Mora Laree pushes for sustainability

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 16, 2017

As Jeevitha Manimoly’s brand Mora Laree steps into its second year, she is working to make the production process yet more sustainable in terms of both workers and materials.

As sustainable fashion becomes more and more popular for designers and customers alike, an increasing number of brands are embracing it. Jeevitha Manimoly, an Indian designer who predominantly showcases her work in Malaysia, has been taking steps to make her brand more sustainable. Where it is increasingly common for designers to use sustainable textiles, Manimoly is also pursuing creating a sustainable work environment for her seamstresses.

“We pay our tailors based on the market rate for each garment. We do not make any profit from their work because if we do it will become very pricey, or we will have to negotiate with their pay. We also work with housewives who work from home and have increased their wages as they were charging below the market rate,” said Manimoly. As the fashion and textile industry is known for sub-standard wages, this is a strong statement.

“We try to be hands-on with every production stage to make sure we know what we are making and who is involved and where we source from,” elaborated Manimoly, “Our products are designed, hand-drawn, and screen-printed by hand. We try to handcraft as many elements as possible for our designs. The tassels and buttons are also handmade at times.”

Jeevitha Manimoly launched her brand, Mora Laree, in October 2016 with a collection called Inori which she showed at the Malaysia India Fashion Festival. The brand recently launched a jewellery line called Paro to accompany their clothing and international orders for products can be made through their social media sites.