Today marks the launch of Zayn wa Noon, a sustainable clothing and accessories brand that showcases the diversity and mystique of global language in its designs. Inspired by the diverse heritage and globetrotting experiences of its two founders, the company's product line includes stylish, colorful t-shirts and bags -- each featuring a witty foreign language phrase or expression. Zayn wa Noon products are available online at www.zayn-wa-noon.myshopify.com
Zayn wa Noon’s purpose is to make this world a better place by connecting people through designs that highlight the fun in Arabic specifically, but also feature languages that don’t usually get top billing in English speaking societies. Most designs are translated into Malayalam, Tagalog, Spanish, Hindi, French and Russian. Future plans include using Amharic, Xhosa and Finnish.
Zayn wa Noon is really happy to be doing something that they love and in a way that promotes eco-conscious living. Their mission, in addition to never becoming corporate-like and stuffy, is to design and source sustainable, high quality products and stop people from over-consuming cheap, shoddy fashion.
With very little to no knowledge of how to even go about launching a retail business, the two partners set about finding a supplier for their first product: re-usable tote bags that are manufactured sustainably and don’t use polluting dyes. After a long search, they found a Dubai based, woman-run company that sources sustainable bags made by two families in India. This finally allowed them to start producing a couple of their favourite designs that are colourful, funny and delightful and, thankfully for Zayn wa Noon, selling well. The bags are soft, strong and durable so the quality is unquestionably high.
“I love working on the designs once Zayn comes up with the content,” said co-founder and Chief Designer Noon. “As Arab and Western women, we are in the business of building bridges, not walls. It’s what drives us.”
Zayn, co-founder and Chief Marketing Crone, added, “Please stop buying cheap stuff as this only adds to the strain that the world is under. Over-consumption is killing all of us. It’s better to invest in high-quality, sustainable goods and buy less of them. Obviously, you can start with us, but there are a lot of good, small businesses that have a conscience and aren’t named after a fruit or an age limit that you can buy from. Try it.”
Zayn wa Noon was started in Dubai, UAE and is now based in Toronto, Canada. When products are shipped to customers, local distribution hubs in the US, Europe and Dubai are used to decrease the transportation distance and hence the carbon footprint associated with it.