ONCE UPON A TIME...
The fashion industry dropped new collections to match our natural cycle of seasons.
Today, many have 52 “micro seasons”. Some release between 12-24 collections in a year.
And it’s actually terrible for both people and the planet.
For starters,
FASHION HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM.
Cotton - an essential starting point for the industry - is a massive water guzzler. It is estimated that producing a kilo of cotton requires about 7,500-10,000 litres of water.
The Case of the Lake that Disappeared
For nearly 50 years, water from the Aral Sea (a lake actually) in Uzbekistan was extensively
diverted to irrigate crops, primarily, cotton.
Once among the world’s largest lakes, today, it is reduced to a patchwork of small ponds and is mostly a desert.
We are already living in a water stressed world.
THEN THERE’S THAT CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY.
From the season’s must-have colours to that newly-made faded, distressed denim look - this is the magic of chemicals.
Synthetic dyes, acids, enzymes, bleach, formaldehyde.
A Tale of Two Rivers
Savar in Bangladesh is one of the country’s major textile hubs. Due to the discharge of effluents from its garment and dyeing factories, the canal in the town that connects to the Dhaleshwari River is now “black like an ink stain”.
A source of nuisance not just for aesthetic reasons.
Meanwhile, in India, a textile mill spilled its effluents into the Ulhas River in 2013. Despite protests, fines and new government regulations, sewage from a textile mill was again released again into that same river in 2017 and again this past May and June.
No wonder it figures among the 53 most polluted rivers of Maharashtra and 351 of the most polluted rivers in the whole country.
Oh and it supplies drinking water to over 3 million people in the Badlapur-Thane belt.
A source of nuisance not just for aesthetic reasons.
AND THE DREADED P WORD.
From the season’s must-have colours to that newly-made faded, distressed denim look - this is the magic of chemicals.
Synthetic dyes, acids, enzymes, bleach, formaldehyde.
MORE CLOTHES THAN THE WORLD NEEDS
...and mostly in landfills
As brands whip up a frenzy by dropping new styles and sales at regular intervals, our wardrobes pile up and eventually, end up in landfills.
Not to forget, the ones who make our clothes
Fast fashion is sustained by consumers lured by the latest styles or sales AND cheap labour
that we never get to see.
For the latter, working conditions and wages are often poor.
Thankfully, increased awareness and vocal protests have helped bring about important
ground level changes.
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel
We can get to the light faster, together.
Change begins with awareness.
It gathers momentum with small steps and before we know it, it’s a whole new way of living for everyone.
This is the ReFashion Hub’s goal.
This is what we hope to achieve with you.
