E7 | Banofi Leather

Banofi Leather is a sustainable fashion startup converting banana crop waste into plant-based leather. Based in the leather district of Kolkata, the company combines cutting-edge material science with the scrappiness you’d expect from an early-stage business. My guest, Jinali Mody, is the Founder and CEO of Banofi. She started building the company as a student at Yale University and won the Hult Prize in 2023 for her efforts thus far! In this episode, we cover:

• The value chain of sustainable fashion

• Jinali’s experience founding Banofi as a student at Yale

• Why Banofi is currently a B2B company

• The paradox between durability and sustainability

• The consumer’s responsibility in making fashion more sustainable

Resources

• Connect with Jinali on LinkedIn

• Connect with Shreyas on LinkedIn

• Jinali’s take on the need for consumers to be more forgiving: link

• McKinsey podcast about sustainability in the fashion industry: link