Beyond recycling: Indian labels designing for a circular future of fashion

With overconsumption at the heart of fashion’s endless trend cycles, the industry’s waste problem is no secret.

But some brands and organisations are advocating for products that are designed in a more holistic manner. A more conscious approach to consumption, the circular design system is a commitment to reuse things and abandon the 'use and throw' culture.

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For a fashion or lifestyle brand, this means designing the waste and pollution out of your production cycle. The intent is to keep materials in use and to regenerate nature.

Let’s take a look at 4 new Indian labels designing for a circular future of fashion.

LataSita

Giving old, unused and discarded post-consumer waste a new life, Kolkata-based LataSita turns vintage textiles into new, modern garments. Apart from procuring waste materials on her own, the journalist-turned designer Meghna Nayak also lets people send in their old saris and transforms them into new pieces.

Bandit

From used artist canvases, repurposed sails, waste vinyl flex to billboards and waste tarpaulin, Goan brand Bandit makes colourful bag packs, laptop sleeves, skins and other accessories. Winner of the Circular Design Challenge 2021, the brand also encourages people to send the bags back to them after use so that they can be further turned into smaller products.

Desi Hangover

Buying ethical leather is a complicated affair. Kolhapur-based Desi Hangover makes shoes using upcycled leather from the waste laid off by the meat industry that would otherwise end up in landfills. Supporting a dying industry, the brand is working to form rural craft clusters through social innovation.

Paiwand Studio

Based in Noida, Ashita Singhal's Paiwand Studio makes products with zero-waste handloom weaving and handcrafted techniques. Not just this, Paiwand also works with other design houses to find solutions for their textile waste.

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