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~ Believe Athletics ~
Regina Rodríguez is the proud co-founder of Believe Athletics, a sustainable sportswear
brand for women. She is committed to building a sustainable future-proof brand with
maximum respect for the environment. Together with her sister, Marisol Rodríguez, she grew
the company to what it is today. Both sisters had the goal of creating designs to inspire and
motivate women to lead a more active lifestyle.
ombining two passions to create a brand That is why I only purchase products online at stores that
“Before starting Believe Athletics, I worked in the have a flexible return and exchange policy, and that is exactly
CStrategy Department of Gucci Group. I have always what we offered with Believe Athletics from the start.”
been drawn to fashion and wanted to pursue a career in a
fashion company. So, even though my formal education is Customers are becoming more aware
in industrial engineering with a master in finance, I always “We are happy to see that sustainability is becoming a trend
dreamt of pursuing a job in the fashion Industry. and that customers are more informed of the consequences
of their choices when it comes to purchasing products.
Life can sometimes be unexpected, and with the arrival of Customers are becoming more aware that when they buy a
motherhood, I was not able to cheaper clothing product
spend my week in Paris, where that this choice has more
the weekends, I would work “WE ARE HAPPY TO SEE expensive consequences
I was working at that time. On
for the planet, for future
during my first pregnancy, but THAT SUSTAINABILITY IS involved in the value chain.
in Spain where my family and generations, and people
husband were. I travelled a lot
once my child arrived, I had to Sustainability and fairtrade
slow down. BECOMING A TREND” have been two of our core
values since day one. We
I started to practice more have always focused on
sports than ever before, and offering a product of quality
that turned out to be the medicine for my body and most that lasts for a long time. This means that customers do not
importantly, for my soul. I discovered that the more I have to replace the product every other season, thus producing
practised, the better I would feel, and I wanted to encourage less waste. In addition, all of our products use Spanish
all my friends to be more active. Little by little, the idea of and Italian yarns - some of them recycled - and these are
mixing my passion for fashion and my love for being active produced in Portugal in a fair and sustainable way. On top
was becoming stronger. I dreamt of doing things differently, of that, being able to closely monitor the entire value chain,
and the world was raving about fast fashion, but I wanted to coupled with the high-quality craftsmanship in Portugal,
create sportswear that was local, sustainable and long-lasting. allows us to offer an exceptional product to our customers.”
At Gucci, I learnt the value of timeless pieces and quality
materials. This turned out to be something I liked, moving Long-lasting garments
away from cheap manufacturing and materials. We need to “We believe in slow fashion. The fast fashion industry is one
buy less, but of better quality.” of the most polluting industries on our planet, and we want
to advocate for more responsible consumption by creating
Online retail model from the start garments that offer long life and without chemical treatment
“I really believed in online shopping when we started the or microplastics.”
brand. I am a mother of three, and I am very busy. Time is
one of our most precious treasures. I do not want to spend Reduction of water consumption
my entire afternoon going to the mall to shop because that, “The polyamide used in the creation of our fabrics consumes
to me, is a waste of time. I would rather spend time with my an amount of water that is extraordinarily lower than that
family and friends. I prefer to shop online when my kids are of cotton garments: 10 litres of water for Believe Athletic’s
sleeping or just spend ten minutes in front of the computer leggings compared to 2,400 litres for a traditional cotton
and get it done as fast as possible. t-shirt. In addition, we also contribute to the reduction of
water and energy consumption by creating garments with
When it comes to clothing, we always prefer to try the clothes Skinlife® antimicrobial technology, which does not require
on before we buy them. However, nowadays, with being able frequent washing. Skinlife® technology from our local
to order more than one size or return things that do not fit, supplier uses silver ions that neutralize the bacteria caused
what better changing room than your own home? by sweat and which are responsible for bad smells. The silver
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