Leaders

The rapid population growth has a severe impact on various sectors such as food, fashion, climate as well as even the necessities of humanity. The only way to mitigate the challenge of resource conservation is by adopting a sustainable lifestyle. After working for around 14 years in the fashion industry, Thasneem Masood Rowther realized the true impact of the fashion industry on sustainability. To fulfill her childhood dream of having her brand as well as providing employment and motivation to our traditionally rooted sustainable craftsmanship Thasneem co-founded the sustainable fashion and clothing brand Rossbelle. Apart from Rossbelle, she is also the co-founder of the clothing brand Vapor as well as House of Kimyrah, a brand that explores Indian craftsmanship through handlooms, handicrafts, and so on. In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur, Thasneem shares about her early educational journey and prior industries experience, her expertise as of veteran Fashion Industry Leader, and much more:

What are some important features of your expertise as a fashion industry veteran and an advocate for sustainability that you want us to highlight through the article?

I call myself a Mindful Sapien and love to observe how everything in life is so gracefully interlaced with nature and the people around us. My love for sustainable fashion grew as I realized the scope of impact that the fashion industry had on the environment. As the Chennai Coordinator for Fashion Revolution India, I advocate to create a transparent, clean, and fair fashion industry by educating consumers and young designers regarding the importance of asking #whomademyclothes and #whatsinmyclothes. I also have a podcast, named THE MINDFUL SAPIEN, which aims at educating how mindfulness can help the shift toward a more sustainable lifestyle. My goal is to influence the lives of millions of people to be the best that they can be by developing success from within and making sustainable choices a habit only to become Mindful Sapiens, thereby making the world a better place.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

I always had the aspiration to start my entrepreneurial venture since I was 13. I started my career at FabIndia, where I fell in love with the brand for its vision of celebrating ethnic products and craftsmanship of rural India and its constant endeavor to bring what they love most about it – glorious traditional handicrafts to customers all over the world. Excelling in the very things I waspassionate about helped me gain the ability to conceptualize and bring ideas to life creatively. My love for sustainable fashion grew as I realized the scope of the impact that the fashion industry had on the environment. Having garnered over 14 years of experience in the fashion industry and with an in-depth understanding of the principle, merchandising techniques, and the ability to infuse ideas to energize a brand, I now aim at preserving the rich heritage of our country and its handicrafts through eco-friendly brands by creating a base for skilled and sustainable employability in the supply chain.

What motivated you to establish Rossbelle? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the brand and its unique features.

I am someone who believes in 'live and let live'. The biggest problem lies in the irony of the fast fashion system, which is one that’s still rooted in consumption. Buying more clothes, no matter how 'sustainable' they are won’t help the environment. Tonnes and tonnes of used clothes go off to landfills when 95 percent of these discarded clothes can be recycled or upcycled.

Our traditional crafts and deep-rooted skillsets are dying due to people in rural areas moving to urban areas to attain better employment and amenities. I took it as an opportunity to co-create brands that would help keep our craftsmanship alive while making consumers more ethical by educating them to cause as little damage to our planet as possible. Now, I see a lot of people shifting to handmade products and a sustainable lifestyle which is a very positive thing. As an organization, our vision is to create a circular economy by minimizing fashion wastage and ensuring environmental, social & economic sustainability by creating a base for skilled and sustainable rural employment. At Rossbelle, it’s more than just creating beautiful products. We understand the impact each product has on the environment.

Throw some light on the various roles and responsibilities that you shoulder as the co-founder. What are some of the most pressing business challenges that you face in your current role and how do you mitigate them?

As the Co-Founder, starting from strategy to finance, marketing, and day-to-day operations, I am involved in almost all aspects of business operations. Initially, I used to handle operations but presently I am focusing more on brand building and scaling. Coming to challenges, we face challenges every day in terms of getting up to speed with the job, keeping the team motivated, and guiding or managing stakeholders. As a leader, my vision is to build an organization and culture that would be strong enough to stay in the game for many generations to come. To mitigate the challenges, I help my team to figure out a way to advance toward the vision of our future rather than looking for short-term fixes.

“When you purchase sustainable clothing, you are making a conscious decision to purchase recycled clothes or an ethically manufactured piece”

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been the driving force behind your success as a business leader?

One of the major milestones has been to carve a niche in the Indian fashion industry while concepts such as sustainability and upcycling were still at nascent stages. While the primary focus of Rosebelle is to become a beauty and cosmetics brand focusing on women, we also have a clothing brand, named Vapor, which is going to focus on men's clothing also with plans to add kids' clothing in the future. We also have another brand, named House of Kimyrah, which focuses on exploring the craftsmanship of our country through hand looms, block prints, handicrafts, and so on. Our primary aim has been to create more sustainable employment through these brands.

Being a resilient team player who believed in a collaborative and inclusive approach, I have always been passionate about fashion and believed in my vision. Being persistent and a continuous learner helps me figure out ways to get the work done and has been my success mantra.

Thasneem Masoodrowther, Co-Founder, Rossbelle

Thasneem has almost 15 years of experience in the fashion and retail industry and is the Co-Founder and Director of several fashion and beauty brands like ROSSBELLE, Vapor, House of Kimyrah and Ayursutra. Apart from being the Chennai Coordinator for Fashion Revolution India, she also runs a podcast named THE MINDFUL SAPIEN, which aims at educating how mindfulness can help the shift toward a more sustainable lifestyle. Her vision is to create lifestyle brands that explores Indian craftsmanship through handlooms, handicrafts, and ayurveda through which she aims to take the rich culture and heritage of India to the global millennials.