What inspired the creation of your company, and when did it start?

When I kept falling asleep at work (JP Morgan NYC), I realized that I wasn’t meant for that job. So I quit, and started Brown Boy. I simply followed my love of art, design and fashion — and soon enough, sustainability became a strong part of my passions. Now, sustainability is at the core of our company.

What is your brand’s mission, and what causes drive you and your team?

Our mission is to create the world’s healthiest & happiest apparel brand. What does that mean? It means: to bring sustainable clothing mainstream, and to build a great company that puts people first — by understanding that we have a responsibility toward society to do so. We want to bring sustainable changes, not just in ethical consumerism, but also basic human rights. A small example: we strongly support LGBT rights in countries where being gay can put you in jail.

How is your brand socially responsible?

We genuinely believe in being socially responsible…and not just because having a strong CSR is cool and good for a company’s image. We are 100% Fair Trade from ‘seed to garment’. Our craftsmen get subsidized food, and we support child education in rural India. Moreover, we use only 100% organic cotton to make our products. In addition to this, we have taken steps towards fighting for basic human rights. We would love to do more and are constantly finding new avenues for how we can use the platform of our company to produce a positive impact on society.

What does your brand do to lower its ecological impact and/or promote environmental health and well-being?

We use non-toxic ink to print and low impact dyes. Apart from this, we use only 100% organic cotton. In our Product Guide section, we try to educate buyers on how they too can help to lower their ecological impact and promote environmental health.

Does your company perform animal testing and/or use animal-based ingredients in your products? Why or why not?

Not at all. We perform human testing – on our friends, families and on ourselves.

Where does your company make/manufacture your products, and why?

We make everything at our small, very clean and environmentally friendly workshop in India. Everything is handmade and hand-printed. We want to promote and support local craftsmen through providing them with new opportunities. We can only be fair in a country where labor laws aren’t strict, right?

Describe your design philosophy – how do you balance quality and affordability?

I design keeping myself in mind: “What would I like to wear?” I can only ask you to buy something if I too would use it — otherwise it’s unfair for the buyer. With this said, quality is at the core of our products. From the start, we made sure we kept offering our buyers the best quality apparel.

We have a very strict Quality Check process. We only use the best 100% organic cotton, and everything is hand-printed and stitched. You can wash our garments 100 times and they would still look amazing. Try doing that for a t-shirt from Zara, H&M or even Marc Jacobs.

As we want to bring sustainable fashion mainstream, we have intentionally priced our products low. We do this by cutting our own margins and having a lean team.

Tell us a little about the ingredients/materials you use. Generally, why did you pick them over other options?

We use 100% organic cotton. Jute fiber (for our bags). Non-Toxic ink and dyes. We use these ingredients because they have a low ecological impact, are healthier and much better in quality.

What are the next steps for your company?

We want to bridge the gap between us and the buyer. We want to make the public aware of our brand. Currently, we are trying to get into stores and boutiques, both big and small.

How do you view the future of conscious consumption?

Very impactful and positive.

As a parting sentiment, if you could only use one word to describe your brand ethos – what would it be?

Genuine