A sustainable clothing brand endorsed by PM Modi, and other top stories of the week
This week SMBStory covered companies that keep sustainability at the forefront and encourage consumers to switch to environment-friendly practices.
A 2022 survey by Brain & Company revealed that 52% of consumers in urban India expect to increase spending on sustainable brands in the next three years while 60% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for ‘sustainability' products.
In recent years many new firms that are dedicated to providing 'green' products or services have emerged. These brands are helping safeguard the environment by adopting sustainability practices at every step of the production process.
In terms of waste disposal, water use, and carbon emissions, the fast fashion industry has a massive environmental impact and has been a major contributor to environmental pollution.
This week SMBStory brings you stories of brands that are building sustainable fashion and putting the environment first.
Ecoline Clothing
Senthil Sankar, Managing Partner of , is an entrepreneur who prioritised giving back to his community instead of focusing on money. This VIT graduate declined a lucrative MNC job offer abroad and built a business in a Tier III city in Tamil Nadu.
“In my opinion, people consume all the resources of the country and when it is time to give back, they move to another country. I didn’t want to do that but stay and create something that would help my country and my people,” says Senthil.
Based in Karur, EcoLine Clothing is among the pioneers of the 'bottle-to-garment' concept in India. This innovative company uses recycled PET bottles to manufacture sustainable clothing, which has garnered widespread acclaim. The company came into the spotlight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently wore a jacket made by EcoLine Clothing.
Svenklas
Hailing from Dehradun and Shimla, respectively, Nischal Sharma and Nikhil Sharma say they were born with love and respect for nature. The duo—not related—met in Gurugram in 2017 while working on a design project at a marketing firm called Ebee Global.
“Nikhil comes from a design background, and I from product, so we have complementary skills. That worked out well for us,” sasys Nischal.
In 2019, the duo founded , a design-driven premium lifestyle accessory brand, with an initial investment of Rs 5 lakh.
They had a shared vision "to create products that are rich in meaning, quality, and story” while paying close attention to aesthetics, premium materials, and artisanal craftsmanship.
The Gurugram-based brand offers backpacks, messenger bags, tote bags, hip packs, and wallets. It recently launched a collection of T-shirts, but Nischal says the focus is bags.
Other top picks of the week
Taural India
Bharat Gite, a metallurgist by profession, had a cushy job in Germany when he worked with German automaker BMW and Mahle, a German producer of automotive parts, for its foundry solutions in the early 2010s.
He moved there to do his master’s in foundry technology from RWTH Aachen University after he graduated in metallurgical engineering from the College of Engineering in Pune in 2005.
“When I told my supervisor from RWTH that I wanted to return, he was startled. He was from Austria, which was like two hours away, and still, he had never thought of going back. It wasn't easy to leave that job culture,” says Bharat.
He had a mission behind this move—he wanted to serve the Indian market. In 2016, Bharat founded Pune-based to create aluminium casting solutions, which could potentially replace imported products in the energy, defence, healthcare, railways, and aerospace sectors.
Edited by Swetha Kannan