Reports suggest that textile waste is the second-largest contributor to pollution in India. Fast fashion, toxic dyes, mass industrialization, and lack of repurposing have led to a massive increase in textile waste. Globally, around 10% of textile gets reused and the rest goes to landfills. This creates an enormous ripple effect on the environment, with a rise in landfills, emission of greenhouse gases, and climate change. The youth must focus on environmentally sustainable practices.
USHA and NDTV want to encourage and educate the masses on the need for sustainable fashion and repurposing. The 4-month initiative is about building conversations and awareness around repurposing textiles and sustainable fashion. The campaign will feature brands and individuals who are promoting recycling and upcycling, giving your clothes a conscience.
We bring to you three brands working with the common goal of sustainability for a better future. Featuring Anuprerna, an artisanal sustainable textile brand; Dwij - a zero-waste ethical brand that upcycles post-consumer jeans and post-industrial fabrics; Ishita Aggarwal who paints old sneakers.
Waste scraps of cloth to throw away or funky items of home décor? Banana stems and peels heading for the garbage or shirts and dresses for an evening out on the town? Harmful chemicals seeping into our groundwater or natural dyes locally sourced from the forest? Here are some innovations in the fashion industry.
Cleaning your wardrobe can never be as much fun as filling it up. But, what if an expert helps you decide what to keep and what to discard? Meet Gayatri Gandhi, founder of Joy Factory, a clutter management firm that helps people declutter their homes in a very unique way.
Flowers are used in different forms and events - celebrations, prayers and mourning. But have you ever thought about what happens to these flowers once they are used? Such beautiful gifts of nature are just thrown away in dustbins. However, few brands are reusing discarded flowers by transforming them into sustainable products.
The pristine pink Lotus flower that emerges from the mud without stains is often viewed as a symbol of purity. But, did you know, that this beautiful flower is also a source of the rarest type of silk in the world? Lotus silk is considered a highly exclusive fibre and is extracted by only a few expert craftspersons across the world. One of them is Bijayshanti Tongbram from Thanga Tongbram village of Manipur.
Plants are known for their medicinal properties, but did you know that many kinds of plants, fruits, and flowers are now being used in fabrics too? One of them is hemp - a species of Cannabis Sativa. It was legalised to be cultivated in Uttarakhand in 2018 and is now being used by brands for making products that are good for the planet.
Every year billions of animals die solely for the sake of the fashion industry's products and profit. An immeasurable amount of suffering goes into every fur-trimmed jacket, high-end leather bag, belt, and woollen sweater that you wear. With consumers becoming more aware of sustainable and cruelty-free fashion, there is an attempt to create products that are eco-friendly.
Rubber tyres are often dumped after use without any thought. But, did you know, they too play a role in damaging the environment? Tyres emit methane gas even when these are just exposed to the sun. However, there are brands that are tackling tyre waste to give you a more sustainable wardrobe.
No visit to a place of worship is complete without the classic temple offerings, to please and propitiate the gods. It is estimated that around 800 million tonnes of flowers are offered at temples, dargahs, and gurdwaras across the country. Often, these offerings end up as waste. But some brands and individuals are stopping temple waste from going to rivers. Instead, they are turning waste into useful resources like dyes and religious offerings.
Not rarely in India, clothes are worn and passed on to a younger sibling or someone in need. This re-use giving a new avatar and a whole new life to a retired piece of clothing is called upcycling by the fashion industry. Pitara, SETU and 'I Was A Sari' are giving a new life to old sarees by making re-usable products.