All sectors / Fashion & Accessories / I was a Sari
I was a Sari is an award-winning eco-ethical lifestyle brand based in Mumbai, India, that brilliantly transforms pre-loved saris and sustainably sourced materials into one-of-a-kind apparel, accessories, and housewares. The social enterprise focuses on empowering highly vulnerable women artisans, many of whom migrated from rural areas, dropped out of school before the age of fifteen, and had absolutely no prior formal work experience. Today, these incredibly talented women collaborate with top Gucci designers, dress global celebrities, and win prestigious international fashion awards. I was a Sari guarantees profound social impact by providing rigorous training, fair living wages, comprehensive health insurance, and crucial educational scholarships for their children. They meticulously monitor their impact, tracking artisan engagement and meters of fabric upcycled. Operating with a profound purpose, all commercial profits are strategically reinvested to uplift more women, strongly supported by partners like CORP, Animedh Charitable Trust, and Gucci Equilibrium.
Stefano Funari
CEO
Operating since 2013
Eco-system
Industries
Cities and Towns
Villages
Sub-sectors
Ethical Fashion
Circular Economy and Waste Reduction
Circular Textiles
Social Enterprise
Type Of Product
Ethical Practice
A Mumbai social enterprise upcycling pre-loved saris into unique apparel while empowering marginalized female artisans.
Method and Technique of I was a Sari are:
Pre-Loved Sari Sourcing and Material Upcycling: The enterprise utilizes a highly rigorous circular material recovery method, systematically sourcing pre-loved saris and sustainably harvesting discarded Indian textiles to serve as the exclusive, zero-waste foundational fabrics for their entire contemporary line of handcrafted apparel and home accessories.
Grassroots Artisan Recruitment and Mobilization: I was a Sari employs a deeply empathetic socio-economic outreach technique, actively collaborating with local Mumbai charities to identify, recruit, and safely mobilize highly vulnerable, uneducated rural migrant women who have absolutely no prior formal employment history or technical skills.
Elite Fashion Design Training and Skill Building: They utilize a world-class vocational pedagogical method through their unique collaboration with Gucci Equilibrium, providing these grassroots artisans with intensive, elite-level training in cutting, sewing, and contemporary fashion design, effectively transforming unskilled dropouts into highly sought-after international craftswomen.
Comprehensive Health and Educational Benefits Provision: The organization employs a holistic worker welfare technique, moving beyond mere transactional wages by seamlessly integrating comprehensive health insurance policies and dedicated children's educational scholarships directly into their standard employment packages to ensure complete, multi-generational family stability.
Transparent Social and Environmental Impact Tracking: I was a Sari utilizes a rigorous data analytics and auditing method, meticulously logging every hour of remunerated labor, tracking the exact number of artisans successfully uplifted, and calculating the precise meters of fabric rescued from landfills to ensure total public accountability.
Non-Profit Partnership and Profit Reinvestment: They employ a closed-loop social enterprise financial technique, capturing their global retail profits and immediately redirecting those funds alongside the Community Outreach Programme and Animedh Charitable Trust to rapidly scale their empowerment hubs and onboard new cohorts of marginalized women.
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