- Launched in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Alia Bhatt’s sustainable children’s clothing brand
Ed-a-mamma has witnessed more than 10x growth in the last 18 months. - Alia Bhatt’s Ed-a-Mamma also marked its offline presence this quarter by launching 16 stores across Indian metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad and is now focused on expanding its product categories.
- https://gotechbusiness.com/ India spoke to Iffat Jivan, business head of Ed-a-Mamma about the future of
sustainable fashion in india. - Jivan told us that
affordable sustainable fashion feasible and that is the future.
Landfills are full of municipal waste, so much so that by 2050 India will reportedly need a landfill the size of its capital, New Delhi!
While there is a growing awareness of sustainable fashion and consumers are willing to make more eco-friendly choices, affordability has become a major barrier.
A recent report from Kantar India said that despite inflation, “people’s desire to be sustainable has not diminished. The cost of living crisis is a reminder that green products must be affordable for sustainability to become mainstream. Brands that offer sustainable options that are affordable are preferred.”
Actor and entrepreneur Alia Bhatt’s children’s clothing company Ed-a-mamma has done just that: it has managed to bring down the price of its sustainable clothing.
Ed-a-Mamma’s clothing is priced in the range of 399 to 1,899.
If more brands lower their prices and focus on giving back to consumers, sustainability could see greater adoption in the country, which Ed-a-Mamma’s chief executive Iffat Jivan says is challenging but possible.
“If [sustainable] brands are…more affordable, there’s no reason anyone wouldn’t want to buy a product that’s sustainable, because you’re actually contributing to the planet, to the environment, and at the same time you don’t burn a hole in your pocket,” Jivan told https://gotechbusiness.com/ India.
Why is sustainable clothing expensive?
Sustainable clothing is made from organic fibers – free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and causes no harm to Mother Earth – which are difficult to obtain. This is why sustainable clothing is usually more expensive because the costs are passed on to the consumer.
Ed-a-Mamma sources all of its organic fibers from India, which is why the brand prices its clothing in the same range as fast-fashion products.
“If you have to produce a regular product, that’s probably 1/10th of the effort you would put into buying a sustainable product. So people [brands] charge for their efforts. In our case, our effort is more focused on the environment. The price should come down if people take the same route we took,” Jivan said.
When a sustainable brand operates on a smaller scale, achieving a cost-effective pricing strategy becomes a challenge.
However, Jivan is optimistic that the industry will change when brands take matters into their own hands.
“I can tell you for sure [affordable sustainable fashion] is not something that is not feasible. People today want to be paid for the effort they put into making that product, we’ve taken it upon ourselves and we pass the benefit on to the customer. That’s something that comes from the brand mindset. It is certainly feasible. You just have to be passionate about doing it to pass it on to the customer and work for the greater good,” Jivan told https://gotechbusiness.com/.
The brainchild of Alia Bhatt
Born during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in October 2020, Alia Bhatt’s Ed-a-Mamma is one of the first brands in the sustainable children’s clothing category.
“This was actually Alia’s last dream and her concept of teaching children about an alternative lifestyle that was possible. Talk directly to parents and children as Alia strongly believes that catching young children and giving them alternative lifestyle options is likely to sow the seeds of being a little more environmentally aware,” Jivan said.
Ed-a-Mamma marked its offline presence this quarter by launching 16 stores across Indian metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad and is now focused on expanding its product categories.
“We’ve shown just over 10x growth in the last 18 months. We have now also moved into the brick and mortar room,” Jivan said.
“Last year we clocked about seven lakh units (on sale). This year the number will definitely more than double as we have added many categories. This year we are looking at crossing at least maybe 20 lakh stretches,” Jivan added.
Ed-a-Mamma is currently valued at ₹200 crores.
The sustainable fashion industry is currently valued at about $24 billion in India, Jivan said, and she believes this is only a fraction of the industry’s full potential. As more Indians embrace sustainable fashion in the coming years, the industry will only get bigger and better, she added.
