With the mercury breaking records this summer, why not cool things down with some lightweight natural and sustainable fabrics made from crops that our farmers grow? After all, the only thing that should sizzle is your style quotient.
All things environmentally friendly are trendy at a time when consumers are becoming more conscious about the sustainability of the things they consume. This is true for fabrics as well, and given that the cloth industry has conventionally had a high carbon footprint, sustainable alternatives to conventional choices are the need of the hour. Here are five innovative fabrics you should consider wearing this season, to flaunt your style with natural, eco-friendly alternatives to keep you on trend.
This textile is a good choice for the environmentally conscious because it is made with fibres of the flax plant that need less water and pesticides for growing. Cotton is derived by harvesting the bolls that grow around the seeds of the cotton plant, whereas for linen the stems of the flax plant are harvested. It is a comfortable and lightweight fabric to wear and is highly breathable as well.
This is one fashion choice that not just Mahatma Gandhi would endorse, but environmentalists too. It is a handwoven and handspun fabric that has been worn in our country for centuries. Because machines aren’t required to manufacture khadi, it has a low carbon footprint. It can be made from natural materials like cotton, silk and wool, and its texture endows the garment you make with it a unique character. It also requires much less water to create than a machine-woven fabric.
Hemp is a good alternative to cotton because it grows faster, and requires less water and pesticides to propagate. The fibre itself is durable and sustainable and is easily available in our country making it a good choice for garments like tops, trousers and jackets. It is made from the stalks of the cannabis sativa plant. When woven the texture mimics cotton, but feels like canvas on the skin. As per some studies, hemp fabric is three times studier than cotton.
The outer and inner parts of the peels of the banana are harvested for the fibre that is used to create the banana fabric. Though mainstream fashion has taken note of this fabric only recently, the practice of weaving banana fabric goes back centuries. Perhaps it was the Philippines where banana stems and peels were used to create fabric first. Currently, India manufactures a lot of banana fabric with manufacturers focusing on organic and sustainable practices. It is typically used in accessories like scarves, hats and gloves.
This general term refers to several different textiles that are made using bamboo fibre. Again, the practice dates back to a long time ago, but it was only recently that the science of making bamboo fabric with precision has been perfected. The bulk of bamboo fabric made globally is bamboo viscose, which is cheap to produce. However good quality bamboo fabric is created when the process of making it doesn’t involve the extraction of cellulose. Such a yarn usually has a silky texture, and the resulting fabric could be referred to as bamboo linen.
The lead image on top shows a woman using a spinning wheel in a village in Bikaner, Rajasthan. (Photo from Shutterstock)
