Lola Moy and Romain Durand, co-founders of the Ankore brand that they wear on their backs.
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F. Brenon / 20Minutes
The clothes are created from plastic waste collected in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
The spinning of the products takes place in Spain and the prototyping in Portugal.
The brand that makes sweatshirts and t-shirts wants for the moment to be only present on the Internet.
It was while observing the Breton coast that the idea came to them: to create clothes from plastic collected at sea. Two years ago, Lola Moy and Romain Durand, settled in Nantes, decided to launch Ankore, a ethical brand that recycles plastic found in the ocean.
The pre-sales which will end at the beginning of November are already proving a great success and the two thirty-something will soon launch their production.
“The pollution of the oceans is a daily disaster.
It clicked, ”explains Romain, a surf enthusiast and Ankore co-creator.
The latter was at the time a lawyer in an accounting firm and Lola HR manager.
The two friends decide to give up everything to try a new adventure.
"There was the idea of becoming independent, of creating but above all of doing something that makes sense," says Lola.
A more responsible lifestyle
Ankore is both the ever more polluted marine universe (anchor means marine anchor) but also the desire to "recycle even more".
Lola and Romain had to learn more about making more responsible clothing.
“It is a practice that is becoming more democratic but that we see mainly on women's products.
It was important to do it for men as well, ”says Lola.
The beginnings were not easy because we had to trust a young brand with no experience, especially for an innovative project.
“We knocked on two hundred doors,” says Romain.
First in France then in Spain and Portugal.
We wanted to promote the short circuit as much as possible.
"
A product that travels few kilometers
Lola and Romain entered into a relationship with Seaqual, a Spanish company associated with fishermen who collect plastic both in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean.
The collected waste is sent to the Anglès recycling center (Girona, Spain) to be cleaned, scrambled, melted, spun and mixed with organic cotton.
Once the spinning is done, head to Trofa (Portugal) for prototyping.
“What is good with Portugal is that they are super savvy, informs Lola.
They kept their know-how.
This experience is innovative for us but ultimately for them too.
"We did a lot of tests," says Romain.
We were keen to offer a comfortable product that lasts over time.
"
The design, the patronage and the logistics are carried out by Lola and Romain from Nantes.
At present, the brand offers on its site three colors of sweatshirt (blue, camel, gray) at 79 euros and a color of T-shirt (blue) at 39 euros.
These prices are currently reduced on the Ulule crowdfunding platform.
The two entrepreneurs want to involve their community according to the demands.
A project that arouses enthusiasm
After two years of implementation, the clothes which are only in presales on Ulule and produced on demand to avoid overproduction, are ready to see the light of day.
"If all goes well, we can estimate a release for the beginning of the year 2021", informs Lola.
For now, the Nantes initiative seems to be popular.
“We have very benevolent comments, confesses Romain with a smile.
It's really fun!
Two years of work have paid off.
»The initial objective of 200 pre-sales has been largely exceeded, with more than 600 orders to date.
The two Nantes residents are thinking big and do not want to stop there.
Other products are already in development.
"We think of caps, swim shorts, backpacks ..." There is no shortage of ideas and Lola tries to project herself: "We would very much like to have a structure to accommodate other talents and take on other people with us in this adventure.
By then, they hope to double their number of pre-sales to have between 800 and 1,000 by the end of the campaign which will end on November 5 at midnight.
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