I founded Anna Sova in 2004 with my Father, Richard K. Walker.
Prior to that I had been a manufacturing CEO and a product designer for many, many years.
Our goal was to build the nest quality eco responsible products for the entire home. This goes back to 1998 when we built our factory for manufacturing our patented paint made from food ingredients, bypassing the toxic contamination of conventional paint factories, and allowing us to create “the healthiest paint you can buyTM.”
Our other products included hardware and furniture made from upcycled aluminum and steel, hand red bamboo, and FSC reforested wood; draperies made of certified organically processed silk, cotton, and linen; organic cotton carpets made with the Tibetan Government in Exile; and flooring made of formaldehyde-free bamboo and wood.
We also made numerous other eco home accessories, most importantly: the nest quality certified organic linens in the world (previously SKAL, now GOTS certified).
The search to make our bedding took me to more than a dozen countries and to 21 mills to build the quality of linens my Austrian Grandmother, Sova, would approve of. (My nickname is Anna, hence our name, Anna Sova)
Sadly, I have also visited over 40 countries for manufacturing purposes in which I have seen horrifying things: slavery, unspeakable working conditions, children playing in waters turned oddly blue with chemical run-off from textile processing, land made barren by toxic fertilizers and pesticides, and toxic products separated for purchase by the USA from the more eco-responsible products for other countries’ consumption.
The USA consumes over 50% of the world’s goods. We are responsible for all parts of the chain of consumption: the working conditions of people who make our goods; the health of the land the goods are grown or mined from; and the long-term effects that fertilizers, pesticides, dyes, sizing, and chemicals have on our planet and ultimately on us as consumers.
Sixteen percent of the world’s pesticides are used on conventional cotton and up to ve pounds of toxic chemicals are used per pound of nished cotton. If we could cut that in half, imagine what a difference it would make.
Since choosing this path, I have had the opportunity to visit certi ed organic cotton and linen co-ops and fair-trade labor factories throughout the world. I have also witnessed the amazing bene ts of shifting away from “conventional” practices. The happy children in the photo at left live on a cotton farm where the years of transition from conventional toxic pesticides to organic farming has brought a marked decrease in birth defects and an increase in joy to their lives.
We want you to be a part of our change. Anna Sova will help support other organizations on the front line of saving the earth and its endangered creatures by dedicating a percentage of sales to them.
We vote every day with our dollars. Our choice should not be between luxury and sustainability; our best choice should be for both.
We can make the world a better place, one room at a time.
Whitney A. Walker, CEO www.annasova.com
