good day! how are you?
recently i've gotten quite a few messages, and comments on websites like
wanelo.com, stating or asking why purusha clothing is 'overpriced'. trust me, it is hard to see a comment that says, 'lol. all their stuff is sooo overpriced.' because: A) i want my clothing to be accessible to the masses and B) this is the most fair price i can sell at at this moment. i would LOVE to sell purusha pants for $50. LOVE.
so this post is really to address exactly why my clothing is 'expensive' (at least in comparison to a few other brands). the first point i'd like to mention is the sad reality that we as consumers have grown very accustomed to fast fashion at low prices. stores like h & m, forever21, american eagle, etc are counting on us to buy more clothing that is trendy and not well made so we will be back for more in 6 months, once the trend is over and the seams are falling apart. i am not an economist, but i think it is safe to say that we as americans have noticed prices going up pretty much everywhere. food, gas, body products, rent, etc have steadily risen. yet clothing prices haven't changed much. i can still head into the gap and buy a tee shirt for about $10 on sale, the same as i did in high school. and i think we all know why these prices are artificially low, because the clothing is made overseas in countries where we can get away with paying workers 10 cents- 90 cents an hour. workers in china where there is no regulation for environmental harm to the earth or the people, mostly women that work 12 hour days in harsh factories. and honestly, i am sick of hearing the statement, 'we give them jobs.' no. we could give them better jobs, pay them fairly, yet we don't. because we don't have to. and most corporations only care about profit, not making a long lasting positive impact on the world. and with american unemployment at 9%, i think it would be best to buy american made, to provide decent jobs for our own people.
so that's my little rant there. on to the good happy stuff!
many of you know this already but purusha clothing is made 100% by myself and my wonderful seamstress nadya in LA. all fabrics are bought locally in downtown LA. nadya sews everything, i dye and screen print everything. both of us, out of our own apartments. we yoga pants dealers meet once a week under the freeway (lol!) and exchange clothing and fabrics. all my tags, emailing, marketing, shipping is done by me. i am absolutely not complaining here, i love my life and my work, but this is why my prices are somewhat high. because everything is made one by one. if/when i begin manufacturing my stuff in factories in LA in larger quantities, i will most likely be able to lower my prices.
i just want you all to know that my prices aren't what they are because i'm trying to see what i can get away with. or anything like that. i adore my customers, and would never ever take advantage of you. my two passions are clothing design and caring for people. my employees' and my customers' happiness is a weight i feel very honored to carry. there is no satisfaction in the world better than pleasing customers with my products and an experience, and providing employees with a happy work environment. sometimes i consider never manufacturing in a factory, because i want to keep my employees close to me and have control over how well they are treated. i won't be able to lower prices as much then, but i love the idea of creating a purusha family. i'm also going to start selling purusha at wholesale prices to shops, so this is another reason why prices had to change. purusha needs to grow in all directions.
i hope this all makes sense. last week when i was home visiting my family in CT, one of my best friends christa, said the kindest thing to me (she always says kind things though! hehe). she said, 'purusha is so pure. it's all love, and goodness, and not tainted with anything bad.' something along those lines. this is all i've ever wanted for my brand. no hate, no negativity, no sweatshops, no taking advantage of the earth or people. i want it all to be good and pure, so when you buy purusha you feel nothing but bliss. not that sinking feeling in knowing you bought something that may have been ripped off from a small designer, or that was made my slaves. only compassion, lightness, gratitude, and love. that's where it's at.
i truly hope to continue to serve others in a beautiful way for the rest of my life. and never at the expense of others. so this why purusha is what it is. namaste.
