Sustainability is no longer a throwaway buzzword. In the fashion industry, it’s making several players — from manufacturers to designers — look at producing new collections responsibly. The responsibility is ecological (reduce carbon footprint and look for alternatives to water-intensive traditional processes), towards weavers and craftspeople (fair wages), and towards the end consumer with products that transcend fickle fashion trends.
- ‘I was a Sari’ initiative by Poornima Pande and Stefano Funari won the first Circular Design Challenge Award announced by LFW and UN Environment with R|Elan. Pre-owned saris were upcycled into garments, plastic tarpaulins were turned into raincoat, bag and umbrella, upcycled material went into creating a 3D appliquéd garment, bags, shoes and men’s wear creation.
For a while, sustainable clothing was misunderstood to be about handlooms. However, as Anita Dongre underlined recently while in Hyderabad, “Any fabric, irrespective of whether it’s machine made or hand made, needs to be produced responsibly.”
While we need to patronise handlooms and thereby our immensely talented weavers and artisans, there’s also the need to look at emerging dimensions in sustainable fashion. Discarded plastic bottles are now being turned into breathable fabric. And wood-based cellulose is used to produce fabric that’s biodegradable and compostable. There’s also a growing tribe of designers ensuring zero wastage at their studios by upcyling every piece of fabric into garments or accessories.
Sustainable Day at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2019 witnessed a line-up of designers showcasing their collections in handlooms sourced from weaver clusters in far-flung regions. At the other end of the spectrum were engineered fabrics.
Cellulose to fabric
‘A Summer Reverie’ by Anita Dongre in partnership with Tencel
Anita Dongre Grassroot collaborated with Lenzing group and used its Tencel fabric for ‘A Summer Reverie’. Talking about the circular fashion model of producing fabric, Avinash Mane, commercial head, South Asia at Lenzing group, reveals, “Wood-based cellulose is our core material and we source from certified resources.” The manufacturing process, he explains, involves re-using water to the greatest possible extent. “The compostability of Tencel helps improve its ecological footprint,” he adds. Fabric is produced for apparels, home textiles, denim and inner wear, with moisture absorption and thermal regulation capabilities.
Lenzing has partnered with designers like Rajesh Pratap Singh and Anita Dongre, emerging labels like Door of Maai, Rossbelle and Doodlage, apart from retail giants like Levi’s, Zara, H&M, Jockey and D’décor. Internationally, Mara Hoffman, Patagonia, Marks & Spencer, Kings of Indigo are some of the names they are associated with.
This summer will see Global Desi outlets being stocked with outfits that have used Lenzing’s Ecovero fabric, an alternative to traditional viscose. “Ecovero is an eco-responsible viscose, produced using certified wood pulp. The manufacturing process reduces up to 50% emissions of fossil fuel energy and water,” states Avinash.
PET to fabric
Vaani Kapoor walks the ramp in ‘R-Elan’s Shivan & Narresh’ collection
Meanwhile, the Reliance group’s R|Elan has been making strides. On World Environment Day 2018, Anita Dongre launched limited edition collection of ‘The Earth Tee’ using R|Elan’s GreenGold fabric manufactured from recycled PET bottles. At the recent LFW, R|Elan partnered with Shivan & Narresh, and Narendra Kumar for new collections.
Shivan & Narresh’s ‘Patu’ series used R|Elan fabrics and juxtaposed Bengal’s patachitra art with tholu bommalata (leather puppetry) of Andhra Pradesh. Six new prints — Panthera, Sunderbans, Iconorosh, Fagun, Urvi and Deccan — captured the ethos of indigenous art forms.
Alcis Sports teamed up with Narendra Kumar for ‘My Earth My Style’ collection using R|Elan GreenGold fabric with dry-tech, anti-odour, anti-static, anti-UV and light properties. The sustainable gym, yoga and workwear collection included t-shirts, joggers, bombers, blazers, layered jackets and leggings.
Reliance group claims that it’s converting 2.2 billion used PET bottles into GreenGold fabric every year. Says Vipul Shah, COO - petrochemicals business, RIL, “We segregate, collect, and process used PET bottles to make clean flakes, and melt them to make one of the greenest fibres — Recron GreenGold. The fibre is used to manufacture R|Elan GreenGold fabric which has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.”
Each of the t-shirts from ‘The Earth Tee’ collection, he says, was made by recycling 15 PET bottles. “Similarly, a pair of jeans made from the same fabric saves around 20 bottles,” adds Vipul. The grey fibre produced using used PET bottles are called Recron GreenGold and the dope dyed polyester staple fibre are called Recron Green Gold EcoD. These fibres in turn provide the power of sustainability to R|Elan Fabric 2.0. The recycling of PET bottles, Vipul reveals, is carried out at RIL’s Barabanki, Hoshiarpur and Nagothane plants.
With newer fabrics poised to cater to different sections of consumers, it might open up newer vistas in making fashion sustainable.
A few sustainable collections at LFW:
- GoCoop, Anita Dongre and Raymond used fabric from marginalised handloom clusters in Assam such as Barkhetri (Nalbari) and Rampur (Kamrup).
- #FashUp: Upcycling labels Doodlage, Door of Maai and Rossbelle showcase new collections, and design an installation using waste Tencel fabric.
- #FashionForLivelihoods: Ereena by Jyoti Reddy had outfits with organic eri silk and cotton. Usha Devi Balakrishnan’s ‘Anka’ showcased Balarampuram saris using cotton yarn by Payattuvila cooperative society from Balarampuram, Trivandrum. Label Anaam, in collaboration with Rangsutra, showcased ensembles that used handloom cotton and bandhej tie and dye from Napasar and Lunkarnsar villages near Bikaner.
- Soumitra Mondal launched Bunon, a sustainable label that uses khadi, handwoven silk and linen from weaver clusters in Vardhaman, Murshidabad and Nodia in West Bengal.
- The Woolmark Company and Aneeth Arora’s Pero teamed up for #FarmToFashion. Merino wool textiles came alive in Pero’s signature styles.
- Anavila used handwoven cotton, linen and silk with natural dyes. Paying an ode to the culturally vibrant Sa Pa community in Vietnam, Anavila showcased fluid jumpsuits, tops, kurtas, dresses and saris.
