Recycling Of Sarees

Our weavers's future prospects are not encouraging and I am sure you are aware of reasons why, however please refer my previous blogs.

Our community's weavers have reached a threshold, if they don't adapt to the evolving trends in the fashion and textiles market. We could see more of our weavers abandoning their forefathers occupation to other sources of livelihoods.

It's a tradition in our society, that our sisters and daughters would never buy her first saree, they would borrow their mother's sarees, unwittingly promoting the concept of recycling, before any one could comprehend in the fashion industry.

When your mother decided to throw away her decades-old Kanchipuram silk saree, but you may suggest to repurpose it, for the saree has silver or gold jari on the border and upcycled saree would lasted for another decade by when the saree was torn beyond redemption.

Every saree is a six-seven metre piece of cloth, which, if not utilised to its maximum capacity, is just adding to waste. If you are bored of a saree, why throw away the fabric when you can always redesign it.

But today new breed of entrepreneurs are recycling sarees into new clothes, and you would be surprised the volume because one million tons of textiles are thrown to the dustbins in a year 

Earlier consumers used to buy fabrics which were durable, wherein the normal age of the fabric would be 50-100 washes. But now, the excitement for new items or trends have overtaken the quality aspects. 

As a result, more products are thrown out, several of which are made using synthetic fabrics affecting the environment. 

Traditional Indian clothing, like sarees, still made up an estimated 70% of domestic women's apparel.

Our appetite for western clothes are increasing, and our traditional clothes will account for 65% of the apparel market by 2023. Sarees, still made up an estimated 70% of domestic women's apparel sales, and have a cultural and sentimental value and will never go out of fashion.

But there is always scope to repurpose sarees and create them into Indo-western outfits on a average 10,000 kgs of textile waste are recycled by big fashion houses.

The interest in rental and second hand clothing is also increasing, and the resale market has the potential to be bigger than branded  fashions. The idea of sustainability cannot be just enforced by weavers, it depends on customers who are conscious about their tastes.

Our community's weavers ought to analyze the reasons why sale of their fabrics are declining in past few decades and think how to preempt future Indian environment laws. 

Our weavers ought to change the functioning of weaving factories by manufacturing environment friendly textiles because after farming, indian textiles is the second largest contributor of polluting the environment.

During India's independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi promoted khadi as an alternative to importing fabrics from British rulers and a means to economic self-reliance that would help unite Indian against colonial rule. But even back in 1900s, when Gandhi proposed khadi as a panacea for the growing pauperism of India, he confessed to having a hard time finding weavers who knew how to use traditional handlooms and spinning wheels.

"I believe that handloom is the future technology as it depends on only human energy."

GaviRangappa S P.

Devanga's Vidhana.

Bengaluru.

Devanga's Vidhana

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