The doyenne of sustainable fashion

City-based textile designer Bina Rao is all to promote sustainable fashion with her presentation at the upcoming 2016 Lakme Fashion Week on March 31 in Mumbai.

She plans to talk about the importance of sustainable fashion and its global impact by discussing case studies on several companies worldwide that have successfully used her sustainable textiles to create a global market.

She says, “I was giving a presentation at an event where Gautam Vasirani, the organiser of the  event, was also present. Post the event, he went back and did his homework on me, discussed with his management and approached me. As I had some time off then, I decided to accept the invitation.”

On the offset, her presentation will talk about India-made eco-friendly  products, she says. “Several companies travel thousands of miles, come to India and develop their whole line of production at least two years in advance. Getting access to all this is a lot easier for Indian designers and  it is one of the more important points I wish to stress upon,” she says.   

Throwing light on what is sustainable fashion all about, she shares, “Firstly, sustainable fashion is about the artisan earning dignity and fair wages. Secondly, you provide continuous and long-term work to all stake holders and help them grow along with you. Thirdly, you don’t spoil the environment as you use degradable, low impact natural dies and textiles.”

While appreciating the interest the younger generation of designers are showing towards sustainable fashion, she feels they shouldn’t restrict it to a one-time exercise. “Most of them showcase their clothing line after interacting with villagers and giving them extra wages, which is good. But it cannot be sustainable if you fail to maintain the cycle and give these artisans work non-stop,” she says.