Today we’d like to introduce you to Hemali Gupta.
Hi Hemali, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I immigrated to the U.S from India, 12 years ago and always wanted to have a successful activewear business because I have always been naturally athletic and played basketball up to national level in India and I also love fashion, especially active fashion (activogue).
In India, we lived a very sustainable life. Clothes that I wore there, were locally made using natural fabric which was also sourced locally. I remember my father said that his shirts and trousers would last him for almost 20 years. Even our food was served on banana leaves which we would later compost.
When I came to the USA, things were completely different, most of the western clothes are imported which is up to 97%, also most of activewear apparel are made of synthetic fabrics which is basically plastic. Production of such clothing uses more water, more dyes, and more chemicals which are detrimental to the environment and ultimately to our collective health and well-being. Hence my vision and foundation of our company is to create an activewear line made of as much natural and organic fabrics as possible using the least amount of pollutants such as chemicals, dyes, and greenhouse gases while treating our suppliers and manufacturers with highest ethical standards.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Starting and running a business in a competitive market is never a smooth road. From coming up with brand name, logo, website, photographs, articles, suppliers who align with our mission, weekly marketing campaigns and the list goes on and on. It is an uphill journey where you put in a lot of effort but you don’t see instant results. That is the thing with startups, results take time to materialize. You have to maintain the morale, keep up the effort and look at tomorrow with enthusiasm and hope. But at Activogue, that is the challenge we embrace. Our calling is to offer high-quality products which are good for the environment and good for people. That is what keeps us going.
We’ve been impressed with Activogue, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Activogue our mission is to redefine active fashion wear to align with our converging values that heal our divides, unite our hearts and allow mother Earth to heal for our future generations to come.
We offer high-quality and eco-friendly activewear which are sustainable and ethically made. We try to source local products as much as possible because sourcing locally reduces carbon footprint, reduces waste, and helps us support and promote local businesses.
We strive on using organic cotton, natural fibers, and recycled polyester as much as possible because it aligns with our mission and vision of sustainable fashion.
We have worked very hard on finding right suppliers because high-quality products ethically and sustainably made is at the core of our mission. Our supplier and fabrics have met international sustainability standards and share similar vision and value as our company.
We thank you for joining us in this journey and we hope to inspire you to live a more simple and sustainable life which improves the quality of life for everyone on our planet.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I am fortunate to have many friends and family members who mentored me with working on business model, marketing, search engine optimization, etc.
Networking is without a doubt important but in these days of rampant social media and aggressive influencer marketing, we have found that word of mouth marketing is still alive and effective. Think about this, you are more likely to buy a product that your friend/co-worker or family member has used and can vouch for. That is our favorite model of business. At the same time, we also welcome influencers. We encourage you to contact us at info@activogue.com and are excited to work with you if our values align.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@activogue.com
- Website: activogue.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/activogue/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/activogue
Image Credits:
Kalpana Vyas
Prakash Gupta
Hemali Gupta
