Supporting artisans in Pakistan: sustainable clothing brand Purple Impression

As I dig deeper into the Linkouture brand and what it represents, I realize it’s much more than a small business selling handmade jewelry. It’s about wanting to live in a world where women think about the impact they have on the world, educate themselves about the companies they support, and make intentional purchases.

It’s why I share with you companies such as Purple Impression, a fair trade clothing company that is built on inclusiveness, fairness, transparency, and being eco-conscious.

The first line of Purple Impression’s ethos really spoke to me: “We don’t see ourselves as simply selling clothes but spreading values and ideas that they represent.” 

Drakshan Khan, the founder of Purple Impression, is here to share a little more about her company.

Photos courtesy of Purple Impression

Tell us a little about your company.

Purple Impression is a sustainable, artisan made brand using high fashion to provide employment opportunities for women in Pakistan. By fusing the traditional hand embroidery from one of the oldest cities in the world (Multan, Pakistan), their designers in San Francisco are able to create exclusive, hand crafted pieces while preserving this dying art.

Each garment comes hand signed by its maker often showing the construction through videos. By adding a face and a name to every piece, they take you on a journey across the globe, creating a sense of connection which adds meaning to your wardrobe.

In line with their commitment to sustainability, they are working with natural, Eco recycled fabric, using hand cutting techniques to ensure minimal to zero waste, utilizing selvage edge within the design and incorporating creative embroidery techniques to use leftover fabrics. All in hopes of leaving a better planet that can be enjoyed by all.

What makes your company sustainable/eco-friendly? What inspired you to create this type of business?

Fair Trade and being able to provide a sustainable income for our artisans is our core value. Having said that, we also value the environment and continuously improve our operations to be more earth-friendly. We are striving to include more sustainable practices from production to packaging. Like working more with recycled environmentally friendly fabric, using hand cut techniques to ensure minimal to zero waste, utilizing salvaged edge within the design, incorporating creative embroidery techniques to use leftover fabrics and always packing with sustainable materials.

I believe that the Rana Plaza incident* was the tipping point for me that lead me to dig deeper into how the fashion industry operates and its impact. I was shocked to hear about all the labor exploitation and this had a particular effect on me because I grew up seeing women artisans do back breaking embroidery work for fashion for a pay not enough to even put food on the table. This motivated me to change things and we started the Ethical Stitch project based on the values of fair trade.

*The Rana Plaza incident was the deadliest garment-factory incident, killing over 1000 and injuring approximately 2500. 

What tips or advice would you offer to someone who is trying to live a more eco-friendly/sustainable lifestyle?

I believe that even a small change in our lifestyle is a leap forward to a better world. A small effort to switch to a reusable bag can prevent more than 22,000 disposable plastic bags from going into landfills. Change will come If we decide to make better choices and I want people to know that even a small change does matter and has an impact.

Favorite sustainable /eco-friendly company (other than yours!) 

People Tree in UK. I am a big fan of Safia Minney. I draw a lot of inspiration from her journey in the industry and she continues to inspire us to do better, dig deeper into the supply chain and keep improving.

videos: https://www.purpleimpression.com/pages/videos

Check out Purple Impression’s gorgeous line of sustainable and Fair Trade clothing, including tunic dresses, shirts, and hand-embroidered scarves, as well as videos with some of their artisans. You can follow Purple Impression on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Drakshan:

Drakshan wants to live in a world of social justice and women’s equality. She studied Finance and Economics from Kent State University, Ohio and proceeded her career in banking as a Marketing Strategist for a design firm in California. Her unique background in Economics coupled with her passion for women’s development lead to the vision of using meaningful fashion for the benefit of those making it.