Meet Mary Wutz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Wutz.

Hi Mary, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The inception of my business started off with a personal healing journey in the South American Jungle in 2012. There I first got the “download” about medicinal clothing and its ancient use as a modality of healing. When researching fibers to base my clothing on, I found Nettle from the Himalayas was one of the most healing fibers and subsequently built a supply chain for Himalyan Nettle in Nepal from 2014-16 to utilize this medicinal fiber. I officially launched my brand in 2015 which has had several iterations since. Two years ago, I took on a partner who is LA-based and together we have created a beautiful more fashion-forward collection utilizing this Wildcrafted Himalayan Nettle blended with Organically Grown Linen in Italy to relaunch the brand next spring.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. Having to build and rely upon a supply chain in a third-world country is definitely not a recipe for success. Having an extremely strict measure of “pure” and “clean” botanical ingredients made without the use of any chemicals (mainly fibers, dyes, and notions) within the fashion industry in 2012 made it almost impossible to source things that met our standards. Creating a new niche in the industry of “medicinal clothing” meant not only having to make the product but also educate people about the concept and its benefits to not only the earth but the industry as well.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My background is in Botanical Medicine. I was trained as a Clinical Herbalist at the California School of Herbal Studies from 2010-12 so I had no idea what I was doing when I embarked on the journey to create a clothing line. My passion is about connecting people with plants and understanding that what we put ON our bodies is just as important as what we put IN it. In the last few years, there have been several companies that have come out as sustainable brands. Although I applaud those companies and the general direction the Apparel Industry is moving towards in terms of sustainability, I see how it is still a challenge for consumers to actually be able to trust what they’re being told via marketing campaigns or from companies that mean well, but don’t do the deep digging we’ve found it takes to really know where their materials are coming from and how they are produced. Seam Siren takes great pains to travel to each and every area where our fibers, dyes, and notions are sourced to ensure that what we are being told is the truth in terms of how the things are grown/produced.This of course creates its own issue with our carbon footprint, but we make sure to offset that in other ways because for us, we take being able to say our products promote healing very seriously. I once toured a well-known Italian Jean Manufacturer and the owner shared with me that only one out of every ten cotton samples he receives labeled as “organic” are actually organic. They have testing equipment there that can tell whether or not something is free of pesticides. I think until companies and brands are willing to be accountable for their sourcing or there is legislation put in place forbidding Greenwashing, we still have a long way to go.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the feeling of opportunity that seems to be alive all around the city. I also love the connections that are made between like-minded entrepreneurs and seemingly random networking opportunities that get done in the least conspicuous of places.

Pricing:

• $300-500

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.seamsiren.com
• Instagram: @seamsiren
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seamsiren

Image Credits:
Mary Averill (Nepal Photos), Ezra Patchett (Lifestyle Photos of clothing)