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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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