Social Sustainability

The House of Nivedita

The House of Nivedita has always stood for Sustainability and Fair Trade. To give back to society, to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible, to empower artisans, to create innovative solutions in design for those who need them, is at the heart of what we do. It is this vision that resonates in all our processes: from sourcing, to creation and design, to the causes we choose to support.

Sustainability and Fair Trade Practices

The journey began in 2002, when we trained, employed and supported deaf and mute girls from various NGOs, at our Pune factory empowering them to become earning members of society and stand on their own feet. Over the years, the focus has been to empower the marginalized, ensure transparency and respect, and great working conditions always.

Inclusive Fashion

The House of Nivedita took its first step towards adaptive clothing to allow the specially-abled to dress with efficiency and dignity. Nivedita along with Ekansh, in an initiative called ‘AD-DRESS NOW’ is working towards making fashion more inclusive and working to bring about a policy change. We aim to use fashion as a platform to bring about a confluence of art and science to create solutions that empower people. Together with Ekansh, we have introduced ‘Adaptive and Inclusive Fashion’ as a subject in the curriculum of 50 fashion colleges till date.

Collaboration with Pune School for the Blind

In 2016, Nivedita gave the students of Pune School for the Blind different textures to play with. Sand, rice, coarse grain and other textured materials were given to the students, along with paints and they were told to create designs while freewheeling on canvas. Giving them a platform and a voice to express themselves, Nivedita worked with them to create designs for her collection ‘Unlearn’. A collection that then went on to showcase at The London Fashion Week, 2016.

Working with Acid Attack victims

With the initiative ‘Fashion Empowers Her’, The House of Nivedita raised awareness about the horrors and repercussions of an acid attack by designing a special collection for the heroes. The garments were made in 100% fine gentle cotton, taking care of their delicate skin, and making them feel equally empowered and beautiful inside-out.

Raising awareness about Parkinson’s

As part of its stance on inclusive fashion, The House of Nivedita has raised awareness about Parkinson’s disease; further providing a platform for research and development in the field of this neurodegenerative disease. Our aim is to infuse fashion with wearability. Our research and consequent designs helped to drastically cut down dressing time of the patients from approx. 40 to 45 minutes to 9 to 12 minutes. Greatly improving their daily quality of life, enabling them to dress themselves, and look great, while also easing the load on caregivers.

Sustainability

At The House of Nivedita, we use sustainable solutions such as organic dyeing techniques. Our Fair Trade Practice is based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equality, ensuring better working conditions, securing the rights of marginalised artisans, craftsman and workers. All materials used within the organisation are sourced with strict adherence to fair trade practices.