Scrunchies make a sustainable fashion return

The statement ‘Fashion repeats itself’ is proven right with the sudden comeback of scrunchies; a statement hair accessory of the 60s. The elegant hair accessory is high in demand in the Nepali market at present. Hence, social media sites are flooded with online stores selling them.

What is interesting about this particular comeback of a fashion item is that it has become sustainable. Most online stores that sell the accessory today, make them on their own from scratch or fabric from clothes they already own. Scrunchies are easy to make and do not consume much time.

21  year old Ayusha Bajracharya fell in love with scrunchies as her mom used to make them for her. “She would always make them for me in different fabrics and in different sizes. I have a huge collection of it”, she says.

She used to gift these scrunchies to her friends and cousins and saw how happy it made them. So she came up with the idea of selling it to people. In July 2020, she started ‘@allthelittlethingsstore’ on Instagram and Facebook where she started putting scrunchies on sale.

When Bajracharya started her business, there weren’t a lot of people pursuing it. As the lockdown progressed, many people were intrigued by the art of scrunchie making. Slowly, it became a means of earning some money for a lot of youth.

@ _ flembessence_ is one of the many online stores that sell handmade scrunchies. The 18 year old student who runs the store got into making scrunchies after they finished graduating high school in 2020. “I have always been good at DIY projects since my childhood. I always wanted to try out my skills”, they say. “After high school graduation, I had a lot of free time and I decided to utilize it”, they added.

Bajracharya believes that scrunchies are back in trend since it may be nostalgic for a lot of people and may be comforting to them in many ways. “Scrunchies do not damage your hair unlike regular rubber bands”, she says. “It is very simple yet very stylish”, she adds. Scrunchies were quickly accepted by the youth who are opting for sustainable fashion these days. Both store owners get their fabric from local fabric stores around the valley.

Being small businesses, orders are not always consistent for both the online stores. Bajracharya says, “Some days we are loaded with orders and someday we don't. It depends”.

With the growing number of stores selling scrunchies, competition is high for everyone. However, Bajracharya doesn't see them as competition. “We haven't viewed other scrunchie stores as our competitors. It's good to see people stepping up and selling handmade scrunchies”, she says. “We sell our products with great care and love and that's the reason why our customers trust us and come back”, she adds.

Like any other business, this small business also faced issues during the lockdown. Even though they were getting many orders, there was no way for them to deliver the products. @ _ flembessence_ had to shut down the business completely during the second lockdown. Bajracharya on the other hand bought fabrics before the lockdown and spent the time creating more and better products for her store.

Both the entrepreneurs received great support from their friends and family when they started their venture in this direction. “My family is the biggest motivator. Without my mum helping me make these beautiful scrunchies, and my dad helping me out in making packaging bags and cards, my business would not be where it is today”, Bajracharya says.

Bajracharya started her business with just scrunchies. She has added long ribbon scrunchies, headbands, tote bags and face masks in her store now. “We also want to explore other handmade products and clothing in the future”, she says.