Three years building a sustainable brand in India. Here's what the numbers actually look like.

Three years ago I started MaLeeMa with one question: What if banana farm waste could become something valuable?

Today and I'm sharing this because I think more small brands should talk openly about their actual numbers:

70+ active weavers in our network
100+ women trained across Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uganda
Products listed on Brown Living and Suspire (both have strict verification)
Banana fiber yarn supplied to brands across India
Zero plastic across our entire supply chain from day one

We're not a big brand. We're a small team in Bangalore running a supply chain that goes from banana farms to finished products. What I've learned: The hardest part isn't making sustainable products. It's making them consistently, at a price that works, while actually paying the people who make them fairly. We're still figuring that out every day. If you're building something similar or thinking about it happy to talk about what's worked and what hasn't. No pretending this is easy. It's not.