Ep. 34: Sepiia: Adding wellness and comfort to everyday clothing Ankit Podcast

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Ep. 34: Sepiia: Adding wellness and comfort to everyday clothing

In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Federico Sainz de Robles, founder and CEO at Sepiia.

Jessica Owen
Hello. My name is Jessica Owen, and I am the Deputy digital editor at WTIN, and this is the WTIN podcast. 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone so far. Therefore, for this series, I'll be exploring the innovative ways in which companies are using Textiles and Apparel to improve our health and well being. This week, I am joined by Federico Sainz de Robles, who is the CEO at Sepiia, a company that does fashion a little bit differently. Federico talks about the company's approach to producing comfortable and sustainable clothes, the new smart shirt 3.0 with added wellness benefits, and how he'd one day love to create an interactive shirt that acts something like an iPhone you music.

Well, hello Federico, and welcome to the WTIN podcast. Thank you very much for joining me this morning. How are you? How are things your end?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Oh, thank you very much for inviting me. I'm doing very well. Thank you. How are you?

Jessica Owen
Yes, I'm not bad. Thank you. So I think you're calling from Spain. Is it nice weather over there?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Yes, yes. I mean, it's pretty hot right now, but everything's going well here. Good,

Jessica Owen
good. I'm quite jealous, although, saying that the UK is having a bit of nice weather at the moment, which is quite unusual. So you are the founder of sepia, which is also based in Spain. Do you mind just telling me a bit about the brand and what exactly it is that you do?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Yeah, sure. So we are a typical fashion brand. We were born four years ago, and what we do is clothes for the daily, but with new materials and new technology in order to make our customers daily life more easy and more sustainable for the planet. Okay,

Jessica Owen
so you launched four years ago. Then is that back in 2016 and so what was the reason for starting the company? Do you have a background in textiles? Or what was that reason?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Yes, well, I've always loved clothes as a as the object that actually goes with you 24 hours a day for most of your of your life actually is the the product that that goes along with you the most time for your, for your, for your lifetime. And so when I finished high school, I really wanted to study fashion design and but my parents told me not to do it. I was a very good student. And so I went to university. I studied industrial design engineer, and there I found that design, it's all about solving problems and helping people through a product or a service. So when I finished the university, I really wanted to study fashion, so I went to fashion school, and there I found how actually fashion works, and fashion is not about the product. It's more about the emotion that you feel when you, when you when you see that product and when you wear that product. But I found out that all the products were not very well designed in a functional way and in like an engineering way. So I went to laboratory where I could study textile technology for a year, and I loved it so much. I stayed there and worked with them for over five years, doing research and development on new textile technologies. And that's where I found that we have all these awesome new materials and new processes that can be actually used to make daily clothes, to make to make fashion, and no one else was doing it. So I found the opportunity to to start doing it myself, because I really wanted these clothes to exist, and since nobody else was doing it, I had the had the opportunity, and I decided to start the company.

Jessica Owen
Well, it sounds very interesting. I mean, I will come on to the close and what sepia offers in a moment. But back to the technology that you learned about. Why do you think that no one else was using this to make clothes? Well,

Federico Sainz de Robles
there is a lot of research and development on the textile industry, but everything is applied to very technical areas, like fabrics for the firemen or for the police. Maybe even fabrics for medical surgery or for biomedicine, or even for agriculture or very different sectors, but very technical. And I think that the people that actually know about technology, which are mainly chemistries or engineers. They I guess they think that fashion is not like a very interesting world them and the people who knows about fashion, they don't usually know about science or technology. So there is a big gap there between the people who knows about technology and the people who knows about fashion. And I had this very weird or unique profile where I was very interested on science and engineering, but also very interested on on on fashion. And I guess that's where I found that this connection was not, was not made before, for like, a big sector, so I had, like, a lot to explore there.

Jessica Owen
Yes, it sounds like you had all the right skills to just bridge that gap as it were. Yeah. So let's move on to your products and technology, then, starting with the ultimate smart share 3.0 and I think I read on your website that it's got plenty of different features and things that it can do. So do you mind just telling me a bit more about it? Please, yes,

Federico Sainz de Robles
sure. So this, this new 3.0 technology that we did is it's focused on having our customers to have a very comfortable day, to take care of them and to get the lowest, lower environmental impact possible. So what we did, it's a fabric that it's very elastic and it's very breathable, but it doesn't show the sweat patches. The fabric is never going to get wrinkled, so you don't have to iron it. And it has water and oil repellency properties, so it's not going to get dirty. And it has very, tiny, micro particles of silver inside the yarn that helps the garment not to get to get smell, to be all or less. So you can wear the same the same shirt for over four or five days without washing it. So you're going to save a lot of time, a lot of resources, a lot of energy, you're going to feel more comfortable during your day. And in this 3.0 we added a new technology, which is called biotheramics. And these are also very, very tiny particles of biotheramic components. And what they do is they absorb your, your body heat, and then they reflect this body heat as far infrared race. And what this far infrared race makes on your on your body is that they they help your blood to circulate with with more oxygen, and so at the end of the day, you are going to feel less tired. It's going to help also with some some pains, and it's going to help you to feel less stress. And this is not something that we just made up. It's a technology that was was invented a few years ago, and it's been it's been tested with with a lot of users and all the all the technical and scientific data tells us that actually works. So we wanted to add this new concept to the to the clothes that is not only about feeling comfortable, but also about feeling better. And we want to get the clothes. We want the clothes to actually take care of our users, instead of the users taking care of the clothes. That's

Jessica Owen
an interesting concept that actually, yes, like, I think lives are just a lot busier these days. So if you don't have to iron something or or even if there's less energy and water and it's more sustainable. I think people really appreciate that these days, so that these far infrared ray technology, then, is that something that you learnt while you were studying and researching? Or where did you first sort of hear about it?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Yeah, I heard about it around. Well, when. When I was studying this, this master that was around seven years ago, but it was back then, it was just on the laboratory, so it was very experimental. And then I think two years ago, I started to see some companies that were actually starting to manufacture this kind of technology. And we saw some example. For example, there's a sport where brand called Under Armor, and they launched these, these clothes and actually in sheets with this technology, and with with all these new manufacturing garments, and a lot of studies started to prove that this technology was, was true, And because we, because we are a very small company, we're just some people now, so we don't have the resources to actually make a big research on on these kind of technologies. You need a lot of experiments and a lot of people testing these, these disclose, and having a lot of studies on that. So when all the studies were done and when the companies were starting to manufacture that, we tried to be the first ones on using these in order to make a daily shirt.

Jessica Owen
So how do you actually make the shirt? Then, Whereabouts is it manufactured? And what are the sort of materials are used to used to make it.

Federico Sainz de Robles
So we we start from the very beginning, from the raw material that we use to make the yarns that we use to make the fabrics that are going to be on the garments. So our process is quite long. We take around six months on making a garment, and we we do it through, I think there are now 16 suppliers, and each of them one make one step of the process. So we have the ability to to introduce technology in every step of the process, and to be able to modify everything in in every step in order to get the final result. So and that also makes our clothes very unique, because there are no other fabric, like I like ours, because we built it from the from the very beginning,

Jessica Owen
this shirt, then the 3.0 shirt. Is it actually available to buy yet?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Not yet, but it will. I mean, it was. We did a kick started campaign with with these shirts, we send them, and we are waiting for the feedback of the customers in order to make the next round of shirts that will be available very soon.

Jessica Owen
Okay, right? I see, okay, so you mentioned there then that you wanted this idea of wellness sort of added into your clothing. In my opinion. I think the COVID 19 pandemic that sort of, well, it's still going on. It's been going on for months now, but I think it's actually made people appreciate their health more. I mean, would you agree with that?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Yeah, I completely agree with you. And what we are seeing on the fashion trends is that the customers are way more aware of health and comfort, since we are actually kind of scared of this virus. So everything that it's anti bacteria, antivirus or that can actually make your health better is something that is going to interest the customers, and is actually happening now, and also, since we, at least in Spain, we had to stay at home for a very long time. So most of us, we were wearing pajamas or like sweat pants and all the stuff. So comfort also became very important, and people are now looking for more comfortable clothes, especially if we are going to have to stay at home for a long time.

Jessica Owen
Yes, no. I mean, I've definitely one who's been wearing more pajamas recently. So do you have much competition at the moment from other companies? I mean, is there anyone else doing anything similar to you that you know of?

Federico Sainz de Robles
There are not a lot of competitors right now. We will love to have more competitors, because what we are proposing is kind of. A new product category which is not casual fashion or business fashion. It's something more about like smart fashion, and there are not a lot of companies working on that. So for us is it's quite complicated to actually let the customers know that a garment like we do actually exist. But yeah, there are some companies that are making technical fashion for the daily. There's company that we love that it's called Ministry of Supply. They are from Boston. They were born around 10 years ago, and they started to create these daily clothes with with new materials and new technologies. And they're doing a great job. And we really love what we what they do. Our technology is little bit different, and our approach, it's also a little bit different. We are more focused on on all the sustainability approach, but, but, yeah, we are not the only ones in the world creating smart fashion, but still, there are not a lot of competitive competitors right now.

Jessica Owen
It's funny that you mentioned Ministry of Supply. Actually, I spoke to them recently, and they're the only company I could think of that did anything sort of similar to you. So, yeah, it seems like both of your companies are quite unique at the moment, right? So the ultimate smart shirt, 3.0 then that we've been talking about, obviously, isn't your only product, I think you offer shirts, T shirts and polo shirts, etc. And like you just said, you sort of refer to it as smart fashion on your website. So what makes the rest of your clothes sort of different? Are they do? They also use this sort of technology.

Federico Sainz de Robles
Oh, yeah. So all our clothes have all these technology that we talk about so on the I mean, for every garment we design the technology in order to make this garment that the best. So for the shirts, polos and T shirts, they all have the non iron, no stains, no smell, no sweat patches, elasticity and breathability. They are all 100% recyclable. That was very important for us to make something that could be circular. We also design this summer, we launched the swimming wear, and we use different technologies there, because the garments are different and the needs are different. So for the swimming where we design a fabric that is that it that it dries very quickly, that is very comfortable for the for the for the user. And we are in the middle of new developments that always have the same focus, which is more comfort for the user, less care. So less washes, less ironing, less everything, and as the most the lowest environmental impact

Jessica Owen
and so the fabric that you use for these clothes, then I imagine it's quite similar to the three point OSHA. And I also read on your website that you use 3d knitting technologies as well. Is that right? Yeah, it is right. Okay, so how does that work? Then? So we

Federico Sainz de Robles
create on the on the fabric. So we create a surface which is on the outside of the of the fabric, the face that you, that you see, is flat, and it has these treatment, these water and snare repellency treatment. But in, in on the inside of the fabric, it has this, this structure that creates channels, air channels where humidity can can evaporate very quickly. So inside of the of the shirt of the polos, it kind of looks like like a technical fabric, like something, like a sports garment, like, like this. It's kind of a mesh, and this structure help us to to to make the garment very, very breathable, and to let the humidity goes away very quickly,

Jessica Owen
right? Okay? I. Me. So you're you said that you think company has been around for about four years now, and have you found that what was the feedback been like from those who have tried your sort of, your shirts and your polo so far? Do they? I imagine that if they have to, they're a lot easier to care for, and they do all these things for the person. I bet it must be quite difficult to buy any other clothes once.

Federico Sainz de Robles
For some of our customers, it is and there are customers that have even more clothes, more sepia clothes, than I do. Well, our our fabric and our clothes are completely different from from a regular t shirt or shirt. So we get a lot of feedback from people that love our clothes. We have a lot of users that really, really, really like our clothes. We have a very, very low return rate, like really low compared to any e commerce. We know that there are people that don't like it. There are some people that just don't like the fabric they feel comfortable with, with their regular coat and shirts, and we completely understand. But the ones that love the ones that like it, they love it, and around 40% of them buys again in the next month after the first purchase. So that means that once they like it, they really love it.

Jessica Owen
Yeah, it sounds like a very successful business, actually, even if you're quite young, still, what was actually the first garment that you launched with?

Federico Sainz de Robles
The first garment was the white shirt for men. We thought it was going to be the most universal garment, since probably 100% of men have a white shirt on their closet. So we, and we, we thought that it was going to be a very good example on how technology can actually make an impact on your clothes, because the white shirt is like the most complicated garment, right? Like you have to iron it's going to maybe get yellowish during the time. And we wanted to start first with a very universal product in order to see who are the people who were buying it. So before defining the target, we just did a very universal product, and we launched it to in order to see like, How will people react. And actually, so far, the 40% of our sales still be the white shirt.

Jessica Owen
People seem to like that then. So again, you sort of mentioned that you want to be quite a circular company. And I think there is sort of other companies in the industry are also trying to be quite sustainable these days. So it does seem something that more and more people are doing. But what other measures do you take to sort of be that conscious company?

Federico Sainz de Robles
We understand sustainability as the whole system. I mean, we not only focus on like the raw material. For example, some companies that use like organic cotton or something like that, they they only focus on the on the raw material. But that's all we try to think about the whole cycle of the of the garment. So starting from the very beginning on how we design these garments, in order to be with the lowest environmental impact, how do we manufacture all these garments. We manufacture everything locally in Spain and Portugal, so there are not a lot of transportation involved, which creates a lot of CO two emissions impact. Actually, fashion is the second most polluting industry, and one of the reasons is because of all these transportation most of the clothes are made worldwide, like maybe the cotton comes from Egypt, then it goes to Vietnam to be knitted, then maybe it's shipped to China To be printed, then maybe it's shipped again to Thailand, you know, to get cut and so. So the transportation is it creates a lot of impact. In our case, we did you we reduce that on 90% so we manufacture everything locally, also manufacturing. Here in Spain and in Portugal, we we make sure that all the garden, all the workers involved in the manufacturing process, have the same rights and have the same conditions that the people who actually buy these garments. And for us, that was very important as well, and during the use of the garment, the impact is going to to be way lower than a regular shirt, because you don't have to wash as much. You don't need to iron. And we designed the clothes in order to last a very long time, not just because of the technology, but also because of the design. We try to design clothes are are going to last for for a very long time. So we avoid very trendy stuff that is only going to last for a season or even less, and at the end of the of the lifetime of the garment, we made it 100% recyclable so we can get this, this garment back from the user, and we, we ship it to the factory, where we make the yarns. They have a recycling technology, and they, they recycle the garment that we send them, so we try to be circular, manufacturer locally, and then lower all the impact during the use of the of the garment. Well, I

Jessica Owen
think that's the thing with sustainability, is that there are, there are so many ways in which you can be more sustainable, and companies, from what I've seen Anyway, do tend to sort of either go for the organic cotton, like you said, or they try and use less energy, or something like that. And it does sound like you've covered most bases there with what you do. So yeah, it's definitely a circular, circular company. Well,

Federico Sainz de Robles
as you, as I think I said before, we love science, and so what we did is to actually calculate what was the best option and the most sustainable option, and we measure all the process that we do for the manufacturing, and we measure how many washes will you save with our clothes and all the stuff. So we can prove that our clothes on a scientifical data are way more sustainable that any even organic cotton shirt. And there are a lot of companies that are now try to be more sustainable, or they say they're sustainable, but there is no data with this, with these things that they say we like to use science and to use real data to actually prove that what we say is actually right and true. Yeah,

Jessica Owen
and will your customers will appreciate that as well, because I think again, like in recent years, people like to know where their clothes have come from and how sustainable they are. And if you are transparent and you give them that information, then they're more likely to trust you. And probably, probably, like you say, Go, if they buy one shirt, they'll go back and buy another. And it's maybe not just because it's a good shirt, it's because it's a good company as well. So yeah, I think people really appreciate that. Okay, so moving forward, then I think you said that this year, you've launched a swimwear set. Is there any other new products in development, or have you got any other sort of plans that you'd like to put in place in future?

Federico Sainz de Robles
Oh, yes, of course, we are developing new garments. Our goal is actually to to be able to create a whole closet. So everything that you will wear every day, we will want to to make it on a more sustainable way, on a more comfortable way, and using that technology in order to do it. So every new garment takes a long time of research on development, because we need to create this fabric, then we need to create the garment. And it takes a long time, and there are a lot of prototypes and a lot of technical improvements that we have to do, but yeah, we are in the middle of the of the development of the next garments. Okay,

Jessica Owen
and is there anything like you're working with far infrared rays for the 3.0 shirt? Are there any other sort of technologies that you know about that you'd like to try later on that's quite different and unique? Yes,

Federico Sainz de Robles
but that's not going to happen on a short period. Of time. But in the in the future, I would love just to have one shot that I will wear, and I will, like, press a button, and I could change the color, maybe download and screen like a different print. That could go from short sleeve to long sleeve. That when it's cold, it will make you warm, and when it's hot, it will make you cool. And so like a very interactive garment, and like an iPhone on your on your on your clothes, right? So all these technologies are starting to be developed in different laboratories and different universities and everything is just on an experimental phase right now, but hopefully in the future, we could just have, like a very smart Second Skin as our garment that actually can interact with The environment, with the with the environment that can actually help your help your body to be more healthy. I'm always looking for what, what, what's going on the laboratories, what's going on, also in the industry, and everything that it's going to make the garments to feel more comfortable, to need less care for their garments and to be more to feel more more healthy. These are things that really, we really care and we will try to start using on our products,

Jessica Owen
yeah, I think, and if it may be not in the next couple of years, but I imagine in maybe 10 plus years, that sort of technology will be more available, and it'd be very it'll be very cool to see people just wandering around in these types of shirts. It'll be quite different. Okay, well, Federica, I think we are coming to an end now, but before you go, I mean, is there anything that you do personally to sort of improve your own health and well being? I mean, are you into sports? You into yoga, or is it just sort of the clothes that you wear that sort of improve your sort of health?

Federico Sainz de Robles
No, I try to have also a healthy life to make sports, to eat well and to enjoy with the people who ran that surrounds me, family and friends, and to have a balance between, also between work. I work a lot, and so I try to balance all these, all these working time with with a lot of family time and, and, of course, yeah, practicing sports and eating healthy and trying to my, my goal this year is to try to lower as much as I can all The garbage that we actually create every day. So I'm focusing on how I actually go grocery shopping, and how can I lower all these impact on that? Because that's quite a lot every time, every day that I use Go, go back from the supermarket I used to, you know, like there are a lot of boxes and plastic bags inside another plastic bag and all that stuff and and I feel very terrible with that, so I'm trying to to find substitutes for for these kind of things. Yeah,

Jessica Owen
I've been trying to do that as well. Actually, funnily enough, I think when you recycle, you see just how much plastic that you use, and it's actually, it's kind of scary, but it's actually really difficult. But, I mean, that's a topic for another day. I think you could do a whole other podcast on on sort of recycling and sustainability. Okay, well, Federico. I mean, it's been brilliant to learn more about sepia and the work that you do. So thank you very much for joining me this morning. It's been lovely to have you.

Federico Sainz de Robles
Thank you so much for your time.