SHALINI SHETH AMIN

Shalini Seth Amin is the founder of MORALFIBRE - a company that aims to create conscious environmental products. They reinvented the "Khadi" fabric in contemporary style. MORALFIBRE has been short-listed for the Ethical Business award by the Ethical Fashion Forum. Along with promoting Khadi to meet the modern fashion needs, the business also offers a new twist with a touch of the old practice. Shalini soon identified a market for khadi in the growing zero carbon footprint and clean technology movement. The hand-spun cloth comes with great quality and is sustainable. With a fashion statement, the notion of social responsibility has also been addressed in her company model, with 75 percent of profits given to a charitable trust, Sah-Unnati Foundation. The fund is used by the organization to train artisans in innovative khadi manufacturing techniques and to increase research on old khadi production methods.

What is your favourite word?
Reinvention. You must reinvent the product. People always need to reinvent themselves. Innovation happens when someone renovates themselves. Khadi is such a traditional fabric, but today it's contemporary in style. That's happening because people are coming up with new perspectives to present something. New perspectives towards anything come through reinventing yourself.

What was the moment in your life that made you Blossom into the person you are today?
There were several turning points that made me who I believe I am. It is the inner voice of my dear aunt - who brought me up - that guided me in making many positive choices all the way. Giving is as satisfying as receiving, work with detachment, honesty to myself, commitment towards the community as a trustee are some of them. Padmashri Indumati Chimanlal, my aunt, worked with Gandhi, was a freedom fighter and an educationist. She worked for women empowerment and for the Khadi movement and it's ethos at the grassroots level all her life. She set up the first Khadi shop in Ahmedabad. I feel that my work is my small contribution and dedication towards her and many other torchbearer women like her who made us who we are.

What would you want the young boys & girls to learn from your journey?
Support the artists and support the handmade. That is the conscious leadership to take up as an individual in the society. There is something called ESV we have in our organization. It stands for Environmental Saving Values. We work with an agency that measures the number of trees we save through metrics. Every time our product is purchased, that individual contributes towards saving water and other environmental aspects. This phase is to gradually educate and explain the beneficial environmental impact by taking one step at a time and making them more conscious even with minor actions.

When we invest in a product, we must consider what it means to ourselves, as well as what it represents to the world and the environment. We attempt to establish these principles and I would like the young ones to do the same. Contribute, consciously invest in the appropriate things, and educate people on how they may have a beneficial impact on the environment by taking little measures.