The definition of “fabulous” in the fashion industry has evolved from high-end and expensive fast-fashion labels, and now it stands for sustainable, slow, and ethical. Fast fashion has been depleting the environment since decades. Trends change every single week, and every new season brings in a new way of clothing. In the race of being “relevant,” fashion brands ran too far, causing significant damage to the environment. The apparel industry now alone produces, 10% of the global carbon emissions, and more than 8000 chemicals are used to convert raw materials into fabrics.  Like the name suggests, fast fashion is destroying the environment at an even faster rate.

In response to this, sustainable and slow fashion has come into the picture, trying to salvage whatever is left of the environment. Sustainable or slow fashion encourages locally produced, biodegradable fabrics that have little to no adverse effects on the environment. An ethical brand is also fair in terms of policy regarding  employment and labour laws.

Here is a list of homegrown sustainable and ethical fashion brands who are doing their part in saving the environment:

1. Mio Borsa

Based in New Delhi, Mio Borsa is the first Indian brand to make vegan leather and combine sustainability with utilitarian accessory designs. Their eco-friendly leather is manufactured from plant Pu and pineapple stem extract known as ‘pinatex’, and their sleek bags are ideal for your working wardrobe.

2. Rengé

Rengé provides responsible and ethically aware and luxury daily apparel for women. Each limited-edition collection is made using the finest leftover textiles obtained locally. They also offer custom fits for all styles.

3. Ka-Sha

Ka-Sha, a business that weaves cloth intending to tell a narrative, has been striving towards complete integration of sustainability, beginning with the resources, designing, and production, and ending with the distribution. The Heart to Haat programme of the Pune-based firm aims for zero waste creation while also recycling and up-cycling materials to produce valuable items. Their products are handcrafted by expert craftsmen using natural fabrics and colours.

4. Doodlage

Doodlage gathers its raw materials from industrial waste and crafts items with fair wage units or ethical spaces, all with holistic sustainability in mind. They sew little strips of cloth together to create texture and reuse for stationery. The items are packaged in 100 percent biodegradable plastics, with reusable fabric totes manufactured from any leftovers serving as the last packaging layer. Doodlage gives a minimalist-chic aesthetic to their designs and has organically built a conscientious audience since its start. They are now working on introducing a buy-back programme.

5. Chakori Ethnic

This firm collaborates with rural artisans and craftspeople to make trendy and sustainable clothing. In keeping with the brand’s name, the label produces ethnic apparel. Their items are available in various traditional prints such as Kalamkari, Shibori, Hand block, Dabu, Indigo, and Phentiya. Check out their handmade, experimental fabric, which makes a strong environmental statement.

6. MAGA

This Noida-based fashion firm has been employing processed organic colours derived from grass, onion peel, and coffee/tea dregs. It is currently investigating the possibility of adding leftover flowers from weddings as dyes as well. Aside from that, they want to work with local artisans to promote fair trade. The brand’s objective is to make sustainable fashion accessible to everyone by making it inexpensive.

7. Runaway Bicycle

This fashion firm situated in Mumbai focuses on garments and home décor. The firm works with weavers to create handloom items from the ground up. The Runaway Bicycle radiates a classy yet straightforward attitude in their apparel by using natural colours, khadi, organic cotton, and other hand-woven fabric.

8. Button Masala

The brand provides an intriguing twist on sustainable design by using no leftover fabric or stitching. Button Masala actively educates individuals on how to utilise cloth in various ways with simple buttons and rubber bands, depending on their requirements. This implies there will be no waste, and you will be delighted. The firm also teaches its approach in seminars and lets the cloth speak for itself.

9. Ikkivi

Ikkivi, a curated boutique for modern ethical apparel, partners with independent brands such as Ura Maku, Kanelle, and The Summer House, promoting good change. Ikkivi has announced a size-inclusion agreement that would give 2XS to 5XL sizes at no additional cost.

10. Sundarii Handmade

Sundarii Handmade, which combines contemporary and traditional styles, has been environmentally responsible since its start. This brand employs natural colours and natural fibres like cotton and uncommon fabrics like Mashru and Modal silks, to make stylish, inexpensive, and environmentally responsible clothes. To ensure fair trade, the firm also partners with rural artisans, such as having mirror and embroidered work done on its products by tribal women from Kutch.

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There is no denying the fact that there is a fixed narrative that the fashion industry has been pushing to the forefront for ages. On thinking of a runway, the image that often pops up in one’s head is that of a skinny, light-skinned female, with long legs strutting her way down the ramp. From Bethan Hardison appearing in the Versailles Fashion Show in 1973, and designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier including ethnic influences on the fashion via “exotic” models in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the industry retraced its steps, reverting to the norm. The French fashion brands returned with a more gothic representation of fashion donned by young zero-sized, fair-skinned women, often from Eastern Europe.

Hardison, now 78, spent the past decade advocating for increased representation on the runway and ad campaigns. Her efforts along with those of other activists have started paying off, the industry, facing the wrath of consumer activism and political consciousness has made changes. There has been visible a shift, even if a minor one. However, issues surrounding body image continue to plague the industry. Of all, the major culprit that still pervades every platform in the industry is the one relating to size. The unrealistic size standards of “zero”, apparently mistaken by the majority as “fit”, continue to take the Centre Stage.

However, size inclusivity is just a part of the problem. The tentacles of non-inclusivity in the industry run deep and cover issues such as ethnicity, race, gender and age. One of the most overlooked, yet impactful issues is that surrounding age inclusivity. The issue ranges from lack of older and more mature women on the runway to the lack of sartorial options to explore. Vogue India, in the month of August, ran a central theme of “Ageless”, advocating for the fact that age is a non-existent concept and not a determining factor for a woman’s beauty or the way she must choose to express herself in terms of clothing.

The way the fashion industry caters to the needs of women falling into a younger age bracket, with dynamic trends that change every fortnight, is completely different than that of women that cross a certain threshold with age. Either they are ignored completely, or offered kurtas and sarees. In terms of western clothing the options that they have are frumpy, shapeless and boxed. However, it is time that the industry awakens to this side-lining of a demographic of women that possess such huge purchasing power. In a report by the International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK), it was highlighted that ageism and ignoring the needs of the older generation poses a threat of a loss of more than £11 billion in the next two decades. It was highlighted that once they cross the age of 75, women stop spending on clothes altogether, resorting to fashion that they had been following earlier. While these women have significant purchasing power owing to their savings and have no lack in the desire to look stylish, the lack of options available to them pushes them away.

Models, once they cross the threshold of a certain age, are side-lined reverently as “mature”, rarely given representation on the runway. The past few years have still seen a miniature increase in elderly models. In 2015, author Joan Didion had starred in a campaign for Phoebe Philo, at the age of 82. Following this, L’Oréal had casted Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren in its campaign. Charlotte Rampling had modelled for Nars lipstick. Calvin Klein lingerie had cast models Lauren Hutton and Joni Mitchell had modelled for St Laurent. The luxury cosmetics brand Lancôme had cast Julia Roberts as a model.

While these brands have awakened to the inclusion of varied age groups in their advertising and marketing, a tangible age inclusivity in the industry as a whole is still far from reality. The issue still remains to be sensitive. While big names in the fashion industry such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein are to be lauded for their decision, they are still in a minority. The industry as a whole continues to be in a state of ignorance with regards to the problem of ageism. As per the diversity report by Fashion Spot, in the Spring-Summer runway season of 2020, out of 200 models, only one was aged above fifty.

While the industry continues to turn a blind eye to this age group, continuing to cater to a much younger audience, what the brands do not realise is that they are missing out on a huge chunk of profit and benefits. Of all, bringing back models who had represented the brand in the past to represent them in the present can add to the heritage value of the brand. Examples of this were seen when Vivienne Westwood, at the age of 75 had returned to model for her brand in Autumn Winter Season of 2017, and when Yasmin Le Bon had returned to the runway in 2018 to represent for Calvin Klein at 53. The most ground-breaking incident is one of Spring Summer 2019, when models Isabella Rossellini, Carla Bruni and Monica Bellucci had walked for Dolce & Gabbana. This was not only a message regarding age inclusivity but had also added to the marketing of the company. The company received a huge marketing boost owing to the fact that all three women have a significant fan base.

Another economic aspect of the loss that these companies are taking upon themselves is overlooking a section that has enormous purchasing power. Women in the present exercise immense power and influence that spans across different age groups and industries. Women hailing from an older age bracket are no different, yet they are being constantly overlooked as potential and valuable consumers in the fashion space. What is even more noteworthy is the fact that women from this older age bracket have expressed no less of a desire to look fashionable and dress up in stylish clothing that accentuates their bodies. Further, on a much deeper commercial analysis, it has been pointed out by the Boston Consulting Group and Tencent that the average age of a luxury consumer worldwide is 38. Shoppers from a much older age bracket possess a considerably high purchasing power. The purchasing power combined with the desire to dress up fashionably of women coming from an older age group is one of the most lucrative aspects for the industry.

If brands are to become honest about their marketing, they will come to a stark realisation that by targeting only a younger consumer base and side-lining those who actually yield power along with an interest, they are overlooking huge amounts of profit. Revamping the marketing strategy to make it inclusive this significant slice of the consumer base holds immense monetary power as well as fame.

The discourse around age inclusivity in the fashion industry is just begun. As the consumers have started becoming conscious of and voicing the many ways in which the industry has reinforced unrealistic standards, the latter has been compelled to make the much-needed changes. The topic of age inclusivity is still new as compared to the rest of the issues. The industry needs to undergo an enormous overhaul before it can be termed to be an all-inclusive one. Slowly and steadily, brands are opening their eyes to age inclusivity, consciously or unconsciously. Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade were few of the designers in the New York Fashion Week this season to have taken a conscious effort towards age inclusivity by putting up age-inclusive shows. However, this is just a minor ripple in a whole sea of an ignorant industry.

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