This Ethical Slow Batch Kids Brand Shares Their Ethos For Sustainability Through Sri Lankan Roots & Ethics Within Cross-Cultural Heritage

We were so thrilled to interview the founder of Buddhika! Ayubowan shares powerful philosophies for her organic children’s line and is a beautiful advocate for cultural inclusivity.

Check out this interview:

When and why did you start Buddhika? What does the name mean?

We launched only recently, but I started working on the concept of Buddhika around two years ago. Doing things ethically and slow batch was actually difficult to do as the industry is not set up that way. I also worked around my kids. I had a little baby who woke often. I would be awake rocking, baby wearing her back to sleep…and researching and designing. So there were lots of stops and starts.

The idea for Buddhika grew very organically from my own life philosophy and experiences. I grew up in a family where we valued making of all kinds and that was full of fabrics. I’m also a lawyer, and even as a child, I would write complaint letters about environmental issues and campaign against animal testing. I became a vegetarian at 14, not knowing any others and at a time when people thought vegetarianism was ‘really weird’ and there was no ‘vegetarian option’. I’ve always been focused on unity in my own love of art and worked both professionally and personally in ways to reduce social inequality. These values combined - I wanted to make more meaningful clothes for kids, artistic clothes, that weren’t all so gendered in fit and style, that connected kids with the world of making and with nature and that were full of colour, light and soul. But most importantly, I wanted to make them in a way that brought about positive change to the world. Otherwise all we have is more pretty clothes. There is a fitting quote by Ghandi, “There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness”. I do believe you feel differently when you put clothes on your body that were mindfully designed and gently made; that through their creation brought good to the world. You feel connected. I wanted that for kids. 

Kids are wise and full of heart. As parents we can help them grow that. But it’s hard for parents as we are very busy caring for our kids and doing life as best we can. We don’t always have the time to research how things are made, what they are made from and every other little thing. It is our hope that Buddhika will make it easier for families that share our goal of inspiring tiny world citizens to make every day choices to grow kindness and love our planet. 

Buddhika is actually my own name :-). It’s my (Sri Lankan) Sinhala name… It essentially means ‘wisdom’ and has its origins in the Sanskrit ‘to be enlightened; to be awakened’. Our philosophy is about being in harmony; not in harm. Buddhika was a fitting name for our label, because to me, ethics and sustainability are all about a slow enlightenment process of continually finding wiser and kinder ways to do things so that people are harmed less; non-human animals are harmed less; the Earth is harmed less.

How do you define sustainability? 

Sustainability is living gently. When we live gently we consider costs – what did this cost me, what did it cost the people involved in making it and what did it cost the environment for me to have this? And then we work towards achieving balance between our own needs and possible harm that must be minimised – whether it be harm to another person, their culture and community, our planet or the non-human animals with whom we share it. 

In terms of how we bring that definition of sustainability to life in our brand, we try to make it easier for families to make sustainable decisions. We choose to make from sustainable fabrics (organic), choose eco-friendly or natural dyes and coconut shell buttons, work with social enterprises that care about fair working conditions and sustainability, choose minimal packaging and contribute towards preserving traditional and artisanal skills. We make clothes that give room to grow, take a cross-seasonal approach and make in very small batches. While we have them available, we are offering hand screen printed reusable bags to our customers because in Australia we are moving towards being plastic bag free and we know that many other countries are part of that movement too.

Does being a woman of color / person of color influence your brand? If so, how? 

Yes, it definitely does! Sri Lankans have been weaving for almost 3,000 years…Designing textiles feels like my heritage come alive. There is empowerment in doing something that links you to your ancestors thousands of years ago despite how different life may have come to pass.

Being a woman of color is how I experience the world. It is part of what makes me mindful of justice, equality and balance and I feel this is reflected in Buddhika’s philosophy. Perhaps it’s easy for me to understand why it’s so important that we pay fair prices to makers and for me to see the relationship between empowering communities and sustainability. Because many of the people who make the world’s clothes – they could be me. I know some of these makers personally. Our ancestors come from the same places. 

Thirdly, Buddhika designs are hugely influenced by me being a woman of colour and by my culture. I design the clothes and many of the motifs were hand sketched by me. I make a few items too. I just love sharing my heritage with others in a way that helps them experience it in a true, nuanced sense – not just the stereotypes or the simplicity which you gage from cursory encounters. My being Sri Lankan is definitely reflected in designs. However, I’m also Australian. I grew up here. So I see our designs as sort of an authentic fusion; an expression of intimate connection to both cultures. My husband is Latino and my exposure to his culture also influences design. I will ask, “How do you see this?” and he will add or change something or will have ideas that are very different to mine, so they are part of our style, too. I feel our family’s cross-cultural heritage and perspective is threaded throughout the look and feel of everything that is Buddhika. 

What are your hopes for the future of the fashion industry! 

I would love if fashion was to become an expression of good in the world. If the industry (not just a few within it) could move towards living gently with Earth and work to grow authentic and respectful relationships between designers, farmers, artisans, and wearers.