We had the good fortune of connecting with Luana & Thomas Simonson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luana & Thomas, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought was to start a company where we could stay creative and inspire people to live a more eco-savvy lifestyle.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While traveling the world as a costume coordinator with Cirque du Soleil, I (Luana) got to see how different places were polluted by plastic. I tried my best to reduce my wasteful footprint and while in a South Florida town I met Tom, a surfer/beachcomber who makes art out of marine debris found on the beach. With a common interest in protecting the planet we hit it off and decided to put our creative minds together and create an eco-savvy company. We wanted to design products we had already used ourselves to help live a sustainable lifestyle and hopefully influence others to join us. It wasn’t easy to get to where we are today and we still encounter challenges since we are just a small brand. We are constantly working on releasing limited collections to avoid overproduction. It can be challenging to find manufactures that ethically make clothing nowadays and although we have had producers we’ve worked with come and go we continue to work with new great hardworking people that carry the same morals, passions and ideas that we do. We have even influenced some to be more mindful when it comes to conscious consumption and sustainability.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would take them to Fort Lauderdale beach and beach comb for marine debris. If we wanted a smoothie, we would have a green PB cup at Mayapapaya. We would take them to Yellow Green Farmer’s Market, maybe the Swap Shop and look for second-hand gems. If we were lucky, we could go to the Art Walk at FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale which occurs the last Saturday of every month. If we were out West, we would visit the Tree Tops Park and have a sub at Deli Boy Subs.

If in Miami, we would definitely take them to visit the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Wynwood, go shopping at Pivot Market and Plant the Future in Little Haiti and have sushi dinner at Makoto.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would like to give a shoutout to every eco-warrior we met along the way, either through social-media or beach clean-ups, such as Surfrider, Sun of a Beach, Clean Miami Beach, Clean this Beach Up, Eco Codes, Fillabag, Pirani among others. Also, to STA, the Brazilian company that produces Amni Soul Eco fabric, the first biodegradable polyamide in the world. This fabric is a game-changer when it comes to eco-friendly swimwear and activewear and we proudly represent them in the United States.

Website: www.lutom.world

Instagram: lutom.world

Facebook: lutom.world

Youtube: lutom.world

Image Credits
Priscila Marques & Danielle Leighla

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