Sustaining FASHION

IF THERE IS ONE WORD THAT HAS BEEN FASHIONABLY USED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, IT HAS BEEN ‘SUSTAINABILITY’. IT MAY HAVE MADE YOU TAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE SUSTAINABLE QUOTIENT OF YOUR CLOSET, SO ARE YOU “ECO GUILTY” VIS-A-VIS THE CLOTHES YOU WEAR?

- Puja Talwar

Remember the time when your mother turned her old silk saree into a smart kurta or a stunning evening dress for you, or when you dug out the “gota” from a fraying saree and stitched it on to your dupatta or wool jacket, or the time when you took pride in flaunting your grandmother’s vintage collection? Well, you were not being penny wise but practising the art of “sustainability”.

As the fashion industry gets more sustainable savvy, voicing how every stitch and seam on your silhouette matters, “ethical fashion” is finally emerging as a mainstream feature rather than being a humble fringe phenomenon.

Designer Anand Bhushan says, “Sustainability is one of the most used and misinterpreted words in fashion today. Unfortunately, it is being used as a marketing tool rather than a tool to create a positive environmental and planetary impact. It is important for designers to create Sustainable fashion that encourages ethical, social and eco-conscious systems. To create sustainability in fashion, we have to understand the impact of modern-day slavery, pollution, excess toxic emissions and carbon footprint. Sustainability in fashion can only be achieved when designers, design houses and consumers consciously reject the idea of overproduction and overconsumption; and collectively stop the massive negative impact it has been having on biodiversity. It is time to make conscious choices in fashion to make sustainability really count.”