THE TIMES OF INDIA

World Environment Day: Fashion

is the dirtiest polluter
World Environment Day - a day United Nations wants us all to reflect on
ours and others' evil doings
towards the environment.
Putting the message across
from UN, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon says, "I urge
people and governments
everywhere to overcome
indifference, combat greed
and act to preserve our natural
heritage for the benefit of this
and future generations."
This year, like every gone-by
years, has a theme: Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife. Wildlife here
is not restricted to animals only, it includes everything grown in the wild
including plants, fungi, deserts etc. While we're all aware how illegal activities
"erode the precious biodiversity and threatens the survival of elephants, rhinos
and tigers, as well as many other species," it is to be noted that such activities
also "undermines our economies, communities and security."

It isn't about protecting the animals and the biodiversity alone, but "preventing
and inspiring people to prevent the growing strain on planet Earth's natural
systems from reaching the breaking point". Which in the long run will benefit
generations after generation. The 2016 theme highlights the fight against the
illegal trade in wildlife. Its slogan "Go Wild for Life" is aimed at encouraging
you to spread the word about wildlife crime and the damage it does, and to
challenge all those around you to do what they can to prevent it.

So, what exactly can the fashion community do for the environment. While the
first thing that comes to mind, when talking about this year's theme is fur and
the fabrics made from animal skin, but we'd rather concentrate more on the
eco-friendly clothing materials. We relate more to cottons and textiles than fur
in our everyday life, hence we decided to start the conversation and ask the
fashion community questions that need answers to make World Environment
Day worthwhile.
"The true cost of a garment lies not in the price tag, but in the impact the
production has had on the environment," says Shani Himanshu and Mia
Morikawa of 11.11/eleven eleven. In this age of consumerism, seldom you
find someone who inspires you to challenge your take on luxury and lifestyle
by bringing in responsibiliy to the forefront. "Fashion has the ability to
transform people's attitudes and consumer patterns. The concrete linear
quality of how pieces are made, the supply chain and energy involved can
open up conversations about how to live in harmony with our planet."
According to non-profit organisation, Earth Pledge, an average American
throws away nearly 70 pounds of clothing every year. And at least 8,000
chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's
pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton." These may just be numbers
and facts to you, but the "irreversible damage to people and the environment"
is what needs your attention.
For years, environment conscious brands and designers have pleaded for
sustainable fashion. But if numbers are to be believed the message hasn't
reached the ears of fashion lovers and consumers. No one sees the ugly truth
behind all the glamour of fast fashion and designer clothes: fashion
industry is the second largest polluter in the world. We don't even know it, but
we wear it everyday!
"Fashion is critical to involve the young in environmental activities. Ecology is
not just for the serious professor types but it affects all of us --and what is the
best way to take the message forward than fashion: cool, aspirational and
what makes us all look the way we want," writes Dilip Kapur, President and
founder of Hidesign.

How Can the Fashion Industry Save the Environment

Sustainable fashion is the buzzword to combat the bad reputation earned by
the industry. "Use of environmentally friendly materials and socially
responsible methods of production" is what defines sustainable fashion. So,
what does the industry think about the practice and feel about the
environment.
"I believe sustainability is prerequisite for any brand that wants to be relevant
in the future. There are already high fashion brands like Stella
McCartney that are front runners when it comes sustainability and I hope that
more will join for a more sustainable fashion future," remarks Dhatri Bhatt on
behalf of Swedish retail giant H&M. "Respect for the environment is an
integral part of H&M's business and we work actively to limit the impact that
our business, stores, logistic centres and suppliers have on the environment,"
she adds. "Fashion should be sustainable and sustainability fashionable!"
"Use of natural materials, natural dyeing methods, recycled
materials, zero water usage dyeing methods, consider the use of electricity
and think about where electricity comes from..... Our electricity in Delhi comes
from a coal source so every time we turn on a light or power a sewing
machine or switch on the A.C, we contribute to further degrading the air
quality. This is something to keep in mind," notes Shani Himanshu,
CoFounder and Creative Director and Mia Morikawa, Creative Director of
11.11/eleven eleven.
"Fashion loves jumping on the band wagon to sell more and I see many so-
called ecological collections spending huge budgets on PR stating they are
environment friendly - very rare are designers like Stella McCartney who live
up to their ideal. Attitudes however are truly changing worldwide and I hope
they will change in India also," hopes designer Lecoanet Hemant
"Each day millions of packages are delivered across India with the explosion
of e-commerce, and millions of tons of plastic is used and wasted. We can
also help promote sustainable fashion through products of fair wages, farmer
friendly fabrics and brands with ethics." - reflects the quirky fashion & lifestyle
Indian label Quirbox. They further add, "Designers could pay attention to the
small things, that are in fact the important factors, right from the materials of
fabrics, chemical free, environment friendly dyes, inks, packaging etc and
perhaps focus on environmental sustainability."
"Fashion can play a very significant role in minimizing the carbon footprint, by
means of eco-friendly clothes made using organic raw materials, organic
dyes, high quality clothes made from recycled and reused articles, use of
solar power plant as an alternate power source to minimise the power crisis,"
tells Sonal Abrol, COO of online fashion retailer Saiesta.
"Stop being a major pollutant and be aware of the consequences of what we
do. In our field 90 per cent of leather is chrome tanned, which is heavily
polluting. Fittings are made of alloys electroplated, again a heavy pollutant,
advices Dilip Kapur, President and founder of Hidesign. Further adding, "Send
out a message of ecology. With extensive use of social media, by presence in
heavily visited malls, and financial support to environmental issues"

How Can We Best Practice Sustainable Fashion

"Today a lot of garments unfortunately are thrown away although about 95%
could be recycled. To continue to expand in a sustainable way we need to
address this and focus on - reduce, reuse and recycle. Reduce waste of
materials which ends up in landfills. Reuse clothing that can be worn over and
over, else turn old clothes and textiles into other products, such as cleaning
cloths. Recycle your unwanted garments, to get more sustainable raw
materials so that new fabrics can be made without impacting the natural
resources." - H&M
"Buy local products with less carbon footprint." - 11.11/eleven eleven
"Don't buy too much. If all of us had to contribute. I just think we should stop
buying too much. just wearing it once and throwing it buying something else.
It's not sustainable." - Payal Khandwala
"The best way to practice sustainable fashion is to a void synthetics to the
extent possible, and buy local as far as possible. Fast fashion has been a
disaster ecologically, and the change there is very slow" - Dilip Kapur,
Hidesign
"The least we can do to contribute to the environment is discourage practices
such as animal testing while encouraging brands that use organic products." -
AM:PM
"I believe the best ways to practice sustainable fashion is to incorporate
organic fabrics for their creation. Like we recently introduced 'Ayurganic' a
handcrafted wellness collection based on ayurvedic principles." - designer
Lecoanet Hemant.

What Can The Buyers and Wearers Do To Contribute To The

Environment
It's not that hard if you take a little time out to empathize with the environment
you are going to live in. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
"As a consumer, we should focus on buying fabrics/clothes made up
of organic fabrics and natural dyes . We should not discard the
clothes we aren't using, but should donate them to the charities/orphanages
and organizations who recycleclothes. We should shop more
responsibly and should prefer clothes fashioned from"green" fibres like
salmon leather or rice husks." - Sonal Abrol"

"Reuse clothing that can be worn over and over, else turn old clothes and
textiles into other products, such as cleaning cloths. Recycle your unwanted
garments" - H&M

"Exercise your consumer POWER to buy consciously made products ." -

11.11/eleven eleven

"Be aware of what's in what you consume to ensure you don't harm
yourself. In our case, we would advise the consumer to avoid chrome tanned
leathers as chrome is a known carcinogenic. Hold industries responsive for
the damage they do to the environment. We can reduce consumption and
try to consume fashion which has more longevity, i.e. quality product which we
can carry comfortably for a longer period of time. Also recreate alternative
uses of your old fashion buys." - Dilip Kapur, President and founder of
Hidesign
"Trade in your dryer for a good old fashioned clothesline - air drying leaves
your clothes smelling fresh and is environmentally friendly" would be a general
advice that we can unfortunately not follow in Delhi, the most polluted city in
the world. I personally follow the very inspiring TED talk by Kamal Meattle that
teaches you how to at least clean your own direct environment." - designer
Lecoanet Hemant.
Where Do We Stand?
"Fashion like all art empowers, and communicates," says Jayesh Sachdev of
Quirkbox. So why not start the conversation from fashion, with the fashion-
obsessed world.