Behno's Shivam Punjya: 'I am a vegetarian but wear a lot of leather'

AN exciting made-in-India label is making its first entry into the country eight years since its launch. Behno, which made its debut in New York in 2015, is finally here. It’s armed with its delightful little pop-coloured handbags, and oh, Katrina Kaif as an investor and brand ambassador. How’s that for a launch? Not quiet, for sure.

Behno, which calls itself ‘the world’s finest consciously made handbags’, was started by a young healthcare professional. Shivam Punjya, pursuing a Masters in Global Health from Duke University, USA, was in India researching public policies on healthcare in India’s villages. “I was in Jaipur and Hyderabad working in public health and studying the effects of folic acid supplements on pregnant women. A lot of the participants in the study were textile workers. I got to know them and their world better,” Punjya, 34, tells me the day after his India debut.

Around the same time, the Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, had collapsed in 2013, taking with it more than 1,100 garment workers and injuring 2,500 more. “These women were very similar to the women in India that I was talking to. I knew immediately that I had to do something to improve their working conditions. There has to be a better way of manufacturing, a better way an industry can operate, employ, and engage with factory workers,” Punjya says.

He then decided to collaborate with a factory and aimed to redefine what manufacturing looked like. “I had moved to Tirupur to intern with a factory and noticed that garment workers were rarely a part of the conversation. I believe in a bottom-up philosophy,” he explains. This led him to discover The Behno Standard, which is a playbook of high level principles that factor in workers’ health, women’s social mobility, family planning and work satisfaction. Punjya says he works with factories that conform to The Behno Standard of practices. “This isn’t a cookie-cutter model, but factories that are open to making changes.”

Behno, which means ‘sisters’ in Hindi and is aimed at the economic empowerment of women, was first launched as a ready-to-wear fashion label. “Our accessories became very popular, so we decided to focus on them primarily,” he adds. Behno now identifies its core brand values as ‘new luxury’, an ethical label of handbags and accessories. “We believe in community. It’s
important to understand that people work better if we can all come together. We need to contextualise our businesses. And as a fashion brand, my community is my supply chain,” he states.

Punjya is founder and creative director of Behno. The label doesn’t manufacture itself but partners with factories in India that are open to improving their worker conditions. His design team designs the accessories keeping a minimal and contemporary vibe to the label. Behno sources from a tannery in Venice and one in Chennai (both are members of Leather Working Group that ensures ethical practices), but Punjya says he is moving towards transitioning to sourcing entirely from India soon. His cut-and-make factories are in India, one in Nashik and two in Kolkata, while some hardware comes from Japan.

Behno also promotes the Swedish idea of ‘lagom’, which means just enough. This respects quality over a consumerist greed and logo mania. “We believe you can have a phenomenal product with a beautiful design and a comfortable price point. Luxury does not have to mean super expensive. We need to understand our access to luxury must be just enough,” Punjya explains. “This is why we don’t believe in logos. Our signatures are our hidden details in our bags, like a secret code for our customers,” he smiles. “Luxury must be timeless, not trendy. An It-bag is something that stays in your wardrobe forever.”

Punjya also likes Behno to collaborate with other not-for-profit organisations. For example, his sister has Down Syndrome, so Behno designed a gorgeous little red ‘Nini’ bag, named after his sister, and shares profits with National Down’s Syndrome Society in the USA. Behno also took the assistance of the Muni Seva Ashram, near Vadodara, to come up with an MSA Ethos for factories to comply with. “I volunteered here when I was in high school,” Punjya says.

Leather is traditionally a man’s job in India, especially a Muslim or a Dalit worker, often a social outlier. How did Behno get women to join the trade? “This is a very nuanced conversation,” Punjya says. “Through our conversations with factories in Kolkata, we found that women were willing to come into the trade.

We invited them, as well as their families, to visit our factories and see that they were clean and safe spaces for women to work in. The factories invite and absorb women into the leather space, especially for edging.”

Internationally, leather gets a bad rap by vegan advocates and animal cruelty activists. But in India, leather is a source of livelihood for among the poorest sections of society. “I am a vegetarian but I wear a lot of leather,” Punjya says. “The beef industry globally is growing, and all that hide will probably go in landfills. All our leather comes from the food industry. Tanning processes must be accepted in order to be better organised. I’m not against alternatives to leather, but petroleum and plastic are not what can be called sustainable
alternatives,” he reasons.

Punjya says Behno will finally break even this year, even as it readies itself for institutional funding at the same time. Kaif, who got in touch with via social media he says, is a financial investor too. “We are excited, she’s a global citizen quite like me, and enjoys her fashion,” he adds.

He’s hoping Behno begins apparel again and can be a full-fledged lifestyle brand. He’s also hoping a garment worker can be a CEO one day.

Namrata Zakaria is a seasoned writer and editor, and a chronicler of social and cultural trends. Her first book, on late fashion designer Wendell Rodricks’ Moda Goa museum, is due to be published shortly. Zakaria is especially known for her insider’s take on fashion, luxury and social entrepreneurship in India. Her writing is appreciated for shaping opinions, busting myths, making reputations and sometimes breaking the odd career. Zakaria is also involved in putting together philanthropic efforts in the field of economic and environmental sustainability.

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