Abstract
The Indian apparel sector is a preeminent sector for employment
generation, trade, revenue, and investment (Raj, Ma, Gam, & Banning,
2017). According to India Brand Equity Foundation, India accounts for 63
per cent of the global textiles and garments industry (Charwak & Kumar,
2020; IBEF, 2017). For such a considerable contribution, the role of
apparel designers in clothing manufacturing is universally acknowledged.
Extant literature has reviewed the Indian fashion designer-wear industry
as it is formed by the first wave of designers that emerged in the
latter half of the twentieth century (Sandhu, 2014; Kuldova, 2016). The
literary discourse is lacking in its examination of sustainability
practices of emerging Indian designers, most of whom came up in the
twenty-first century. In this study, we contextualise Indian fashion
designer wear labels within the Indian fashion designer wear industry
and conduct a sustainability analysis of the sector to understand the
nature of the practices.This study adopted a Positivist research
philosophy as it seeks to work with the observable social reality of the
Indian fashion design industry and produce law-like generalisations
about its structure and sustainability assessment (Remenyi et al., 1998;
Saunders et al., 2003). Documentary secondary data was exclusively
analysed. Different sustainability analysis models were combined to
create a checklist to assess the sustainability practices of fashion
designers in the Indian market. These included Fashion Design Strategies
(FDS) wheel (Gwilt, 2012), models of sustainable product design for
fashion apparel (Nerurkar, 2019), European Commission (Commission of the
European Communities 2003), Niinimaki and Hassi (2011), Fletcher (2013),
Kozlowski et al. (2012), Earley and Politowicz (2012). Nine main
categories were achieved that were organised across the garment life
cycle analysis framework, each with various sub-categories: garment
design, material selection, pattern making, garment construction,
distribution, end of life, garment laundering and repair. Finally, an
impact assessment was done of these sustainability strategies in light
of Porter’s Hypothesis.
Environmental Sustainability Practices in
IFD
- Crafts used: Ikat, Chanderi, Telia Rumal, Jamdani, tie-dye, all forms
of block-prints, extra weft techniques (from Assam), Chikankari, Madras
checks, and Himachali wools.
- Eco-friendly, organic raw materials, handloom fabric used.
- Use of scraps of fabrics and industrial waste as raw material.
- Upcycling, recycling techniques used.
- Natural colouring and drying processes.
- Clothes include elements like a change in size to last longer (up to
4”).
- Gradual shift towards slow fashion and circular product strategies
(Nerurkar, 2019).
Social Sustainability Practices in
IFD
- Actively supporting artisanal communities.
- Designers engage with artisans in interactive creative processes to
enhance the artist in them, creating pieces of work treading on the edge
of design, craft, and art.
- Designers train handloom artisans to teach them about innovative
product development techniques. This helps revitalise the community.
- Initiative to stop farmer’s suicides in India with “organic” and
“fair trade” farming practices.
- On the other hand, studies reveal incongruities between the claims of
designers attempting to support artisanal communities and the
experiences of artisans working with them (DeNicola & Wilkinson, 2020;
Khatoon & Iffat, 2021).