India is home to some of the world’s most talented seamstresses, designers, fabric weavers, and pattern makers. At the beginning of 2023 I accidentally met some of them.

My husband, Tim, and I ventured to India to attend our friend’s wedding and spend time with his family. We decided to venture around the country and take three months off to explore India. As an ethical fashion influencer, I also have contacts with several brands who produce products in India, so I reached out. My casual contact and intent to visit just a few (if any!) turned into six factory visits and some of our most memorable days in India.

When you think of a garment factory in India, it’s likely you think of huge concrete rooms filled with hundreds of people who don’t get breaks, air conditioning, or fair wages. Unfortunately, that’s the case for thousands of garment workers in this part of the world, but I had the privilege of visiting the good ones.

The six ethical fashion companies below that I’m about to introduce you to are not only creating incredible clothes and accessories for people to enjoy all over the globe, but they’re also changing the fashion industry. They’re bravely prioritising slow fashion, changing the norms of overproduction, and doing business with people and the planet in mind.

It was an absolute honour to visit. I wish these pictures could properly capture the joy-filled moments visiting each place. I hope that if you ever find yourself in the market for a new piece of clothing, you consider the incredible businesses below!

Xaura

Tim and I were greeted by two cuddle-requesting workroom dogs and treated to the most delicious chai. Nestled in ‘The Pink City’, Jaipur, the workroom was filled with natural light and laughter. Xaura’s mission is to “empower craft driven communities through the revival of ethical handmade fashion that makes you feel beautifully unique.” I met Kavita, founder of Xaura, at an ethical fashion business event here in Auckland several years ago. Kavita is based in Aotearoa New Zealand but the garments are made by these wonderful people in the pictures below. We spent several hours with the team, watching them sew together dresses, pass them through quality control, and pack them up. I have no doubts that I will be back to visit!

Shop here if you love: Flowing dresses with unique block prints, bright red jumpsuits, and intricate embroidery that will make people stop you in the street.

The Loyal Workshop

Visting the Loyal Workshop was a literal dream come true. Ever since my parents gifted me a leather satchel for Christmas in 2015, I was determined to meet the maker. “Made by Raima” is etched into the inside pocket of my bag and the person standing beside me in middle photo below is Raima! We visited The Loyal Workshop several times during our week in Kolkata and even had the chance to visit the tannery where the leather is produced too. Shee Sen Tannery is Leather Working Group Certified and Gold Rated. This means that they have obtained the highest possible score on environmental categories like water, waste management, energy use, and emissions. The artisans of The Loyal Workshop are women from backgrounds of poverty, each with their own story of trauma and oppression: sold, stolen, trafficked and forced against their will into the sex trade. The workshop is located in a red light district and I’ll never forget my first time walking there. Women lined the narrow streets, waiting for their next job. Upstairs, I sat with women who once lined those streets but were instead laughing with their friends while crafting the most beautiful leather goods.

Shop here if you love: Leather bags in various sizes, belts, wallets, wrist bands, and laptop sleeves.

Sui

We had only just touched down in New Delhi a few days before our spontaneous visit to Sui. I was still becoming accustomed to the time zone and chaos of the city as Tim and I walked through the streets of a shopping district looking for the workroom. A few flights of stairs later, a door opened up to the workroom pictured below. I felt almost delirious with jet lag kicking in which made the space seem even more magic. Through translation I learnt that most of the makers had been taught their craft by family members and they had been doing it for many decades. Some of the makers stopped for prayers between sewing and others had coffee breaks; I thought of the thousands of people in the garment industry who do not have the luxury of breaks and fair treatment at work. After visiting the workshop we also popped into the Sui store and I tried on as many Sui garments as I could. They are all so unique and well made!

Shop here if you love: Fun prints, classic cotton dresses, classy casual and formal wear that screams high quality.

T.Berry

I’ve never seen someone work so hard to find the very BEST sustainable fabrics than founder of T.Berry, Tanvi. After connecting on Instagram, Tanvi was our host in New Delhi. We had several site seeing days together and of course we ended up at the atelier where her sustainable luxury brand is based. Together we designed Tim’s silk shirt (below) and a matching camisole. Tanvi does extensive research to find out where to source the best materials for her customers and even found plant based elastic - the first time I had heard of it! The great thing about T.Berry is their ability to custom make orders. Tanvi showed us some incredible bridal wear and bespoke garments while I was there. It was incredible to watch Masterji in action as he carefully tailored our garments that we’ll treasure forever.

Shop here if you love: Silk eye pillows, camisoles, dreamy robes, scrunchies, pillow cases, or anything custom made.

Joyya

Joyya was the biggest and most unique place we visited.They don’t exist to simply make clothes; they create social opportunities, employment, and education. During our visit, we saw people being taught beauty salon skills, kids in safe spaces having SO much fun, computer classes, language lessons & of course clever makers creating garments for wholesale & retail orders. We met extraordinary, strong, and resilient people who have had poverty steal opportunities and choices from them. The expanse of programmes and support that Joyya has developed over the past few decades to spark good in places of extreme poverty and modern slavery is truly changing the community so that poverty has less control.

Shop here if you love: Branded t-shirts for your business, school or community group, bags, and accessories.

Offspring

When Tim and I married in February 2017, I purchased an Offspring blanket as a gift to ourselves. I hung it up at our wedding and placed brochures about Offspring’s work beneath it for people to learn more about their powerful work. Offspring is a safe space to support women who’ve been trafficked with vocational training, education, life skills, employment, housing, one-on-one support, and savings. During our visit, we were taught how to make a Kolkata Kitty! The team were so patient with us. We sat with the social worker and read through some of the programmes the staff are taken through and finished our visit with tea and biscuits.

Shop here if you love: Bags of all styles made from old saris, baby blankets, cushion covers, laptop cases, and blankets like the one we treasure from our wedding.