Blue Earth Summit

In conversation with Marisa Selfa, Founder & CEO of Impact Tailors, a Blue Earth Ventures member currently raising £1 million through our platform.

 

Fashion may have long been associated with creativity, culture, and self-expression, but behind the glamour lies an industry responsible for 10 percent of the world’s carbon footprint. Few people know that better than Marisa Selfa, who spent over 25 years leading some of the world’s most iconic fashion and lifestyle brands before deciding to start again from scratch.

Her latest venture, Impact Tailors, tackles a hidden side of the textile world, the vast, under-discussed industry of uniforms and branded merchandise, and aims to make it genuinely sustainable.

In this episode of the Blue Earth Podcast, Guy Hayler sits down with Marisa to explore how she’s using decades of corporate experience to drive transformation from within one of the planet’s most resource-intensive sectors.

 

• 👉 Listen to the full episode on Spotify
• 👉 Watch the full episode on YouTube

 

From Levi’s to Impact: A Career Threaded with Purpose

Marisa began her career at Levi’s, before moving through senior roles at adidas, Timberland, and National Geographic. She became CEO at North Sails and later worked with the Oceanborn Foundation, helping to drive ocean-positive initiatives.

Throughout that journey, one question kept surfacing: What would fashion look like if it truly respected the planet it draws from?

“I reached a point where I couldn’t keep hearing, ‘great story, but we still need double-digit growth next year,’” Marisa explains. “We can’t keep cutting corners. I wanted to build something that balances business success with real impact.”

That conviction, and a lifetime of insight into supply chains, design, and sustainability, led to the birth of Impact Tailors.

 

The Hidden Footprint of Uniforms

Every day, the world produces around 30 billion pieces of uniform, most of which are worn for less than two years before being discarded. Add to that the €40 billion global corporate merchandising industry, and it becomes clear: the “unseen” textile sector is a huge untapped opportunity for climate impact.

“You can’t tell a hotel not to buy uniforms,” says Marisa. “But you can help them buy better, and design those pieces to last, to be circular, and to tell a more responsible story.”

 

Fashion Meets Function: The Impact Tailors Model

Unlike mass-production suppliers, Impact Tailors takes a bespoke, design-led approach.

The team works directly with businesses, from hotels to healthcare providers, to reimagine every textile they use: uniforms, towels, robes, amenities, even retail merchandise. Each client receives a detailed impact report comparing their previous materials to new, lower-carbon alternatives.

The company blends creative design with measurable sustainability metrics, using innovative fabrics such as algae-based seaweed blends, fruit-derived textiles, and a wide range of recycled fibres.

“We bring the creativity of fashion to the uniform space,” Marisa says. “Uniforms don’t have to be boring, they can express a brand’s values.”

Already, the model is proving itself. In less than a year of operation, Impact Tailors has secured clients including Four Seasons Hotels, EULEN Group, and luxury hospitality venues across Spain, with repeat contracts and growing international demand.

 

The Double Impact

True to its name, Impact Tailors operates with a double bottom line.

Beyond helping clients reduce their carbon footprint, the company is also a proud member of 1% for the Planet, committing a share of revenue directly back to environmental restoration.

“We want to show that every business, no matter how traditional, can give back,” Marisa explains. “The idea is simple: make money and make a difference.”

 

The £1 Million Raise: Scaling an Idea Whose Time Has Come

After bootstrapping the company and proving early traction, Marisa is now raising £1 million through Blue Earth Ventures to accelerate growth.

The funds will expand her small, high-performing team and meet rising demand from international clients, from Europe to the Caribbean.

“We’ve proven the model. We know the market is there. Now it’s about speed, getting the right people, building the right partnerships, and scaling fast,” she says.

Because Impact Tailors produces to order and holds no inventory, it’s a low-risk, high-margin business model with a clear path to profitability.

 

A Trojan Horse for Change

Marisa calls Impact Tailors “the Trojan horse” of corporate transformation, a way to enter organisations through something as ordinary as uniforms, and influence their sustainability mindset from the inside out.

“Uniforms might not sound sexy,” she laughs, “but they can be the start of a movement inside companies. If you can change how they think about textiles, you can start to change everything.”

 

Inspiration and Legacy

When asked who inspires her, Marisa points to Karolina Manhusen, founder of the Oceanborn Foundation and a member of 1% for the Planet.

“She left the corporate world to dedicate 100 percent of her time to the planet,” Marisa says. “That kind of leadership is contagious. Real impact is contagious.”

 

Listen Now

Listen to the full episode: Driving Change Through Design with Impact Tailors’ Marisa Selfa Available now on Spotify and YouTube.

Impact Tailors is currently raising £1 million through Blue Earth Ventures, empowering businesses to make sustainability part of their daily fabric.