Going the organic way

Eco-friendly fabric

Fashion is not only about looking good but also doing good’— this very thought spurred Bengaluru-based Akshay Jain and Avishek Kataria to start Indophile, a fashion brand, with a vision of popularising organic cotton.

     “Since college, we shared a passion for India and a desire to work for a better India. After spending some time in IT jobs, we quit and planned to set up a fashion brand with an India-inspired theme. As we researched about different materials, we came across organic cotton and also became aware of all the troubles farmers are facing because of genetically modified cotton. The maintenance of this cotton is very expensive, due to which farmers get into cycle of bad loans and then commit suicides. We realised the need to switch to organic cotton and commercialise it. That’s what shaped our vision and Indophile came into being around April last year,” states the duo.

The young entrepreneurs feel proud in highlighting the fact that whatever work they do for Indophile not only benefits the customer with good quality apparels but also helps in improving the life of farmers in an indirect way.

The brand has some interesting designs pertaining to the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, ‘Warli art’ and Lord Shiva. “Our most popular designs have been the Indian Army and Indian Air Force ones since the idea of making Indian Defense service based t-shirts is not very common in India,” says Avishek.

Indophile has organic cotton t-shirts for both men and women in bright, attractive colours. The nominally priced t-shirts are known for their quality and softness, he points out. “We have set up stalls in quite a few cities and majority of our customers are from Bengaluru and Chennai. The response has been really good, especially from those who are conscious about conserving the environment and they have praised the material. The products are also present in a few organic retail stores in some of the cities,” shares Akshay.

They are also tying up with various social organisations working towards better India like Binbag and Lakshya based in Bengaluru, Yuwa in Jharkhand and Goonga Pehelwan in Gujarat. “We want to create maximum awareness about organic cotton among the masses. It is a cause that we are really passionate about and would like to make a significant difference through our continued efforts,” they sign off saying.