This Bengaluru startup is making fashion sustainable in every sense

As a toddler, Vidhi Singhal was very keen about style. In actual fact, in 2017, she give up her company job to start out The August Firm — a sustainable style startup — in Bengaluru.

“A examine launched in 2018 documented that the ever present plastic purchasing bag was discovered at 36,000 toes depth within the ocean. Studying about this moved one thing in me. It was the wake-up name all of us wanted,” Vidhi tells SocialStory.

At first, the startup stopped utilizing polyester materials as each time a polyester garment is washed, thousands and thousands of microfibres are launched into the ocean. Microfibers are tiny strands of plastic which are consumed by aquatic life.

To sort out this, Vidhi determined to undertake eco-conscious collections which are polyester and synthetic-free together with her startup.

Immediately, the startup works on the three pillars of sustainability — social, financial, and environmental. The August Firm’s workforce contains 90 p.c of ladies. In actual fact, it pays truthful wages and glued salaries to all its staff.

The startup ensures its merchandise are environment-friendly and makes equipment with remnant materials. It additionally makes use of sustainable supplies like waste paper for packaging functions.

Sustainably snug clothes

“We make basic, timeless, high-quality ladies’s put on with pure fibres solely. The concept is that if our buyer desires to put on our merchandise 10 years down the road, she ought to give you the chance to take action, supplied they match into it,” says Vidhi.

Aside from materials and trims, The August Firm additionally ensures high-quality requirements of sewing at its in-house manufacturing facility.

It makes use of khadi, block print methods, handloom ikats, tie and dye methods, and cotton handloom materials for its merchandise.

These conventional handwoven and printed materials methods are handed down from one era to a different in households that follow the craft.

To make it extra related for the youth, the startup makes use of these materials as the bottom and provides modern designs to make snug garments, together with jackets, attire, co-ord units (two-piece coordinated outfits), and so forth.

“As we’re a small model, the logistics are a nightmare at the moment. However we aspire to work instantly with the native artisans. We supply the materials from cooperatives, craft clusters, and people who work with these weavers all year long, and, in flip, assist them with sourcing the yarn dyes and loom upkeep,” Vidhi explains.

The startup employs tailors, pattern-maker, helpers, ironing sources moreover employees for merchandising, designing, and advertising and marketing. Vidhi says this additional empowers the weavers who make these garments.

“As our gross sales enhance, so does the variety of materials produced by these weavers, which, in flip, helps them earn a greater livelihood, and above all, retain the crafts’ age and dignity. This additionally encourages these artisans to proceed to go on the abilities to their subsequent of kin,” she says.

The startup manufactures in small heaps as per the real-time demand to keep away from including to the thousands and thousands of clothes that by no means get worn. By way of waste, it makes use of chopping scraps to make style equipment like headbands, scrunchies, potli luggage, and so forth.

In actual fact, it reuses printed paper, glass bottles, ceramic tea mugs, eradicated plastic, and cellophane wrapping materials to create packaging materials out of waste paper at its in-house facility in the direction of its effort to be a very sustainable style model.

Impacting ladies

Madhu is among the ladies staff who joined The August Firm in 2018 as a helper. Her hard-working nature married with an eye fixed for element helped her perceive the High quality Test (QC) course of, publish which she was promoted to the High quality Audit (QA) workforce.

“I’ve labored for different firms earlier than, however The August Firm may be very totally different from others. We’ve a homely feeling. Additionally, there isn’t a distinction between the boss and the employees. All of us work fortunately in the direction of the expansion of the corporate as one large household,” she shares.

In the course of the lockdown, these ladies even introduced their kids together with them who would both examine or play across the workplace.

“We pay truthful wages to our employees and have common workforce lunches, the place all of us sit and eat out of banana leaves collectively. We consider such simple practices assist carry social and financial justice, eliminating the category distinction,” Vidhi shares.

About 100% of the startup’s tailors are ladies and are employed at fastened month-to-month salaries moreover statutory advantages, paid go away, and so forth.

The August Firm’s merchandise are priced between Rs 990 and Rs 6390, and the common worth of a garment is Rs 2590. The value depends upon the kind of material, design, labour prices, and so forth.

The bootstrapped startup used all of the funding on tools, machines, individuals, digital advertising and marketing, web site, and so forth. Thus far, its working capital has come from private and household financial savings, Vidhi claims.

The pandemic and its challenges

Earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, The August Firm’s gross sales have been pushed by way of a few distinguished ecommerce and some different channels.

“The pandemic drove our whole setup to a grinding halt. In April 2020, we may get particular permission for a restricted re-opening for the manufacturing of masks. Our masks — tailor-made out of cotton — discovered good acceptance and saved the permitted skeleton employees busy for a number of months,” says Vidhi.

In actual fact, the startup additionally revamped its web site and employed a digital advertising and marketing workforce to direct most gross sales by way of a direct-to-consumer mannequin.

Speaking in regards to the highway forward, Vidhi hopes to work with extra various conventional materials in fashionable silhouettes.

“We’d love to succeed in some extent the place we will work with the weavers and craftsmen instantly. To enrich our current vary, we want to cater to different sections and add extra classes like equipment and footwear, moreover going worldwide,” she says.