Enayat GargIn times of fast fashion, a brand House Of Udyog has emerged that solely uses recycled materials for its production. The brand is a non-profit institution started by fifteen years old twins, Aarush Khanna and Rushil Khanna. These young entrepreneurs started building the brand in a bid to help the many handy-craft artists losing their jobs during the pandemic.
House Of Udyog’s main aim was to provide sustainable fashion at an economic price. The twins have considered sustainable development goals like responsible consumption and production, provision of decent working conditions and economic growth while developing their business model. It took them about 7-8 months to gather the sustainable fabric and build a team of artisans who had lost their jobs. In the long run, they aim to reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint.
When we asked the entrepreneurs what was their motivation to start the brand they said, “back in April 2020 we decided to get a hold of this and combine our love for fashion and our responsibility towards our society.” They faced some challenges especially with finding the favorable fabric that was genuinely sustainable and caused no harm to the environment. They finally found the fabric in a factory in Dera Bassi with GRS (global recycle standard) certification. In the early stages they also faced financial challenges. Eventually fundraisers were arranged to raise funds. After overcoming all these difficulties House Of Udyog came up with their first line of hoodies in December 2020 which was received very positively in the market and then they released a loungewear line in June 2021.
Today most of the items on their website are sold out. Their products are shipped all over India. Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition recognised their efforts as their enterprise won the third spot in Best Youth Project Category. The twin entrepreneurs have said “Currently we are working on expanding our initiative all across India and coming up with collaborations with artists from India” when asked what their current aim is.
House of Udyog is the epitome of the potential young entrepreneurs possess and the difference they can make in today’s time, to change the world for a better tomorrow. It is overwhelming to see the young generation understand the seriousness of climate change and take action to reduce its adversity. The increase in awareness regarding environmental issues have made the consumer react positively to new startups and as a market, we hope we can shift to eco-friendly substitutes of fast fashion. House of Udyog has inspired young thinkers to not just read about problems in textbooks but to take matters into their own hands and create a market that will change tomorrow’s lifestyle.
