Creating slow SUSTAINABLE fashion since 2009

As consumers, we have become increasingly conscious about our purchases, channeling the power of our vocalized objections to make a positive difference for the people involved in the making of our clothes and goods.

When you buy our products, you are contributing to a socially-aware and responsible production line, making a positive difference for the people involved in the making of our clothes.

This is the basis of Posto9. We believe there are more people like us, who care about who makes our garments, support a local production, who reject mass-market fast fashion brands that exploit people for profit, use green washing, and pollute our planet.

Creating an ethical and sustainable product, that empowers people through fitness, has been our mission since 2009.

BLAME IT ON THE CAIPIRINHA

Hi,

My name is Elin and I started Posto9 in 2009. Having been made redundant from my graphic design job, I decided to go traveling and I was lucky enough to be enjoying an afternoon caipirinha in Rio de Janeiro, watching people running and walking along the gorgeous beach front, clad in the most amazing colorful lycra. At the time, most workout clothes in the UK were quite bland and boring. So I thought, can I make this concept work in the UK with my own modus operandi? Surely I can’t be the only one wanting fun workout clothes.

Blame it on the Caipirinha, but this is how the idea of Posto9 was born.

So I started researching fabrics, talking to manufacturers, and realized quite quickly that the way I wanted to do things was my way. Not interested in large factories, I sourced groups of women that were really good seamstresses and had their own machinery in the living room, making school uniforms. After many mistakes and trials in the beginning (something that taught me valuable lessons for the future I finally managed to get a high standard legging that is now part of our my collection.

I was in Spain when the pandemic and lockdown hit in 2020. I had to come up with some fast ideas in order to keep Posto9 staying afloat as the whole Brazilian operation was put on stand-by. Armed with a bag of remnant fabrics from my elinritter.com Ibiza swimwear collection, I started making face masks, and creating our new pole wear collection from my house, and we now produce this line locally in Ibiza.

As a sustainable business we need to always be open to new opportunities.

If you have any suggestions on how I can improve, feel free to drop me an email to hello@posto9activa.com

WHAT IS POSTO9?

At the heart of Ipanema

One of the most famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro is Ipanema, Copacabana and Leblon, Two mountains called the Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers) rise at the western end of the beach, which is divided into segments delineated by postos, or lifeguard towers. They are numbered 1 to 12 and each has a culture of its own.

Posto 9 is the section of the beach around the #9 lifeguard station.  Posto 9 is also close to where the famous bossa nova song The Girl from Ipanema was written. Its notoriety began around 1979 when Fernando Gabeira, now a politician, returned from political exile in France and was photographed there in a thong.

It has a long history of gatherings of left-wing intellectuals. It is now a popular LGBTQ+ diverse and inclusive area with a mixed crowd, where everyone is welcome.