The desire to have a positive impact on the world and the people around him has often informed Dario Peluso’s career decisions.

After reading developmental studies at university, working for the UN, or founding a community orchestra, Dario’s latest venture is PoBO, an Islington-based sustainable apparel brand.

PoBO, standing for Positive by Ownership, sells sustainable unisex t-shirts, beanies, and sweatshirts with designs by the Highbury creative himself.

Dario, 43, said: “In the long run we really want to make an impact, we want to be able to be at the forefront of this tidal wave of independent brands that are sustainable but still very unique.”

The brand’s mission statement places sustainability at the centre as PoBO considers issues of environmentalism at every step of the production, from their suppliers to their bank.

Originally from Naples, Italy, Dario moved to London for university almost 20 years ago and then developed a career in finance.

Always having had a strong interest in the arts, the semi-professional pianist founded the London Euphonia Orchestra in 2012, a charity bringing together people from all musical backgrounds.

The entrepreneur and conductor said: “Life as a classical pianist can be quite lonely, although you’re very self-sufficient. I wanted other musicians, so I thought maybe I should just go and start an orchestra myself.”

Islington Gazette: Some of the PoBo apparelSome of the PoBo apparel (Image: PoBo)

However, following an accident in early 2019, Dario’s creative interests shifted to the visual arts as he discovered photography as a tool for mindfulness.

The decision to launch a sustainable fashion brand then developed from the combination of his creative interest in photography and his passion for fashion.

He said: “I love fashion, I’ve always loved fashion and I just couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that it is such a wasteful and polluting industry because I believe that it is possible to have a private business that also has a positive impact on the world.”

Quitting his job in early 2020, Dario studied at the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martin’s where he started to visualise an impactful fashion brand with a focus on sustainability.

The 43-year-old said: “That’s the beauty of starting and having a business that is yours because you really have the power of having and making an impact.

“We really want to be as strict as possible in terms of the standards of sustainability. All of the four pillars of sustainability, the human, social, economic, and environmental.”

Consequently, PoBO only sells clothes made with certified cotton, water-based and solvent free inks, threads made from rayon viscose, and produced in a small Islington-based studio.

The designs printed or embroidered on the garments are all created by Dario and are an expression of his creative vision.

He said: “The art I produce, it all comes from photos that I then modify and take shapes from.

“There is always a meaning for me that is personal, but that somehow, I think others might find striking as well.

“It’s the way I see the world and it comes through my eyes and then goes back into my garments.”

The embroidered heart featured on a number of products, for example, developed from a trip to Naples where Dario had taken a photo of a church and noticed the heart element on one of the statues.

Islington Gazette: Dario Peluso is based in HighburyDario Peluso is based in Highbury (Image: PoBO)

Since Dario successfully launched PoBO with his husband of eight years Craig last December, the brand was named one of 15 Men’s Fashion Companies to Watch in 2022 by Techround.

About the brand’s mission, Dario said: “We want to make clothes that people will love and love for a long time that even when they get really old, they love it so much that they’ll keep it even when it’s falling apart.”

Having moved to Islington with his partner in 2009, the pair have settled in Highbury where they live with their dog Bruno.

PoBO will be at SAMPLE Spring market in Greenwich Peninsula on April 2.