Soumita Basu and Her Journey to Provide Empowerment to the Differently Abled
In an interview, the founder of Zyenika, Soumita Basu said “empowerment comes from the ability to choose”. Zyenika is a clothing brand that caters to the needs of differently-abled people. She wants them to have the ability to choose. Basu is from Kolkata and basically operates from there. She uses an online platform that enables her to ship her product throughout the country. Her R&D started back in April 2018 and she launched her social media pages around August 2019. Basu started her business in January 2020.
photo courtesy: Christian Chandran
The brand Zyenika is about dignity, inclusion, giving people space to love and be themselves. She wants her customers to have a sense of equality and freedom to express themselves through clothes. Soumita tells us “this is what we are trying to do through clothes. We try to design clothes so that our consumers from all kinds of bodies and abilities can easily wear what they want to wear and look stylish too”. At the same time Zyenika is trying to get artisans, tailors and suppliers from marginalised communities. The motive behind this is to give the artisans and weavers livelihoods and opportunity to uphold their resilience and dignity.
Day to Day Business Operation
Everyday the company faces a new challenge regarding the designs itself. There are various obstacles that require to be tackled from all perspectives. The company is constantly trying to streamline their processes so the benefits can be enjoyed by both the consumers and the suppliers as well. Soumita tells us that they have a team of textile engineers, mechanical engineers, physiotherapists, apparel designers, the karigars, the tailors, fabric suppliers & weavers. Together as a team they ensure that they are good inhabitants of the planet. They are focusing on upcycling of wasted fabric or pre owned cloth by finding ways to achieve a sustainable approach for their products.
Obstacles Faced by Zyenika
Soumita tells us that the biggest obstacles faced by Zyenika can be associated with the stigma around the word “disability”. One of constant obstacles is the struggle of people who are trying to fit in. Due to the pandemic, the company had to bring about certain changes in their functioning. Soumita points out that their buying pattern has also seen certain changes. currently with the pandemic not yet subsided, they are planning to go with the flow. She says “with any good business, the idea is to move with the time. Even if it’s a pandemic. We can’t really call it an obstacle… that’s just how life is really.”
Vision of the Company
The vision of my organisation is very simple. It is to go towards life full of equality, dignity and making sure that we create a space that benefits everyone. Not only for our customers but also for our suppliers. To ensure that their livelihoods are respectfully taken care of. Ensuring that differently abled people have the basic need of clothing in the most dignified way.
P.C. – Gray Matter
Psychological Impact
“The psychological impact is huge” says Soumita, ” I mean just think of yourself as being completely ostracized… how would you feel?” Basu says that a majority of people feel the same way. Therefore she points out the need to create space for differently abled people so that they feel a sense of belonging. Where they can be happy and feel associated and be happy to be a part of life.
Future Endeavours
Soumita let’s in on the research that they have been doing on inclusive inner wears. “We cannot really talk about independent dressing without addressing the part of inclusive innerwear gap out there”. She tells us that the research is on and hopefully by the fall 2021, they will be able to launch it.
The hope is to reach more people with not just functional and comfortable but even stylish clothes. In addition, her brand is trying to make sure that comfort and style don’t become exclusive of each other.
In conclusion, she says “You cannot look stylish unless you are not comfortable. Comfort is the foundation of confidence. You have to be comfortable in your skin, you have to be comfortable in what you are wearing. Being comfortable is important. We want to bring that together. Therefore, we have to shake the idea that Style and comfort are the two ends of a spectrum.”
We suggest you also read about Kalpana Saroj’s Journey from a Child Bride to a Million-Dollar Entrepreneur
Sonal Singh
Hello, I'm Sonal Singh. hope you liked the article. do comment below and let me know what you thought about it.
