Jiwya: A Gap To Business, Focused On Cleaning Up The Fashion Space

The couple — Aishwarya Lahariya and Adhiraj Shinde — are weaving the future of sustainable fashion.

This couple-to-founders journey started when they dealt with a disheartening experience. This experience led them to find a significant gap in the market.

With a ground-breaking idea, they set out to address this gap. The best part of their Story is that instead of ignoring the gap, they saw it as a world full of opportunities. With a clear and unwavering vision, the husband-wife duo started their entrepreneurial journey toward making cleaning the fashion space. They built a thriving business, Jiwya, a 100% plant-based luxury fashion brand that champions sustainability with every thread.

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Visionary Minds Behind Jiwya

Meet the visionary minds behind Jiwya, Aishwarya Lahariya, and Adhiraj Shinde.

The female founder, Aishwarya Lahariya, is a textile scientist, a second-time founder, and a first-gen entrepreneur. She brings a decade of expertise to the industry. With roots at Cornell University and ICT Mumbai, she is on a mission to make sustainability more than just a buzzword.

Science, strategy, and sustainability—Adhiraj Shinde brings them all together. As a textile scientist and co-founder of Jiwya, he is blending science with sustainability to reshape the future of fashion. As an alumnus of North Carolina State University and the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, he is driven to optimize the startup's techno-commercial strategies while forging powerful industry collaborations.

What started their entrepreneurial journey from seeking out a gap, the couple turned into success. Their journey serves as an inspiring example of how vision, resilience, and strategic thinking can lead to remarkable success with an eco-luxury brand redefining sustainability with style.

A Startup Wake-up Call

After completing their studies, the couple were enjoying their high-flying corporate career in the USA.

However, as they navigated the industry, with years of hands-on experience in the textile industry, the dug-deeper couple realized something was holding the industry back – it was stuck in its old ways. The industry was slow to change.

Eager to make a change, the couple suggested a better chemical for the fabrics. Despite their suggestions to use more sustainable chemicals for fabric production, their ideas were often dismissed.

This frustration ignited a spark in their hearts. They knew that the fashion industry was responsible for nearly one-third of global pollution and carbon emissions. The realization hit hard and became a wake-up call—what they had been doing contributed to a much bigger problem.

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Couple To Founders:

Fuelled by this awareness, they made a bold decision: they would leave behind their established careers, back to India, and launch something that mattered—a fashion brand that championed sustainability and environmental responsibility.

And so, the idea for a non-polluting, eco-friendly fashion brand was born, setting them on a path to change the way the world looked at fashion.

The couple left behind their high-flying careers and moved forward, starting their entrepreneurial journey. However, the path to success wasn't as simple as it appears: leaving a secure job and choosing an uncertain future was based purely on belief.

Notwithstanding, they didn't restrict themselves, spread their wings, and set out to touch the heights of the sky.

Concept To Creation

Embarking on a journey of sustainable fashion, the couple went back to India with a commitment to clean up the fashion space.

The plan was made, but turning a concept into reality was not a cup of tea. Working around the clock, brainstorming day and night, initial challenges, and a little fair about the decisions. However, taking a leap of faith, Aishwarya and Adhiraj stepped forward, being ready for a fresh start.

Finally, in 2023, the visionary minds — Aishwarya Lahariya and Adhiraj Shinde — launched their startup, Jiwya.

Jiwya: Offering Sustainable Clothing

Based in Nashik, JIWYA is a 100% plant-based luxury fashion brand that champions sustainability with every thread.

Founded in 2022 by textile scientists Aishwarya Lahariya and Adhiraj Shinde, JIWYA offers eco-friendly apparel made from natural, biodegradable materials like cotton, hemp, bamboo, and more. However, the commitment to sustainability goes beyond just the fabrics; every component of their clothing, from coconut shell buttons to upcycled strings, is carefully sourced to ensure no plastics are used.

This environment-friendly and non-polluting fashion brand also strives to raise awareness about the textile industry's environmental impact, using its platform to educate and inspire others to embrace conscious fashion choices. The startup proudly celebrates Indian craftsmanship, creating luxurious, plant-based fashion that speaks to both style and sustainability.

The couple's journey reflects the power of vision, resilience, and strategic thinking, showcasing how stepping out of one's comfort zone can lead to remarkable success.

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