About the Company Journey in a nutshell 1983: Anita began her business with 2 sewing machines in her balcony 1995: Founded And Designs India Ltd. with her sister Meena Sehra and brother Mukesh Sawlani 2015: And Designs India Ltd. re-branded as House of Anita Dongre Ltd. and new eco-friendly headquarters established at Rabale, Navi Mumbai 2018: Company has its commercial footprint across 1200+ Stores (Exclusive + Multi-brand outlets) across India and a Store in New York USA, e-commerce presence; Employee Strength: 2,500+
Anita s Philosophy on Economic Empowerment We need to empower our women by providing them sustained, gainful livelihood opportunities in their own villages, without them having to migrate elsewhere. We provide employment opportunities to skilled artisans under our brand Grassroot; and we train unskilled labour through our foundation, by setting up community centres in their villages and also provide them employment opportunities. Both these initiatives are undertaken in their own villages. This is the single-most powerful driving force and guiding philosophy for me
Anita s Philosophy on Sustainability As a nature and animal lover, and a vegan, I feel very strongly about our impact on the environment. The fashion industry is the second largest polluting industry in the world and therefore sustainability is the need of the hour. At the House of Anita Dongre, we are striving to be sustainable and are making firm efforts to reduce our environmental footprint.
Sustainability Overview House of Anita Dongre SUSTAINABILITY PLANET PEOPLE Green Design Head Quarters Sustainable Fabrics Waste Management Animal Welfare, Cruelty-free fashion Skilled Artisans Taking employment to their villages Unskilled Labor Training them in Community Tailoring Units & bringing employment to their villages * NOTE: Employment and/or self-employment aimed at providing sustained, gainful livelihoods
THE BRAND STORY Born out of the need to provide steady opportunities to India s skilled artisan communities, Anita Dongre Grassroot interprets heirloom traditions from the heart of Indian villages into contemporary, sustainable fashion for the globetrotting woman
REVIVE SUSTAIN EMPOWER Anita Dongre Grassroot revives and sustains the dying, forgotten crafts and weaving traditions by providing a consistent platform for artisans across India We collaborate with a network of NGOs and also work directly with artisans to empower them with fair wages and pride, helping create better livelihoods
CRAFTS Uttar Pradesh Chikankari Rajasthan Block Printing Gota patti Dabbu Zardozi CRAFTS West Bengal Katha Gujarat Bandhani Ajrakh printing Aari Embroidery
WEAVES Uttar Pradesh Chanderi Silk Brocade Gujarat Bhujodi Jacquard North-East Collaborating in APONIR project with IMG Reliance & UNDP WEAVES Telangana Ikat West Bengal Jaamdhani Fulia Madhya Pradesh Maheshwari
KEY CHALLENGES Cluster Initiative Remote Interior locations with connectivity issues, logistics difficulties Garment Turnaround time ~ couple of months Need to train artisans in adapting to market requirements viz. contemporary designs, styles, colours, trends etc. Consumer awareness & willingness to pay a premium for fair wages to artisans Need for training dyers on azo-free dyes, techniques
CSR Community Tailoring Units Skilling & Livelihoods: Women Empowerment
CSR Community Tailoring Units Skilling & Livelihoods: Women Empowerment State: Maharashtra District: Palghar 1. CHAROTI 2. JAWAHAR 3. DHANEVARI
# W0men CSR Community Tailoring Units Skilling & Livelihoods: Women Empowerment OUTREACH: NOS OF BENEFICIARIES SCALE-UP PLAN 90 80 70 60 50 40 25 20 # of Community Tailoring Units (50 in 3 yrs) 20 20 30 20 10 0 # Women Trained or being Trained # Women Working 15 10 5 10 Charoti 83 49 Jawahar 71 60 Dhanevari 30 0 # Tailoring Units 2018 2019 2020
CSR Community Tailoring Unit Key Outcomes & Impacts: Charoti Recent Internal Survey Findings 96% report increased self-confidence 88% report increase in respect by families 63% report increase in respect by community or society 62% report enhanced decision-making power in family matters 42% report regular monthly savings Earnings used for: House Repair, Building Toilet Blocks, Buying Mobile Phones, Clothes, Jewellery, Educating children, 2 Wheeler (on loan EMI), Sewing Machine, financially help relatives in times of need/distress
KEY CHALLENGES Cluster Initiative: CSR Community Tailoring Units Scaling-up: Credible, professional skilling agencies to effectively deliver quality, customized training on the ground in a cost-effective, timely manner Post-Training Hand-holding, Capacity Building & Leadership Development of women Channelizing Govt. Scheme funds for funding infrastructure (capex) & skilling women at Community Tailoring units
INPUTS FOR CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT & EMPOWERMENT For consideration by Industry Further deepen engagement with clusters to revive, sustain our art, crafts & empower our artisans Capacity building of Clusters : Compliance - social, environmental matters, financial inclusion, managerial capabilities etc. Strengthen digital or e-commerce platforms to connect brands, clusters, customers Educate the masses on responsible buying to provide sustained livelihoods to our artisans
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