In episode 221, Kestrel welcomes Roopa Pemmaraju, the founder of her namesake label, to the show. A slow luxury fashion brand, with an emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, Roopa Pemmaraju’s collections celebrate Indian crafting techniques that have been handed down for hundreds of years. “We don’t buy fabrics in bulk or we don’t create the products in bulk. If we have an order today, that’s when my atelier back in India would create that product, so that’s why we ask our customers or our retailers to give us that much of a time, so that we can create this product with integrity and the right way and the right fabrication that we require to create that sustainable brand.” -Roopa Pemmaraju, Founder of Roopa Pemmaraju On this week’s show, Roopa shares more on her past story and what led her to build her own brand. She and Kestrel also dive into more of what slow fashion means to Roopa’s brand, and how she defines it in her work. Additionally, Kestrel asks Roopa if and how she sees the Farmers Protest in India intersecting with the work she is doing, with much of her sourcing (including cotton) and manufacturing taking place throughout the country. Roopa never uses plastic in the beading or embroidery work on her products, so often they have to specially make glass beads or other notions that are plastic-free Manpreet Kaur Kalra, educator who has shared detailed information on India’s new agricultural bills and India’s Farmers Protest Follow Roopa Pemmaraju on Instagram >