Enterprising Mom Has Built A Sustainable Clothing And Accessories Brand
What good are bundles of unused fibres and pieces of cloth discarded in the garbage pile? Why not utilise them to create something new? That is how Mumbai’s Bhavini Parikh founded a sustainable clothing brand Bunko Junko — an eco-friendly design company that up-cycles waste textiles into sustainable apparel and decorative accessories. She encourages women empowerment through her company, having struggled to accomplish something of her own and create her mark as a woman entrepreneur.
In the name Bunko Junko, Bunko translates to our creativity and decorating skills, whereas Junko refers to the discarded textile junk scraps that enable us to make clothes, accessories, and aesthetic décor. To support women, our brand majorly employees female employees from around the country, so that they may earn a living and find their place in the world.
About the founder
The mom founder has worked for several companies in her 29-year long career—mostly in fashion, with big brands like Shoppers Stop. She never thought she would start up something of her own. Bhavini’s daughter showcased some of Bhavini’s garments and designs in exhibitions, which garnered a lot of attention. That was the moment when her daughter had the idea of creating a brand for her collections, and shared it with her.
Soon enough, the mompreneur quit her job and finally launched her brand on a limited scale in 2009. Building from scratch for over 10 years to date, she has consistently delivered quality, and thereby created a name for herself in the market.
A sustainable clothing brand
Bunko Junko’s headquarters and factory are located in Goregaon, Mumbai, where they manufacture stylish yet sustainable clothing. The company has four full-time employees, and a few part-time working women who take the embroidery work home and deliver the finished products. Thousands of textile materials from factories end up as trash, and Bunk Junko has access to these high-quality, original, and unused textiles on a chargeable basis. These are further utilised to create sustainable clothing, garments, and accessories like bags, pouches, cushion covers, curtains, among other things. They have sold over 20,000 pieces through B2B and B2C clients. In cities like Mumbai and Bangalore, the company also stocks items in offline retail outlets.
Market
According to Bhavini, producing things from scratch and keeping the brand up to date online are significant challenges for the company. For them it is relatively difficult to generate a similar product out of the same material or colour-combined waste. People buy what they see and what is accessible right then and there. This makes exhibiting the items offline a simple chore for the company, given their concept. Bunko Junko also offers customisation services for all their products.
While many businesses have gradually begun to focus on sustainable living, no one is solely and totally devoted to up-cycling, especially from new and unworn clothing. Bunko Junko is the place to go if you want to buy such sustainable items.
Lockdown was a crushing blow for the brand because they had no other means to make money beyond selling masks. The manufacturers were unable to profit since the brand’s sales had decreased drastically. However, she supported the workers with necessities like groceries in order to lend a helping hand.
When asked about her next big milestone, the founder says,
We are targeting at partnering with more than 200 retailers in less than a year. Also, our objective is to store our items in malls, and we may offer franchises in the future.
Surely, ‘I Boss Mom’
It may appear easy, but being an entrepreneur as a mother requires a lot of work; the road is difficult when you have to manage everything on your own. From the very beginning, it hasn’t been easy for the founder. When Bhavini selected home science as her major, others teased her, asking, “Do they teach you how to make chapattis?”
And then, after getting married in 1978, she worked from home since her daughter was her top priority. Soon after taking up various hobbies like culinary lessons, tutoring, creating art and crafts, the mompreneur realised they weren’t enough to quench her passion. With an abstract idea in mind, she contacted a merchandiser and ordered 100 pieces of hand embroidered work in one day. She eventually allocated the labor to other ladies on a pay basis to assist her in creating those products. Overcoming the various obstacles in her path, she came up with her venture after gaining experience and confidence.
This courageous mother has steadfastly pursued her ambition to attain her life objectives despite having no domestic support other than her daughter.
Before becoming a commercial pilot, my daughter assisted and motivated me in my career. She’s flying right now because that’s her passion. Challenges will be there in front of you, whether in work or in your personal life. But, if you believe in what you’re doing, people will follow and appreciate you for it!
