#MY SFS JOURNEY

 

It was in 2018 that I got introduced and got an exposure to the fashion industry when I attended the sustainable fashion day in the month of August—the Lakme Fashion Week--Winter Festive. Prior to that I was lured by the discounts and new collections by fast fashion brands and mall shopping. Then, I also wrote for an online fashion magazine The Fashion Enterprise (TFE), where I got a chance to profile  various brands and learned about fast fashion and the adverse impact mass/bulk production had on people and the environment and animals. Over the past two years I have switched to buying brands that are vegan and sustainable and also swap clothes with friends and family members. That has curbed my urge to shop new collections and therefore reduced my shopping considerably. I realized that our shopping habits and choices of what we buy can have a huge impact on people and the planet. Now, I only shop a brand after studying/reading about them and then take a decision whether to buy or not.

 

I Was A Sari---How we make your clothes (Article Repost from Iwasasari.com)

HOW WE MAKE YOUR CLOTHES

How We Make Your Clothes

May 28th 2020: This Fashion Revolution Week, we make our supply chain more transparent, sharing behind the scenes. This is how we go from I am a Sari to I was a Sari!

The Sari Sourcing

This is where it all begins- at the vibrant flea market, Chor Bazaar (translated as ‘Thieves’ Market’). Definitely a place to visit if you’re ever in Mumbai. Here there are sellers with bundles of saris from which our team selects and brings them back to our HQ. We buy many kilos of saris every week.

In India most things get re-used rather than thrown away as waste. The Waghris, a nomadic community of India has been working in the trade for a century-and-a-half now. They travel door to door, barterering second-hand clothes for new utensils from households in almost every city. They are our invisible heroes helping Indians to reuse, recycle and upcycle!

Selecting the right saris

Our Production Team led by Satish, then kicks in, with their knack for selecting the right saris to transform into something new and progressive. They envisage the future for these vibrant prints and colours, matchmaking them into accessories or ready to wear.

For us this is a really important step- ensuring the fabric is both good quality and beautiful. Many have flaws- stains or thinning of the fabric. Not all saris qualify to become I was a Sari product. Once selected, the saris are given a thorough inspection and checked if the product design can work around any flaws in the fabric.

We don’t waste though: left overs are used as rags or donated to Goonj, a partner NGO to create reusable sanitary pads and other products for women in rural India.

Embellishment of the sari

With the support of #GucciEquilibrium our female artisans have entered a traditionally male world- the art of hand embroidery. In India, embroidery houses typically employ thousands of male only karigars.
The Mumbai embroidery houses that supply Gucci worked with our artisans to teach them this beautiful and intricate art. Now they’re equipped for life with a highly marketable skill!

The embroidery and embellishment techniques, whilst making the product more beautiful, they also add to the number of hours the product takes to handcraft. Each hand embellished product takes anywhere between two to twenty hours of work, which means we can engage and employ more artisans.
Check out our hand embroidered products , made by our artisans who’ve learnt from the best in the industry! 

The embroidered piece is then cut and prepared for sewing. Since we upcycle pre-loved saris, complete with flaws and all, it means every I was a Sari product is unique. Out of the 5 yards of sari material, only carefully selected parts can be used. So each sari is flawfully yours!

Once cut, the product is sewn by our artisans whose skills are improving every day. They’re women who don’t let coming from underprivileged backgrounds hold them back. They were unemployed, stay-at-home Mums who couldn’t earn a living for a variety of reasons. With our partner NGOs they’ve been trained in how to make our products, skilling themselves with different techniques which are applied to make bags, accessories and our ready to wear apparel – loungewear and resort wear.

We now engage with more than 170 artisans between our two NGO partners – CORP and Animedh Charitable Trust and we hope to work with many more women in the making of I was a Sari.

We ask our artisans : “What’s changed for you since you started working with us?”

Their answers:
#NOWICAN pay my way at home
#NOWICAN send my kids to school
#NOWICAN save up for higher education
#NOWICAN buy things for myself
#NOWICAN be independent
#NOWICAN hold my head high at home and in my community!

The 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge launches with more than 60 founding brands

2020 Circular Fashion Pledge Launches With Over 60 Founding Brand Signatories

Fashion Brands Strengthen Their Commitment to Sustainability Even Given COVID-19

Worldwide: Today, during this Fashion Revolution Week – and just after the 50^th Anniversary of Earth Day – over 60 fashion brands from six continents have pledged to implement more sustainable business practices through circularity initiatives in 2020. Collectively, they are on a mission to change the industry and prove that the sustainable fashion movement is still strong even in the middle of the human tragedy of COVID-19.

The fashion industry is a significant contributor to climate change, toxic waterways and ocean pollutants, land use, and waste. These have adverse implications for our health, economy, and planet.

However, dynamic and innovative, small- and medium-sized fashion brands are stepping up to improve the industry’s impacts. Each brand has committed to taking a specific action in 2020 to lead the industry toward a more circular model. Collectively, they are addressing the U.N. Sustainable Develop Goal (SDG) 12.5, to substantially reduce waste generation by 2030.

Fashion brands can pledge their commitment to at least one of the three below circular actions:

1.  Enable take-back or resale: By the end of 2020, launch at least one method or partnership to enable their customers to send-back or resell their used items.

2.  Increase recycled content: By the end of 2020, increase the total percentage of certified recycled content or scrap fabric by 10 percent in their top 5 selling items.

3.  Design for durability: By the end of 2020, increase the use of non-blended materials, and/or modularity and repairability in their top 5 selling items.

“Other brands can still join; we are aiming for 1,000 brand signatories this year. Asian brands are also welcome and encouraged to join the pledge,” said Adam Siegel, Founder, 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge.

Together, we are the path toward a cleaner, more dynamic, creative, and quality-driven fashion industry.

Service providers that offer technology or services can also pledge their support for helping brands achieve their sustainability goals. Additionally, consumers who care about sustainable fashion can stay updated and learn about new and dynamic brands that are working to be more sustainable.

"Saqhoute is an accessible luxury ready-to-wear brand for professional women. We have had a longstanding commitment to ethical and sustainable practices, while maintaining an Egyptian cultural aesthetic," said Norhan El Sakkout, Founder & Creative Director of Saqhoute, located in Egypt. "Given the global importance of building a circular fashion industry, we are honored to commit to the 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge."

"We founded The Extra Smile to be a force for good in the fashion industry -- to make fashionable clothes for kids in a way that is fair to people and kind to our planet," said Heleen Devos, Co-Founder of The Extra Smile, with locations in Asia and Europe. "Our objective is to create more decent jobs for Asian apparel workers by selling stylish and organic children's fashion to consumers in Europe. Responsible production and consumption of apparel is very important for the future of our planet, so we are beyond excited to see many amazing brands in the 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge."

"To me, it’s not just about making a piece of jewelry but in each piece, I am trying to tell a story using artistic and sustainable products," said Maria Jose Cordovez, designer and owner of MJ Cordovez Jewelry located in Quito, Ecuador. "The 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge is another way I can show my customers the importance of sustainable fashion."

The Pledge will provide signatories with resources, guidance, connections, and support to help them achieve their commitment.

About the 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge: The 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge brings together fashion brands that are on a mission to change the industry. We recognize fashion’s significant contribution to climate change, toxic waterways and ocean pollutants, land use, and more. We know that the culture of low-cost, short-lasting clothing is contributing to tremendous waste all along the supply chain – and in consumers’ closets.

To solve these problems, each brand signatory has committed to taking specific actions in 2020 to lead the industry toward a more circular model.

Apparel Industry to suffer huge losses due to pandemic.

Even as the lockdown continues in most parts of India due to the pandemic, economic growth and job losses are likely to have an impact on many sectors. Fashion industry is also said to among the one to layoff staff and retailers are also asking for a zero rental from mall owners, according to newspaper reports.

And brands that do not have an online (e-commerce) presence are said to be affected more due to the crisis.

The online buying activity is dominated by the the social media youth who actively buy following influencers. But due to the stores being closed more more of this segment of younger population are likely to make online purchases.

Also, with fashion weeks getting cancelled there may not be so many seasonal trends to follow,

Some brands are even working towards making themselves as sustainable brands so as to turn away from being a fast fashion label.

The Slow Fashion Season which seeks participation from people to not buy new clothes for three months is going to commence in June (June 21st-21st September).

Besides, the 2020 circular fashion pledge is launching later this month during the Fashion Revolution Week,

  

2020 Circular fashion Pledge to launch during Fashion Revolution Week in April

Founded by Adam Siegel, the 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge will be launching during the Fashion Revolution Week later this month.
it is for brands to take a pledge(small and medium sized fashion brands) to show their commitment to circular fashion and getpublicity and support to help achieve one of three specificcirculat goals.
"It is free for the brands to take the pledge and we are aiming for 1,000 signatories this year.

The details are at the website---https://www.2020circularfashion.com

Fashion brands stores/Retailers shut shops in the wake of the pandemic

As the news of the pandemic has made sweeping newspaper headlines recently most fashion brands have shut shops and are increasing their online presence as talks of a global economic slowdown are being discussed by fashion experts.

Leading brands in the country and fashion retailers have been badly affected by the virus and they are going all out to reach out to their customers by way of emails/messages to stay home and shop online!

Even those fooreign brands who did not have an online presence have launched their websites. Marks and Spencer and vero Moda are few such brands offering online discount vouchers.

While the long term impact of the pandemic is being discussed, most brands are sending out messages and emailers to customers saying, 'your safety is our priority'.  

Eka shocased at Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2020

Eka and Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd showcased at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020

Stirred by Jo March of ‘The Little Women’, the collection celebrates the art of unconventional dressing as a powerful expression of modern femininity 

Mumbai, 14^th February 2020: On Sustainable Fashion Day at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020, Eka by designer Rina Singh presented an unconventional take on Telangana textiles in collaboration with the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd (TSCO). Stirred by the modern spirit of ‘Jo March’ from Louisa May Alcott’s 19th century classic, ‘The Little Women’, Eka’s Autumn-Winter 2020 collection explores different paths to female self-actualisation with a deeply romantic aesthetic.

A registered apex organization for Telangana State (Govt. undertaking), TSCO’s main motto is to up-lift the handloom sector by providing continuous employment and Market access to handloom weavers. Govt. of Telangana State extends support to TSCO by directing all the state government welfare departments to purchase their required cloth through TSCO only. TSCO also provides requisite training including development of new designs to the weavers and special efforts have been put forth to revive the languishing handloom products such as Gollabhama Sarees, Pitambari Sarees, Armoor Sarees and Himroo Fabric.

One of the interesting additions is the buniyaad machine that will increase productivity as well as quality. The Ministry of Textiles has planned to give 20 machines to the cluster.

"Our main motto with this collaboration is to enable skill development at the grass root level that would in turn create employment opportunities for the artisans. While the artisans are masters of their craft, the design intervention brought about by Rina Singh of Eka showcases the textiles of Telangana in a new light. With Lakmé Fashion Week's global outreach and Eka's scale of international business we truly look forward to globalizing Telangana textile," Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government.