Sanghamitra, can you tell us about your journey before founding Nilam India? What inspired you to enter the world of sustainable fashion?
I have been an entrepreneur for the last eight years. I tried my hand at multiple businesses, from a sports bar to running an advertising agency to wedding photography, but what I eventually landed at was something that was right in front of me throughout – hand block printing and crafts. My grandmother started hand block printing in her backyard in Dehradun as a hobby in 1973. That was my first exposure to sustainable fashion and hand crafted clothing, and lifestyle. I learned how to block print when I was seven years old. It’s a privilege not many children have at that age. I see piles and piles of clothes that people throw away regularly, mass-produced, over-produced. The season finishes, and they are discarded. I find the concept ridiculous. I wanted to create timeless apparel that has a shelf life. Products that are created based on the demand in the market, so that there is no wastage. My biggest challenge that I faced in the early days was trying to get people, including artisans and vendors to understand why I am doing what I am doing.
Can you explain how Nilam India balances style, comfort, and sustainability in its designs?
At Nilam India, the outfits we design are based on research, market analysis, and customer feedback. Our customers’ comfort always comes first, and we ensure that we use skin-friendly and eco-friendly fabrics and dyes for all of our clothing. We do Indian crafts on mostly western silhouettes so our styles are inspired by various elements. Hand block printing, among others, is a dyeing craft. Not many people practise it, and the newer generations aren’t very interested in learning it. I had the exposure of being around it, fell in love with it at a young age, and it’s just something I wanted to put into play. Other traditional Indian crafts are also time-consuming, tedious, and very skillfully made. I wanted the story of the artisans creating such craft to be heard, their skill to be seen and appreciated. Being exposed to so many crafts myself, it’s something I wanted to share with the rest of the world.
How does Nilam India support sustainable fashion practices, from sourcing to production?
At Nilam India, we work with artisans directly at a grassroots level. We go to them, wherever they are – their villages, their workshops, and work with them to create pieces. We make a limited number of pieces per design so that there is the least amount of dead stock and no fabric goes to waste. Every piece of fabric, irrespective of how small, is used in some product or the other. Our packaging is plastic-free. We send a note to our customers that is plantable and written on seed paper. People are implementing the meaning of slow fashion and how it is different in the way it works. Our customers are becoming more conscious of how their clothes are created sustainably, who is making their clothes, and the difference in the quality and durability of the clothing. They are becoming more accepting of slow fashion, even though it is not as affordable as fast fashion. They’re also becoming aware of the social and environmental impact of slow fashion.
As a woman entrepreneur, what lessons have you learned that you wish more people knew early on? How do you build a team that aligns with your vision and values?
One of the first lessons that I learned was that being empathetic is very important, whether it is with your own team or with your artisans or vendors. Sometimes, it’s a struggle to get through to people with your ideas, but explaining things to them in a way that they understand, even if it takes more effort. The most important lesson is to be myself and be authentic to myself. Building the right team takes time, especially one that understands your vision and values. But right from the beginning, I wanted people who understand what the vision is and why we do what we do. The energy needs to be righ,t and the willingness to work towards a common goal for a greater good has to be there.
Why do you believe traditional Indian textile art needs to be preserved and reimagined for the modern world?
Traditional Indian textiles have a beautiful history and are an important part of Indian history, as a whole, as well as individual crafts. The artisans who are skilled at these crafts are already diminishing. Other textile practices are taking over, and the traditional textiles are dying out. One advice that I would give young entrepreneurs is to experiment. Keep experimenting with multiple combinations. Sometimes we have ideas and beliefs around how something would look, good or bad, if we do things a certain way but sometimes what surprises us the most is something we never thought would work.
What’s next for Nilam India — any new collections, collaborations, or expansion plans?
We are currently looking to shift our operations to a Tier I city to be able to access more opportunities. We are also working on a new category that I am very excited about. I think as more people are becoming aware of sustainable fashion, the demand is increasing, which creates more opportunities for slow fashion labels like ours. Globally, there is already a huge demand for sustainable fashion, and there are big opportunities for Indian brands there as well.
What advice would you offer to students and young professionals interested in ethical entrepreneurship or creative industries?
Use your creativity to try as many things as you can. Mix and match to see what works. Keep your mind open to new opportunities and network like your life depends on it.
