Art has been Supriya Shirsat Satam’s passion since childhood and the idea of “what a forest is” has always enchanted her. After pursuing her career in engineering and marketing for a few years, she finally chose to follow her passion and embarked on a sustainable journey in 2019 by establishing her Mumbai-based brand FOReT, a premium eco-friendly and vegan fashion accessories brand that uses cork and banana bark to make a diverse range of accessories. “FOReT means ‘forest’ in French. As a child, I always used to draw trees and imagine what a forest would look like. When I went to Spain a few years back for a trip, I had the opportunity to go for a morning drive in the forest and it was a magical moment for me. The experience stayed with me. So, when I wanted to name the brand, I could only think of the forest. Forest has a powerful influence in our life and for me, that was the inspiration,” said Supriya.
Innovation lies at the heart of the brand and its nature-first approach got it recognised with the PETA Vegan Award for Fashion in 2022. Their products, made for adults and kids of all genders, reflect the ethos of simplicity, diversity, and sustainability by popularising the use of repurposed plant-based materials instead of the ones sourced from animals. “Fashion, we say, is one of the biggest contributors to pollution. Largely, because of the use of synthetic material. So, when I started searching for materials, I came across cork and started working with cork for creating things for myself, like handbags that I could carry to work. The tree bark-like texture of the cork was an incredibly beautiful material for me and developing the brand came through that. We wanted to create more choices in natural fabric. The thought was to create stylish eco-friendly products which people can include in their day-to-day life — we started with limited-edition jewellery and gradually moved to other products and materials. Our whole idea is to largely work with designs where we can keep our inventory and raw material in check,” said Supriya.
Presently, FOReT’s product range includes trendy wallets, laptop bags, handbags, and jewellery for all that are apt for creating fashion statements while being an eco-conscious shopper. Talking about the process of making these unique products, Supriya said, “The process starts with an inspiration, maybe a colour. We work with natural materials and upcycled materials, and we bring them together, depending on the design inspiration. We work with a lot of sustainable materials, like ceramic stones to embellish our jewellery. It is all handcrafted in our studio in Mumbai and some cork materials and products are designed in Europe. For the banana bark products, we work with rural women and follow their knowledge. We work with the weavers that are familiar with such material and we build our design based on that. It gives them a sustainable income and at the same time they are able to add our modern design element to their work. We support 250-plus artisans, including rural women and expert artisans globally.”
While the cork and banana bark bring an edgy rustic charm to the products, metal adornments and ceramic embellishments add a classy touch to them by making the products more fashionable and wearable for various occasions and daily use. “My engineering background helped me to design the products despite not having a formal education in designing. All jewellery comes with a magnetic lock for convenience. The banana bark is dried and converted into smaller ropes and then these ropes are woven or crocheted to form the product and for interiors of the bag we use handloom cotton. It is our way of promoting various crafts. It is not only about design inspiration but also how we can push various materials to be more versatile for each product. For example, our iconic banana bag. It is our top seller. The shoulder pad of the bag can be removed and can be used as a bracelet... both the bracelet and the bag can be used independently. These design innovations make our products more sustainable,” explained Supriya.
Talking about the highlights of their creations, the cork and banana bark, Supriya said, “Cork as a material is hypoallergenic, water resistant, dust resistant and skin-friendly. It is safer than plastic which is usually used in kids’ jewellery. The cork fabric grows in the Mediterranean region. Called ‘nature’s leather’, it resembles a wooden bark. Both cork and banana bark are eco-friendly and durable. No extra care is required for the products, except for being careful to not go swimming or bathing in these.”
The brand presently operates only through its website —foretstore.com — and works based on partnerships in a few niche markets. ”We first wanted to take the brand forward through our website because we wanted to tell our story and now that we have been able to do that, we are looking for partnerships and collaborations to take them offline and online. The whole rationale behind the brand was to talk about style and sustainability together. Today, people believe that only if one is eco-friendly, only if one follows a sustainable lifestyle, or only when one transitions into that phase, is when one will adopt products like these. But that is not true. We want to break that myth about eco-friendly products. Our products are styled in a way that they transcend beyond these categories and one can use them later. One can use them for the office, a wedding function or a party or dinner. We don’t want that alienation that comes to fashion when one is choosing eco-friendly. It is our humble way of transcending people to move towards brands that are more eco-friendly and sustainable so that we can create a future which is far more inclusive,” said Supriya, founder, CEO and creative director of FOReT.
(l-r) One of FOReT’s bestsellers — the banana bark sling bag made from the crocheted twines of the banana bark. The product is finished with cork accessories and embellishments. Removable cork bracelet, accessorised with stars on banana bark bag
(l-r) White cork cord earrings with ceramic and gold-toned metal embellishment.
An adjustable cork neckpiece with silver accents and ceramic beads.