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).