Big read: Recycling 101

The sale season has begun, and all shop windows have been bedecked with those red banners that call one and all to rummage through piles of last season's clothes and stand in queue to seal your ownership over them. There'll be a few more additions to your already-high piles of black T-shirts and shirt dresses, you'll be filling in the
"blanks" that you think exist in your arsenal of wardrobe basics, you'll be smirking about having bagged that coat for a steal. Do you care about the provenance of what you're putting on your back? Or the ecological cost of that pair of jeans that you'll discard the moment it starts baggy-ing around the knees and starts losing its skinny-ness? Probably not.

Last week, at Ensemble, Mumbai, designer Paromita Banerjee's clothes were being passed around guests assembled for the EcoChic Design Academy. The inner linings of a pair of Ajrakh pants, the seams of a jacket, the panel on an ikat kurta made of patchworked fabric waste from the designer's previous collections were all being inspected in a study of what to do and the way forward. The Academy marked the launch of The EcoChic Design Award 2015-16 (Ecochicdesignaward.com). Instituted by Hong Kong-based charity Redress, the aim of the award is to challenge emerging fashion designers with less than three years' experience to reduce waste in their design. Ten finalists from Asia and Europe will present their sustainable collections at Hong Kong Fashion Week in January 2016, while the winner gets to design a new upcycled collection for luxury brand Shanghai Tang. The designer adjudged the best Indian applicant will showcase at the Lakme India Fashion Week in August.

Recyling and upcycling, as concepts that have been consciously adopted in mainstream collections of designers in India, are still at a nascent stage as far as buyers' awareness is concerned—one might be in love with a particular designer's clothes, and that label might happen to be sustainable.

"It's only really been in the last fashion week that we've seen designers putting themselves out there and taking a stand and saying, 'This is an upcycled collection.' It's a drop in the pond really. And it’s going to come from the younger generation of designers because behavioural change is hard, so you need to be educated about this. It's got to hit you at the core level that you are wasting the earth's resources and landfills are getting," says Tina Tahiliani Parikh, executive director, Ensemble.

The nature of an 'eco designer', too, has undergone a change over the years, points out Christina Dean, founder, Redress."Historically, say 15 years ago, the eco designers were like environmentalists—they put the environment first and fashion came second. That's completely changed now. Design is number one, and, secondly, it's about sustainability. We will always be driven by desire to create a beautiful product, and then the fact that it's sustainable is a massive add-on to the consumer. The big issue that the industry need to resolve is that consumers need to buy sustainable fashion. Generally, this might cost a bit more, because there's more care, more consciousness, better sourcing. It’s going to have a higher value but consumers have just gone a bit unrealistic about how much clothes should cost.” The mission, she says, is sustainable fashion with a mainstream appeal. "We're talking about the fact that sustainable fashion can be normal, not a niche."

What makes design sustainable? Dean tells us what boxes to tick:

1. Design for life: Designers must remember that aesthetics are key. Their designs must be desirable and functional and fit into the consumers' lifestyles so that their garments are loved and worn for the long term and not relegated to the depths of consumers' wardrobes.

2. Sourcing for sustainability: Designers' selection of raw materials and fabrics significantly affects their garment's sustainability credentials. So, their raw materials' sustainability must be considered as carefully as functionality and feel. For example, sourcing textile waste in all its forms, from damaged fabrics, end-of-rolls to cut-and-sew waste, provides tangible environmental gains by reducing demand for virgin materials.

3. Production for prosperity: Designers can select suppliers and supply chains that foster prosperity for their suppliers and producers. This shares the value within the supply chain and creates fair and honest benefits for all.

4. Durability for decades: Designers must envision that their garments will be worn for decades at the early design stage. This means that quality fabrics, strong stitching, generous seams and top-quality finishing must be considered to ensure that durability is sewn into the garment from the onset.

5. Consider consumer care: Designers must consider their customer's care of the garment, from washing, drying and repair, at the design stage. Through considered design and better consumer care communication, designers can protect their garment from damage and avoid their consumers' unnecessarily squandering energy in the washing process. Ultimately, better consumer care will keep clothes in the fashion loop for longer.