'Refash', One Stop Store For Upcycled Fashion

The need for textile upcycling is becoming increasingly apparent due to the alarming environmental challenges we face. The fashion industry, in particular, has a significant impact on our planet, contributing to pollution, waste generation, and depletion of resources. Upcycling is one way of addressing these issues, because upcycling diverts textiles and textile waste from landfills. While there are designers and brands creating contemporary pieces of fashion from pre-loved clothes, what if these sustainable alternatives came under one umbrella? Well, it is with that idea that Refash - a platform for upcycled fashion – was started.

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It was at an upcycling workshop that Akanksha even got the idea. Recalling the story of inception, Akanksha Kaila Akashi, Founder of Refash said,

The designer had asked us to bring in a couple of garments from our wardrobe which we hadn't worn in a very long time. So, I took out two-three pieces and I went for the workshop and during that hour-long workshop, the designer basically helped us tweak those garments and make it into something new. An hour later I walked out with two outfits to wear and it was such an ‘aha' moment for me.

This led to Akanksha dwelling in the world of upcycling. She spent time researching and understanding what is happening in the space of upcycling and sustainability. She said,

I realised, globally, there were actually a lot of brands who were creating products made out of pre-loved materials, whether it was post-consumer or post-industrial waste. But what was missing was a platform that would bring all of it together and also for a consumer to know about it, for a platform to actually have everything from upcycled apparel to jewellery and footwear.

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By using existing materials, upcycled clothing reduces the amount of waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or incinerators. It also reduces the demand for new raw materials, such as water, energy, and natural fibers and that was the idea behind Refash - to focus on the environmental benefits of choosing upcycled clothing over conventional options.

Explaining the benefits of upcycling and how it reduces the demand and consumption of energy and resources, Akanksha said,

We have kind of just normalised the fact that we live around landfills in our cities and that is where you see the impact. A piece of garment that was possibly headed to the landfill gets diverted through the craft of upcycling and gets a new lease of life. Especially a material like polyester, which is actually not a natural fiber and takes decades to decompose, up to 200 years, and ends up polluting our oceans and land. Through upcycling, you make use of resources and materials that have already been created and manufactured, so you're giving them a second lease of life. You are not using new energy and resources.

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There are criteria that Refash follows in selecting brands for the platform. It includes background checks and an understanding of the brand's practices. Akanksha explained,

We have a detailed conversation with every brand that we onboard on our website and if the brand is in the city where one of our team members is, they go to the brand and see the studio and the process that the brand follows. We have a comprehensive questionnaire through which we enquire about where they are sourcing the raw materials from, who are their suppliers for post-consumer and post-industrial waste, where are they getting the waste from and how are they checking the quality of the product.

Sensitisation and awareness are key, and how can that be done? Through workshops. Refash often conducts workshops on how to upcycle one's belongings and make the best out of waste. These workshops are conducted to achieve maximum reach and impact, and to influence behaviour across generations.

It's not just about propagating to shop upcycle products, it's actually about educating customers about - why is there a need to talk about it and adopt sustainable practices and also then, among all of that comes upcycling. We have a very active blog on our website through which we basically talk about sustainable practices. We always have some kind of interaction, where the designer comes in and talks about the story of each garment and educates the customers.

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Detailing on upcycling workshops, Akanksha said,

There was one Christmas when we block-printed on old newspapers and created wrapping sheets that people could use to wrap their Christmas presents. Those are finer ways in which we introduce the concept of upcycling to larger audiences.

Another initiative by Refash is its take-me-back program. Customers can send them the clothes they don't wear anymore. These clothes are then sorted and checked for quality and then shared with the brands working with Refash. In return, the customers get a repair kit containing needles and buttons so they can repair their own garments.

When team NDTV visited Akanksha, she was taking a box of garments received from the take-me-back program to Mehak, who runs a label called WeAreLabeless. This is a brand using pre-loved clothes to make new products.

Mehak Tariqbeig, Co-founder of WeAreLabeless and her business partner Pallavi “didn't want to be a part of the problem”. She shared,

Being in the fashion industry, everybody thinks it is a glamorous world. Everything is glittery, shimmery and all, but once you are there, deep inside, you understand the problems the fashion industry has. And, to be honest, wastage was the biggest problem. Looking at all of the things that were happening like landfills and Rana Plaza collapse, the more we got to know about it, the more grimmer the reality came into view for us. We realised that we did not want to be the other two designers contributing to the waste that was already being generated. We wanted it to be rewarding for us as well as for the planet. And hence, WeAreLabeless came into being.

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What started as a blog during college days turned into a brand when Mehak and her business partner Pallavi realised that only talking about the problem won't fix it. Mehak said,

Like it says, WeAreLabeless. We did not want to put any labels on ourselves. I did not want to be the designer or the person who is making the clothes for me to be the tailor or the embroidery ladies to be the embroiderer. Because being in this process we realised that these people have much more knowledge than we do. Our tailors have been in the industry for 40 years. I wasn't even born back then and I can't be like I am the person who is creating it. Mine is just an idea. Everybody has an idea. But the person who executes it and makes it into the product it is, is the person who is designing it in the whole sense.

The smallest of cloth scraps from cutting clothes can add to the problem. At WeAreLabeless, the workers follow a no-waste policy where even the tiniest of thread is put to some use.

Mehak explained,

As a business person, whenever I see these smaller shreds I think of it as money. But if I talk about it in terms of somebody who cares for the planet, when I look at all these smaller pieces, instead of throwing them away, I'm giving new life to these products. Hence, this is one of the very, very strong principles we work with. We have a strict zero-waste policy. We do not waste even a smaller shred of thread. Everything goes into the stuffing of our earrings or something.

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WeAreLabeless gets most of the pre-loved clothes and raw materials from the customers and local market. Once the clothes reach the workshop, they are segregated according to size and colour. Once separated, the clothes get a good cleaning. Then the workers set to work on them, turning them into bags, accessories, and other outfits. Over time they have received all manner of clothing for upcycling. Perhaps the most unique was a lehenga that was 70 years old.

Mehak recalled,

One of our clients sent us a 70-year-old lehenga, it was from a great-grandmother. She got married and she wore this really gorgeous lehenga which was purely made out of silver thread and silver embellishments. There was 2 kg of silver in it and she did not know what to do with it. She knew that we could be able to do something about it. Once we got that lehenga here, we realised that the fabric was almost in that state where you just stretch it a little, and everything will just fall apart.

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The entire team of five people sat together and cleaned each and every embellishment on the lehenga. Mehak added,

We realised 70 years back, there was no concept of fusing or binding things together. They put gum on the embroidery to keep it in one place. The threads were hanging through the embroidery, there was gum everywhere and we couldn't even send it to the dry cleaner to dry clean it. It took us more than a week to clean the entire thing. Then cut the smaller pieces and clean them. Following this, we put them on a brand-new fabric and create something new out of it. It was a very hectic process and it took us almost two months but the outcome was something we were just in awe of.

In today's time, the need for textile upcycling has become increasingly apparent due to the alarming environmental challenges we face. The fashion industry, in particular, has a significant impact on our planet, contributing to pollution, waste generation, and depletion of resources. By embracing upcycling, we can address these issues by diverting textiles from landfills, reducing the demand for materials, and minimising the energy and water consumption associated with production.

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