BEL KAZAN

Why We ♥ BEL KAZAN: Ethical, Sustainable, Woman-Owned, Philanthropic

Behind every collection is designer Belinda Kazan, who started Bel Kazan after a life-changing journey to Bali. Belinda decided to uproot her life in Los Angeles, determined to make her vision of a socially- and environmentally-responsible apparel line real. She is committed to giving back to the culture and people that gave her a renewed sense of purpose. Every collection starts with a modern interpretation of east meets west, infused with the artisanal heritage of Indonesia. Bel Kazan fabric showcases the beauty of methods like hand printing and the traditional batik technique.

Ethical and sustainable business practices are at the core of everything they do at Bel Kazan. Realizing that women make up 85% of all garment industry workers—many of whom have children who need supervision while they’re at work—they have established policies to ensure that local craftswomen could work out of their homes in order to care for their children. They have also developed a skill training program so that employees could develop marketable expertise in hemming, sewing, fabric-cutting, pattern-making, beading, and quality control. Because Bel Kazan abides by a lean production model, they cut-to-order, which allows them to purchase only the fabric yardage they really need, reducing waste. Any leftover fabric gets up-cycled into children’s clothing that gets donated to local villagers in need, or turned into floor mats and pillow stuffing so that nothing goes to the landfill.