Fashion Forward (Slow & Sustainable Clothing)

<p style="text-align: justify;"> 

Sustainability in Fashion

By PRAMITA BOSE

Sustainability is the current buzzword in the textile and fashion industries, flagging off the movement around slow and eternal fashion.

An all-out effort is being noticeably made to underline vegan fashion and value local and artisanal skills more to create sartorial stories. Here comes the role of ethical fashion that takes an important stand to tailor an eco-intelligent wardrobe and curtail the urge of surplus shopping.

Safety of human beings and the conservation of nature are integral to sustainable manufacturing methods. That’s why it’s so extremely important for fashion houses and brands to desist greenwashing and making false claims about their product line, misconstruing it as eco-friendly without actually conforming to sustainable practices.

No More Urge to Splurge

From the pandemic era itself, people have been taught to abstain from hoarding excessive goods at home and resort to the concept of essential and ethical shopping instead. Does responsible shopping as an ecologically-aware citizen add to sustainability?

Responsible or mindful shopping means buying optimally and prioritising the agenda of human and animal welfare, and of course, the well-being of the planet in its entirety. This enfolds multiple factors like fair-labour practices, monitoring the environmental impact, sustenance of the earth’s flora and fauna, and product resilience.

“It is all about choosing products that are ethically produced and endorsing the companies that uphold sustainability and social accountability throughout their supply chains. Such a practice also encourages the implementation of sustainable approaches by businesses. Besides, judiciously streamlined shopping contributes to circular economy, wherein products are manufactured in a way so that they can be reused, recycled or repurposed, thus restraining superfluous resource consumption and waste generation. In a nutshell, shopping right and within limits has so far been able to empower consumers to make a positive impact on the world through their prudent purchasing decisions and eventually, fostering a more sustainable future,” explains Sanjay Nigam, the founder of the FEF India Fashion Awards.

Living life sustainably means selecting products that are made from eco-friendly materials, produced using renewable energy, and manufactured with minimal waste and pollution. “A cautious consumer ought to back brands that favour fair wages, safe work environment and labour rights for workers throughout their supply chains. One must also opt for products that are cruelty-free and do not ask for animal testing or exploitation. Frugal-minded shoppers with a conservative spending policy will evidently prefer brands that are transparent about their sourcing, production processes and the overall environmental impact,” elaborates Dipti Advait, designer and founder of her sustainable fashion label Nouria.

Fast & Futile

Fast fashion falls in the bracket of cheaper, quicker and trendy outfits. Given the profit motive of businesses, one might wonder how commercial enterprises could refrain from the overabundance of fast-fashion activities and yet scale their business and retain its significant capital value.

It is true that while fast fashion offers stylish garments at throwaway prices at a rapid pace, it often comes at the expense of environmental degradation and unethical labour practices. “Commercial business units may concentrate on sustainability initiatives like pumping funds into a robust product pipeline that sticks to stable, eco-friendly production methods and communicating to consumers with utmost clarity about their commitment to sustainability,” shares Gautam Gupta, creative director of the fashion label Asha Gautam.

Raising awareness about the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion and cultivating a wave of conscious consumerism can help boost purchaser sentiment towards cultivating more sustainable habits, eventually dwindling demand for fast-fashion products.

“On one hand, customer sentiment growing bullish on eco-friendliness seems to pay off in the long run, while on the other, partnering with industry stakeholders, NGOs and government agencies to develop and execute sustainability initiatives effectively can help businesses access resources, share the best practices and drive industry-wide changes. By adopting the said strategies, commercial organisations may counter the adverse impacts of fast fashion and mount their businesses on an elevated level, thereby maintaining a sizeable capital value in the long haul,” predicts Advait.

Pain Point

Fashion is considered one of the greatest polluters on the earth. Textile waste in tons is generated through production and processing like dyeing and finishing, which release harmful chemicals and toxins causing carbon emissions and percolation of trash in groundwater, consequently polluting both land and water including the marine life. How grave is this concern the industry pundits think?

The environmental impact of the fashion industry needs immediate and large-scale attention before it’s too late. The chunks of textile waste generated from production, processing and consumer disposal sully land and water ecosystems. Moreover, chemicals used in dyeing and finishing processes can contaminate soil and water sources, jeopardising both terrestrial and aquatic life.

“Recycling and upcycling offer some effective solutions to address this issue. Currently, only a small percentage of fashion products is recycled or upcycled. However, with increasing awareness and efforts made towards sustainability, the practice of reuse and upgradation is palpably growing. Brands are exploring innovative technologies to recycle textiles into new garments or other products, thus shrinking demand for virgin materials and diverting waste from the landfills,” suggests Nigam.

All production and processing facilities should ideally be 100% “Zero Liquid Discharge” for fabric manufacturing as they don’t release any liquid effluents. Sunil Jhunjhunwala, co-founder and director of the sustainable activewear brand TechnoSport, claims that “our facilities adhere to ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals certification and testing programmes) level 2.0 or above norms. The energy put to use is sourced from either renewable resources or from biomass”.

Best out of Waste

It is often asked whether trashion (trash plus fashion) or repurposed clothing created from used and rejected materials or dumped items can add to the scope of circular economy.

Rehashed clothing made from discarded materials can certainly contribute to the circular economy by slashing waste and pushing for resourcefulness. “Incorporating trashion into fashion practices nurtures a mindset of revising and recycling, thus moving towards a more sustainable industry,” infers Gupta.

Trashion and readapted clothing play a crucial role in green economy by aiding in waste reduction, resource efficiency, creativity and spreading awareness of environmental issues. “By incorporating these principles into fashion philosophy and designing, we can shed our resistance-to-change attitude and advance towards a more resilient future,” Advait lays an emphasis.

Nigam acknowledges that “by transforming old abandoned items into new garments or accessories, trashion attempts to expand the shelf life of the materials that would have otherwise reached the landfills. Notably, trashion spurs creativity and innovation in designs. It also strengthens local economies and cements community bonding by incentivizing small-scale artisans and entrepreneurs with expertise in reuse and reclaiming.”

Renting & Lending

Many follow the past good habit of renting clothes to serve a noble purpose or simply to earn a few fast bucks on specific platforms as well as via the renting apps. Plus, they exchange outfits with friends and family to moderate their overconsumption and surplus production.

“Renting clothes permits people to have a variety of garments, checking the obsessive yen for new clothing acquisition. This not only helps alleviate the environmental impact associated with textile manufacturing but also assists in sustainably owning and dispensing clothing. Besides, swapping clothes with near and dear ones leads to garment circulation, thus extending their lifecycle and embracing a culture of sharing within societies and neigbourhoods,” concedes Nigam.

Clean Closets

Many people’s closets remain overwhelmingly cluttered and disorganised due to boundless, impulsive online shopping. Experts think that this needs to be sorted and regulated to give the buyer a sense of organised shopping over wasteful consumption.

“Containing compulsive online shopping can help individuals manage their consumption habits, controlling overindulgence and ingraining a habit of careful expenditure in line with the ‘cut your coat according to your cloth’ idiom,” explains Gupta.

A calculated approach can help consumers take charge of their shopping frequencies, save more money and adopt a more pragmatic stance on their rate of utilisation and depletion. “This could translate to a more fulfilling and environmentally-compatible lifestyle for individuals and the society as a whole,” Advait vouches for.

Economic Lift for Skill India

Vocal for local is the new mantra in India that is gathering much steam these days. Industry watchers feel that buyers must look for reasonable homegrown labels instead of high-end foreign brands and champion the cause of the atmanirbhar (self-reliant) campaign. Also, it is presumed that shopping on foot within one’s vicinity minus moving in conveyance might offset the carbon footprint to an extent.

“Desi products often have shorter shipment routes with decent freight fare, which result in lowering the carbon footprint unlike the imported goods that cover long distances. Further, shopping within one's locality can enable the carbon emission to sag as the use of transport will automatically subside. While high-end foreign brands may come with a tag of prestige, supporting local labels has several benefits like promoting cultural heritage, encouraging sustainable practices and reinforcing regional economies,” summarises Nigam.

Jhunjhunwala attests that “we are always a big believer of the India narrative. The quality of knowledge and talent in India is unparalleled right now and there is absolutely no reason why inland brands cannot beat their global counterparts. In fact, they have the capability to even surpass the exotic names.”

While he admits that by walking and shopping nearby, carbon footprint caused by travelling in automobiles may see a dip, “going digital”, he espouses, “is the apt way forward”. “This gives the consumer the advantage of picking their clothes from the comforts of their homes without having to visit a physical store. Moreover, with speedy advancements in AI and technology, it won’t be long enough before consumers are able to do a perfect virtual try-on to see how the clothes fit and look on them,” he assures.

*********************************************************************************