Affordable & Ethically Made Resortwear Brand

We are so grateful to be chosen as a recipient of the IFundWomen & Visa She's Next grant!

As a new and quickly growing black woman owned business in a white dominated industry, startup funding is essential but very hard to come across. 

We hope you will celebrate this win with us today by making your own contribution in support of TEGAA!

Who We Are

TEGAA is a 100% black woman owned ethical and sustainable resortwear line of clothing & accessories hand made by artisans that is bridging the gap between ethical fashion consumers who are seeking affordable options that are also fashion forward. Our commitment to sustainability and conscious living drives us to source organic, toxin-free materials to produce collections that are good for the consumer, pay a fair wage to the artisans and preserve the planet. In addition to creating collections using natural, ethically sourced materials, 5% of our profits are donated to charity and we operate on a zero waste production model to eliminate landfill.  Since it's launch, TEGAA has been featured in Pacific SD Magazine, The San Diego Union Tribune, SD Voyager Mag, Beyond Magazine & Disfunkshion Mag

We are also a community that provides resources to conscious consumers who desire to live a full, beautiful, ethical lifestyle by providing them with information and solutions to choose cleaner, healthier products for their families.

Fast Fashion Is An Everyone Problem That Can Be Solved

With fashion being the 2nd largest polluter in the world, consumers are now realizing the impact their shopping habits have on the planet. Despite the growth of the ethical fashion market at an annual rate of 8.7%, there is a lack of companies in this space that are offering affordable options. Additionally, these companies are not providing consumers with toxin-free fabrics which is detrimental to our largest organ - our skin, and lastly, most companies resort to using fabrics such as polyester which leach harmful micro-plastics into our water ways. TEGAA aims to be the first ethical fashion company that will offer safe, toxin-free fabrics in fashion-forward styles that are also affordable for the high-street consumer while paying workers a fair wage and giving back to charity. Access to beautiful, toxin-free clothing shouldn't be aspirational, it should be accessible.

Why We Are Seeking Funding

As a company that is self-funded, I am seeking funding for the first time in 6 years to be able to continue the great work TEGAA is doing in the ethical fashion landscape as well as keep our artisans employed. All money raised will be used to support the following:

1) Hiring part-time staff who can assist with day to day operations including but not limited to sales, production, customer care & marketing.

2) Invest in inventory to avoid losing out on sales due to goods being sold out

3) Launch our wholesale business to make our ethical and sustainable line more accessible to conscious consumers around the globe

4) Increase our product offerings to include more clothing. We are constantly being asked when we will release a full clothing collection and funding will help us do so. Ethical fabrics are priced higher than toxic fabrics so we need to purchase larger quantities to reduce costs and pass these savings on to our customers.

5) Invest in a marketing plan that will aid in brand visibility to drive sales. Being in the same industry as centuries old and VC backed fashion conglomerates, we don't stand chance without this

6) Restock our hero products to meet our customers' demands and release new products in 2021 with a goal of releasing a full clothing collection in early 2022 

7) Invest in software that will enable easier and faster communication with our artisans in Gambia and automate systems that will enable our tiny team to work more efficiently

8) Keep our manufacturing local. I intend to keep the clothing manufacturing local in the USA because I want to maintain a transparent production model that will ensure the brand is not contributing to pollution or the exploitation of workers.

9) Continue working with our artisans in Gambia. Working across continents is no small feat, neither is it cheap. With your contribution, we can off-set shipping costs and keep our products affordable

The Small But Mighty Team

TEGAA, led by me, Nay Secka was launched after my father passed away and I retuned to Gambia to attend his funeral. Upon his sudden passing, my life-long goal to create an ethical clothing line finally grew from a whisper to a scream that propelled me to figure out a way.  Sketching and designing since I was 7 years old led me to work for several luxury fashion brands for over 14 years, all the while thinking "someday I'll do it". After seeing the good, the bad and the ugly of the industry, I decided it was time to create something different that didn't exclude, but include.

Attending my dad's funeral showed me something I hadn't considered which was to work with artisans in Gambia. With a limited income, no investors and a lot of "will", this was the only "way" to get it off the ground. Since I had a very different vision of how I would create this company,  I like to believe that this was my dad's parting gift to me, after all, he would always wonder why as a kid I was "always drawing clothes in a book".  This pivot in the brand turned out to be a blessing. 

My passion is matched to my perseverance and I am determined to create a brand that will stand the test of time. As I grow through the daily obstacles of growing this brand, I am grateful for the many years I put into working in fashion that taught me everything to do and not to do to accomplish this goal. When I am not working I am researching the environmental impacts of how we live and how to be more sustainable, improving my design skills or researching ways to grow the brand.

In addition to myself, I have a part-time employee in Gambia who assists with working on the ground with our artisan partners. Hence why we need funding to bring on more team members!

With Gratitude

For the first time since its inception, TEGAA is seeking support to keep the company afloat and move towards a future where ethical & sustainable fashion will be accessible to all. This is no small feat, but your allyship will make this possible. The foundation has been laid to build a life-long brand and your contribution will help lay the bricks to fill this hole in the market. We are grateful for the support from IFundWomen & Visa who has kicked off this campaign with a generous grant and I would like to thank YOU in advance for visiting my campaign and being a part of a much needed change in fashion industry.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!