We caught up with Cathy Paraggio – founder of slow fashion activewear company NoNetz. From a cancer diagnosis to becoming an entrepreneur, Cathy discusses her journey and her mission to promote sustainability and comfort in her clothing brand.
How did the idea for NoNetz come about?
My son, Chris, told me he wanted to study music at college. I thought “Why do people fail at doing things they love?” Maybe they don’t understand the business around it.
My career was in computer networks until I received a cancer diagnosis that left me without a voice for years. I started NoNetz with other neighborhood women to keep my head busy, until Chris shared his college plans. At that point, I bought out the other women and decided to use NoNetz as a teaching tool so he could understand that everything is a business. You just need to understand each of the components around the product you are selling.
Together, we realized how many people are actually uncomfortable in their clothing. So, we started to redesign clothing for the texture sensitive (flat seams, no tags, no-cling fabrics) to ensure everyone is comfortable.
What inspired you to kickstart your career in slow fashion?
During this journey, we have seen how hard the textile industry is on the environment. “Clothing/textile manufacturing is the third largest global polluter behind food and construction. ~ The World Economic Forum”
As a result, our fabrics contain recycled post-consumer content, as well as highly sustainable threads made from saw dust and corn waste.
There’s also a high human cost associated with clothing manufacturing that we wanted to make sure we address. Our manufacturing team in Thailand is WRAP certified ensuring working conditions are safe, lawful, humane and ethical. Then we thought, what is the smallest manufacturing carbon footprint we can think of? We found our NYC team who are using the most efficient 3D knitting processes available — where the clothing is “printed” as soon as its ordered. Also, a portion of each order is donated towards plastic reclamation.
We then started thinking about the impact of returns on the environment, so we implemented a sizing tool to ensure people get the right fit the first time.
We believe that sustainable comfort is the key to relaxing, having fun, and adventuring at your best. Our goal is to be soft on you and soft on the planet.
How does NoNetz incorporate the principles of slow fashion?
Initially, I was doing problem solving designs based on my observations of uncomfortable people and making sure the teams who made the product were well cared for. Then Covid stopped everything, and I had a lot of time on my hands. I read “Biomimicry” Janine Benyus and thought I wonder how my fabric is made? Are there more natural and durable materials I can be using? How can I have my fabrics dyed in a less harmful way. Not only did I diversify my manufacturing to be local, but I was able to find unique and sustainable threads that are way less harmful for the environment, made from saw dust and corn waste.
How does NoNetz ensure ethical operations and sustainable sourcing?
We ask supply chain partners for their certifications and then go back to the originator of the certification to verify.
We have strong textile partnerships with highly reputable companies. Our swim trunks use Repreve fabrics made from recycled plastic water bottles. Their yarn has its own traceable fingerprint, or fiber print. Our rash guards use Econyl, which is regenerated nylon from fishing nets and carpets. Econyl has received Standard 100 certification from OEKO-TEX.
Our Athleisure lines are made from Lenzig Ecovero and has been awarded the EU Ecolabel and certified by TUV Austria. Our women’s swimwear is made from Sorona thread which is certified through the Common Thread Fabric Certification program.
