If you tuned in last week on Art & Social Activism’s Instagram Live for their online socially aware art and fashion festival, which Jejune was honored to be apart of, you would have gotten a chance to meet the lovely Misa Miyagawa, designer and owner of sustainable fashion brand Botanica Workshop. I got the pleasure to ask her about how Botanica Workshop is weathering COVID-19, and how she is taking the opportunity to change directions, for a little bit, to focus on making zero waste masks for the population and essential workers.

If you didn’t, you missed out on seeing our beautiful faces, but you are lucky, because Misa was kind enough to answer her questions here as well. Please read further to learn more about Botanica Workshop and how they are making the world a little safer right now.

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Foreword by Kira Bucca, Editor in Chief of Jejune Magazine.

Where are you based?
Los Angeles, CA

Tell us a little bit about Botanica Workshop?
Botanica Workshop is a company that I founded in 2014. We focus on making essential items from organic and sustainable materials, and mostly focus on underwear/loungewear. We are based in LA and all our production is here. We try to work with fabric manufactured in LA as much as possible. Currently, the city of LA has a stay at home order in place, so I have moved my studio desk into my kitchen. I have boxes of supplies and stock for the online shop, but it's a very limited setup.

Where does your name come from?
The name Botanica Workshop comes from a combination of concepts: “Botanica” represents our ecologically minded use of materials, and “Workshop” represents the experiential nature of designing and producing handcrafted goods.

How have you been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?
We have pivoted our entire production to mask making- in LA. Garment workers are legally only allowed to continue operating if they are producing medical supplies. Usually, developing a new category for the brand takes about 6-12 months and quite a bit of investment. We launched and shipped masks less than three weeks on a shoestring budget after the stay at home order was confirmed.

Why is it more important than ever to be a sustainable brand?
To me, sustainability includes fair labor and ensuring the health and safety of all workers. Unsustainable supply chains are crumbling before the eyes of the public and will not be able to survive without pivoting quickly. By working locally and building relationships within our community, we are able to continue to serve the needs of our customers.

Can you tell us about where you get your materials? And why are they important to you?
We source materials from local vendors as much as possible. Our core organic cotton group is made with fabric from a mill less than 25 miles away from where it is cut and sewn in downtown LA.

What made you decide to start making masks? Was it weird to switch to exclusively focusing on masks?
At the beginning of the lockdown in LA, it was almost impossible to buy any kind of mask, and we started researching how to make non medical face coverings. Once the idea of cloth masks became more accepted and recommended by doctors and public health officials, we started developing prototypes and making small production runs with our contractor who usually produces our organic cotton underwear and swimwear. It wasn’t weird to switch production other than that we had to develop a new product in a matter of days; we were more worried about implementing safety precautions in the sample room — everyone is extra careful right now.

What does it mean that your masks are zero waste?
The masks are made of scrap fabric we have been saving from production offcuts for years and years. The fabric was literally rescued from the cutting room floor, washed, and turned into masks. The ties on one of the masks are actually spaghetti straps from past production.

How will you continue making masks once your extra fabric is used?
Luckily, our fabric mill in LA is still operating at limited capacity. To ensure minimal exposure for everyone, we were able to purchase a few rolls from stock and have them delivered directly to our cutter, bypassing any couriers.

I know there is a lot of concern about accidental contamination with using a mask. Can you tell us how a person should handle their mask while out? If they need to adjust or what not? If they need to take it off?
Best not to handle the actual mask; you can remove or adjust it by the straps or loops, but don’t touch the mask itself. If you need to take it off while you are out, you can bring a paper envelope with you for safekeeping.

Why a paper envelope if someone has to take off their mask?
Just to ensure that it doesn't touch anything else or fall on the ground while you are not using it. There are studies that suggest the virus can be detected for less time on paper than on plastic (it will deteriorate more quickly on paper). You can recycle the paper envelope afterwards, but better to dispose of it after a single use to prevent cross contamination.

How does it work that if someone buys a mask, a mask goes to an essential worker?
The $15 pricing structure is as follows: $5 cost/materials for one mask, $5 packaging/shipping, $5 covering the cost of a mask for an essential worker. Essential workers can request a mask donation using this form on our website. We distribute according to the level of urgency in the request.

Is there a main type of essential worker who has reached out to you for help/masks?
Mostly workers who are not necessarily interacting with covid patients; front desk at a clinic, home care assistants, UPS drivers, cashiers, etc.

How can we help?
Check with your personal network of family and friends to ask if you can help in any way. If you know someone who is high risk, ask how you can help- doesn’t matter is fifty other people asked, you may be able to help in a way others can’t.

If you can donate funds or masks to the Navajo Nation, please consider doing so as they have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Some links for more info:
https://seedingsovereignty.org/rapid-response-fund
https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=iRVYCY

To learn more about Botanica Workshop please follow them via the below platforms:
https://botanicaworkshop.com/
Mask preorders: https://botanicaworkshop.com/collections/zero-waste-masks
Instagram: botanicaworkshop

Image credit Botanica Workshop, photographer Kourtney Kyung.

Botanica Workshop Is Helping To Keep The U.S. Safe