In episode 100 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, we speak with Chaitenya Razdan, Founder of Care+Wear, on leaving his career as an investment banker to begin designing innovative clothing for cancer patients.
When Chat founded Care+Wear in 2014, all he had was an idea: to improve the experiences of those receiving treatment by bringing clinicians, designers, and patients together. But this idea became a reality through innovation and perseverance.
He left his career as an investment banker to begin designing clothing for cancer patients – cold-calling his way from an idea into a start-up that bridges fashion and function to create a more human healthcare experience. Today, Care+Wear makes patient apparel in partnership with Oscar de la Renta, March of Dimes, NBA, MLB, and other major brands.
Care+Wear is a for-purpose and social-mission inspired company that set out to change the status quo in the healthcare industry. The idea for our company came about after realizing that the only products that existed at the time in healthcare focused solely on the function, and not how they made patients look and feel.
Chat knew he had to come up with something better for patients – something that fostered both comfort and dignity. The team soon created their first product: an ultra-soft, antimicrobial, breathable and machine washable PICC Line Cover.
Watch how Care and Wear is creating innovative clothing for Cancer patients
Since then, Care+Wear went on to develop a dual port access chest shirt, a dual port access chest hoodie designed in collaboration with Oscar de la Renta, a patient gown designed with Parsons School of Design, a NICU one-piece designed with March of Dimes, mobility gloves designed with Lucy Jones and a recovery bra for those undergoing mastectomies and reconstructive surgeries.
From the very beginning the brand created a comprehensive three-tiered approach to developing products, which includes collaborating with patients, clinicians and designers. The objective is to ensure that these products are not only ones that patients want to wear and clinicians want to use, but are medically superior with our leading-edge innovation.
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