Plant-ing her feet in fashion world

In conversation with first generation entrepreneur Anjana Arjun about her venture that makes plant-based handbags using cactus and fruits such as apple

There is a popular adage, ‘If nothing is going your way, create your way’; 27 year old Anjana Arjun has done just that. Though growing up she was interested in sports and even captained the soccer team, she always fancied arts and fashion. She somehow knew that fashion was her calling. She pursued her Bachelors in fashion from Lasalle College Singapore and further went onto study fashion marketing at Parsons in New York. Part of her curriculum included her creating a business idea from scratch and pitching it to investors. This ignited the spark of entrepreneurship in her.

After returning to India she tried looking for an apt job in the fashion industry. Nothing seemed to be going well for her. That only further added fuel to the spark of entrepreneurship. This is when she decided to start something on her own. She wanted to make sustainable fashion more interesting as opposed to being limited to mostly materials comprising linens and jutes. In plant leather lay the solution she was seeking. This led to the birth of Sarjaa, a sustainable fashion company.

To begin with Arjun has created bags with pineapple, apple, and cactus leather. For those wondering how this is done, Cactus is dried and mixed with organic compounds to derive the material. Apple waste from juicing industries is being upcycled whereas pineapple leaves are weaved and sown into a usable material.

“I’ve always been into sustainability. I just wanted to not ever contribute to the fashion pollution side. Ever since I was in college I would do a lot of research on different kinds of sustainable materials that are being used in the world. Also my dad and I love animals. It’s so much easier to connect with animals than connecting with people. So doing this came very naturally to me,” says Arjun. While Arjun initially wanted to create apparel because of her love for dresses, she later realised that it’s good to start off with something small when working with different materials and that is why she chose to start with bags.

Having researched for over two years with the team, building a sustainable brand was indeed a challenge. So what goes into making one of these bags that ranges from around Rs 24,000 to over 40,000? The bags are handmade in Hubballi, Karnataka. They use 70% post-consumer recycled nylon zips, recyclable aluminum, pure raw organic cotton, and very little organic dyes. “We do place ourselves as a plant and fruit-based company; we don’t call ourselves vegan. We as a brand are trying to be extremely transparent, I would call ourselves only about 70 to 80% sustainable. No company can be 100% sustainable especially in the market gap that I’m trying to bridge. We’re working towards having more materials that are highly sustainable,” adds Arjun. Arjun also worked with a mehndi artist Nafla Suleiman to create a mural-like sketch that in a way represents India.

So what were the challenges she faced as an entrepreneur? Real-time money transactions and having to fill pages of documentation was indeed a mighty task. But with covid, having to work with designs virtually and having to send prototypes back and forth while keeping a clear mind throughout the pandemic was the biggest challenge. Coming from a family of actors, how did her folks react to her taking the entrepreneurship route? “It wasn’t anything new to them; this was going to happen at some point of my life when I moved back to India so when I told them they were supportive. My mom was anxious, happy, thrilled, and nervous but I think we all just stayed calm and collected,” says Arjun.

For those wondering what the double ‘AA’ in Sarjaa stands for, it’s her name and Sarja is also the name of a tree which if grown and protected promotes a really long life. Arjun wants to further explore innovative high tech high sustainability and create apparels to home décor. She wants to represent India and take her brand global.

And just because this question must be asked, we ask — Would Arjun ever venture into the cinema industry? The answer is a no, at least for now. “I’m always rooting for my sister and my dad in the cinema industry. I’m very interested in the backend of the movie industry so maybe one day might try my hand in direction/ working as an assistant director or photography,” signs off Arjun.