Meet the founders of Ekta Helsinki

We are Mikaela and Nicolina, two climate-conscious Mompreneurs from Finland. We want our children to be able to live in a world that is clean, not polluted. On a planet that is green and alive, not toxic and dying. We want our children to experience the changing Nordic seasons, and get to experience the snowy winters that have already become scarce. 

We have seen how dirty, unethical, and wasteful the fashion industry can be and how ignorant the industry is towards the plight of our planet. Fashion is one the largest sources of pollution in the world. We wanted to find knitwear that was made in a way that lived up to our values. We didn’t do that and decided to create something better and to be an agent for the change we wanted to see.

FROM WANTING CHANGE TO MAKING CHANGE

The care and respect for our world and the quest for a more sustainable future and great knits lead us on this journey to create our climate-conscious and ethical knitwear company.

We wanted to create a knitwear brand built upon sustainable and ethical practices and transparent processes, and our current business is genuinely that. 

We found a unique way to utilize the fantastic Finnish sheep wool, which would otherwise have gone to waste.  We created a groundbreaking yarn that could be mechanically knitted. We produce all our products in Finland. Our raw materials are local and have a minimal environmental impact. Today we run a zero-waste, climate-smart, and Nordic Swan Eco-label certified knitwear brand.

Our knitwear has a minimal environmental footprint. It is ethically produced and can be traced from the sheep farm to your wardrobe. We design the knits ourselves to look good and feel fabulous. We want our knitwear to be timeless and loved for years to come. 

FROM HELSINKI, WITH LOVE

Our name Ekta Helsinki reflects both our origin and our values. We are Swedish-speaking Finns by heritage. The first part of our name, ekta, originates in the Swedish word äkta, meaning authentic, and eko, meaning ecological. Helsinki is our hometown where all our knits are designed. 

The names of our knits also reflect our love of Helsinki. Every piece of knitwear is named after a street in Helsinki. Our first models, Alexa and Alex, are named after Aleksanterinkatu right in the heart of our hometown.