A revolution calling.
The last week of April saw a rush of brands talking about 'who made your clothes', sustainable clothing, artisanal support, and calling for the much required fashion revolution. What is this fashion revolution? Why are influencers, consumers and the industry itself talking about it? It has been 5 years since the Rana Plaza disaster, which brought in a huge awareness about the status of the industry today, but it was only the tip of the iceberg. The more people started exploring the functionality of the garment industries, the effect fast fashion has had on the people and the planet itself, we realised that it is a much bigger issue.
The fashion industry is a 2.4 trillion dollar global industry which employs over 50 million people all over the world. It is the second highest polluting industry only next to oil. It has been accounted for modern day slavery and lack of transparency in its sourcing/production process. Yes, the numbers are overwhelming. It almost makes it surreal as it is difficult to comprehend a disaster in such numbers.
India has been one of the biggest exporters of textiles and garments. Due to high skilled cheap labour, the garment industry is one of the biggest industries in India. However, how much are we aware about the status of the workers in these industries? Is the cotton farmer paid fairly for his hard work? Are the workers payed as per the standards? Is the work environment safe? Do the employees take the responsibility of the well being of the workers? Are the workers being trained in a useful skill or are they being made into machine feeders? A way to start a revolution I think is to just ask questions. We need to know that people who make our clothes are not suffering because of it. We need to know that they are not over working for us to buy cheaper fashion.
These facts and numbers are not just overwhelming for a consumer but also puts a huge sense of responsibility on the small brands of the country. We started Dori almost 4 years ago with an aim to celebrate Indian textiles. Through this journey we have not only realised our purpose as a brand but also our responsibility. We have always wanted to put the artisans on the front line. They are the makers, the ones saving the craft. Over the 4 years and about 10 design collections for women and men, we are proud to say that we have only used handwovens, hand embroidered and ethically sourced fabrics in every single design. We credit all our makers including the weavers, the NGO KaiKrafts whom we work with for embroidery and our production team. We love to talk about them and our process of design. The extra fabrics left over form the production are given to designers/brands/recyclers. The designs are made keeping the sustainability and wearability in mind. We have been committed to the process and to our belief system.
Even though we have been sincere in our efforts, we do find ourselves asking if we are doing enough. If anything we are doing is bringing in a substantial change in the artists' life. Are we even making a tiny difference in this enormous industry? Its a constant dilemma. We affirm ourselves in the small things. When we visit and talk to the artisans. It makes our day and pushes us to do more when a client writes to us. Makes us realise we are all capable of bringing in change. It might be an extra fund they got for education, to be able to afford basic necessities in their lives or just a contagious smile. No matter how small our steps are, they are still significant.
Photographs by Arvind Sridhar
