CLOTH HAUS APPARELS MATCH GLOBAL STANDARDS: ADITYA AGARWAL

Cloth Haus was born in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, with a vision to deliver apparels designed for the Indian sensibility, of superlative quality, and in a reasonable price range. A domestic brand from the Aloka Exports’ house, Cloth Haus was a carefully crafted name. It is meant to highlight the company’s commitment to explore the full potential of cloth, and pay homage to its 40-year affiliation with Germany in ‘Haus’ – meaning home in German.

Aloka Exports, the parent company, is a 35- year-old export house that has worked with brands succh as H&M, Zara, Marc O Polo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor, J.Jill, Marks & Spencer, Monsoon/Accessorize, Esprit, Benetton, Oliver Bonas, Next among many others. It successfully executed production and export for the 2008 Olympic Scarf branded by Next & Adidas.

Responses by Mr. Aditya Agarwal, Director of Cloth Haus spoke to the Fashion Value Chain on some practices and approaches of the company. Excerpts:

Ethical manufacturing practices initiated by Cloth Haus

Cloth Haus products are manufactured in BSCI/SEDEX audited units run by its parent company. This implies that workers are paid wages as per government laws, work 8 hours a day for 6 days a week. They are also entitled to overtime payments, social security benefits, leaves and a safe and secure work environment with timely payments. They are treated fairly and are not overworked or exploited in any which way. Child labor is prohibited.

Sustainable approach adapted by Cloth Haus

Cloth Haus manufacturing facilities are GOTS, RCS, GRS, OCS, RWS compliant. These are international standards set by Textile Exchange to ensure that the product is traceable back to the farms/mills where the fibre first originated. It ensures that fabric is made chemical free, without exploitation, in fair working conditions and under responsible conditions.

Cloth Haus’s tribute to the textile legacy in India

India is known for its natural fabrics and traditional techniques of block printing, screen printing and tie & dye. Cloth Haus’s tribute to the legacy is to keep the vibrancy of India alive by modernising these techniques with the use of latest technology and the best fabrics that the country has to offer. We use digital printing combined with brocade fabrics, cotton fabrics, embroideries and other additional works to make our products feel innately Indian.

Expansion plans with respect to new launches

We will be presenting a new range of garments in the next 2-3 months for the winter festive season. We will also be live on a few more online platforms in the coming weeks.

Current fashion & sales trends in the industry

Honestly, fashion has become very individualistic, and people are not following trends so much. We also do not believe in fast fashion and want to offer styles that are evergreen and everlasting in terms of style and quality. We do not want to encourage fast fashion and unsustainable consumerism. We want our customers to wear our products for years with satisfaction.

– ADITYA AGARWAL