"There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger & unhappiness" - Mahatma Gandhi

At VAAI we believe that the fashion we bring to you should be produced in a socially responsible manner that favours the planet and its people. Here's what we are doing to make sure that you can purchase a beautiful VAAI garment with a clear conscience. 

Slow-Fashion

The collections are kept small and produced in limited runs. This way majority of pieces are sold with little leftover garments after the season is over. Minimising wastage, minimising the need for sales which leads to overconsumption. We do offer a made to order service where certain styles have run out and are meet our customers needs. Slow fashion is about consuming and creating fashion consciously. Making beautiful, well-made and lasting clothing (as compared to fast fashion). We endeavour to design styles and use fabrics that are transeasonal, meaning they can be used all year around.

Natural Fabrics and Small Batch Textile Production

Over two thirds of our collection are produced using natural fabrics including silks, cottons, GOTS certified organic cotton and linens. For example our AW18 collection used the "Silk of Peace" also known as Errandi silk, a signature fabric from Assam, India that allows the silkworm to undergo its natural life cycle.

One example of keeping our carbon footprint low is to work with British textile mills. The woollen fabric that was used for our checked wool trousers and sleeveless gilet for AW21 was woven in one of Britains last vertical textile mills and the quantity of fabric was made to exactly our meterage requirement thus also minimising waste.

Supporting Small Production Units and Local People

During COVID we worked hard to move our production to the UK, over 90% of our production now occurs here in Twickenham, UK. This reduces our carbon footprint and supports British business. We do still work with our artisans in India and ensure that they are paid a fair wage and enjoy good working conditions, with regular breaks, good lighting and facilities.

In our pledge to empower women, we are proud to mention that some of our embroideries are carried out by a local underprivileged woman previously unemployed with some sewing experience. We are nurturing her talent and creating opportunity for her. The commisions are costed at London living wage.

Our Future Aims

We continue to implement new strategies to be socially responsible. Please get in touch should you want to see our in-depth sustainaibility mission. As the business continues to grow, we want to be more traceable, continue to use natural and AZO-free dyes, reduce our carbon footprint further. We continue to work closely with our production units to ensure that fabric waste is kept to a minimum.