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I will admit that I am not one to consider the way my clothes are made. Sustainability is far from the first thing on my mind when I shop for my clothes.
Not to mention, it’s common to find brands that embrace fast fashion to cater to changing trends, including Shein, Mango, H&M, Forever 21, Urban Outdoors, Adidas and more.
With many of these brands being an accessible and somewhat affordable option, it’s safe to say that driving change will be difficult.
But Banavis is a Malaysian clothing brand that chooses to go the other way, focusing on sustainability and being environmentally conscious when manufacturing its clothes.
Durable and fashionable
Pravina, who founded the brand, believes that people should start shopping consciously and avoid buying clothes because they are cheap and ready-made.
“After joining this fashion industry, I realized that there is a lot of work involved in producing simple T-shirts. Since then, I haven’t bought a T-shirt outside,” says Pravina.
Banavis clothing is made to order and customers are allowed to choose their own designs for their clothing, in addition to the original pieces featured on the website.
Prices vary depending on the design, style and amount of fabric required for each garment. Currently, the price of all units varies from RM70-RM200.
The founder admits that the original idea of the brand started as just a fashion business. She designs her clothes based on what she wears every day.
After pursuing her undergraduate studies in India, Pravina fell in love with Indian fabric and fashion.
“When I started the business, I thought there weren’t many options for people who wanted to modernize their clothes using Indian fabric,” explains Pravina.
So, Praveena and her sisters started selling their clothes in a pop-up with this in mind.
Later, the founder did her own research and began to learn about industrial waste from fashion. According to her, fashion is the second largest waste producing industry.
“I was a bit surprised and wondered if what I was doing was right. So, I have decided to reassess my strategies so that I don’t contribute to the fashion waste industry and how I can make a difference,” says Pravina.
After her return, the sisters decided to produce their clothing sustainably using recycled, recycled or donated Indian clothing fabrics.
Fashion forbidden
Fashion has always been part of Pravina’s plan. “I’ve always wanted to design since I was young, but there was such a taboo surrounding fashion because it wasn’t something you could easily grow or make money from,” she says.
Therefore, instead of pursuing professional training in fashion design, she decided to graduate and become a speech-language pathologist, which she still is today.
“And when I became a speech-language pathologist, I thought, why not pursue my passion at the same time?” Praveena added.
A speech-language pathologist took a leap of faith and returned to design. She first started designing for herself and her loved ones.
Gradually, her relatives pushed her to start her own clothing brand and in 2019 she went on to launch Banavis with her sisters.
However, her parents were not too happy with her choice to pursue fashion design. “That’s why I’m still pursuing my career as a speech therapist,” says Pravina.
Persistence in trials
One of the biggest challenges the team is facing is the lack of awareness in the fashion industry.
“I feel that most of us are still unaware of the influence the fashion industry has on us. We buy clothes that can only be worn once or twice and then end up in the trash,” says Pravina.
In addition, she believes that it is difficult for Banavees to appeal as people always look for fast fashion brands instead of focusing on the sustainability aspect.
In her opinion, more people are buying that way instead of knowing it. “Am I buying something that works for me?” They don’t ask questions. or “Can I transfer?”, etc.
“So, I feel like it affects us as a brand, because people don’t know what they’re buying,” Pravina told Vulcan Post.
The founder also revealed that customers sometimes have doubts about whether they can fully trust the new brand.
The main challenge is to compare Banavis, the consumer fast fashion brand online, and Banavis brand prices.
“Not knowing how to create a new brand and not receiving financial help from anyone affected them a bit,” explains Pravina.
So, if one of their final outfits doesn’t sell, they’ll end up making a loss as they’re self-funding the startup.
“Since we are not a well-known brand, we cannot charge the exact price you would normally get from a factory-made item,” says Pravina.
However, when customers buy from the brand, Banavis usually receives repeat orders, which is a blessing in itself.
Fashion forward
One of Banavees’ future plans includes opening an outlet for the brand. As of now, the team is working to improve the website to make it more user-friendly.
Additionally, when Banavees launches, the team hopes to offer customers both ready-made and custom orders.
Pravina says, “I feel Asians are not used to the concept of custom-made clothes because they are used to having their clothes adjusted or altered if they don’t fit.
With all these factors in mind, Banavis aims to be a clothing brand that practices sustainability and promotes the concept of made-to-order.
- Learn more about Banavees here.
- Read our other articles about Malaysian startups here.
Featured image credit: Banavis
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