Fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Workers of fast fashion are exploited and underpaid, animals are injured, and the overall process is also harmful to the environment. To combat this, ‘ethical fashion’ was born. It includes ethical design; production, by focusing on good working conditions and fair trade; and sustainability, among other concerns.
A lot of labels have bent towards sustainable fashion, using recycling and upcycling techniques for conservation of nature. Some of them are as follows:
Ka-Sha
Karishma Shahani’s label Ka-Sha has been at the forefront of upcycling. Since its inception, Shahani has ensured she operates on a zero-wastage policy. Be it using old vegetable sacks and rejected plastic bags to make jackets, or creating pieces out of old Benarasi saris or even making denim jackets from discarded jeans, Shahani is promoting upcycling whichever way she can. She also creates signature pom poms, footwear, and scarves from leftover fabric in her studio.
Upasana
This conscious fashion brand, a unit of Auroville, is on a mission to change lives. They look at social problems, from post-tsunami trauma to farmer suicides and from garbage and littering to plastic bags usage, and creatively use design to solve these problems. Their products include the entire range of women’s clothing and accessories.
Kaleekal
Launched in 2015, the label Kaleekal employs traditional Indian handlooms in ways that appeal to discerning buyers. To minimise large-scale industrial wastage and dependency on synthetic fabrics, the designer eventually switched to natural fabrics like organic cotton, silk, wool, and line. This has resulted in the lesser use of pesticides and chemicals on the soil, and also reduced the number of natural resources consumed.
Maati
Maati by Neha Kabra is a contemporary womenswear label from Udaipur, Rajasthan that is verified by PETA. A part of all its fabric is up-cycled, the dyes are naturally sourced and their packaging is plastic-free. Their effortless and breezy silhouettes are absolutely timeless.
Chakori Ethnic
Chakori Ethnic is working to bring to market the different designs and craft traditions of rural India. Chakori Ethnic’s apparel comes in different traditional prints like Kalamkari, Shibori, Hand block, Dabu, Indigo and Phentiya prints. This brand works with rural artisans and craftsmen in their endeavour to create sustainably fashionable garments.