Based in: Berlin, Germany

Founded in: Legally Entity November 2021, Official Launch January 2022

Founded by: Karvishi Aggarwaal

Shop at and ship to: Shipping within Europe and physical store in Berlin: Tara Base in Bikini Berlin

Website: https://www.esoraa.com/

Price range: €45 - 300€

Instagram: @esoraa.official

What is Esoraa and why did you start your business?

Esoraa is a platform bringing together traditions, heritage, form and function of Indian crafts and designs through a curated collection of ethical fashion, accessories and homeware products.

Having lived in Europe for 5 years by this time, I was frustrated by the cliched representation of Indian fashion and design in Europe. I noticed that while certain facets of South Asian culture such as wellness, mindfulness and cuisine were highly regarded and easily available, fashion was and is still often misunderstood and inaccessible. There is no true representation of South Asian brands and products in Europe. I created Esoraa with the intent of changing this narrative and spreading the message that South Asian Fashion is not just boho chic and definitely not low quality. Esoraa is making “MADE IN INDIA” products which are fairly produced, and accessible to Europe while remaining true to my cultural heritage.

We can see that you have a wide range of amazing items on the website. Where do you source these from?

All the products on Esoraa are personally curated by me. We partner with brands and designers from India who work with local artisans to produce quality objects using traditional techniques. These are small independent labels with a small supply chain giving them more control over the key aspects of production. So to answer your question, these products are sourced from India to bring joy to the customers by creating exclusive and memorable pieces that can be passed on through generations.

What have been and are the major challenges of starting Esoraa?

There are so many challenges, I think I could write down endless pages full of them. But the ones at the top of my head or the ones that I face daily are these. As an immigrant trying to run a business in a country which is not your home country can be pretty challenging. I do not speak the language yet and there are many nuances that need to be tackled in the local language for which I have to rely on help from people which I am grateful for. Secondly, as a small business owner or in my case solo entrepreneur, I am responsible for not only the business development part of it but also the marketing, packaging, logistics, designing and customer care. But the plus side of it is, I have learnt so much on the job and I now know what works and what does not.

Another important aspect of running a business is accountability. To be accountable to ourselves. As an entrepreneur and social impact-driven brand, it's very important that from time to time we hold ourselves accountable for our decisions and actions and make sure that we are doing justice to all the people who are part of the supply chain. From the brands, we chose to work with, to the artisans they work with.

Doing business ethically is hard and exhausting but also extremely rewarding.

What has been the largest gain so far?

When people chose Esoraa over Fast fashion brands. People are now starting to recognise our mission.. And we have started to get customers purely by organic reach. The satisfaction and the happiness on the face of our kaarigars when they see the customers in their creations is priceless.

What do you think needs to change in the fashion industry to make it more sustainable?

A lot of things! Starting with a “SHIFT IN THE MINDSET”

The fashion Industry is a trillion dollars industry corresponding to 2% of the world’s GDP and fashion production has doubled since the 2000s and is estimated to triple by 2050. That’s a lot of clothes circulating in the market of which more than 50% will end up in landfills and the majority of them would never even get recycled in our lifetime. Clothing has become so cheap, and therefore easy to discard. As consumers, we need to stop falling into these traps of trends and impulsive buying.

We pay so much attention to what we are putting inside our body, always reading nutrition labels at the back. So why not give equal attention to something that is touching your skin? Something that you are going to put on your body. That’s something intimate too. We should go into the details of what is the material, where is it sourced from, and Who Made my clothes? Under what conditions was it made? If we ask these questions to ourselves and to the brands who are producing them, then we are forcing them to be accountable and take action.

We as designers and brands need to stop feeding trends to the consumers and making them feel like they need to purchase new pieces of clothing every second month because that’s trendy and that’s what would make them look good. Brands need to focus more on their values, mission, and their story and make the consumers fall in love with them rather than profiting off their insecurities. If the brand goes slow, it's easier for the consumer to go slow.

It's about going back to the roots both figuratively and literally. Esoraa is called a Destination for Slow Shopping, because we want our customers to take their time to go through our website, learn more about the product, and the people who are behind those clothes and then make an informed decision.

What would you advise consumers to do who seek to create a sustainable closet and lifestyle?

Start by taking a pause. All the data and information online can be quite overwhelming, especially looking at numbers and people saying we are doomed if we don’t do this or that. So I always recommend anyone and everyone to take a pause. It’s the best way to disconnect from the outside and connect with the inside.

Then think about what’s important to you, what defines your values and ethos as a person and slowly start taking small steps towards that. Leading a sustainable lifestyle doesn't mean you have to change your life completely.

Educate yourselves, ask questions and then make decisions. You may be thinking I am now going to buy sustainable products, but a lot of the time, we don’t even know what that really means. We say now I am going to only buy sustainable products but a lot of times, we don’t even know what that really means. There are a lot of amazing organisations out there doing amazing work like Remake, Fashion Revolution, that provide amazing resources to learn about the fashion industry and provide you with a community to give you support on this journey.

Now that you have done your research, it's time to edit your shopping habits. Going from want to need! Always asking if I really need this item in my closet is the most essential step. And that’s what we also urge the Esoraa customers to do. Irrespective of how the garment is made, if you are not going to wear it, it’s unsustainable.

Be mindful of your consumption, we don’t need 10 different white shirts in our closet. Lastly always and always choose quality over quantity and invest wisely.

What's the best thing about Esoraa?

Building Esoraa is what gets me out of bed everyday. I truly believe in its mission and the idea of being able to share my history, culture and passion with everyone has given me a greater purpose and motivation to be more authentic in the stories I narrate about the craft, artisans, weavers and all the creative souls who have come together to create.

With Esoraa we are de stigmatising #MadeInIndia and this is one of the best things. Putting Indian craftsmanship at a global level.

Do you have any useful tips for someone who wants to start their own sustainable and ethical shop?

I think it again starts with defining what sustainability means for you. What are the values you want to focus on?

Do market research, find a problem that you can solve and think is your shop going to be a solution to do that? There are hundreds of ethical marketplaces and shops now and there is a new one launching every month. So what would make you stand out from them? What will be your unique solution? You don’t want to end up as just another shop that is promoting unnecessary shopping. It won't be serving your purpose of sustainability.

After this develop your concept and the brand; telling the story behind the brand and its mission while truly believing in it yourself. There will be a lot of times that you will feel stuck and stressed, but never be afraid to ask for help. The community of sustainable fashion is big and welcoming. Reach out to people, connect with them and share your story. You will always find a support system to uplift you.

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