Truth owner and designer Renia Pruchnicki started Truth in 2001 from her apartment in downtown Toronto Canada. After graduating from Toronto's Ryerson University with a degree in Fashion Design in 1994, she worked for 7 years as a designer for a few different companies. Her experience was more technical, having designed ski and snowboard outerwear and later cosmetic bags and technical backpacks. When her employer suddenly went out of business, Renia found herself in a rather unpleasant position. As the saying goes: When one door closes, another opens. And so began TRUTH... With the little savings she had and a small bank loan, plus the help of a "self employment assistance" business program, Renia launched Truth's very first line of belts in 2001. In those days Renia sewed everything herself and Truth headquarters was literally in the solarium of her downtown apartment. Here's a cute photo of Renia in the very early days of Truth, in her solarium. Having no experience working with leather, Renia naturally started out using the technical materials that she was already familiar with. As it turned out, the "leather looking" belts became very popular within the vegan community. Not only were Truth products original, but the longevity of Truth belts was unparalleled in a market where most other leather-looking belts tended to fall apart within a few months. Truth's reputation for producing durable yet fashionable non-leather accessories spread quickly. In 2003, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) awarded Truth with a Proggy Award for "Best Leather Replacement Clothing Company in North America". This was both an honor and a great surprise to Renia, who had no idea that Truth was even being considered for the award. Choosing to be a Canadian manufacturer is no easy task! One year after the start of Truth, Renia realized that she had no choice but to take on a full-time job and run Truth on the side. In 2002, Renia began work as a designer for California Innovations, a Canadian company specializing in insulated products such as lunch bags and soft-sided coolers. Truth was expanding and Renia found the grueling schedule impossible to maintain, so she negotiated a four day work week with her employer which eventually turned into a 3.5 day week, and then 3. "In starting Truth, I wanted to create a life for
myself that I loved; and what I love doing is designing products"
says Renia. "For 2008 Truth is taking more of an environmental approach
to things by using jute and hemp materials, along with an incredible line
of environmentally friendly T-shirts made from bamboo. When I started
this company, I was not a vegetarian and was not even thinking of pursuing
anything along those lines in terms of a market. But the path that I took
opened my eyes to many things and over the years and my diet slowly became
mostly vegetarian. I have become more aware of making healthy and sensible
choices when it comes to food and I love how much better I feel!" |