respect the culture.
we remix clothes from a variety of sources in south asia. we try to trace their origin as best we can, knowing multiple cultures have block printing or embroidery, and it’s rare for ideas not to bounce around.
giving credit to the culture is the baseline. most fashion brands don’t bother here, but we do. we hire experts to help us evaluate materials and provenance on items.
we position ourselves as a south asia brand. not a pakistani or indian or bengali or nepali brand, and not as a muslim or hindu or christian or parsi brand.
the founder shahzad is a pakistani american muslim who grew up in new york, with ancestral roots in present day india. he holds a keen appreciation for the absolutely confusing cultural situation many people find themselves in.
hiring practices:
we’re happy to create jobs in sindh, pakistan, where the vast majority of our sourcing and tailoring occurs. we do not have our own workshop and do not plan to.
we routinely pay over market rates for contracted / artisan work and aim to cut out middlemen where possible. we spot check any factories we work with for safety or labor violations.
our employees get generous paid time off and are treated well.
we don’t take any free work.
this is mostly relevant on the america side. everyone who works on the brand, whether intern, social media writer, or model, is paid or compensated in kind (usually garments). free work is a weird ass manipulation of power dynamics. no thanks.
giving back:
when we work with a population of artisans, we aim to work to better their working and living conditions.
in our hub of karachi, we work with an NGO called RLCC to make our upcycled garment bags and totes. this women’s focused cooperative aligns with our ideal of giving back. over time, we plan to make more products with NGOs.
sustainability
waste is not a requirement.
the best way to reduce waste is to
- make things people want
- make them really durable
we use deadstock or upcycled materials where possible. we are clear on what components are upcycled vs freshly created.
we would love to be a b corp or track our supply chain, but at our size, it is difficult to verify. so we don’t make claims we can’t substantiate about that.
we keep virtually every scrap of fabric that is manufacturing byproduct for future patchworking and art making.