Sustainable Fashion – A New Trend in Fashion Brands in India

Did you know that the level of CO2 emitted by textile industries is almost equal to that released by automobile industries? 

With changing lifestyles, and seasons, we often find ourselves within new fashion trends. We enjoy incorporating the latest trends into our style statement, because why not?  

But, what do you do when the outfits are not trendy anymore, or more naturally when you grow out of them? In Desi families, clothes usually get passed on to our younger siblings, which is a good option. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as most of the fabric waste often gets trashed. Fashion industries themselves contribute a lot to this pollution. Which is why today we are in dire need of sustainable fashion choices.

With fast fashion trends, sustainable clothing (slow fashion) is yet to gain popularity. However, India does have brands that offer sustainability in fashion. And to your aid, Ecopurple has curated a list of a few of the many brands crafting green fashion. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Disclaimer: Please note that the following list is in no particular order of preference; the idea is to promote and acknowledge their work.

1. SUI: A sustainable women’s fashion brand

This women’s fashion brand from New Delhi, found by Mahima Gujral, is on its way to help pave the way for green clothing.

Sui crafts conscious apparels and accessories, such the environmental impact is low. How?

They prefer working with durable and anti-bacterial fabrics such as hemp. Use organic cotton that is GOTS certified and other sustainable materials.

Nowadays, about 60% of fabric fibres are synthetics made from fossil fuels; this makes it hard to decay. Hence, the choice of raw material matters.

• Sui uses herbal dyes to pigment their clothing; and recycles the wastewater in the process.
• The team makes use of recycled packaging and upcycles the leftover fabric waste as well.
• Following a sustainable work ethic, SUI also partners with the NGO – Women Weave. The women in this NGO contribute to the weaving of handspun home fabrics. They practice conscious activities that needless to no electricity. Thus, save energy.

2. DOODLAGE: An eco-friendly fashion house based in Delhi

The brainchild of Kriti Tula – Doodlage is a recognized eco-fashion house set in New Delhi. The brand creates fashion outfits and accessories by recycling and upcycling fabric trash. The toxic after-effects of the fashion industry led to the foundation of Doodlage.

• Doodlage collects surplus of defective or stained fabric scraps from textile manufacturers. They even collect the leftover apparel scraps from the garment factories.
• From the fabric waste of their own, they create wallets; laptop bags; accessories; and notebooks.
• Ditching the plastic, they recycle the fabric waste into paper for their packagings.

Needless to say, Doodlage is doing its best to achieve zero waste production. And by all the efforts that they’re making, the team is bound to succeed. Moreover, Doodlage also presented their collection in the Lakme fashion week of 2019.

3. NO NASTIES: 100% Certified Organic Cotton Fashion Products

Vegan gang, this one’s for you! Based in Goa, No Nasties has been in the business since 2011, creating outfits for men, women, and kids. They design outfits made out of fair trade, organic, and vegan raw materials.

They meet the criteria of:

• GOTS
• Peta
• Fair Trade

Impressive right? But wait, there’s more. To add to their green efforts, No Nasties offers plastic-free packaging. The team makes use of drawstring bags and recycled cardboard boxes instead. The effort doesn’t end here. With the “Buy One – Get Tree” program, No Nasties has been planting trees to negate their carbon emissions. You make a purchase and the team plants a tree, as simple as that! Thus, it’s safe to say that No Nasties is one cohesive sustainable fashion brand.

4. RENGE: An ethical fashion brand with vibrant clothing options for women.

Renge is a sustainable fashion brand that offers beautiful clothing options for women. Found by Sheena Uppal, they create conscious apparels keeping the fashion quotient intact.

What makes Renge an ethical brand?

• They use a surplus of fabrics from factories that follow strict social and environmental standards.
• The artisans’ dye fabrics in Creative Dyeing & Printing, which is Oeko-Tex certified.
• The team works in tune with Hemla Embroidery, which is Sedex certified.
• Both factories are within a 3km radius, this reduces carbon emission due to logistics.
• Also, a part of their factory runs on solar energy!

While creating sustainable fashion, Renge also extends support for other critical issues. Learn more by clicking here.

5. BASICLLY: Fashion Brand focusing on Organic fabric and Upcycling

Basiclly is yet another option to make a sustainable fashion choice for women. Their mantra? ‘Comfort, Ease and Familiarity’ while practising Fair Trade.

• Located in Noida, Basiclly is a fellow supporter of slow fashion. The brand crafts livable clothing to make them durable and long-lasting.
• The team makes use of 100% organic fabrics with reusing and upcycling the fabric scraps. This way, they avoid the use of synthetic materials.
• Basiclly makes sure to have their fabric manufactures and the production factories close. Thus, minimizing the environmental impact therein.

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To read about more sustainable fashion brands, visit ecopurple.co.

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Article by Sharayu Mishal, Team Ecopurple.

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