Fashion is the largest polluter in the world after oil. The advent of ‘fast’ fashion has resulted in rapidly changing trends which has forced people to utilise their clothes for a short time before moving to the next trend. All the discarded clothes often end up in landfills which are then burned resulting in pollution. Most major fast fashion companies have also been accused of human right violations and animal cruelty.
In the light of such events, it becomes important that we as consumers choose our clothes wisely. To counter the evils of fast fashion, some brands are coming up with sustainable clothing options. We look at some of them in India.
No Nasties
No Nasties was established in 2011, in Goa. The label specialises in 100% organic, fair trade, vegan clothing. They even care for their packing, which uses no plastic. In fact, they call their products ‘planet positive’ implying that it actually helps the planet when you buy their collection. One way they do that is to plant three trees for every product that you purchase. At No Nasties you can shop from shirts, hoodies, tops, skirts and scarves. Also, you can pop into their 120-year old workplace in Goa if you want to check out what they do yourself!
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Upasana
Founded in the tranquil Auroville, Upasana is sustainable from the word go. It has collaborated with local artisans and weavers who make clothes using the traditional ‘handloom’. This prevents any electricity loss since the looms work by hand. Also, the label uses natural dyes and organic cotton for making clothes. Moreover, they try to bring varied fabrics from different parts of India to include in their collection. You can shop sarees, kurtis, jackets and bags from their range of collections.
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11.11/Eleven Eleven
11.11 prides itself on using indigenous cotton and full natural dyes. The artisans who make the clothes follow traditional methods like hand loom weaving, hand painting, and miniature dyeing. 11.11 believes that rurally sourced artisans using traditional methods of cloth making cause very little carbon footprint, making their clothes more sustainable. Their collection includes dresses, shirts, trousers, tops and even accessories like laptop bags and hand-made notebooks.
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Nicobar
Inspired by their travels across the Indian Ocean, Simran Lal and Rahul Rai founded Nicobar. Nicobar makes products that are not trend driven, focussing more on details, production process and materials. The label uses organic cotton, recycled wool and bamboo fabrics to make their clothes. Moreover, they also care for their partnered artisans. Basically, Nicobar does everything that a fast fashion brand cannot, and that is only a good thing. Do visit their stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad which often double up at places for book reading, Yoga workshops and other activities!
Ka-Sha
At Ka-Sha, the goal is to celebrate handcrafts. Like most other labels in the list, Ka-Sha uses natural fabrics for their collection. It also uses both old and new techniques of making clothes. There is also a lot of focus on upcycling, recycling and mending clothes to make them truly sustainable. On offer are a variety of dresses, scarves, blouses made from various dyeing techniques. For your next sustainable item of clothing, Ka-Sha is definitely the place to go.
Feature Image Credits – Ka-Sha
