SPOTLIGHT — Sustainable Fashion in India’s North East
“Sustainable fashion” is an uncomfortable subject. This is because, at the outset, the two conjoined words do not complement each other. The fashion industry, which has been a thriving, breathing, growing organism for centuries, has not been able to champion sustainability since its advent. It has now openly been staring in the face of multiple burgeoning issues, of which ecological sustainability perhaps races nose to nose for first or second place, with the other major issue of ethical practice.
But let’s look at fashion and ecology for now. It is no well kept secret that fashion is touted one of the most polluting industries in the world. The last 50–60 years have been the worst perpetrators — with catastrophic factors like overproduction, industrial and agricultural pollution and rise of synthetic material, playing a heavy role; all the while witnessing the bloom of probably the best sartorial laurels and acclaimed progressions in its field.
Fashion has boldly embraced changing times and trends, modern infrastructure, technology, and opened up the global economy at par with legendary industries like automotive, banking, or tourism. All this has effectively given rise to the concept of fast fashion — described by Wikipedia as “a contemporary term used by fashion retailers for designs that flow from the catwalk quickly to capture current fashion trends.” Popular retail houses like Zara, H&M, Forever 21 constitute this model of operation.
Race to the top
“The fast fashion industry wants big profits and produces cheap, trendy, disposable clothes — so that the customer buys often and more in quantity. Most fast fashion items are made out of polyester because it is cheap, and polyester is plastic! It is increasing carbon, waste and water footprints.” — Omi Gurung, Sikkim-based fashion designer and social entrepreneur.
Hasina Kharbhih, Founder-Managing Director, Impulse Social Enterprises (ISE), states that fast fashion replicates luxury brands at affordable prices and pushes the consumer to keep going for trends. The ‘havoc’ of fast fashion is unleashed on smaller, developing countries with large populations, with aggressive e-commerce platforms, pricing, availability and forceful marketing paving the way for a flourishing fast fashion economy, without any control or regulation in place.
If fast fashion brands produce the newest style on the market as soon as possible, it means that -
All of this and more. Fast fashion manufacturers operate heavy on resources to produce at low costs, then demanding the attention and spending power of the consumer, both either disregarding or overlooking completely the ecological metabolism of the garment, its life-cycle from conception to eventual ‘death’ — disposal/waste.
The role reversal
With too many congregating problems to ignore, the accountability of the fashion industry has literally been in the spotlight. Says a report on mckinsey.com, “Without improvements in how clothing is made, these issues will grow proportionally as more clothes are produced.”
So, the counter opposition term ‘Slow Fashion’ came to life, with the motive to mitigate the escalating impact of the fast fashion economy. Slow fashion essentially means good quality, slower production, low carbon footprints and ideally zero wastage. The overall aim of slow fashion is to ease the pressure on extravagant amount of natural resources used in farming, harvesting, processing, manufacturing, shipping, consumption and disposal. The onus is also on the consumer to make valuable decisions with the last rites of the garments in mind, for which they would have options like donation, swapping, thrift stores, up-cycling or recycling.
It was companies like Patagonia and ESPRIT, who in the late 1980’s catapulted the environmental issues concerning fashion into the public sphere, by commissioning research, re-evaluation of their production cycles, fabrics, fibres and assessment of impact. Their legacy of environmental advocacy gave way to numerous other fashion retailers and designers worldwide, who made conscious assessments themselves and switched to sustainability and ecological responsibility. With an opportunity to make better choices while pursuing growth, slow fashion has caught on across the world, attempting to create a deeper value system and healthy consumption.
In India, many brands have skilfully advocated the rising trend to be ecologically conscious, asserting their eco-socio ideology with that of like-minded consumers. Prominent Indian brands like FabIndia, Anokhi, No Nasties, Pero, Good Earth, and others, have keywords like ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘organic’ at the heart of their campaigns.
However, the overall success of slow fashion has been under doubt and requires a re-think of the whole system at play. If anything, fashion as an industry is known for its evolution. If sustainable fashion is to retain, it requires an inclusive re-evaluation of business models and ways of living. “The entire economy of the industry needs to be looked at. We have to move towards a balanced economy, with end-to-end solutions for sustainability,” says Hasina Kharbhih. It is about rebuilding the ecosystem of fashion, with major investments in local resources, fair trade practices, fair wages and a viable process.
She says, “Government has to re-shape the existing policies and re-think local consumption, as a way forward for livelihood opportunities.” Slow fashion needs to be an educated bottom-up approach, a sustainable value-chain, where generation of income does not disturb the process. Where the narrative of slow textile, hand-woven, ecologically conscious materials and generation of income for the artisans and retailers are an intertwined agenda.
Did you know?
The tradition of handwoven ‘slow’ textile in the Northeast fits perfectly with the definition of slow fashion. One can conjure in an instant the many, many tribes of each state that have their own rich and distinct handicrafts and textiles, use of indigenous design motifs and resources, and of course, traditional weaving techniques. As such, slow fashion is a well-established conventional practice in Northeast India, and one that is looked at with indigenous pride and distinction. “Every ethnic group has different designs and colour combinations. Different motifs and designs of textiles have a relationship with rituals, customs and religious life of the people of Northeast India”, says Omi Gurung. Materials such as bamboo, jute and cotton are grown locally in most states. Pineapple leaves are used for making bags in Meghalaya. Eri silk or ahimsa silk produced in Assam is considered organic and non-violent. The art of traditional dyeing is sourced from natural raw materials in the local markets, like turmeric and beetroot. The colour combinations used by each of the Naga tribes represent something different and specific, like black for the darkness, or red/orange, for fire. The green and yellow of paddy fields is seen in the Bodo textile motifs. Handwoven woollen carpets and Thangka paintings of Sikkim use fully natural pigments and materials. A cursory enquiry yields pages of results.
While around the world, designers and artisans shape their slow fashion policies and evaluate their business techniques, grassroots artisan communities have already been practicing this for generations. The value of a garment or handicraft here lies in its self-generated, long-lasting properties. They do not possess the sophisticated finish of automated mass production, but are prided on uniqueness and skill of the weaver and are often passed down through generations. This captures the essence of slow fashion which the world has turned its eyes on.
Hasina Kharbhih says, “With the Impulse model, we began pursuing economic opportunities for tribal villagers in the Northeast by exporting their artisanal textile and crafts for a fair wage and through ethical business practices. Economic empowerment is about market access. We call for the expansion and use of local resources, encouraging home-grown traditional practices with a supportive revenue model, value-addition in design and material, innovative technology and re-building the ecosystem. This along with community development and empowerment, without having to turn to factories and mills, or migration in search of economic opportunities.”
Sum of its parts
The different tangents and problematic pathways of the concept of fast fashion, and its contestant ‘sustainable fashion’ practices, make this a difficult issue to grapple with. There are fresh reports every year with the controversies, pollution, the invention and trials of alternative resources, consumption patterns and predictions, changing context of consumerism, individual responsibility, market influx of goods and accessibility, aspirations of the industry, and so forth. The only thing unnervingly simple to understand but maybe not digest is — it is clear that the industry is a global Goliath of environmental damage, and we are all complicit in this.
While the industry comes to terms with the lengths of its operations at the expense of the environment, a conscious consumer will need to retrospect their own homes and closets and patterns of consumption. Sustainable fashion calls for a great need to be aware and mindful, respectful of the ecosystem and value the economics of the practice. It calls for a need to train and manoeuvre the future towards increasing the scale of its aspirations and achieve notable success. It is definitely a conjoined outcome of all the industry’s various often contradictory parts. The glitz, the wonder, good and bad. One that is constantly in flux and adaptation, and well worth the watch.
This piece was written for the Balipara Foundation’s online publication, The Himalayan. The Balipara Foundation encourages the transition to sustainable fashion in the North East & Eastern Himalayan region, through its homegrown brand Elephant Country, as well as through the launch of its co-creation Rural Futures partnership with the Impulse Model — to create end-to-end value chains for women artisans, from growing & sourcing materials locally, to connecting with buyers and markets around the world.
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