Fabrics Made From Plants Are Becoming The Latest Fashion Trend

Banana, pineapple, bamboo, jute, aloe vera, flax, hemp, beetroot, pomegranate, teak, sewali flowers are just some of the plants that are being used for creating fabrics, colours or styles. The fashion industry is now making efforts to veer away from the environmental unfriendly clothes and launching new trends towards the making of clothes from plant products that will be both stylish and eco-friendly. Designers today not only use fabric and dyes made out from the plants and fruits mentioned above but also try to make their work more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint, by opting to work with local weavers and artisans. This way, not only do they help in making sustainable fabrics, but also provide employment in the region.

Leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Michelle Obama and celebrities like Emma Watson, Michael Fassbender, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vidya Balan, and Priyanka Chopra, have also helped in popularising sustainable fashion, by wearing organic clothes. “We need celebrities to show off these clothes and also talk about them because we hope that this will get the masses to emulate them,” emphasises Premal Badiani, an Indian designer based in the US. “I decided to work with sustainable fashion to put together a collection which I would be proud of. We all have the power to be influencers and make choices that are environmentally, socially and ethically conscious,” declares the designer who mostly used fabric made from plant pulp in her collection that was showcased at the New York Fashion Week in 2017.

The creation of these eco-friendly fabrics begins by looking at the conditions under which the plant has grown. It must be ensured that they have been grown without the use of chemicals, and minimum water and power have been consumed to maintain the fertility of the soil. The transportation of raw material to the weavers should also be monitored so that minimum carbon emission takes place. Once the fabric is woven, it is transported to the designers. Our planet is suffering, and a lot of it is because of the way we create stuff. It is this dynamic of “trendy through necessity” that makes sustainable fashion such an exciting area right now.