On World Environment Day, which is celebrated on June 5th every year, pledge to make sustainable fashion a much-needed choice and not just a trend. Over the years, fashion brands and designers are making an effort to reuse, reduce and recycle to ensure a sustainable future.
This year, News18 takes a deep dive into the world of recycled and upcycled fashion products created by brands and designers who chose to take the environment friendly route and make the best out of waste.
Cigarette butts pose a significant environmental challenge, being the most abundant form of plastic waste globally. Lee Cooper announced its dedicated line focused on sustainable fashion called the Lee Cooper ECO collection. As part of this initiative, they introduced jeans made from recycled cigarette butts.
Speaking about the initiative, Jayesh Sali, head of marketing, Reliance Retail (Fashion & Lifestyle), says, “At Lee Cooper, we’re rewriting the fashion playbook by turning unusable into sustainable. With our ground-breaking initiative to recycle cigarette butts into denim textiles, we’re not just crafting jeans; we’re leading a global movement proving that fashion can be both chic and planet-friendly, by our anthem – It’s not just jeans; it’s a manifesto for change, one butt at a time.”
Aakriti Grover, founder of the swimwear brand, Flirtatious, took a slower approach to fashion by using high-quality yet sustainably-sourced materials. “Our intention is to reduce our environmental impact where possible without compromising on comfort and value. We have now grown towards converting waste to wear as soon as the option became available. Our core fabrics are made from sustainable fibres that have been recycled from a range of post-consumer wastes, including plastic. We integrate these practices while ensuring that there is no compromise on the look, quality or functionality of each piece.”
Eyewear brand Without by Ashaya made waves when it bagged the Circular Design Challenge (CDC), a prestigious sustainability award in India. Recycled plastic waste, such as packets of chips, was created into stylish sunglasses that had functionality at their roots—they were UV polarised, comfortable and durable. And that’s not all, the Without brand has empowered the lives of waste pickers.
The brand showcased a unique presentation at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI in March 2024. The brand unveiled products that offered guilt free consumption of waste and pointed to a truly circular essence of life.
“We tried to do something a little different with our atelier show, blending glam with purpose, and fashion with chemistry—I hope that came through. Sustainable fashion is nuanced and complex, and in a country like India, there’s also a social inclusion element that needs to be considered. We tried to embody all that and more. I am super grateful to my team for making all this happen and I am so glad they could all come see the show, especially our former waste pickers, who we are now formalising into our organisation,” says Anish Malpani.
The collection of avant garde sunglasses showcased by Without was a creative homage to the concept of reimagining the impossible, with recycled plastic waste like packets of chips and turning it into haute fashion accessories.
Even though brands are becoming eco-conscious, and turning waste into iconic styles, how does one reduce consumption? “We understand that every piece that we create utilises the Earth’s resources and energy. With the aim to tread lightly upon our planet, we have developed (and continue to improve) our sustainability ethos by following a few simple yet careful practices. Since our inception, we have followed the “made-to-order” model, with all pieces produced in-house and singularly upon purchase. This ensures that we produce no more than we need, thereby minimising leftover stock and waste, while also moving away from the fast-sale, use-and-throw business model,” adds Aakriti Grover.
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