THE RIGHT CHOICE
Apurva Kothari, founder of No Nasties, reflects on the purpose of shaping an enduring brand, the values driving industry growth, and the future of fashion leadership
Words by SONALI Semwal
“We often think we know the solution, and we can solve the problem. My experience with women cotton-farmers tells me they live those experiences every day, and they are capable of creating the solutions that work best for them, we just have to observe and join in”
People often gravitate to bigger brands than better brands; the podium often decorates the larger picture, but in this case, a journey of 15 years, a team of 25, and a movement to give people a choice they deserve – one label illuminates. In an age of hyperbolized marketing and overstated PR, it’s uncommon to find a label that delivers on authenticity. Founder Apurva Kothari of No Nasties is not just a pioneer, but a champion of fair trade, planet and community, and vegan 100 per cent organic cotton clothing.
With all the experience in Silicon Valley, working a high-paying job internationally, what makes Apurva leave all that to start a conscious fashion label? Some people require a larger purpose than a temporary fix. For Apurva, as he says, it was just that – to challenge fashion offenders and offer a switch. Typically, commercially successful fashion labels don’t preach; they penetrate a market with a wide product suite. Apurva did just the opposite. At No Nasties, a conscious underline is that consumerism needs responsibility, and a solution incorporated into the entire supply chain, strong-and-steady on ethics, values, and policies of fair trade.
With one office in New York overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, another in Sydney by the Harbour Bridge, and then by San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the view seemed pleasant from a distance. However, his outlook on life lacked depth and meaning. It took Apurva four years from his initial interactions in a very American accent with the Maharashtrian cotton farmers to turn his probe into a brand. He recalls Mahatma Gandhi’s words, happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony – that helped his exit from Deloitte and return to India.
“It quickly dawned on me that farmers had the solution at the ground level, with organic farming, trade, communities, and cooperatives. But they didn’t have wide support from patrons or communities”, adds Apurva. Alarmed by over three lakh farmer suicides in a span of 20 years, Apurva set to address the problem with No Nasties, to support the farmers, who have long been burdened with hefty debts, poor funding support, susceptible to unyielding weather, systemic setbacks, and poor health.
In 2011, he launched No Nasties as an organic T-shirt brand — one of the first to do so 15 years ago. Apurva shares, “It’s so challenging with like two or three new brands popping up every day in India. The online space is so crowded, but I think we’ve survived because we have an excellent community with excellent equity, and trust from our patrons”.
Building Culture, Not Just Clothes
In a society that is skeptical and cynical about organicity or carbon footprint, it is important to win over the audience from inquiry to trust. The long years investing in building connections have promoted a culture that answers all questions, will understand what 100 per cent organic means, how it is sourced, which communities is it impacting, and, more importantly, which brands are doing it.
Apurva shares, “We don’t want to just say this is us alone. We’ve always been part of collectives; long back we formed the Green People of India, a dozen brands came together across sectors”. No Nasties continues to engage with schools, colleges, clubs, and international avenues. He adds that the idea is to find the right people whom we can positively influence, but many times the right kind of people already exist.
Emphasizing that communications and marketing should be well integrated in a brand’s entire ecosystem so that it does not come out as preachy or a monetizing business strategy. Not every consumer needs to be taught. The consumers for No Nasties are urban, aware, and well-travelled. You give them a product that is honest, transparent, and ethical, and you will find a patron in them
The Industry Mirror
Growing interest in social media marketing has helped brands cut the chase and speak the right language effectively and directly to their consumers. Digital platforms have replaced the billboards, building consumer awareness, delivering accessibility, brand authenticity, and gaining a price advantage. What it is easily doing is popularising the right trends in consumerism, from times when consumers did not know how to spot polyester-heavy fabrics, to read apparel labels, to compare price metrics, how and whether credits were given to handloom and handicrafts, to times when everything is out there in the open for one to verify, try, and review.
Apurva speaks on the gap within the industry in standardization of practices, when one brand is doing it all: getting certifications and sharing process information in the open, versus the other using QR codes, which leads the consumer to no information, and sugar-coated marketing language to only lure. How, then, does the consumer understand which brand is authentic? How does it read certifications and understand systems? Apurva shares, “We’re one of the first clothing brands to be with Fair Trade India, but that movement is still picking up in India”.
The industry needs to establish better metrics to make consumers identify and evaluate a good brand. At No Nasties, he states that getting various certifications comes at a cost. No Nasties is constantly communicating its best practices. But what if one can assume that all are good brands and all follow the universal practices of fair trade, ethical production, and quality supply chains? What if it were the other way around? That industry sets parameters clearly defining what’s not a good brand or a good manufacturing practice, calls out a bad fashion label, then will it better inform the consumer? Apurva wishes for the industry to rethink how founders can start speaking the truth. Can a label tell its consumer, especially in the fashion segment, if the apparel is made by kids? Is there a way to verify that?
Sustainability's Reality Check
In this segment, Apurva Kothari reflects on the striking Indian conundrum: a vast landscape for conversations, comparisons, and exchanges, but distinct realities as well. He mentions that the talks one has as a fashion brand owner are very different. How he connects with his Goan communities differs from rural communities. On one hand, he is invested in leading a brand that celebrates culture, consciousness, and accountability, cultivating consumer behaviour to choose the right product, and to demand the right product all the time.
On the other hand, he draws an unfortunate but hard-hitting narrative that those who are farming cotton are not wearing it. The cotton farmers wear synthetic sarees sourced from China, for cotton ones don’t last and are expensive, while the other lasts longer and costs as much as 500 rupees. “My saree is going to last me ten years. That’s your reality, absolute reality. Financial sustainability is the first milestone for everyone”, adds Apurva.
Does one wonder why carbon-neutral coffee becomes a brand’s USP, or does the consumer stop to check at which step and how the coffee shop is achieving carbon-neutrality, Apurva questions. Also, Zomato delivery reads carbon-neutral deliveries and shipping, so the vocabulary is coming into practice. More and more is discussed regarding carbon offsetting, carbon footprint, ESG, and climate change. For Apurva, India needs to move fast, industry practices need to be organized, information to be transparent, communication prominent, and responsibility not a burden but a standard practice beyond audits and reporting.
The Future Bet
Fashion is witnessing many potential entrants across categories, from experimenting with innovative materials such as pinatex, banana fabric, tomato-skin leather, using them for apparel, bags and luggage, footwear, and automobile upholstery. Also, concepts of upcycling, de and reconstruction, monochromes, and others. Apurva is surely excited both in theory and in application, but he proudly says, No Nasties will always be the 100 per cent organic cotton brand. That is the original story.
Being in the sector for over 15 years has made Apurva value what drives purpose-driven brands, how to balance costs and invest in honest storytelling, and make it the marketing story. The same is his advice for sustainable start-up founders.
During Covid, he began transitioning No Nasties from a less bad to a reverse fashion brand. “We are actually reversing the carbon footprint with the three-step process. Using 3Rs and upcycling techniques to minimize the carbon footprint, using satellite imagery and data to measure it, and reverse the carbon footprint by offsetting 300 per cent of it, and planting three trees for every product purchase.” Besides supporting cotton farmers in Maharashtra, significant plantation work has also been done in Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, and other parts of the world. Apurva wants to explore new opportunities in India, be more regional on carbon-offsetting projects and bring new livelihoods for local communities. A project called ‘Once Upon A Doug’ hovers on his mind that he wishes to take up again; ‘doug’ means clouds in Marathi. It is an initiative to help women from organic-cotton farming communities earn supplementary income to support their families and children’s education.