The Network

GUNAS is an independent high fashion label with a cause! Started in 2008 by designer and animal lover, Sugandh G. Agrawal GUNAS’s heart and soul screams to be the voice of animals. Ethics and compassion are the inevitable future of Fashion. Design that affects the triple bottom line: People, planet ONLY then profit!

With an award winning design and business background, Sugandh quit her 7-year corporate career as an Industrial designer at KitchenAid to start her own company ofcruelty-free fashion in New York. Her mission was strong and clear. Animals are NOT meant to be a part of Fashion. We Can look and feel good without harming other living beings. We need to CONNECT our selves with what goes on behind the scenes.

An intensive yearlong research for the right fabrics, best leather alternatives, ethical manufacturing Sugandh started production of her first samples right in the heart of Manhattan’s Fashion District. With a modest collection of 8 STYLES, the label launched in the winter of 2009 at Nolcha, an event that highlights green designers during New-York Fashion Week.

Ever since its inception, the label has undergone tremendous evolution, discovering its true target audience and creating a niche for itself. What initially began as an all MADE IN NYC label, has now gone global to source and manufacture bags using artisans and small-scale ethical manufacturers from countries such as India, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong.

In 2011 Sugandh also started a small-scale studio in India to help local artisans enhance their craft while producing ethical, 100% vegan fashion. In 2012 the Ethical Fashion Forum in London, UK awarded GUNAS for being the best handbag brand in the category of ethics and cruelty-free.

GUNAS bags have received accolades and appreciation of several press and magazine editors including VegNews, Upscale magazine, Marie Claire, ABC news channel, Fox Tv, Times magazine, Organic Spa, Huffington Post and PETA.

The core of the brand remains the same:  High fashion. Zero cruelty™.