about us
about us
the story of yannai
Yannai was created to bridge the knowledge gap that we have with our clothing.
After starting a small business together in 2017, we quickly realized a critical aspect was missing: the sustainable and ethical mechanisms in the supply chain and production process. We halted our operations and brainstormed what kind of business and product we wanted to create in this world.
After countless hours of research over the last few years, we started to understand what it truly means for a business to be sustainable and ethical; this led to the creation of Yannai. A company that would promise to do business unusual and give back to the Earth while putting people + planet first.
Meet the Founders
Nero Naveendran
Nero Naveendran is a Yannai co-founder. He is passionate about the environment, climate change, sustainability, and urban planning, and he hopes to use Yannai to positively impact the world.
Nero believes that educating people about the fashion supply chain and closing the knowledge gap will have a positive impact on the environment.
Nero's goal with Yannai is to start with changing the fashion industry and then use his expertise in real estate and urban planning to change other archaic industries, shifting the focus from profit to benefiting people and the planet first.
Ghannush Nithiyanantham
Ghannush Nithiyanantham is a Yannai Co-Founder. His passion in sustainability and climate change awareness has led him to start his Master of Environment & Sustainability at Western University.
Realizing there was a huge disconnect between our knowledge of our clothing and understanding the journey it took to reach us, he hopes to use Yannai to bridge that gap.
By creating a completely sustainable and ethical supply chain with complete transparency and traceability, Ghannush hopes Yannai will be used as a blueprint for other organizations so that people + planet will always come first.
Our Story
In 2017, Nero and Ghannush launched a business specializing in sleeping bag blankets. They quickly recognized that focusing on profit would destroy the planet, which they fiercely opposed. They decided to shift their focus and prioritize people and the planet.
Yannai was born as a result of this. In Tamil, Nero and Ghannush's mother tongue, Yannai (pronounced Ya-NEY) signifies elephant.
They named the company, elephant, after their favourite species, which is also one of the species affected by climate change. Elephant populations, which were formerly numerous throughout Africa and Asia, have declined significantly over the previous century. Poaching for the illegal ivory trade poses the largest threat to African elephants, while habitat loss and the resulting human-elephant conflict pose the greatest threat to Asian elephant populations.
Yannai's goal is to create sustainable clothing, beginning with socks, with a transparent supply chain so that you know exactly where the materials came from and how it was made. With each purchase, you will be supporting a cause that benefits people or the planet. Our first sock will benefit elephants, after whom we are named.
Yannai's Home Base
We are located in Toronto, Canada. We acknowledge that Yannai was founded and is operating on the traditional lands of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg (ah-nish-naw-bek), the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee (hoodt-en-oh-show-nee) and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society. This land acknowledgement is a small but essential step towards Reconciliation and building a positive relationship with Indigenous peoples.
Contact us
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, whether it be a question, concern, or to say hello! We are lifelong learners and are always open to feedback and ways we can do better.