Eco-Fashion Trend

Q: What is eco-fashion? Is it a new buzzword that will always stay on the fringes of the fashion world? Is it the same as “ethical fashion” “organic fashion” “sustainable fashion” and other such smart catchphrases?

Siddhartha Upadhyaya of August Fashion (www.august.synthasite.com/) has the right answer: “Eco-fashion is a practice when we use sustainable and greener ways of producing apparels/accessories. Greener ways include - reduce, recycle, upcycle, reuse, of resources. It’s much more than "ethical fashion" which people generally mix with eco-fashion. Ethical fashion refers to ethical means and practices of production like fair-trade, less use of skin and hides etc. Eco-fashion is a much broader spectrum which has ethical fashion as one of its subset.”

Q: Why do we need eco-fashion? Why should either one of us care?

A: Sustainability. According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable development, “at least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This damages people, the environment and two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased." There are many designers globally who care about the meaning of their fashion – Stella McCartney is against fur and U2 musician Bono is pushing for the popularity of green fashion. The works of Italian designer Alessandro Acerra and Swati Argade of New York stand out for being extremely creative while sticking to the ideology. In India, there is no dearth of designers with such a consciousness. However, there is less awareness among the masses. Hemant Sagar, one half of designer duo Lecoanet-Hemant, makes a relevant point: “India is not concerned by any of this; here, it’s regarded as a rich man’s problem…” Upadhyaya points out the irony in the fact that India has a hoard or resources and crafts (eg: handlooms and khadi) that are ecologically and ethically sound, but ignored.

Q: So what can be done?

A: The change starts at the manufacturing process. Using techniques like “upcycling”, as employed by Karishma Shahani and other designers, or Upadhyaya’s Direct Panel On Loom (DPOL), it is now possible to create apparels and accessories using minimal resources and to reduce carbon footprints.

Upcycling involves taking used materials and increasing their quality – for example, fusing plastic bags together to make wallets or re-using the materials from old tires. Designer Karishma Shahani, in her range called Yatra, upcycled HDPE fabric from bags to create jackets. She used old chandelier pieces in her jewellery, which was hand-painted. The shoes in the collection were a combination of high-heeled pumps with second-hand sneakers cut away, with embroidery and hand-paint.

DPOL is a patented technology which utilises a loom attached to a computer, which weaves fabric for made-to-fit sections of an outfit. The separate sections are then hand-sewn together to create a full outfit. No fabric is wasted in this process. DPOL has earned a place at the London Museum of Arts, who estimate that 70-80% of water is saved as opposed to traditional manufacturing techniques. It’s an innovation that can revolutionise the garment industry. Indie brands like Douspeakgreen, Bodhi and Indigreen sell outfits made of 100% organic cotton, and retail online. Many brands and designers give back to nature by promoting the work of local artisans. Anita Dongre’s Grassroot was one of the first brands in India to emerge as environment conscious.

Continuing our look at what constitutes eco-fashion, we bring you some designers who live by a conscience.

Swati Argade

For her collection ‘Ticket to Ikkat’, Swati sourced fabrics from fair-trade cooperatives in Orissa, where weavers were paid and treated fairly. Her collection ‘Shift by Swati’ uses colours of the American Southwest and graphic Indian prints. She has used a textile called modal, which is a cellulose fibre made from the reconstituted cellulose from beech trees. Swati is committed to supporting Indian textile traditions and identifying those crafts which need exposure to larger markets to support their survival.

Soul Quotient: Throughout the year, she has been working on the launch of a brand called ‘Bhoomki’. The launch product will be a small collection of coats made from fabric of recycled plastic bottles and organic cotton and assembled in New York City. All shipping will be offset with carbon emission credits as well. Swati guarantees that these coats will have one of the smallest carbon footprints among other coats made in the USA in its category.

Jhoole

Jhoole garments are produced using various eco-friendly materials including hand-loomed organic cotton and silk, natural dyes, organic dyes, recycled denim and factory waste jersey (misprints, etc.) from Pratibha Syntex’s LOOP collection. Based in rural Madhya Pradesh, the brand employs female artisans to create handloom, hand-embroidered garments. All the artisans are given good living wages and the brand particularly supports mothers, who are trained and can work from home. Jhoole collaborates with designer Karishma Shahani and artist Amy Sol. Sol produces ethereal paintings full of airy, flowy dresses and cuddly creatures. By working with Shahani and Sol, Jhoole is making these dresses real. Shahani has in the past created Yatra, a colourful and un-contrived range of outfits made of upcycled materials inspired by native India. This collaboration will culminate in exhibitions and fashion shows in the summer of 2011 featuring Shahani’s garments and 5 original paintings by Amy Sol.

Soul Quotient: Jhoole is currently raising funds to build a production centre that will be entirely energy-neutral. 20% of its profits are donated to local initiatives: With its focus on rural MP, social returns are highly visible and sustainable. Jhoole invests in the local community through health, environmental and educational initiatives.

Siddhartha Upadhyaya of August Fashion

Like his other endeavours, Siddharth’s last collection at LFW titled ‘As You Like It’ was sustainable. He showed a line that had no ‘correct side up’ – the garments could be worn upside down w/o revealing the fact. As he says, this is “doubling the utilization of resources” as one gets two looks at the cost of one.

Soul Quotient: We touched upon Siddhartha’s innovative technology – Direct Panel On Loom in the first part of this series. It helps save upon fabric, fibers, chemicals, finishes, energy, man hours and other resources by 15%-22% and saves water by almost 80%!

Bhu:sattva

Bhu:sattva is convergence traditional organic clothing with herbal dyes. The company gets its organic cotton from a contracted farm. The cotton is then processed in keeping with organic processing standards. Once ready, the fabric is dyed using herbal colours. The final fabric is then moulded into an outfit by designer Digvijay Singh who says, “I believe eco-cycling will make a difference in our lives sooner or later. Making use of the waste in a smart way, combining waste…should be our focus. Each one can contribute on some level; use organic fabrics, ban chemical dyes.”

Soul Quotient: Bhu:sattva strives to revive ancient and languishing art forms such as Kalamkari of Andhra Pradesh, Jaina art, Phad and Pichwai fabric paintings of Rajasthan, Phulkari embroidery of Punjab, Zari and Zardozi work of Mughals, Kantha work of West Bengal, Ka.

 

~IIFT