Think of environmental changes and Our future will seem like a horizon in Delhi winter. Inconspicuous and foggy. Maybe our dream of a brighter future will remain a dream and the way we are treating our planet, we may wonder if there is any future at all. And if we don’t think about this now, some years down the line we probably wouldn’t have  the option to do so. We are possibly the last generation that can make a change before the environment gets into an irreversible auto destruction mode.

The fashion Industry like any other manufacturing industry started with organic raw materials and manual processes which was felt to be inefficient and slow at that time. When the process of Industrialisation began and transformed the process of production into super fast mass manufacturing, the world seemed to be a happy place. There came a sense of ease in getting your clothes at a cheaper rate, having the choice of wearing multiple pieces of fashion and the trend of not wearing the same thing more than once, became far more important than anything else.

Due to its ever changing nature, Fashion became one of the biggest contributors for pollution. In the last 15 years, owing to the concept of fast fashion, brands are delivering even 20 collections in a year regardless of the needs and demands; putting pressure on common masses to keep up with trends. Fast fashion culture produces massive quantities that sooner than later ends up in the dump. Fashion contributes almost 10% of the global CO2 emissions.

Is there a solution?

As the general public is becoming aware of the issue and the consequences surrounding it, it’s time to make a conscious choice and effort to choose a better alternative. We’ve already caused a lot of damage to the earth with our clothing choices moving ahead of its time, now is the moment to look back, reflect, and learn our lesson from the past.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

– Albert Einstein

But sometimes we can reduce them a little if we rewind a bit. If we stop doing the things that created the problems in the first place.

The handmade printed fabrics, handcrafted accessories and natural colour are something that can never go out of fashion. The royalty of the past can’t be touched by everyday changing fashion trends. So it is high time that we redefine fashion, not only for the sake of the environment but for the sake of fashion itself.

Handmade clothing is the clear alternative to fast and commercial clothing, making us dress better without compromising on the quality and causing the earth any serious damage. Although this alternative is comparatively more expensive, then again fast fashion is not free, someone somewhere is paying for it and mostly it is our own environment. If we keep in mind the beauty and originality that comes with handmade clothing and its contribution towards preserving the earth it becomes a win-win situation. But there are apprehensions like why we moved to machines in the first place and whether it’ll be enough. But as they say, “The world has enough for a man’s need, but not enough for a man’s greed”. So we need to re- discover fashion as slow and timeless.

The production of handmade clothes requires time and energy keeping in mind the intricacies that are involved. The process also avoids harmful chemicals making it a safer choice. Taking the example of hand block printing which comes from Bagru, Rajasthan. This ancient art form of printing requires a meticulous process which utilizes a hand-carved teak wood block that is dipped in dye and stamped by hand unto the fabric. 

There is also a misconception that runs around about the colours used in handmade clothing being natural dyes which are dull and not bright enough.  But there are pretty blues, greens and reds from natural dyes that are without the use of highly toxic industrial dyes.

The fabric used in handmade clothes are consciously made with eco-friendly ways, such as cotton and silk which has been hand loomed. 

At Bindnee, we understand that when we are looking for our path for the future, sometimes it passes through the boulevards of the past. So we have decided to keep a rear view mirror on our telescope for future.