Mkt for eco-friendly clothing in India is expanding quickly

Styleyn is a fashion brand that designs collections that deliver high standards of material, quality, and durability that keep up with all the latest trends. The company intends to connect the dots of fast fashion and sustainable fashion and hopes to build the bridge between fast and sustainable fashion, and to be a great example of the future of the fashion industry. Whether it means sourcing sustainable fabrics, creating long-lasting designs that minimize waste or partnering with ethical manufacturers, Styleyn thinks every step of production is important when it comes to sustainable style. Sandesh Ambhore, CEO and Founding Director, Styleyn, in an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz, says: "Even though the business is still in its infancy, the market for eco-friendly clothing in India is expanding quickly."

Brief us about Styleyn product portfolio.

Our team designs collections that deliver high standards of material, quality, and durability that keep up with all the latest trends. We want to connect the dots of fast fashion and sustainable fashion and hope we can build the bridge between fast and sustainable fashion, and to be a great example of the future of the fashion industry, starting with our 100 per cent made in India products at Styleyn. Whether it means sourcing sustainable fabrics, creating long-lasting designs that minimize waste or partnering with ethical manufacturers, we think every step of production is important when it comes to sustainable style.

Challenges and growth of Styleyn observed so far?

Although we aim to work relentlessly to promote sustainable fashion extensively, we would not say that our trajectory did not have particular hindrances.

Making people evolve from fast to sustainable fashion: We have observed that our nascent audience is the biggest hoarder of fast fashion. Corporate fashion brands cater to the exigent shoppers without excessive hassle while we struggle to convene and marshal our foundations. Initially, it was a task to execute this, but once having a tenacious stance, we caught up to inculcating the acumen of supporting sustainable fashion. Fast fashion does have an upper hand when it comes down to aspects like pricing and trends but we believe in timelessness and longevity.

Fabric concerns and queries and how we are ethical: Labelling our brand sustainable was when we vowed to be completely sheer and transparent with our audience. It aroused a plethora of questions and concerns regarding the fabric that had to be ratified by both, us and the audience. We also aim to keep the supply chain simple and systematic and ensure all our workers and employees are fairly paid and professionally satisfied.

Keeping up with the current trends: Our demographics compile of the shoppers aged from 18-24 that tootle along as the trends and fads come and vanish. Sustainable fashion takes up immense prowess and efforts to craft a single piece which makes it a tad difficult to hop on with laconic fashion fads that clobber the industry. We leave no stone unturned when it comes to keeping our products modish and trendy as well as pocket friendly for all.

Resourcing and recruitment: Originally from a tier-2 city, the brand provoked us to undergo numerable issues and obstacles related to resourcing, outsourcing, hiring, delivering and processing. Shifting the weightage from tier-1 cities to tier-2 cities was one the most complex challenges faced by the company.

Talking about our growth scale, we are tremendously content and happy within the past six months where our company has seen a 100 per cent increase in sales every month since June. Currently, we are a team of 20-22 people closely and ethically aligned with local artisans as well as people from various sectors.

In the highly competitive market, what are the USP and the key customer needs that Styleyn is solving?

Even though the business is still in its infancy, the market for eco-friendly clothing in India is expanding quickly. Better production techniques are used by manufacturers to create garments with less environmental effect. According to a McKinsey survey, consumer behaviour is encouraging globally, as two-thirds of buyers are willing to spend more on eco-friendly clothes. We at Styleyn use chemical free cotton that is good for our farmers and nature. We utilize recycled materials like plastic bottles since we are aware of the harm that plastic does to the environment. We clean the bottles, group them by colour, chop them into tiny flakes, melt them down, and then spin them into fresh filament yarns. Through our product range we are offering our customers multipurpose, affordable, and ethical, along with having popular designs that are trending in the markets.

What are the trends that the sustainable fashion industry is observing?

As we know that the fashion industry creates carbon emission in the atmosphere, brands are now looking for natural techniques to remove carbon from the atmosphere, by opting for methods like regenerative farming- this method of farming involves no tilling, but grows a diverse range of crops to help put nutrients back into the soil. Brand encouraging resale of clothes, celebrities and influencers are also normalizing the repetition of clothes, so people will also do the same and just not put their clothes in their closet and never touch them again after wearing them for just once.

Views on how the sustainable fashion industry has evolved in the past few years?

Over the years the fashion industry has evolved along with the people's perspective towards fashion. A survey states that many buyers are willing to go all out for environmentally, friendly products and brands. The sustainable clothing movement has come a long way over the last 20 years thanks to increased awareness of the fashion industry's impact on society and the environment. Unethical controversies, awareness, and legislation have been a big part of this shift away from fast fashion where people are now willing to boycott brands that offer unsustainable services. They are now more aware about climate change and how the textile industry is affecting nature. Consumers are consciously opting for sustainable options more importantly sustainable fashion. Thank to social media presence, millennials are a powerful force in promoting eco-conscious consumption. By sheer willpower, they can contribute to making sure that fashion has a sustainable future.

What are the future plans for the brand?

Our goal is to spread awareness towards sustainable clothing and prove that sustainability can also be trendy in fashion outlook. Gradually we realized there was a world of people who had a similar vision and so we engaged with terms like 'fair trade', 'ethical', 'sustainable' as a means of connecting to others who share our belief in fundamental humanity, environmental values and producing minimum waste throughout the product life cycle. We are looking towards being the leading brand of sustainable fashion products that radiate the impact of doing well for the environment, workers and animal kingdom - through the combination of sustainable textiles and eco-friendly processes with classic style quality.