From Factory Floor to Global Impact: How EcoFash is Making Sustainable Fashion Affordable for Everyone

In an industry where “sustainability” is often a high-cost luxury reserved for global brands, one leader is rewriting the rules. Chandra Mohan, founder of EcoFash, is on a mission to democratize the green revolution, making sustainable practices accessible and affordable for the small and medium-sized manufacturers who form the backbone of the fashion world. His innovative approach is bridging the critical gap between cost, quality, and circularity, proving that true impact starts from the ground up.

A Journey Forged in the Heart of Manufacturing

Chandra Mohan’s expertise wasn’t cultivated in a classroom but on the bustling factory floors of China’s textile industry. After graduating as a textile engineer in 2007, he spent over a decade immersing himself in every aspect of production, from fabric sourcing to garment management. A pivotal moment in 2018, where he learned about recycling PET bottles into fabric, planted the seed of a new purpose. However, it was the global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic that propelled him into action.​

Tasked with creating a sustainability department for a billion-dollar company, Mohan dove deep into the subject, eventually earning a Master’s in Sustainable Business Leadership from the University of Leeds. This experience illuminated a fundamental contradiction: “If you want to be sustainable, you have to do less business. If you want to do business, then you cannot do sustainability,” he explains. He realized the key was not to choose one over the other but to find the perfect, practical balance.

A Mission of “Sustainability with Affordability”

During his studies and industry work, Mohan identified a glaring problem: the entire sustainability ecosystem, from high-priced consultants to complex lifecycle analysis platforms, was designed for top-tier brands. These left thousands of smaller manufacturers, the MSMEs with no viable path to join the movement.

This insight became the cornerstone of EcoFash. “Our motto is sustainability with affordability,” Mohan states. Launched in 2023, EcoFash was built to serve the underserved manufacturers in hubs like China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Egypt. Its genius lies in a unique business model: a for-profit textile trading division financially supports its sustainability advisory arm, which operates as a non-profit initiative. This allows EcoFash to deliver world-class guidance at a fraction of the standard cost.​

For a mid-sized Indian exporter, hiring a qualified sustainability manager could cost ₹2,00,000 per month. EcoFash provides its expert advisory services, including strategic planning and performance benchmarking, for just ₹30,000 a month.

Practical Solutions for a Complex Industry

EcoFash’s power is in its pragmatism. Instead of demanding massive, costly overhauls, the team focuses on low-cost, high-impact changes tailored to each manufacturer.

• Smarter Certification: When a client was asked to create a Digital Product Passport (DPP), a potentially expensive process, EcoFash devised a cost-effective strategy. Rather than measuring the entire supply chain, Mohan advised them to use certified upstream materials like Birla’s viscose, which already comes with validated environmental data. “Your measurement cost also goes down,” he notes, simplifying a complex requirement.
• Making Recycling Viable: True circularity through textile-to-textile recycling remains a challenge, often adding a 30-40% upcharge that brands won’t pay. EcoFash is working with recyclers to optimize the value chain and reduce this premium to a more marketable 10-15%, making recycled fabrics a real option for mid-market players.
• Targeted Impact: EcoFash helps factories identify the most significant sources of their environmental footprint and start with the “smallest expense possible” to make a tangible difference.

While Mohan acknowledges the “harsh reality” that mass-market brands will often prioritize a 20-cent price reduction over a green initiative, he remains focused on empowering the manufacturers. By equipping them with the knowledge and tools to become more sustainable without breaking the bank, EcoFash is building a resilient, inclusive, and genuinely impactful foundation for the future of fashion.