The fashion industry can definitely keep a quantity check, and make clothes according to the existing demands. A lot of new age and sustainable fashion brands are averse to excess and understand the devastating effect of excess clothing being manufactured. We are in the process of becoming a 100% zero waste brand, as the fabric waste from our studio gets recycled and is then converted into paper tags, bags, visiting cards, other stationery and other biodegradable products. “It is not required at all; it surely is waste and absurd. By using good quality fabrics that last longer and paying special attention to fits, one can take care of all the major reasons that make people discard old clothes, suggests Pooja Khanna, founder of fashion label Venn who also feels that waste is a design flaw. As a brand, we do not indulge in overcrowding the rails ever, but cater to our clients almost exclusively, for each season, and avoid excess baggage of unnecessary collection, and waste. Meena Chawla, director of fashion label Ravissant, endorses Jean Paul Gaultiers observation and reaction to the enumerable collection with too many fashion clothes. He said companies must stop engaging in a “contest” to make the most clothes.Work on capsule wardrobes and also educate the end customer through our work. She explains the phenomenon of fast fashion and says, “These days, brands make a lot of collections in advance, and due to constant emerging trends, they tend to go out of fashion every-time. We also follow a “made to order” process, ensuring we are not keeping substantial unsold inventories. She agrees to Gaultier’s statement about fast fashion and remarks, “It is, unfortunately, true and one can only imagine the excess waste generated out of every new collection produced.
We pay special attention to reduce waste in our design process by ensuring that our designs dont leave colossal fabric wastes.While it is already known that fashion industries are the second largest cause of pollution on earth, it is now established that “fast fashion” is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, water, and air pollution by creating problematic levels of waste that is hard to dispose of. Slow fashion is a movement started to address this problem by changing customer behaviour to buying less and busying concisely. Dyeing is purely done with azo-free and natural dyes which are free of carcinogens and harmful chemicals,” informs Pooja Khanna about the eco-friendly methods she implements. Organic cotton requires 71% less water and 62% less energy than commercial cotton; it is 80% rain-fed. which feels the same as the regular fabric..Since most designers swear by the philosophy of ‘minimalism’ when it comes to manufacturing clothes why are brands creating heaps of clothes? How can the problem of plenty be tackled? Mumbai based designer Purvi Doshi believes that it’s high time designers switch to sustainable fashion that does not harm the planet. Currently, we are using sustainable fabrics like Organic Cotton, Tencel, Bamboo Fabric, etc. We do not produce the stocks in bulk to store, but we work according to the demand in every season. Creating awareness about the problem of excess and giving consumers timeless pieces will hugely solve this problem. Thereby, we can avoid wastage of sustainable fashion,” says Chawla. The fabric is biodegradable and decomposes without any toxic remains.”Experts also believe that the need of today’s consumer is not changing of fashion collection with a big selection so very often, but having a bespoke collection four times a year, as a seasonal collection. To do our bit to reduce pollution, we use cotton and sustainable fabrics in our garments. In a recent interview, iconic French designer Jean Paul Gaultier called it a “disaster” and mentioned that big fashion brands are harming the planet by producing “far too many collections with far too many clothes”.”lTo cut down on the fast fashion, small and big fashion brands have to adapt to the slow fashion philosophy, as timeless designs and colours work great in the Indian market. As designers, we should try to use organic fabrics and implement recycling strategies to reduce wastage from garments. Such design silhouettes can be worn for multiple occasions and are timeless, highlights Sandhya Tholi, founder China Polyester Stretch Fabric of fashion brand Indé Loom
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