Green fashion matters

Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible, says fashion designers

The fashion industry leaves a huge carbon footprint behind. To fight climate change, understanding sustainable fashion and practising it is essential.

On the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, Metrolife spoke to two of the country’s top fashion designers on how to promote and popularise sustainable fashion.

Namrata G, a fashion designer from Bengaluru, who promotes slow fashion says all designers should adopt it as soon as possible. “Through the Covid-19 pandemic, we all have realised about the harm we have caused to nature, and we should do everything we can to sustain mother earth. It is our ‘dharma’ now. We are not doing any favour to anyone. It is mandatory for us to be responsible,” she says.

Namrata elaborates on how “slow fashion” works. She says, “I have asked all my clients to give me the old Kanjivaram saris that they have, and I convert them into dresses for them. Sometimes, I take two old saris and convert them into one saree and a choli so that we do not have to invest in a new saree or buy new fabric. If you reuse and recycle what you already have, you slow down your need to purchase and your need to indulge.”

When it comes to second-hand clothing, the industry has expanded by over 20 times in the last two years and is now a multi-billion dollar industry. “In India, resale is a concept that still has not caught on. People look down upon second-hand clothes here. However, if you look at countries like Australia and New Zealand, everyone is into second-hand shopping. They feel that it is a responsible way to live,” says Namrata.

Designer RK Derewala’s family from Rajasthan has been in the fabric business for generations. His business specialises in cotton and silk. “We use only natural colours for our fabrics, and especially take care that no harm is being done to the environment,” says Derewala.

“Natural colours cannot dye synthetic yarn. They can only be used on natural yarn like cotton and silk. Keeping everything organic and clean and not using any chemicals at all has been our tradition,” says Derewala. Fabrics that are dyed using natural colours cost more because sourcing natural colours is expensive.

“We should promote the resale market in India as well. It is a great way to be sustainable. Bridal clothes are not used very often, so they remain in good condition, there is a market for them,” says Derewala.