The fashion industry is coming to terms with the stark truth — a significant portion, over 60 per cent of all fibres used are made from synthetic substances derived from fossil fuels. Seeking redemption, the industry turns to the allure of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp and a slew of other natural fibres championed as saviours of sustainability. Cotton, which accounts for about 20 per cent of all fabrics, is a natural material and is better for the environment to some extent. However, cotton is a water guzzler and has a huge pesticide count.
The extraction processes of these supposedly natural fibres often involve non-renewable resources like fossil fuels and entail the use of chemicals. Another concerning issue is deforestation, especially when some sustainable fibres require extensive agricultural spaces and, if mismanaged, can wreak havoc on delicate ecosystems. It’s also imperative to confront the fact that these alternatives lack the robust backing of industrial support. Certifying these fibres, a critical aspect of transparency, has stumbled and faltered in the past, casting shadows on the very eco-credentials they seek to embody. The fashion scene is at crossroads, not just talking the talk but needing a serious rethink of how it walks the walk.
Fashion’s quest for eco-friendly materials and fabrics
The fashion industry has been exploring alternative materials such as organic cotton, bamboo, hemp fabric, Piñatex, Soy Silk, Nettle, banana fibre, corn fibre, pineapple fibre and Kapok fibre amongst others to reduce environmental impact. This shift to greener alternatives also makes economic sense. According to Future Market Insights (FMI) report, the global bamboo apparel market was valued at US $ 2.24 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach US $ 4.02 billion by 2032. Similarly, as per Allied Market Research, the global hemp clothing market, which was US $ 2.29 billion in 2021, is projected to reach US $ 23.02 billion by 2031.
Hemp fabric is derived from the cannabis sativa fibre, also known as industrial hemp, with a history dating back to 8000 BC. Hemp fabrics, in their raw form, offer an extensive range of possibilities. From hemp-woven flannels, lingerie and sportswear to everyday shirts, pants and even furnishings, they effortlessly showcase a vibrant spectrum of colours.
Moreover, hemp fabrics possess natural antibacterial properties and provide immediate UV protection. Additionally, they retain their colours for a longer time than other textiles.
Yet, beyond style and comfort, the true advantage of hemp fabric lies in its kindness towards the farmers, weavers and the environment. Hemp grows rapidly and naturally resists plant diseases, requiring minimal weeding and thriving in diverse climates. Remarkably, it enriches the soil it grows in, replenishing it with 50 per cent to 60 per cent of nutrients, unlike cotton, which depletes the soil. Hemp also consumes significantly less water, when compared to cotton, thereby increasing farmers’ profits by eliminating the need for costly genetically modified seeds.
Many home-grown fashion labels such as B Label By BOHECO, SUI, Bhu:Sattva, Cannabie, Hemploom, Hempkari and ECENTRIC amongst others are actively making use of hemp in their creations.
Haneesh Katnawer and Sonam Sodha, Founders of the start-up Himalayan Hemp, said they are using hemp plants to produce sanitary pad, shirts, T-shirts, designerwear, bags and shoes, besides protein powder, anti-aging and edible oils and other cosmetic products.
They claimed their start-up has used hemp plants to enable small farmers and women artisans to lift their incomes in the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Some fast fashion brands claim to be environmentally ‘conscious’ by incorporating recycled polyester into their collections. However, this practice merely replaces one synthetic material with another, failing to address fundamental issues within the fashion industry. Despite being recycled, polyester lacks renewability, biodegradability and compostability.
“Recycled polyester has a limited number of times it can be reused. On the contrary, natural fibres like hemp banana, or other sources such as pineapple and paddy waste, stand out. When evaluating the entire lifecycle from production to usage, using natural fibres ensures biodegradation. Simply put, when disposed of, these fibres naturally break down within a year, unlike their synthetic counterparts which take years,” said Shreyans Kokra, CEO, CanvaLoop, an alternative fibre and material science company that is focused on mainstreaming sustainability by creating alternative fibres, from hemp and other agricultural waste.
He added, “Hemp and other natural fibres are at least 88 per cent more environmentally beneficial.”
Challenges in the adoption of greener options
Hemp and other alternative materials, unlike their mainstream counterparts like cotton, lack significant industrial support, leading to their limited growth. Due to lower demand, these materials are more expensive, further hindering their widespread adoption. Mousmi Sejpal, Business Head, Hemp Fabric Lab, Boheco – an agro-based enterprise providing 100 per cent hemp fabric and blends with other sustainable fibres like organic cotton, tencel, wool, silk, yak hair, nettle, bamboo, lyocell – emphasises the crucial role of brands in driving demand.
| “Brands are the most powerful entities which can drive demand. Anita Dongre (Fashion Designer) recently launched a hemp collection and a lot of other big brands are doing the same which will actually give the manufacturers a push,” Mousmi Sejpal Business Head, Hemp Fabric Lab, BOHECO |
She added, “Once there’s a demand for such alternate fibres, their prices will also come down due to economies of scale. According to the studies conducted, in 2021, the global hemp market was valued at US $ 2.29 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.1 per cent in the next ten years, so I think people are slowly accepting it.”
There’s no shortage of raw materials, but faith in these alternative fibres needs to be cultivated across the entire value chain.
Citing an example of hemp cultivation, Mousmi said that more states must be empowered to permit the cultivation of the eco-friendly crop. In 2018, Uttarakhand made history as the first Indian state to permit hemp cultivation for industrial use, with less than 0.3 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the permissible limit set by international laws and state parameters.
| “We aim to avoid blending with recycled polyester, despite the high demand, as we don’t consider recycled polyester truly sustainable. However, market demands sometimes lead us to use it. We can blend any synthetic material, including MMCF (Man- made Cellulosic Fibre), or any other fibre, as long as it’s 38 mm in length,” Shreyans Kokra CEO, CanvaLoop |
Brands must also move beyond superficial sustainability efforts and focus on a genuine commitment to create a meaningful impact.
“Levi’s has been promoting hemp since 2018, but you would only find one vintage denim in the 501 collection that has hemp. So, first and foremost, brands need to be serious in taking steps forward and inculcating these fibres on a larger scale and the rest of everything else will fall into place,” said Shreyans, while adding that all alternative materials can be blended. Currently, most commercial usage involves a 20 per cent blend because major brands are hesitant to modify their SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit).
“However, for new brands, we can create blends with much higher percentages. We aim to avoid blending with recycled polyester, despite the high demand, as we don’t consider recycled polyester truly sustainable. However, market demands sometimes lead us to use it. We can blend any synthetic material, including MMCF (Man-made Cellulosic Fibre), or any other fibre, as long as it’s 38 mm in length.”
“When we asked the big brands in India about the composition of their fibres, we found 72 per cent -75 per cent of the fibre is cotton, 15 per cent is viscose and the rest is polyester but natural fibres are nearly negligible, so we would like brands to take this up more seriously and have more natural fibres in their collections,” opined Ganesh Kasekar, Representative South Asia, GOTS, recognised as the world’s leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibres.
Problems with certification of alternative fibres
Organic cotton is a step forward towards a more sustainable future, preventing the use of synthetic and toxic pesticides. The biodegradable fabric is a ‘like-for-like’ alternative to its conventional counterpart, cotton. India stands as the world’s largest producer of organic cotton, contributing to almost half of the global organic cotton market. However, the organic cotton industry faces a significant issue rooted in an opaque certification system vulnerable to fraud. Brands assure consumers of the ‘organic’ status of their products based on certifications from external organisations. These certifications rely on reports from local inspection agencies, which conduct infrequent inspections—either annually for facilities or a few random visits to farms.
In 2021, the credibility of these inspection agencies had been called into question. The European Commission delisted five certification bodies (CBs) from India, namely Ecocert India, Control Union India, Indocert, Lacon India and OneCert International, which essentially meant that they wouldn’t be able to certify organic farm production (such as organic cotton) to the EU Organic Regulation.
To help certify fields growing organic cotton, the GOTS, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Marple (an AI company) announced a project in June last year to use satellite data to detect organic cotton fields across India. The main objective of the initiative is to bolster the integrity of organic cotton and prevent fraud throughout the supply chain. The first results in India are expected to be released soon.
Collective efforts are required
Addressing the challenges in sustainable fibre extraction, Ganesh highlighted the case of bamboo fibres. While bamboo is natural, the extraction process involves chemical treatments, negating its organic claim. Another challenge involves small-scale farmers, such as those producing Pashmina wool, facing hurdles due to disorganisation. Despite high demand, the lack of structured markets results in limited outlets, mainly local markets. Collective efforts are required to organise these processes and promote alternative fibres effectively to meet consumer demands.
Viscose, hailed as a more sustainable alternative to cotton or polyester, is a semi-synthetic fabric gaining popularity. “Viscose is gaining popularity now, and in the last five years, at Vardhman, we have made adjustments to our plant and equipment to enable it to run viscose, and at one point in time, 90 per cent – 95 per cent of our products were cotton based and now 25 per cent -30 per cent are non-cotton based, whether it be blends or 100 per cent viscose, modal etc.,” said Mukesh Bansal, EVP Marketing, Vardhman Textiles.
“As a retailer with Bestseller, we do almost one lakh pieces of shirts in viscose and it’s become a fabric in India which is selling even in menswear. And no other brand in India has done as much viscose as we do in shirts,” said Rajiv Bajaj, Head of Design and Product, Jack & Jones India.
“Currently, the global fibre consumption exceeds 100 million tonnes, with the share of wool, cotton or natural fibres remaining consistent. Unlike viscose or polyester, which can be mass-produced industrially, natural fibres have not seen a similar scaling. Although natural fibres will persist, their usage will likely be limited to specific niche applications rather than extensive industrial settings,” said Mukesh.
The experts unanimously emphasised the need for the entire fashion industry to collaborate in finding a comprehensive solution and not doing ‘patchwork in their own space’.
Sustainable fibre manufacturersHemp Fabric Manufacturers Vritti designs: Based in Malad, Maharashtra, the company creates organic fabrics including hemp fabrics. Bamboo Fabric Manufacturers Chandra Prakash & Company: Based in Jaipur, the company is well-known for creating high-quality bamboo fibres.
Banana Fabric Manufacturers Eco Green Unit: Based out of Coimbatore, this company provides complete choice of products which include brown banana fibre, banana fibre, banana fibre products. |
