‘I have a triple bottomline of people, planet, profits’
No Nasties
Apurva Kothari, founder of No Nasties, hopes to create an Indian market for organic clothing.
WHAT: No Nasties is a clothing company that sells T-shirts made from
organic cotton, manufactured by farmers and factories that practice fair
trade. The company buys its cotton from Chetna Organic Farmers
Association, a co-operative of more than 15,000 farmers in Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha who use only natural fertilisers and
pesticides to grow cotton.
Designed by freelancers associated with No Nasties, the T-shirts are manufactured at Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, a textile company that also follows organic and fair trade practices. Both Chetna and Rajlakshmi get a share in No Nasties’ profits.
Operating from a small office in Juhu and a co-working space in Bandra, the four-member No Nasties team markets its products on its website, www.nonasties.in, to customers across the country.
WHO: Mumbai-born Apurva Kothari, 37, a software engineer, moved to the US for his Master’s degree, and lived there for 12 years. Two years ago, he quit a well-paying job with a travel website, returned to Mumbai and used his savings to co-found No Nasties with his friend Diti Kotecha, a graphic designer who has since left the company.
Designed by freelancers associated with No Nasties, the T-shirts are manufactured at Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, a textile company that also follows organic and fair trade practices. Both Chetna and Rajlakshmi get a share in No Nasties’ profits.
Operating from a small office in Juhu and a co-working space in Bandra, the four-member No Nasties team markets its products on its website, www.nonasties.in, to customers across the country.
WHO: Mumbai-born Apurva Kothari, 37, a software engineer, moved to the US for his Master’s degree, and lived there for 12 years. Two years ago, he quit a well-paying job with a travel website, returned to Mumbai and used his savings to co-found No Nasties with his friend Diti Kotecha, a graphic designer who has since left the company.
WHEN: Registered in April 2011, the firm began functioning in January 2012.
HOW: For the first few months, Kothari had to work from home and from cafés. The work involved generating a demand for T-shirts that are more expensive than most synthetic ones available in the mainstream market. “Initially, the T-shirts cost R1,199, but we had to bring it down to R799, and R499 when on sale, because we realised we would not be able to create a consumer movement by remaining niche,” says Kothari, who has recovered the money he invested but has not made any profit yet.
The company has sold more than 6,000 T-shirts since April 2011, although the turnover fluctuates every month. Kothari is seeking to expand, and hopes to partner with another fair trade textile factory in south India. “If we don’t make good returns in another six months, we will have to either look for crowd funding, angel investors, or worse, not do this full-time,” says Kothari. “We have been optimistic so far, but we know we have limited time.”
WHY: In 2006, Kothari read a newspaper article about increasing farmer suicides in India’s cotton belt. Disturbed, he began to find out more. Most farmers who commit suicide, he discovered, use genetically modified cotton seeds and synthetic fertilisers that damage the land; they also have to pay off high interest loans, while not getting a fair share of the returns.
Kothari realised that getting into the social sector would help him impact the lives of such farmers. Most of the cloth made from organic cotton, he says, is exported. No Nasties aims to create an Indian market for organic clothing. “We began with T-shirts because they appeal to a large market, but we hope to develop a larger brand of clothing,” he says.
HOW: For the first few months, Kothari had to work from home and from cafés. The work involved generating a demand for T-shirts that are more expensive than most synthetic ones available in the mainstream market. “Initially, the T-shirts cost R1,199, but we had to bring it down to R799, and R499 when on sale, because we realised we would not be able to create a consumer movement by remaining niche,” says Kothari, who has recovered the money he invested but has not made any profit yet.
The company has sold more than 6,000 T-shirts since April 2011, although the turnover fluctuates every month. Kothari is seeking to expand, and hopes to partner with another fair trade textile factory in south India. “If we don’t make good returns in another six months, we will have to either look for crowd funding, angel investors, or worse, not do this full-time,” says Kothari. “We have been optimistic so far, but we know we have limited time.”
WHY: In 2006, Kothari read a newspaper article about increasing farmer suicides in India’s cotton belt. Disturbed, he began to find out more. Most farmers who commit suicide, he discovered, use genetically modified cotton seeds and synthetic fertilisers that damage the land; they also have to pay off high interest loans, while not getting a fair share of the returns.
Kothari realised that getting into the social sector would help him impact the lives of such farmers. Most of the cloth made from organic cotton, he says, is exported. No Nasties aims to create an Indian market for organic clothing. “We began with T-shirts because they appeal to a large market, but we hope to develop a larger brand of clothing,” he says.
No comments:
Post a Comment