Even as you read, walk to your closet and check how many tees, kurtis, jeans, saris have you not worn for more than a year – the years actually before COVID struck and upended our lives like never before.
Ask yourself – how many times have you repeated a garment at an evening out or a birthday luncheon with the same set of friends? Chances are, none!
Well, then, you are not quite in trend. Yes! You read it right. Repeating a dress to any event with the same set of friends is today considered woke.
Really!? How did this come about?
Well, ever wondered the amount of water needed to make one T-shirt? Any thoughts on what happens to your clothes once you discard them? Are you aware that thousands of tonnes of clothes make it to landfills year after year? Do you know that the fashion industry is responsible for 20 per cent of water pollution globally? That it is the second biggest polluter of freshwater resources on the planet?
I am sure you love the petal silk feel of some of your soft-touch tops and dresses that curve around you. Chances are they are made of polyester – perhaps the most polluting fabric. It is almost like plastic. It never ever decomposes entirely and will remain on the planet for hundreds of years. And, the production of such clothing means use of a whole lot of chemicals during the various stages.
Not just Mother Nature, have you ever given a thought to those who make these clothes you wear? For a simple rayon top — for which you have, perhaps, shelled out around Rs.1200, there are the bent backs, tired eyes, and sore hands of a man, woman, or maybe even a child who receives not enough to live a simple yet good life.
It is not always as bad as I have made it out to be. There are many good practices too that the fashion industry follows and major steps are being taken to reduce its carbon footprint.
But, what can you as a consumer do to choose fashion that does not harm the planet? Would you like to choose brands that care for the planet? How can you go about it? We will talk about it all and more some other day. Till then I would love to know your thoughts.
(The writer is Consultant Editor at Fibre2Fashion)
