OBT LIFESTYLE LLP

In their own words

ORISSA BY TANIA (OBT) Orissa by Tania (OBT) is a passion project born out of love for handloom. Odisha is rich in textile art which techniques dating back centuries. Unfortunately, it is a dying art as weavers are opting for more lucrative options, hindering this age-old skill from being passed to the next generation. We ethically source our fabric directly from the weavers- many of whom are in remote tribal areas unconnected to civilisation. OBT's ethos is to be more than a fashion brand. We are focused on revival. Our mission is to produce modern and comfortable silhouettes while increasing awareness. The result is organic, stylish clothing that provides sustainability to the artisan and the art. OBT works with Ikat, Kotpad and also the Kapdagonda made by the Dongaria Kondhs in Southern Odisha. The Kapdagonda shawl has motifs from the natural world like mountains, the sun and elements from their day-to-day life hand-embroidered on it and takes many months of painstaking work to finish. Culturally these were used in courtship rituals and are extremely important to the community. There are a few things that set us apart from other handloom initiatives even though we feel the handloom sector needs to stick together because demand creates supply. and there are plenty of artisans that need support. We want to continue to make Odisha proud - nationally and internationally. OBT has its distinctive style and sensibilities that people are recognising and associating with us. We practice the 'make slow, shop slow' mantra as that is the need of the hour given the colossal amounts of natural resources used by fast fashion brands. We believe in treating the artisans fairly and remunerate his asking rate while trying to price the product competitively. This has been a challenge for us as handloom is expensive. Left-over fabric is used to come up with childrens' clothing, Obi belts, placemats, bookmarks and other lifestyle products like bags. We even made rakhi’s this year that can be used as hair ties. The point is to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible and celebrating handloom sustainably.

Written by the company on its public Startup India profile. Not verified by us.