, could you explain more to me what you mean by this?

Another form of authenticity we are portraying is a Green logo which will only be sewn or fastened to eco-goods. Our aim is to develop this logo into a universal “Green” logo that other companies can use. However these logos will only be found on true environmentally-beneficial products.

I think the time has come for products such as yours. In the last month, you have shown your clothing line at 4(?) different trade shows. Which shows are these?

In the last month we have shown our Fall 2008 clothing line at two different trade shows; MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas, NV, and ASR trade show in San Diego, CA. We have visited other trade shows in the same time period without exhibiting to study the diverse people and products of this vast industry.

How has the response been?

The response has been remarkable! We are working with many domestic and international buyers and distributors. Our garments have raised a lot of significance in the industry. Recently, at the MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas we won the “Innovator” award for our apparel and our booth. This award truly accentuates our company’s core purpose.

How else are you marketing Legend Clothes?

Currently we are working with several magazines, websites, and marketers. Domestically, we have many representatives on the West coast and are expanding to the East coast. Internationally, we are represented in Europe, South America, and parts of Asia. With the exception of representatives we are endorsing professional action sport athletes, and are getting heavily affiliated with the music industry.

What would you like for other entrepreneurs to know about the process of bringing a green product to market?

It is very important for entrepreneurs to research their product from every angle. Forget about the profit, and think about the benefit. Ensure that the product is truly beneficial and worthwhile with a means of longevity. From there it is a matter of taking the first step in faith; simply act, and the respond to the opportunities that arise for you.

What convinced you you could do it?

Imagination. For me, I noticed that I always had a “if they can, I can” mentality; a “why not” mentality, if you will. One day I simply said to myself, “why not” and me and my partner took the risks we needed to acquire the contacts, resources, and skills in order to reach the point where Legend is now. I have noticed that if you merely act, then life will give you the experience and lessons you need to reach your vision. When the initial painting was completed in our minds I was convinced.

In a phrase, what is your company about? I have seen other products, such as sheets, made from bamboo, how can a consumer tell if the product is eco-friendly?

Our vision is to lead the “Green” movement with high-quality performance and style based eco-products. We are about reaching these legendary people who support our vision, ambition, and creativity. We are about creating, encouraging, sustaining, and dressing legends. There are many products out there that are now using bamboo. One way to recognize a bamboo product is to check the feel, composition, and shine of the fabric. Bamboo has a silky, cold feel to it with a nice sheen. Bamboo is very soft and if you look very closely you can actually very thin strands of the bamboo fiber (usually running horizontally). Bamboo has some stretch characteristics, thus it will give a little if you pull on it but it should go right back to its natural state.

Thank you Nick, I hope we can talk together soon. As you know, I love your company and your product line.

Q. How Long Does a Legend Last?

A. 4eva

– copyright 2008 Aliyah Marr

Should any reader be interested in Legend Clothes, please contact them at:

contact@legendclothes.com

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