“What an old man sees while sitting a young man cannot see while standing, that’s how it is with Sahil,” said Mustapha, quoting an African proverb when speaking about Sahil.
This sentence came from Sahil’s long-time friend and business partner, Mustapha, when we interviewed Sahil Shah and his team of Hallah Activewear. Working from home does affect Hallah’s operations, but, from what we saw, the vibe of keeping on is really there with their team.
Sahil and Mustapha on the journey of making Hallah Activewear.
We believe that, as humans, we are all connected, and we all operate from a place full of love. Driven by the fact that the fashion industry with its fast fashion is the second most toxic industry, Sahil Shah, a former model, actor and adventure travel host, wanted to create a sustainable solution combining his love for a better earth and activewear.
According to the UN Environment published news, as the current fashion industry produces 20% of global wastewater and 10% of global carbon emissions—more than all international flights and maritime shipping—putting the brakes on fast fashion is a necessity. Therefore, the shift from fast fashion to ethically-made fashion is also necessary.
Not only that, but Sahil is also actively trying to redefine fitness and try to make a shift from ‘body image-oriented’ goals to ‘health-oriented’ goals. Supporting each other to be less sedentary in a world where everything is available at your fingertips. Hallah Activewear kills two birds with one stone by making you feel good about your body while making you feel good about the environment.
Hallah Activewear: celebrating all shapes, paved with good intentions to earth.
That’s why Hallah Activewear was born: to make activewear in an ethical manner. It sounds easy nowadays with many other sustainable brands, but it took Hallah a year to do proper due diligence, research its fabric, and find a proper ethical facility to produce their products, and capable of creating their merits with a good outcome. Sahil also has to make sure that these products are of the highest quality.
After a year-long search, Sahil and the Hallah team found the perfect fair trade facility that would allow them to produce this quality activewear from environmentally friendly fabric: a blend of geo-certified organic bamboo cotton. And Sahil felt that simply by choosing organic and natural fibres that do not require many chemicals to produce, the smart buyer can start benefiting the environment because there’s always a better solution for the earth.
He also encourages shoppers to buy only what they need, and mends and recycles older items. “One of the most responsible things we can do with our activewear is to make high-quality stuff that lasts for years, so you don’t have to buy more of it,” explains Sahil about his activewear.
“Sustainability as a marketing tool will go – inherent sustainability will stay” — Dr. Hakan Karaosman, fashion supply chain and sustainability expert.
The urge to live more healthily and his beautiful family drove him into perfecting the activewear material to be more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Hallah and Their Community
For Hallah, their topmost priority is their community. The supportive people, the movers and shakers, the eco-warriors who are on board with this mission.
“We are just proud to be not exclusive, but inclusive. We only have one body and one planet. If we are on the same page with that statement, then we belong to Hallah community. Because what we do with things, we only have one, we take care of it. So it is our mission to bring together this amazing bunch of people and share their stories about how they take care of themselves and their environment.”
Hallah Community.
Not only the Hallah community, Sithara Shah, Sahil’s wife, and her mom Padmini, have been amazingly supportive of this action. The core team of Hallah Activewear are the super seeds and the motivation of their work.
Sahil and Sithara Shah, with their beautiful baby daughter.
In Collaboration With One Tree Planted Organisation
Hallah Activewear collaborates with One Tree Planted to reforest the earth, with every purchase of its activewear will be donated to help plant 1 tree along the way. Since Hallah was launched on March 21st, 2020, together with the international day of the forest, they have already planted more than 300 trees along with their activewear sales.
With every purchase of Hallah, we are induced to become active and love our bodies, to transform our body by moving freely and reform the earth to be as it used to be: lush and wholesome. By choosing the right alternatives every day for ourselves and our planet, we move from unhealthy to healthy, from fast fashion to ethical trade practices, and from an unsustainable to a sustainable world.
“In the end, it’s not earth who needs our protection; it had existed far before we were born. And it’s gonna still exist far after we are gone. But, will we exist if we keep mistreating Mother Nature? I leave that one for you to ponder,” told Sahil Shah.
With Hallah Activewear, feel inspired to move, be comfortable with your own skin, and plant a tree for the earth altogether. Click here to find their products on our Social Marketplace.