With Nepali clothing brands becoming increasingly fashionable of late, the domestic apparel industry is riding the rising wave of sales. Increasing demand for Nepali garments in the local market has made Nepali apparel manufacturers upbeat about the business. 

The growing attraction towards locally produced apparels is due to the Nepali motifs that reflect and promote indigenous art and culture. Apparels featuring local motifs are high in demand, especially among youths. 

The major features of domestic T-shirts are trending quotes, sayings, cartoons, strong social messages with humour emblazoned on them. Phalano Luga, Juju Wears and CustomRus are a few Nepali apparel brands that are gaining popularity among customers. 

Phalano Luga, a very popular apparel brand in the country, sells T-shirts valued at Rs300,000 monthly, said Jeevan Khatri, finance manager at Phalano Luga. According to him, business has been growing at the rate of nearly 10 percent annually. 

The company produces around 500 T-shirts monthly. The company imports the raw materials from India. 

The Phalano Luga showroom at CTC Mall sells around 10 T-shirts daily, said salesperson Sabina Lama. Made of 100 percent cotton, Phalano Luga offers T-shirts for all ages and for both male and female. Prices start at Rs1,450 and Rs1,350 respectively for T-shirts designed for males and females. 

Juju Wears, another Nepali apparel brand launched in 2013, offers T-shirts made from locally available materials such as hemp and bamboo fibre. According to Pradip Man Shakya, proprietor of Juju Wears, the business has been growing at the rate of 25 percent annually. 

The domestic apparel market is doing well, he said. Prices for Juju Wears garments start at Rs850. Quality and comfort are the main reasons for the growing demand for Nepali clothes, he said. Juju Wears employs 100 people. 

Established in 2016, CustomRus, the youngest apparel brand in the country, makes T-shirts with modern designs and cultural symbols. Robin Shakya, Rojit Kayastha, Romin Shrestha and Yujen Shakya are the four co-founders of CustomRus which started as an online shopping portal. 

According to Robin Shakya, the market for Nepal-made T-shirts has been gradually growing. The company manufactures T-shirts of different types with various designs such as Cupid T-shirts and group T-shirts with social messages printed on them. “We make T-shirts that represent you,” he said, adding that they aimed to promote Nepali culture too. 

The company produced 2,000 T-shirts during the summer season and 2,500 hoodies and jackets during the last winter season. The cotton fabric is imported from India while the raw materials for hoodies and jackets are imported from China. Prices range from Rs800 to Rs1,500 for premium T-shirts. 

According to Shakya, due to lack of quality fabrics and advanced technology for printing, the company has not been able to export its T-shirts. CustomRus focuses on the domestic market and its products are not exported.