JIWYA

Production locations

• Nashik, India

JIWYA thrives on a close-knit community, with production conducted out of their home in Nashik. The heartbeat of the brand lies in the hands of more than 100 artisans scattered across the country, each recognized for their craft. All are State Awardees, with 18 National Awardees and 10 Padma Awardees (the highest civilian honour in India).

Working Conditions & living wages

JIWYA selects its artisans on the basis of their accolades or their authenticated craftsmanship, and the founders visit each artisan in person rather than working at arm’s length. 
During these visits the brand shares safety recommendations aimed at improving working conditions, and in turn learns from the artisans’ deep historical knowledge of the craft. JIWYA works with traditional designs and techniques, asking only that every design be made using natural materials, and supports the artisans in sourcing these. Once the fabrics have been handcrafted, they travel to JIWYA’s headquarters, where seamstresses turn the designs into finished garments.

Materials

• Cotton
• Linen
• Jute

Packaging

• The brand uses locally manufactured unbleached cotton for their packaging and care-labels. 
• Choosing potentially compostable bio mailers, recycled cardboard, and truck transportation, JIWYA creates a supply chain aligned with environmental responsibility. 

Water usage & chemicals

JIWYA works only with natural materials, including rainfed, locally sourced cotton from hand-woven sources. The brand avoids cotton mills and instead preserves this traditional craft. It also uses other natural materials such as unbleached linen and jute fibre. For fixtures, the brand makes design choices that avoid plastic components like zippers, velcro or elastic. The founders, who share a textile background, carry out the material sourcing themselves, and dye the garments with plant-based dyes.

JIWYA carries out its own quality checks, including strength tests and verification that only natural fabrics are used. In these early stages, the brand is working towards certification.

Conducting water recycling in their backyard is a shared ethos with all of their artisan partners. 

Circular product design

This brand uses monomaterial clothes making the garments easily recyclable at the end of use. 

They also collect scraps during production, and upcycle them into new clothes for a new collection. 

Circular business models

As of 2024, JIWYA has introduced the Re:JIWYA programme, which offers customers a lifetime subscription for the repair, revamp and reintroduction of all JIWYA clothing. This provides several ways to extend the life of a garment, whether through repair, recycling or upcycling it into a new design. This flexible model is designed to keep garments in use and out of landfill for as long as possible.

Distance & complexity of the supply chain

• Production: India 
• HQ: Nashik, India

The brand is located in Nashik, India, and conducts all of its sourcing all the way through to the raw materials from within India itself. This keeps the supply chain very short. 

Transportation

They also avoid transportation methods with high emissions, sticking to truck transport. 

JIWYA does not use any animal products, and has obtained the PETA Vegan certificate (2024), making them a vegan brand.

Product design

JIWYA offers customizable designs for a better fit. Detailed sizing allows for custom measurements, tailored to the individual customer. This also means fewer garments are returned, and together with the durable materials and care tips, including free consultations on garment repair, it helps keep each piece in use for as long as possible.

Slow fashion processes

At JIWYA, slow fashion is a hands-on approach that runs through every step of sourcing and production. The founders oversee each stage themselves, keeping the process in line with the way they want the brand to work. When challenges come up, they step in directly, assisting the artisans or taking on tasks themselves to protect the integrity of the craft.

Transparency on product

On JIWYA’s product pages, customers learn about the material composition, the craft technique used, the making time in hours, who made it, the product-level environmental figures the brand reports (carbon footprint, plus its own estimates of water and electricity saved and plastic prevented), the Re:Jiwya end-of-life options (repair, revamp, reintroduce, upcycling or composting), and care instructions.

Transparency on processes

JIWYA has traced the origin of its cotton down to the individual artisan, identifying exactly where each one sources the raw material. As part of its collaboration with COSH!, the brand shared detailed documentation of its supply chain, including a full process flowchart, giving a clear view of how its garments are made.