Madhu Vaishnav: Saheli Women

Madhu Vaishnav started Saheli Women, an NGO in rural Rajasthan, in 2015 with only 10,000 rupees. What began with 5 women and a small budget has grown into a social enterprise supporting more than 100 women artisans through garment production and skills training, creating steady livelihoods.

The Founder Who Refused to Stay Small

Madhu grew up in a traditional household and spent years as a homemaker before becoming a teacher and later a social worker. She worked with vulnerable communities and eventually decided to build change herself.

During a visit to her husband's village, she noticed that many women owned sewing machines but had no income and that is how the idea for Saheli Women came alive.

The hardest challenge was convincing families to let women work outside the home. She spent months visiting households to earn their trust and address their fears.

(Image credit: Saheli Women)

Saheli Women: Production That Respects People

"Since day one, we have put our workers first, striving for ethical fashion that generates a sustainable income for our female workers and their families."

And this is how Saheli Women is structured. In most fast fashion systems, workers are forced to meet high volumes at the lowest cost, with unstable pay and long hours, like what we saw during the Rana Plaza collapse, where unsafe conditions and cost pressure led to disaster. The goal here is to put workers and artisans first, creating steady income and dignity for the women making the product.

Saheli Women follows slow fashion and makes limited quantities to support steady work for their communities and keep environmental impact low. They have minimum orders per style, with different sizes and colours, so they can work with both small and large partners without overproducing.

Madhu is part of the UN Conscious Fashion & Lifestyle Network, showing her work at a global level. Saheli Women has grown to support over 100 women artisans through skill development and now even provides benefits like maternity leave. They work with artisan communities and create sustainably made garments with international fashion partners.

A Different Model for Fashion

Many brands talk about empowerment, and we see how garment workers are exploited in fast fashion factories. Madhu Vaishnav has put her soul into a sustainable business model with so much passion where women can be makers with a sewing machine. Their livelihoods are the reason the enterprise exists. And this is what ethical fashion looks like when it is made for people.