• About
  • Brand Content
  • Brand Features
  • Fashion, Arts & Lifestyle Articles
  • Film & Drama
  • Interviews
  • Travel Memoirs

sitanshi talati-parikh

sitanshi talati-parikh

Tag Archives: Econyl

The Price of Sustainability

14 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Fashion & Style, Publication: The Voice of Fashion, Sustainability

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Chindi, Eco-friendly, Econyl, Nadiya Paar, Sustainability, Sustainable Fashion, Verandah

Published: The Voice of Fashion, June 13, 2019

Working for the sustainability industry may be a noble choice but it is an ongoing struggle for those who must also make it commercially viable

Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.35.42 PM

A label or company that offers sustainable products or services has many challenges in a consumer world that is still unclear about the need for sustainability. These include agreeable pricing, finding suitable collaborators, marrying retail expectations with sustainable production cycles, raising awareness, and through it all, making ends meet.

Here Mumbai-based founders of Chindi, Nadiya Paar and Verandah, who are trying to make a difference with their entrepreneurial ventures on how they negotiate the odds.

 

Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.34.37 PM
Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.34.51 PM

Chindi

The Pricing Bubble

An enterprise driven by sustainability has to deal with the lack of awareness about what goes into creating a sustainable product, and consequently, the rationale behind its higher price point. Chindi, a social enterprise that recycles textile waste into luxury accessories handmade by low-income craftswomen in India, finds that sustainability is still a niche space. Says founder Tanushri Shukla, “It’s also difficult to compete with fast fashion brands who have changed customers’ perception of how much products should rightfully cost.” This renders the retail of sustainable products difficult, with the consumer unwilling to absorb the cost.

Therefore, such an enterprise may not always be profitable—and seeing this prevents other entrepreneurs from taking the leap. Also, there is no benefit from a funding standpoint—as Shukla points out, with social enterprises not being legal entities in India, they do not get the same benefits available to non-profit organisations.

On the other hand, Anjali Patel-Mehta, founder of resort label Verandah, finds that while the concept of a sustainably-made garment is not understood by many, it is being used as a marketing device. Thus, there is a blurring in the minds of a consumer.

Patel-Mehta struggles to replace her luxury staples like cotton and silk with more sustainable fabric alternatives which have the same texture but are not as taxing on the environment (cotton, for example, requires a great deal of water in its production). She also stresses the need for industry-certified sustainable vendors.

One of the biggest challenges faced by conscious designers is the slow and limited production cycles. Says Megha Kanera of Nadiya Paar, that specialises in handloom saris, “A big challenge is the pace of the ethical industry versus fashion cycles. A piece takes a great deal of effort to produce and stores want new products every four-six months.”

 

Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.31.46 PM
Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.31.56 PM
Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.31.35 PM
Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.32.03 PM

Verandah

The Impact of Change

Shukla feels that change doesn’t have to come from the customers as much as from non-sustainable brands making their money by flogging cheap products that exploit their labour force. She says, “They are the ones who have conditioned customers and their voice is loud—so that should be the first point of change. Customers, on their part, would benefit from building a sense of empathy and awareness about what goes into making and selling handmade, sustainable products.”

But as awareness slowly rises about the searing need for a sustainability conversation, more brands begin to buy into the philosophy, automatically increasing the scale, acceptance, and viability of the sustainability dialogue. For example, Verandah didn’t start out as a conscious label. Patel-Mehta says, “Initially we didn’t stress on sustainable textiles. As our awareness grew about the ‘true cost’ of fashion, we felt it imperative to have sustainable practices.” Today, Verandah’s RTW (ready-to-wear) lines speak the language of upcycling, azo-free dyes and mindful fabrics, while their eco-friendly swimwear line, launched this summer, mostly uses ECONYL® yarn, regenerated from waste materials.

 

Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.32.20 PM
Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 3.32.45 PM

Nadiya Paar

Making Sustainability Work

Shukla started Chindi in response to witnessing first-hand the vast quantities of tailoring waste dumped in Deonar (Mumbai), Asia’s largest landfill. Says Shukla on the motivation to keep going, “It is all on the belief that the work is making an impact. The word ‘chindi’ (which means thrift), which was once considered a negative thing, has now entered the daily parlance of designers.

She also points out that, “As social entrepreneurs, we cannot always measure our success in the same terms that a commercial entrepreneur does. Money may not always flow in, but the impact goes beyond money. We need to pay attention to our stories of change as much as our bank balances.”

Patel-Mehta, who believes she still has a long way to go, says, “I think success is in the efforts and goal-based approach by setting small metrics for your personal philosophy. There is no finish line.”

At the end of the day, the strongest impact is in building a mindful community. Kanera, who shares best practices—like the brand’s seed tags—with her fellow designers, puts it best when she says, “We share vendor or material detail with other labels who now use a similar concept. I also travel with fellow designers to craft hubs so we can give combined bigger orders to weavers to make it viable for them. We do not treat anyone as competition, rather as people working and walking in the same direction.”

A Truly Green Wardrobe

10 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Fashion & Style, Publication: Mint Lounge, Sustainability

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bionic Yarn, Eco-friendly, Econyl, Fashion, Hemp, Linen, Mint Lounge, Recca, Stella McCartney, Sustainability, Sustainable Fashion, Tencel, Textiles and Fabrics

Published: Mint Lounge, February 10, 2018 Edition

Seaweed dresses, pineapple handbags and pantyhose made of recycled plastic—a lexicon of innovative eco-friendly fabrics

Screen Shot 2018-02-09 at 5.05.43 PM

From reclaimed fishing nets to algae biomass, and fungi fabric to banana fibre cloth, fashion has a new yarn to spin, and it’s singing a biodegradable tune. Eco-friendly fabrics are not only good for the environment, they also feel great because they are natural, non-toxic and breathable. Eco-fashion stems from sustainable sources, it includes fibres that do not require the use of pesticides or chemicals to grow, as well as biodegradable or fabric spin-offs from the non-biodegradable waste that is choking our planet. Lounge lists 13 fabrics that make the cut.

Bamboo Fabric

Bamboo fabric has come a long way from corset bones of the past. The fabric is durable, drapes well and absorbs moisture, while harvesting of bamboos is sustainable for the planet. London-based Thought and Asquith, Australian brand Shift to Nature and Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica use bamboo fabric; locally, it is used in Naushad Ali’s designs. A variant called Bamboo Charcoal is created by processing the charcoal from heated bamboo and mixing it with fabrics using nanotechnology.

Bionic Yarn

It is recycled polyester made from recovered waste, particularly from the oceans. Plastic bottles from trash are collected, broken down, shredded into fibres and spun into core yarn; then, this is woven into an eco-friendly fabric. Musician Pharrell Williams joined forces with the team behind Bionic Yarn and it led to initiatives like “Raw For The Oceans” with G-Star Raw denims.

Screen Shot 2018-02-09 at 5.05.55 PM

Ultra Bloom shoes.

Bloom Foam

Algae in your shoes? No fear, Bloom has the world’s first plant-based, performance-driven foam formulated with algae biomass, using renewable feedstock. Noticed in a capsule collection of shoes by London-based Vivobarefoot, which states on its blog that each pair of these Ultra Bloom shoes will also help recirculate 57 gallons of filtered water back into natural habitats.

‘Cork Skin’

It is extracted from the cork oak tree, what Portuguese brand Pelcor calls “cork skin”, a natural, biodegradable and recyclable resource. The company offers accessories like bags, hats and shoes made out of cork.

Screen Shot 2018-02-09 at 5.06.01 PM

A Falabella Go backpack by Stella McCartney.

Econyl® Yarn

An innovative regenerated fibre, “Nylon 6” is made from 100% regenerated waste material, including reclaimed fishing nets. From Swedish Stockings’ pantyhose to luxury brand Stella McCartney’s Falabella Go Backpacks, a number of brands use this yarn in items like swimwear, sportswear and hosiery. Bloni showcased a line of Spring/Summer wear glorifying Econyl® at the recently concluded Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai.

Hemp

It’s an ancient fibre dating back to 8,000 BC, but it has remained on the fringe. A decade ago, Donatella Versace used a hemp-silk fabric for a gown, while Calvin Klein created a hemp-based pantsuit for the FutureFashion show at the New York Fashion Week. The durable and strong fabric comes from the fibres of the herbaceous plant of the species, Cannabis sativa, a high-yield crop. A hemp blend would look like linen, softening over time. Currently seen in American apparel brands like Bad Decision Adventure Club and Patagonia.

Linen

One of the earliest fibres known to man, the Europeans’ favourite textile was at one point used as a form of currency. Made from the fibres of the flax plant, it has been favoured for bedsheets and tablecloths. There is a value attached to vintage linen as it softens over time—it is stronger than cotton and can last for decades. Anavila Misra has made linen a hero with her handwoven saris, and Padmaja Krishnan uses linen in her handwoven fabrics.

Screen Shot 2018-02-09 at 5.08.27 PM

Products using Pinatex.

Piña Fabric

Made from the discarded leaves of the pineapple plant, it is malleable, and can be combined with silk or polyester to create a textile fabric. A cheaper alternative to leather, it can morph into anything from crocodile skin to glittering gold. UK-based Carmen Hijosa’s textile line Ananas Anam has made “Piñatex” chic; the ivory, glossy fabric is also used by Filipino brides for wedding dresses.

R | Elan™

Showcased in designer Anita Dongre’s Songs Of Summer collection at the LFW, R | Elan™ GreenGold is a fabric innovation from Reliance Industries that uses specially engineered fibres. GreenGold is made from 100% used plastic bottles and has a low carbon footprint.

Recca®

Made from pre- and post-consumer waste, it stands for recycled cotton and is manufactured by the Tamil Nadu-based Anandi Enterprises. Sohaya Misra’s label Chola showcased Recca® for the LFW Winter/Festive 2017 initiative “Restart Fashion”, with a monochrome palette and soft, layered silhouettes.

SeaCell®

It’s a fibre made from a mix of ground natural seaweed and wood cellulose, which locks the nutritious properties of seaweed into a wearable fabric. While manufacturers claim that the skin can absorb these nutrients, it depends on the quantity of seaweed in the mix. Made by German company Smartfiber AG, it can be seen in Lululemon Athletica’s VitaSea line of sportswear.

SoyBean Fabric

Also known as “vegetable cashmere”, it is made from fibres that are spun from the waste of the soy food industry, like the hulls of soybean. American designer Linda Loudermilk, considered a pioneer of eco-luxury, used this biodegradable fabric in her brand Luxury Eco years before it became cool to do so.

Tencel®

Last week, the LFW had a gently floating Tencel® chandelier installation in the heart of JioGarden in Mumbai that will be recycled. Produced by Austrian textile group Lenzing, the fabric is commonly known as lyocell. While viscose, rayon, modal and lyocell are all made from plant cellulose, the same fabrics produced by Lenzing are made from sustainably-harvested trees in a “closed-loop” production cycle that recycles almost 100% of solvent. It has a soft, smooth finish, drapes well and absorbs moisture. Skinny denims by Los Angeles-based DSTLD, mini-dresses by American slow-fashion brand Reformation and Rajesh Pratap Singh’s androgynous garments flaunt Tencel®.

We are watching out for the next-gen Refibra™ fibres that will go a step further in recycling cotton scraps left over from the lyocell production process, in a bid to eliminate all waste.

|  Filling the gaps between words.  |

Writing By Category

  • Art, Literature & Culture
  • Brand Watch
  • Fashion & Style
  • Features & Trends
  • Fiction
  • Food
  • Humour
  • Interviews (All)
  • Interviews: Business
  • Interviews: Cinema
  • Interviews: Cover Stories
  • Interviews: Lifestyle
  • Interviews: Luxury Brands
  • Interviews: The Arts
  • Interviews: Travel
  • Musings
  • Parenting
  • Publication: Conde Nast
  • Publication: Elle
  • Publication: Mint Lounge
  • Publication: Mother's World
  • Publication: Taj Magazine
  • Publication: The Swaddle
  • Publication: The Voice of Fashion
  • Publication: Verve Magazine
  • Social Chronicles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel Stories

Reach out:
sitanshi.t.parikh@gmail.com

© Sitanshi Talati-Parikh 2018.
All Rights Reserved.

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • sitanshi talati-parikh
    • Join 51 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • sitanshi talati-parikh
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...