Piban: about the difficulties at the beginning of our journey

Hello, friends! In our last article, you learned how we came up with the idea of creating bags from banners and we also told you about the meaning of our name "Piban". Since we mentioned that our business has not been without its challenges, today we will tell you about the difficulties we faced at the beginning of our journey. We will also touch on why we chose banners.

Let's start with the first difficulties we faced in 2019.

1. When sewing experimental bags, we had countless needles break, and we couldn't find the right shape for the bag so that the corners wouldn't break and the product would look organic. After several attempts, we decided to sew with the seams outward.

2. Public rejection of our idea. In the first year of our activity, we heard this at fairs and festivals: "This is garbage, why should I pay for garbage?". At first, we were surprised and sometimes even offended by this, because we wanted to convey that bags made from banners are special things, it's about upcycling. We wanted to convey that clothing production and the fashion industry is a sphere that has caused and is causing enormous damage to our planet. Therefore, intellectual fashion and the main players in the fashion industry thought and decided: SECONDARY PRODUCTION, UPCYCLING, VINTAGE! Upcycling is a new era and a new direction that has been picked up by all the major fashion players in the market. Vintage, resale, upcycling is the fashion of the future, the fashion of the intelligentsia and intellectuals. We realized that it would not be immediately understood and approved by the masses, and we thank them for that. But this is definitely the future.

3. "If you made a product out of garbage, it should cost 50 hryvnias" - we heard this in the first year of our activity. This is not true! First of all, each banner product is unique and special, you won't find another bag with the same print or pattern anywhere else. Secondly, the pricing includes such items as renting premises, purchasing the necessary accessories and materials, logistics, paying salaries to employees, and paying taxes. Let's not forget that creating a bag from a banner is a complex technological process. Thirdly, in our mission statement, we have outlined that we are creating a culture of conscious consumption in Ukraine. We do not aim to sell massively. The main thing is that when making a purchase, the customer understands why he or she is buying the product and shares the brand's philosophy.

And lastly, we generate revenue for the country's budget through taxes.

As they say, the difficulties exist in overcoming them. We did not stop and only moved forward with our idea, philosophy and mission.

Along the way, people asked us the same question: "Why banners?"

Banners are a countless stream of material that is produced every day, they accompany us everywhere: along the road, at an event/corporate party, as advertising... They are made in less than a day. It hangs from several hours to several months. And it takes several hundred years to decompose, causing irreparable damage to the environment... At the same time, banners are highly durable, wear-resistant and long-lasting. They keep their shape, are waterproof and do not fade. These are exactly the characteristics a bag should have in everyday life.