The fast-fashion model, characterised by its focus on low prices and fleeting trends, has resulted in a significant waste problem. India annually produces a large volume of textile waste, straining landfills and harming the environment. However, a new wave of eco-conscious designers and brands see the potential in what others discard as inspiration for stunning and sustainable fashion.
Where India’s textile and apparel market is set to grow from $165 billion in 2022 to $350 billion by 2030, sustainability emerges not merely as a passing trend. It becomes an influential tool to drive awareness and corrective action in the fashion industry to adopt eco-friendly practices. From a peel of banana to katrans and a packet of maggi, cutting-edge technology is being used to recycle these wastes into a fashionable accessory or apparel.
Make Waves
In an era where an estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters the oceans every year, an alarming concern for all turned this activist-founder to start a swimwear brand out of ocean waste. Founded by Riya Majumdar, Goya Swim Co. makes waves (literally) with her innovative approach to swimwear. Riya says, “Having visited Goa several times and living near the ocean, I realised we don’t have fashion around it. We have been buying swimsuits from international brands. So, in 2022 when you are trying to start out in fashion, you can’t start unsustainable.” Goya Swim pioneers the use of REPREVE®, an OEKO-TEX® certified fibre crafted from recycled plastic bottles. The stylish designs prove that sustainability doesn’t have to come at the cost of performance or aesthetics. She says, “I desire to reach out to the Swimming Federation of India regarding sponsoring swimsuits for the Olympic team. If every swimsuit is 29 plastic bottles recycled, I wish to contribute in more impactful ways.”
Wrap in Style
Don’t discard the glittery gift wrapper or the used packet of maggi! Know Why. A Pune-based social enterprise, Ecokaari, founded by Nandan Bhat in the year 2020, sources plastic waste and upcycles it into handcrafted fabrics using handloom and wooden spindles (charkha). It champions the revival of handloom weaving while providing a livelihood to the artisans in the region and thus, the name Ecokaari — Eco meaning eco-friendly and Kaari meaning kaarigar. The company even accepts donations like polythene, grocery plastic bags, multilayered wrappers of cookies, chips, and detergents, and even old audio and video cassette tapes.
EcoGlam
Ayushmann Khurrana wore white and gold gilded bomber jacket by Gaurav Gupta rendered in EcoKaari fabrics for his movie promotions in Lakme fashion week. The fabrics were created with wrappers of crisps and biscuits, plastic bottles and other daily consumables that have been excavated from oceans and landfills.
Food & Fabric
It might come across as a shock to many that India generates about 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste every year as per the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (2020). However, planet saviours like Shreyans Kokra, founder of Canvaloop, are taking steps to save the planet by consciously recycling the agro waste into fabrics and yarns. Canvaloop rebirths the agricultural waste by using a closed loop combination to convert the agriculture waste like hemp, pineapple and banana, into textile grade fibre. Shreyans Kokra, founder of Canvaloop, says, “We commit to zero-liquid discharge, non-toxic processes, and biofuel use, proving that profitability can align harmoniously with environmental stewardship. Roughly 5 kg of waste would lead to 1 kg of textile fibre and each jeans requires roughly 300 grams of textile fibre.”
Trendy Fashion Trash
In a country where a single piece of garment is passed down generations, the Indian households keep the concept of low-disposability intact. The founders of ‘Doodlage’ and ‘Paiwand studio’ upcycle textile factory waste like post-consumer waste and post-cutting scraps (katrans) into fabrics and then garments.
PET Prêt-à-Porter
Shree Renga Polymers, a frontrunner in PET bottle recycling and sustainable textiles, was founded by K Sankar in 2008. The company uses a German technology that melts the PET flakes in high temperature to produce fibre which resembles cotton. In 2020, Senthil Sankar along with his father, opened a clothing brand under this company named Ecoline. Senthil says, “The idea was to convince the consumers to take sustainability as one of the factors influencing their purchases. Hence, our tagline ‘Look good, feel good and do good’. We are close to recycling 15 lakh bottles every day and aiming for 45-50 lakhs bottles every day in the coming few years.” The waste is predominantly collected from states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry. He says, “Our T-shirt saves approximately 3 to 5.4 kg of CO2 from going into the atmosphere and uses around 6-8 PET bottles. 25-28 PET bottles used to create Modi jackets saves around 8 kgs of CO2.” Ecoline gained a lot of traction when Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore the blue sadri jacket from this brand.
Making a Difference
As consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry, the demand for sustainable alternatives is rising. But is sustainability expensive? Riya accepts that sustainability is expensive. She says, “I pay $6 extra per swimsuit for the fabric. The notion of sustainability being expensive is also sometimes artificially created by luxurious companies.” However, one cannot deny that to generate sustainable products, the conscious decision making involved at every stage comes with a heavy cost which is retrieved from the premium charged by the consumers.
We are close to recycling 15 lakh bottles every day. We are aiming for 45-50 lakhs bottles every day in the coming few years.” — Senthil Sankar, founder Ecoline
If every swimsuit is 29 plastic bottles recycled, I wish to contribute in more impactful ways.” — Riya Majumdar, founder Goya Swim Co.
Trash Course
8 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans every year 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste is generated in India every year
