Indian Textile industry employs 10.6 Crores of Direct and Indirect employees to cater to our Domestic Consumption and International fashion Exports. These employees together generate upto 21200 MT of (PRE –CONSUMER)fabric waste , at the manufacturing level EVERY DAY. With a population of over 130 Crores , the estimated “End of Life” fabric , accessories, shoes, belts and bags being dumped everyday is upwards of 13000 MTPD , across India. Major Metro Cities and Tier II cities contribute to 77% of fashion fabrics and accessories being dumped in landfills. 41%- 43% of any Landfill Sample , pan India, has fabric, apparel, accessories, shoes, belts, bags, etc. Cotton, Wool , Silk are 100% recyclable and can be recreated from end of life apparels. Synthetic fiber consisting of Polyester, Nylon etc. adds 52% of toxicity to our landfills due to the excessive use of chemicals, dyes and colors.
We create awareness about apparels and accessories that can be repaired & refashioned, to give them a second life catering to over 70% of the world’s population.
Creation of upcycled products , not restricted to Rugs , Mats, Quilts , Show pieces, Wall hangings etc. are a part of Responsible Fashion awareness initiative in the Textile space.
We all have our own parts to play when it comes to making this world a better place; some of the ways are:
1. Donate to organizations or the needy
There are a number of orphanages and NGOs that have an increasing requirement for clothes and other items. They would be happy to have received second-hand items that might be lying unused in your wardrobe.
2.Give them away at Community clothing drives or at a local temple
People who cannot afford new clothes are constantly on the lookout for these drives. In a way, you are a giver and are playing your part in community work.
3. Talk to social media handles or Old age homes / Orphanages etc
You can actively reach out to any of them and give away your clothes.
4.See if they can be composted
Clothing made of cotton and natural fibers can be composted once you shred them nicely and remove plastic buttons, zippers, and any other attached accessory.
5. Use them as cleaning rags and mops
It is common practice in Indian households to use worn-out clothes as rags and mops. You can use them to clean glass doors or wipe your floor instead of disposing of them as trash.
Another effective way to reduce the waste generated from textiles is to upcycle them.
Where recycling means creating something new out of waste, upcycling is a process that involves generating a reformed product from waste in its present state.
Each year, in India alone, 820000 MT. of clothing, shoes and accessories are added to landfills.
Currently we are in the era of ‘Fast Fashion’, which has admittedly contributed to a large
amount of clothing waste over the years, with accessible, cheap fashion line providing an easy excuse for quick turnaround.
Clothing is perhaps the easiest to recycle. Simply donating clothing to a local church,
community organization, non-profit, is one way of recycling your unwanted clothes. This is
considered recycling because you’re giving the clothes a new chance at life with a new owner,
rather than throwing them away as trash. However, if you have tattered clothes or fabric
scraps, you probably don’t want to donate them. These scraps can easily be recycled.
Textiles can be recycled, which refers to the process of turning old clothing, fabrics, and other
textiles into materials that can be reused. Textiles are donated, sorted, usually transported to
recycling centers, and then transformed into recovered materials.
Another effective way to reduce the waste generated from textiles is to upcycle them.
Where recycling means creating something new out of waste, upcycling is a process that involves generating a reformed product from waste in its present state.
Each year, in India alone, 820000 MT. of clothing, shoes and accessories are added to landfills.
Currently we are in the era of ‘Fast Fashion’, which has admittedly contributed to a large
amount of clothing waste over the years, with accessible, cheap fashion line providing an easy excuse for quick turnaround.
Clothing is perhaps the easiest to recycle. Simply donating clothing to a local church,
community organization, non-profit, is one way of recycling your unwanted clothes. This is
considered recycling because you’re giving the clothes a new chance at life with a new owner,
rather than throwing them away as trash. However, if you have tattered clothes or fabric
scraps, you probably don’t want to donate them. These scraps can easily be recycled.
Textiles can be recycled, which refers to the process of turning old clothing, fabrics, and other
textiles into materials that can be reused. Textiles are donated, sorted, usually transported to
recycling centers, and then transformed into recovered materials.
One of the biggest challenges facing today’s fashion industry – to create fashion for a growing population while reducing its impact on the environment.
Our Fashion industry that comes off as posh and ethical is one of the most unsustainable in its practices. The fashion industry has been infamous for generating truckloads of waste. The textile industry is one of the major contributors to Greenhouse gases related to its production.
With the increasing need to upgrade our wardrobe with the latest styles, we always have a bulk of unused clothes. Moreover, brands produce masses of clothes, most of which are never sold. These clothes are actually burned with a heap of biomass. It can take years for them to get decomposed, thus polluting our planet.
In India, the act of giving away used items has existed as an age-old tradition. Thus, the use of
hand-me-down clothes until they are damaged enough to be reused as a duster is not a new concept for a regular Indian household.
Know More About our E4F Resurrect initiative on our website or check our social media pages
Under Exchange4Fashion’s E4FResurrect we help to ensure that worn clothes don’t end up in landfills. We assess the different kinds of waste that comes out of the fashion industry and determine how best to segregate and bring back to circularity. If it’s towards end of life, and can’t be treated, we ensure it doesn’t land up at landfill but used as a fuel in cement and steel factories.
Know More About our E4F Resurrect initiative on our website or check our social media pages
Sustainable fashion is about meeting tomorrow’s needs by benefitting the people involved throughout the process of the supply chain, which includes farmers to consumers and everyone working in the factories to meet the needs.
Fashion has a significant impact on communities around the world, it also has an enormous climate change footprint. Sustainable fashion has an enormous impact on communities across the globe.
Sustainable fashion matters because the fashion industry includes a lot of natural resources and millions of people who rely on the industry. So it is not only about the future of climate but also the future of us. The fashion industry is resource-intensive, for example, cotton, which requires a large amount of water together with synthetic materials like polyester that are made from non-renewable resources like oil. Not only that, other materials like viscose which is of utmost demand in the fashion industry leading to deforestation which is therefore affecting the habitat of endangered trees and a lot of other species.
So, it is crucial we focus on researching and developing more sustainable materials that can solve the purpose without affecting the climate, the truth is we can’t keep using natural resources the way we used to, because if so there would not be any resources soon in the future.
Did you know, around 3,000 litres of water is required to make one cotton t-shirt?
Overusing water and producing excess water is among the most pressing matters in the fashion industry. Around 100 billion are being pumped out of garment factories every year. Now people buy more clothes than ever, not only because they have money but everything has become more accessible. This also means a greater number of cloths goes to the bin than ever, which are in the end either going to landfills or being burnt, but those are not the sustainable way of doing business.
If we have to burn the products in order to dispose of, it is extremely inefficient which means we are not using the resources well, it immediately needs to change, we can’t afford to keep filling the landfills with an enormous amount of waste, neither we continue to use gallons of water for cotton farming.
Influencers are known for their outstanding approach and strong voice, they are considered as industry experts who entertain, aware and educate their followers in a particular niche. The concept of sustainable fashion is not well-known by the Indian society, in this circumstance the sustainable fashion influencers are taking the responsibility of educating people about the fundamentals of sustainable fashion.
If you are into creating or watching fashion content over social media platforms you must follow these personalities who will help you change your perspective towards sustainable fashion. Instead of fast fashion sells if you focus on purchasing biodegradable clothes and recycle them following proper methods it can positively impact the industry. It is important to care for us for the environment, so if you think it is okay to not think about the climate you are not a responsible citizen.
We empower enable designers, brands to grow in green weather sourcing organic cotton or sports tee out of ocean waste, our community will help you to Connect / coordinate with relevant vendors/ entrepreneurs to make your brand a responsible sustainable brand.
