Conscious The Label – a Portuguese brand with amazing + beautiful pieces of bikinis, swimsuits, and *now* apparel – a dreamland in the beach world. This week we have on the blog Joana Silva – Founder and Head Designer of Conscious The Label – an ethical and sustainable swimwear brand made from recycled ocean plastic waste, based in Lisbon, Portugal.

We admire the way that Joana walks the walk and talks the talk and how she cares about our Planet. She’s helping the world at the same time she grows her premium swimwear brand. We’ve been loving following her and now we’re even more amazed by the fantastic woman, business leader and fashion icon she is! We are so grateful to Joana for being open to connecting with us + we know her interview is going to inspire you no matter what.

You already know that we like to share how we meet the guests we bring to the blog and/or how we create this connection. In fact, we both know Joana from social media. We followed her for so many years and we got daily inspiration from her sustainable, eco-friendly and minimal life (but with style!). A remarkable step towards seeing her as inspiration was the creation of her swimwear brand.

In this sense, she is an influencer (a really good one!!!) and she shares everything we love – minimalism, environmentally and eco-friendly living, following a higher purpose, deep inspiration, real action, and entrepreneurship. Not to mention that this beautiful guest also follows the VS favorite mantra “Less is more”. Her passion and devotion to change the world around labels and the idea of stopping fast pace and materialistic society are so refreshing. In this interview, you’ll know the story of founding ‘Conscious The Label’, why she *actually* created a conscious brand and how she stays true to herself. Joana also gives us 4 tips for feeling GOOD in a swimsuit! You don’t want to miss it!

Where did your business idea come from?

I was designing and producing my own swimwear and shared it online when friends and followers started to ask me to do it for them! Then, thoughts of creating a swimwear brand started popping into my mind and began to feel like it was meant to be. 

Why is it important for you to create a conscious brand?

It was a deal-breaker for me. To create a brand, it had to be sustainable. Otherwise, I would not invest my time or money in it. I felt the need to use my platform and brand to raise awareness about sustainable fashion and do something about it by partnering with the right manufacturers, suppliers, NGOs, etc. 

We’re living in a fast pace and materialistic society. How can we do to lower this state and calm our mind and body through conscious living?

Get in tune with your actual needs. We all have wants and needs, and we need to lower the noise of the wants. In this fast-paced society, we need to educate people to buy less but better. The pursuit of instant gratification is never-ending. It is a self-development daily work within every single one of us. I’m on this journey too. 

How do you stay true to yourself and your values and be an influencer and showing your life online?

I don’t think one influences the other. I show little bites of my life online, and they are all true to my core. I don’t have an “online persona” or try to do everything right for the picture. I am just here being myself, and sometimes I like to share it! 🙂

Can you give us 4 tips for feeling good in a swimsuit?

Eating well
Working out regularly
Choosing the best fit for our body
Prioritize self-love 

At VS, we’re 100% sharing *sharing knowledge, sharing inspiration, sharing brands we love, sharing good people, light, and love* This is a brand that really makes a difference in the world and allows to increase awareness about conscious consumption. Just to get you noticed (and we advise you to explore the ‘conscious the label’ website above) this brand uses recycled fabrics mainly from ocean waste plastic, where each piece is ethically sewed and sustainably packaged – the shipping option is carbon-neutral. So do like us and start sharing more in your life. You can start by sharing this small but powerful interview, and if you want a dose of daily inspiration (without any kind of comparison) follow her incredible daily life + work.

Lots of love, Vanessa & Sara

Website: https://www.consciousthelabel.com/

Instagram: @conscious_thelabel | @joanajoes