Increasing affordability among consumers has seen the branded segment of India’s apparel sector grow by over 15 per cent every year over the last decade or so, with the market being disrupted by various forces such as foreign firms, e-commerce, and ever-changing fashion cycles even as clothes are being purchased faster than ever before.
At the other end of the spectrum are customs and longevity. In a country where tradition and innovation are often woven together, durability may hold the key at a time when the market is being flooded with cheap and disposable clothing and trends like thrifting are catching up. According to a recent HSBC report, India’s $86-billion apparel and accessories category is projected to grow 11 per cent annually over the next half a decade. But this growth comes with its costs.
Fast fashion
The modern apparel sector runs at an industrial scale. India is the sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world, accounting for 8.2 per cent of merchandise exports and employing over 4.5 crore people.
But this scale consumes greater and greater resources. According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2023 report, the global fashion industry contributes up to 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, while dyeing and finishing processes account for nearly a fifth of industrial water pollution. This is no surprise considering the demand: a 2020 WEF report estimated people were buying 60 per cent more garments than they did 25 years ago while sticking with them for only half as long. The result: up to 85 per cent of textiles end up in landfills.
Traditional sustainability
At Delhi’s Dilli Haat, the piles of block-printed fabrics, wooden toys, and rows of khadi shirts signal sustainability, with vendors speaking of local materials and familiar suppliers — cotton from nearby mills, block prints from Jaipur, woodwork from Saharanpur — as choices shaped more by tradition and trust than environmental goals.
It is this kind of understated circularity — local sourcing, durable materials, low-waste habits — that has defined India’s craft economy: techniques such as Kantha stitching, where layers of old fabric are quilted into new creations, the reuse of leftover yarn into Chindi rugs and handloom weaving, or traditional hand-stitched quilts made using patchwork on old saris and dhotis known as Godhadi. These are not marketing pitches but acts of necessity, passed down from one generation to another in communities making the most of what they have.
Second lives
Somewhere between sustainability of traditional methods and appeal of the modern is thrifting, which challenges the throwaway culture. “Over time, I realised how much waste was being created by fast fashion and overconsumption,” said Isha Saxena, founder of @ish.museum, an Instagram thrift store.
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While friends and family make donations, items are also handpicked from thrift markets and bulk vintage suppliers. Changing mindsets, though, remains a challenge, with second-hand clothes carrying the stigma of being dirty. “Helping people unlearn that, and see second-hand as stylish, sustainable, and even cooler than fast fashion – that’s the hardest part,” said Saxena.
Start-ups, too, are making use of waste. Mumbai-based Dwij, for instance, upcycled 2,000 pairs of jeans into around 300 utility bags in three months. Doodlage transforms factory scraps into dresses, jackets, and co-ords and repurposes its own waste into home furnishings and bags. KaSha in Pune mixes waste plastic with old fabrics to create jackets, scarves, and skirts.
Changing practices
Large global brands are not far behind. American retailer Patagonia now primarily uses recycled polyester and cotton, helping cut carbon dioxide emissions by over 80 per cent per pound of fibre. It is also working to eliminate virgin polyester from its products this year – a significant step, as virgin polyester contributes heavily to microplastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, Levi’s new water-saving practices have saved over 13 billion litres of water.
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In India, too, changes are afoot at the policy level. The government set up an Environmental, Social, and Governance task force in 2023. At the fourth meeting of the task force on June 3, the ministry held consultations on a draft Roadmap 2047 for a sustainable, circular, and resource-efficient Indian textile industry, with Neelam Shami Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, saying at the meeting that sustainability was no longer a choice “but a defining imperative for the future of India’s textile sector”.
