From India, With Audacity
“MADE IN INDIA.” It’s a phrase we see frequently in department stores across America, 11 letters blocked across a tiny tag to tell us the garment we are purchasing came from a world away. For many of us, this is no longer a notable detail. As reality and pop culture tell us, outsourced goods are the norm and whether they come from a sweat shop or benefit the workers who diligently produce them is irrelevant.
The IOU Project aims to change the system. Launching today, this online shop will allow consumers to browse and buy unique, sustainable pieces hand-woven by Indian artisans and hand-sewn by European craftsmen. By eschewing a brick-and-mortar store, founder and designer Kavita Parmar (who already has two labels, Raasta and Suzie Wong) plans to keep costs low and pay the artisans more. Breaking with the tradition of repeatedly mass producing a single design is part of Parmar’s vision for what she calls “BIG design,” freeing artisans from low-paying, monotonous work and consumers from cookie cutter fashion.
What’s more, IOU’s Trunk Store Host App will reward consumers for selling designs from their personal “trunk shows,” which can be shared across social networks or shared on IOU’s website. Hosts have three weeks to sell, with discounts going from 20 to 15 to 12.5 percent with each passing week. For each sale, hosts are paid via PayPal. Still stuck with a piece when the selling period is up? No problem, it just goes away.
To learn more about Parmar’s thoughts, browse this gallery of textiles and designs and see what she told Divanee.com about The IOU Project.
the-work-shirt
"This project grew out of my frustration working within the current fashion industry system that I realized was not conducive to either mine or the artisan's interests - the more we sold of the same style the worse it was for the artisan as he had to produce and repeat the same design over and over again in the same short span of time."
All images courtesy of The IOU Project. Visit the IOU Project on Facebook and Twitter.
Amina Elahi is Divanee.com’s Features Writer. She tweets @aminamania and maintains a Tumblr.
