Few things come close to evoking national pride as the Army uniforms would, but which not all of us have access to. Now imagine carrying bags made out of old, discarded uniforms.
Thankfully, such bags are not limited to imagination, having been manifested into the realm of reality by husband-wife duo Siddharth Jaiswal and Suchi Jaiswal under their brand Sepoi, that’s derived from the Hindi word ‘sipahi‘ or soldier. The Sepoi was founded in 2018 after the couple chanced upon news that army uniforms were misused by miscreants masquerading as soldiers. Following plenty of research and brainstorming, the brand was born, addressing several causes at different levels.
Their mission did not stop with preserving the honor and grandeur of the Indian soldier. Commendably, the brand employees artisans from across the country, shares 15% of the profits with Army and Women welfare NGOs, thus contributing towards empowering the underprivileged. It must be noted that the bags themselves help to reduce waste from landfills as well as further the cause of sustainability. This also helps to curb any potential illegal activities with such uniforms.
The process starts with collecting surplus uniforms through friends and their website. They then treat the fabric and design the bag, outsourcing the actual production. The wide range of bags, high on the style quotient, also employs leather and army tent fabric; just a couple of things that ensure sturdiness and longevity. They are affordably priced at under INR 3,000, filling a niche void in the market, and fashionably instilling values embodied by the base material. Even the zip pulls feature the tricolors. Look closer, and you’ll find the tricolor stitch on all bags! The final product is packaged using recycled material as well, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to repurposing at every stage of the production cycle.
Their mission, bags and the ‘Carry with Pride‘ tagline are a befitting tribute to the unparalleled sacrifices made by our soldiers. These are truly well crafted bags with an inclusive and sustainable purpose. Wishing them success with their crowdfunding campaign so we see more of these bags in a plethora of designs in the mainstream markets!
The bag concept seems wonderful, tribute to nation and fashion.
the bag design and utility is well explained
Thanks