Hi my name is Saloua and I’m the founder of Bianka Köben, an online shopping destination of curated sustainable brands, as well as second hand pieces for women, men, kids and household, based in Switzerland.

Back in 2009 and up to 2018, I ran my own fashion label called Lady Marshmallow. While it was a wonderful experience, it also made me realize that so much more could be done to satisfy the demand of fashion lovers and shoppers all around the world, while respecting the planet and ourselves.

My eye opening did not come in one instant in time. It has been an awakening that grew in me. From moving to the countryside, to absorbing many books and documentaries on animal and human welfare, climate change and the state of our planet Earth. Thinking of all this and of the future of our children is what woke me up.

This naturally translated into a need to refresh the way I consumed fashion and everyday products. It also translated into a need to raise awareness about this, and that is how Bianka Köben was born.

Combining my years of business and creative expertise, and over 3 years of research about the threats our planet is facing with our standard ways of consuming enabled me to create a project that brought together brands that have ethical practices, that do not participate or condone labor slavery, and that have the utmost respect for our planet reflecting the values of sustainability, ethical, cruelty free and fair that I share today. 

My main goal is not simply to sell, but above all to bring you awareness on sustainable and ethical fashion together with the threats that fast fashion are causing to us.

Did you know that conventional fashion is the second most polluted industry on our planet? It is also responsible of modern day slavery exploiting millions of women and children worldwide and accountable of the death of 50 million animals a year.

This and many other reasons made me create and bring to you today a one stop shop for fashion brands that guarantee you transparency on who made, produced and harvested the materials used, as well as the level of fairness and environmental friendliness of the entire process. 

I know that even a new sustainable brand has an impact, reason why the second hand section was a must have for Bianka Köben e-shop. You can enjoy browsing and shopping, but also collect Bianka Köben credit vouchers by sending us your unwanted garments that we will give a second life to. You can then redeem these vouchers anywhere in the Bianka Köben shop.

Our commitment is to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. Therefore our online shop is only available to our European customers at present. The reason for this is that we currently source all of our sustainable brands in Europe. 

And for last but not least, 1% of our sales profit will be donated to MyClimate organization. 

With Love, Saloua