Green Impact: ‘Eco friendly’ brands all for a cause

Eco-friendly is the buzz word among apparel makers worldwide and also in India. Of course, being eco-friendly has acquired a business sense in retail too. No wonder, top apparel brands like Woodland, Wills Lifestyle, Van Heusen, Benetton,

SKNL, et al are betting big on eco-friendly lines to woo the environment-conscious consumer. Arindam Saha, Associate VP-Fashion & Textiles at Technopak explains “Eco friendly clothing is a relatively new trend for apparel industry. Worldwide, retailers and brands are coming up with line of clothing that is eco friendly, without compromising on the style and fashion quotient. Even brands such as Versace, Marc Jacobs and Stella McCartney are using eco friendly materials to create their specific clothing line.” In India too there has been increased consumer awareness about ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco-friendly’ nature of products and processes. According to Energy Alternatives India, the share of eco friendly clothing in India will rise from current 1 per cent of the total market of Rs 32,000 to 5 per cent in 2015, reaching Rs 1,500 crores – that’s almost 40 per cent CAGR for the next five years.

The concept of organic clothing in India gained popularity with the launch of designer Anita Dongre's label Grassroot, in 2007. In Dongre’s own words “Grassroot believes machines cannot substitute the skills, especially those that require human touch, and they need to be encouraged in order to sustain and continue. It is our endeavor to revive these crafts and present them in a way that appeals to every fashion conscious consumer.” It uses cellulosic or other organic fibers like viscose, modal, bamboo jersey fabrics that are recyclable and do not cause any harm to the environment. It also stresses on the use of use of natural and vegetable dyes which do not cause any industrial effluence, and the waste products are re-used in the form of manure.

Awareness about eco friendly clothing has been growing so much so that retailers too are encouraging manufacturers to opt for a production cycle using less water, leading to water conversation. Woodland for example, has been among the first companies in the early 2000 to start innovating green products and processes. “We are a green company with focus on reducing our carbon footprint not only through the product lines, processes and supply chain but also through our stores and corporate communication. The aim is to promote a sustainable business model and serve as a benchmark in the retail industry for best green practices,” says Amol Dhillon, VP-Strategic Planning, Aero Group. The brand scientifically calculates the carbon footprint of their products through third party firms to follow strict international norms. Reduction of water usage, recycling the waste and water, using solar panels for lighting are some of the many ways they have gone green. They offer bio-degradable shoes; use vegetable tanned leathers which use tanning processes followed hundreds of years ago and is organic.

As the name suggests the concept behind the brand Do U Speak Green is environment conservation. “Our inspiration came about due to the absence of smart looking clothing for the nature lover and absence of organic clothing in India,” explains Shishir Goenka, Director, Fusion Clothing. His passion for wildlife preservation has made him decide to contribute 10 per cent of sales for the environment. Similarly, Ludhiana-based brand UV&W makes clothing that are skin friendly and good for the ecology as the cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. “We find an immense scope for eco friendly apparel in the future to the extent that it will replace all inorganic apparel,” avers Rajat Misra, VP-Marketing and Designing.

Among the big brands Van Heusen, the apparel brand from Madura Garments, launched its green range of apparel last year. The range has seen a healthy demand for organic clothing. In fact, wary of how the market will receive such a line, the brand started with a limited edition, but soon saw it flying off shelves. Similarly, Levi's, which already retails organic jeans in the US market, has an organic line for male and female denims called Levi’s-Eco. While the cotton used by the company for making jeans is organic, the button on the waistband is made of coconut shell. There are no metal rivets, the dye is from natural compounds including indigo, and the label is from recycled cardboard. Dhillon gives the big picture as he sums up: “Being eco-friendly is in not only about a T-shirt or a shoe, the reduced resource consumption and overall impact of the brand in leaving a green footprint is the whole big picture.”