Entrepreneur Profile: Sarah Van Aken of SA VA

Sarah Van Aken may work in an industry that creates appearances, but SA VA, her socially sustainable clothing brand, operates with an attitude of doing things right out in the open. One of four apparel brands that Sarah has developed since founding her company in 2005, SA VA is committed to considering the entire lifecycle of a garment: how and by whom it is made, what it is made with, how it is transported, and the brand’s relationship with customers and impact on the community. Sarah says she has always had a background in design but making the transition to sustainability with SA VA has been an equally creative process. “I’ve been sewing since I was a kid and went to school for fine art, but finding a way to have the most socially sustainable apparel company has been my biggest design challenge yet.”

Sarah launched her first apparel brand, a line of men’s custom dress shirts she called Van Aken, in late 2005. “I knew that no one would give me the capital I needed to start a women’s clothing brand, my real passion, so I found a way to get into business with a small amount of money.” At the time she was doing part-time administrative work for her now business partner, Wayne Zukin, a real estate developer who invested the first seed money in to her business. As the business grew, Sarah sold real estate for Zukin Realty to finance the expansion of her business.

In 2006, Sarah opened a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh and launched her second brand of clothing Van Aken Signature custom hospitality uniforms. Under this brand Sarah has designed custom uniform programs for some of the restaurant industry’s most elite chefs, including Tom Colicchio, Jean-Georges, Alfred Portale and Charlie Palmer. “That was the bulk of my business for several years, and both of these brands are great but they are not my true passion.”

In 2008, having grown her business substantially, Sarah’s focus began to shift to launching her women’s brand SA VA, and what had started as a dream to be a fashion designer turned into something greater. “SA VA didn’t originate as a socially sustainable company, but a lot of things changed over the years and eventually, I knew I had to scrap this whole designing business or do something that really did something good for other people. And as soon as I made that choice, with hard work, things started to fall into place.”

Sarah credits the city of Philadelphia for helping her transition her business into one with a strong social mission. “Philly is exceptional for entrepreneurs, particularly in the creative class. You can create a situation like I did to get yourself off the ground, and I’m not sure I could have done that in a bigger city. It’s also very small in terms of connecting to people and having access to the government and to people who can help your business grow.”

Working with the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department in 2009, Sarah opened her Philadelphia based garment center and launched SA VA in a flagship retail store at 1700 Sansom Street in Center City. The brand has grown to include an online shopping site and wholesale line. “We really strive to create easy, effortless clothing that can fit into the wardrobes of many different types of women while continuing our commitment to local living wage job creation and reducing our carbon footprint.”

SA VA’s commitment to social sustainability carries over into each aspect of the business. “Living into one’s belief statements changes everything. It affects how you create employee benefit packages, the clothing you design, the customer you design into, who provides your products, and the vendors you do business with. It becomes integrated into our marketing and our operations.” Another aspect of using SA VA to “do something good,” is its involvement with Philadelphia’s nonprofits. “I definitely believe in connections and relationships and community building as the answer to essentially everything. We create community partnerships with groups like the People’s Emergency Center and The Career Wardrobe because they are organizations that help women transition back into professional lives.”

And although this has added to the success of SA VA in Philadelphia, it certainly requires sacrifices. “There are certain choices you have to make. Even if you love a garment, sometimes you can’t sell it at a reasonable price. We try to keep our prices in line with Banana Republic and Anthropologie because, I don’t want to buy really expensive clothing so why would I want to sell it?”

Despite this struggle, Sarah has certainly seen the city respond positively to both how SA VAis run and what it offers. “We operate our store, garment center, and manufacturing factory all here in Philadelphia, and people really care about the fact that we’re creating local jobs. But when they come into the store, they like us even more when they love the clothes and can afford them."