HOW TO CELEBRATE YOUR WAY OF LIFE WITH SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING & AN ECO FRIENDLY HOME

"Familiarizing the products for an eco friendly homes" is the goal  of Q4 for Blog Chatter's Cause A Chatter program.  In this connection, My earlier posts brought before my readers the list of  organic products, bio gas for cooking and best storage containers. Almost the prominent features concerning the essential aspect of FOOD is over.

Coming to the immediate requirement after food is CLOTHING without which the humans cannot survive healthily. This blogpost will introduce you to the clothes that are sustainable and in other words eco friendly. With your  intelligent choice of clothes also you can invariably reduce the carbon foot prints and make your home an eco friendly place to live in.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING ?

Sustainable clothing refers to fabrics derived from eco-friendly resources, such as sustainably grown fiber crops or recycled materials. Sustainable clothing includes the use of second-hand retail repair and often utilizes upcycling and recycling of clothing. It also refers to how these fabrics are made.

Secondhand clothing, swapping, sharing, clothes, thrifting, and renting fashion are great examples of sustainable fashion. Available in thrift stores and second-hand shops, thrifting is a tremendous way to avoid the negative impact of fashion manufacturing. More about thrifting here

THE URGENT NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING;

The fashion industry has a disastrous impact on the environment. In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. And, the environmental damage is increasing as the industry grows.

HOW TO TACKLE THIS?

ETHICAL FASHION :

The solution lies in Ethical Fashion in which the clothing is made from eco-friendly materials, such as organic, pesticide-free, non-GMO cotton. — Clothing is safe for people and the environment, avoiding any materials that contain carcinogens, toxins, or other harmful chemicals.

Buying organically coloured clothing can be a terrific, ethical alternative if you're searching for methods to lessen your carbon footprint. Cotton is a natural fibre found in many wardrobe staples such as jeans and t-shirts. Compared to other common clothing fibres such as synthetic polyester, semi-synthetic rayon, and bamboo, cotton has the advantage of being a completely natural product, which means it's biodegradable.  Organic cotton uses 88% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton. Not only the material should be of natural fibre , but also the colour should from natural dyes.

NATURAL DYES:

Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi.

Natural dyes provide several important environmental advantages, including:

1.  They are biodegradable, which means that once you've finished using them, they will naturally disintegrate without releasing any harmful poisons into the land or environment.

2.    They are free of any harmful pollutants. Natural dyes are generated entirely from natural sources like plants and insects, making them non-toxic to anyone who comes into contact with them without releasing hazardous by-products into the environment like conventional colours.

3.     They are hypoallergenic, which means that when skin is exposed to them, they are less likely to produce allergic responses. This is perfect for those who have sensitive skin, such as eczema, as well as new-borns and toddlers.

 In this scenario, a fashion magazine states that “ If eco-friendly fashion ever wants a torchbearer, khadi will be a natural choice. This hand-spun fabric is usually associated with a coarse texture. However, “khadi (or khaddar) can actually refer to any natural fabric (cotton or silk) that has been handspun and handwoven,” -Vogue.

That’s the greatness of KHADI.

 LET'S LOOK INTO KHADI IN DETAIL:

 Khadi (pronounced [kʰaːdiː], Khādī), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as swadeshi (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Indian Khadi clothes can be worn in any weather. It's warm in the winters and cool in the summers. Khadi material is a body-friendly fabric that does not cause any allergies or irritations, unlike other synthetic fabrics. Khadi dyes and weaves are done by hand.

The spinning of khadi uses no machines or energy and thus has a low carbon footprint. A metre of khadi fabric consumes three litres of water, while one metre of mill-produced fabric requires 55 litres of the precious resource. Plus, khadi clusters also generate direly needed income to rural Indian communities.

Khadi when combined with embroidery like chikan, kantha, kashida, ajrakh, block prints, etc. can give rise to festive wear; which is very different from the casual look of Khadi. Hence, Khadi may be incorporated in a variety of occasions in our life from professional to festive, be it our clothing or home décor.

Fashion industry happens to be one of the most waste and pollution generating industries. With the recent effects on the climate, Khadi happens to be the solution to this problem since it is organic and has zero carbon footprint. Besides, with the global temperature rising, Khadi provides a cooling solution both for the producer and the consumer.

This way it is guaranteed  that khadi products are made exclusively from natural raw materials. These include herbal oils, herbal extracts and floral water as well as essential oils and flavors from certified organic farming or wild collection.

WHAT IS WEAVING?

The Egyptians were known for their ability to grow, process and weave linen however it was in India and Peru where they created the first cotton. Mesopotamia produced wool fabrics and China was the first to country to produce silk.

With this a sustainable clothing is being introduced to us by weavers, let see the weaving process. 

Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting

There are approximately 5mn looms in the country. India has 1.8mn shuttle looms which is 45 per cent of world capacity, and 3.90mn handlooms which is 85 per cent of world capacity. Traditional hand-weaving instills pride, provides independence and has the simple ability to bring a community together 

Regions, villages, and communities throughout India have unique weaving traditions with distinct customs and patterns. Depending on the location, textiles may be woven from cotton, wool, or silk. Today, weaving remains important to India's economy with roughly 4.3 million people involved. Woven Fabrics are more durable and less likely to lose their color.

WILL THESE (Woven /Khadi) BE SUITABLE TO EVERYONE ?

Its bit tough to decide. In order to cater to the needs of different tastes and sizes, Many brands are coming up with sustainable clothing to assists their customers to make the shift easily.

Here is a list of online platform that provide sustainable Indian clothing. You can shop from here

For the convenience of the fashion minded people and to make eco- friendly clothing  accessible & affordable to all - Amal Kiran Jana is a designer from India and the founder of Afterlife Project which is a sustainability development project supporting global and unique designers in 360 degrees.

New research reveals that Norway is one of the world's top 10 most sustainable fashion-conscious countries. To be a contributor to save the planet try these:

1.      Go natural

2.     Go organic

3.     Shop locally

4.     Support sustainable brands

5.     Donate, don’t throw out

6.     Use earth friendly detergents

7.     Swap with friends and neighbors'

8.     Sell wanted clothing

9.     Save water when washing

10.  Dip dry

11.  Think twice about dry cleaning

12.  Upcycle clothing

13.  Re purpose and re use worn or un wanted clothing

14.  Shop second hand first

above all embrace slow fashion, Slow fashion allows communities to develop their circular manufacturing system by cultivating their sustainable fabric, utilising natural colours from local plants, and hand weaving the garments.

With this awareness and simple steps we all can easily bring in the eco friendly fashion into lives and save the planet and share the joy of moving towards eco friendly home. 

(This blogpost is  a part of Blogchatter's Cause A Chatter)

(This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.)