#EcoLiving: Homegrown labels that have embraced conscious ways of packaging

It’s a problem that needs to be raised repeatedly, until a solution is in sight...of how we consume fashion in a world that is rampant with waste and pollution. Needless to say, designers and brands must make it their business to embrace a zero-waste approach at the design stage itself and innovate new, eco-friendly fabrics. But along with fast fashion and air travel, it’s the problem of wasteful packaging that is adding to the planet’s woes...

If one looks at the journey of a piece prior to it arriving in our closet, one could easily deduce that a garment is packaged several times over before it reaches the end consumer, seeing multiple variants of discarded single-use wrapping. More than 80 billion garments are produced annually across the world, many of which are shipped and packaged several times. Damaging to the environment, most covers end up in landfills and incinerators. However, there’s a ray of hope with an array of homegrown, indigenous labels pioneering a new, eco-conscious wave of packaging.

For instance, Delhi-based upcycling label Doodlage works hard to decide the most sustainable way to package a product based on the distance, city, or country it is travelling to. Kriti Tula, co-founder of the label says, “For instance, if the parcel is to be hand-delivered in Delhi, we pack it in a reusable tote. An international order would need a sturdier shell as it is in transit for longer, in which case we use reusable, recycled paper boxes and starch bags to keep the parcel waterproof.”

The biggest problems, it appears, is of cost and practicality. Premium brands are often conflicted between creating an experience for the consumer and keeping their packaging sustainable. “While there are a lot of new materials being explored every day, cost-effective, sturdy, and sustainable alternatives are still limited,” Tula adds. “A lot of alternate material still needs to be checked for feasibility on a large scale. The change is coming, but it is slow. Large-scale e-commerce platforms now have options to choose to receive items a little later, but in addition to that, customers need to do their part in using fewer boxes and clubbing their deliveries together instead of requiring multiple runs. This would send a clear message to bigger brands to change their approach,” she explains. 

 

Meanwhile, brands like Bodice are working with artisans who make paper out of natural materials like banana fibre and hemp. These will be used to produce packaging that matches the values of the design house. “Our guiding philosophy extends to the way our store is built and also our packaging. Our aim is to support artisanal livelihoods whilst embracing cutting-edge technology and exploring circular design solutions,” says designer Ruchika Sachdeva, founder of the label.

Bodice’s garments are shipped in biodegradable, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags, a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic that is enzyme-mediated. Biodegradable additives are infused into LDPE plastic when the films for the bags are made, making them decomposable within two years. These bags are suitable for landfill biodegradation and can be home-composted if the proper bio-degrading environment is available. And the packaging passes both the aerobic (ASTM D 5338) and anaerobic (ISO 15985) biodegradation tests. For shipping, the label uses reusable boxes made from high-quality cardboard, which is devoid of chemicals, and which degrades without harming the soil or environment.

“The biggest challenge has been to reduce wastage altogether as well as to re-use the available resources,” Sachdeva adds. “But keeping up with the demands and delivery timelines, sometimes, leads to a lot of wastage. We are working towards ensuring that our carbon footprint is to a minimum. Our aim is to eventually generate zero waste, and with each cycle of production, we tweak our practices to get closer to the goal,” she reveals.

 

It goes without saying that more brands should choose simpler packaging while communicating to consumers the need for the same, and invest in biodegradable alternatives to make them the new normal. Founder and designer of Uri, Mrunalini Rao, observes, “In the expansion of the fashion industry, designers not only strive to adapt sustainability through packaging but also by encouraging zero wastage from the very first stage of designing a silhouette. Earlier, plastic was the only option available to keep packaging water-resistant. However, since learning about the ecological damage caused by plastic, we have begun using biodegradable materials/covers for wrapping our products.”  

Rao has lent her focus to controlling the wastage of materials since the very beginning of her designing career. This includes sourcing organic fabrics made from soy, bamboo, oranges, milk, and cotton, and also using natural dyes. “We have consciously chosen silhouettes that are either zero-waste or that reduce waste to a large extent. Even if there is any wastage, we reuse/up-cycle the fabrics to make Uri carry bags, tassels, and accessories,” she states. The label makes use of biodegradable starch packaging, and environmentally-safe cardboard for care instructions and logo tags. And the tag loops are made from fabric instead of plastic. 

 

The biggest challenge and aim for the bigger brands and e-commerce platforms is to get the package delivered intact and unharmed. However, it can become difficult to acquire multiple layers of packaging while being sustainable. “Biodegradable wrappers can increase the valuation of the final product. In order to succeed in delivering products securely, such brands need to invest in ecological packing on a larger scale to reduce costs,” says Rao.  

And with online orders having become the preferred shopping style, ever since lockdowns became necessary, packaging has been pegged as the next big pollutant. Satyajit Vetoskar, founder of accessories label Bandit and winner of Lakmé Fashion Week’s Circular Design Challenge says, “While shipping, we use old packaging from what is already available, such as old cartons sourced from grocery stores. And we seal these boxes with paper tape. If the industry was to use bio-compostable plastics made from materials such as molasses to replace plastic bags, it would be a big step in the right direction.”

The challenges for brands are plenty, but so are the solutions. “The volumes needed to reduce the price of innovative packaging can be solved by the bigger brands. Once the big players start converting to such packaging solutions, the cost of these innovative products will reduce drastically. And that will help the smaller players,” adds Vetoskar.

Take Injiri for instance, a homegrown label that initially did not use any plastic for years and has only recently begun using biodegradable plastic. Chinar Farooqui, founder and designer of the label says, “Wherever possible, we use cloth bags to reduce the use of plastic. We are also considering recycling our leftover textiles to make paper to create boxes. However, e-commerce is a problem because we are having to use a lot of packaging with every piece we ship.”

The grim reality is, much of the eco-friendly packaging available leaves garments vulnerable to moisture or stains. Shivangini Padhiyar, co-founder of The Summer House explains, “Our packaging is a zero-dye cloth bag with the wash instructions written on it so there is no need for tags. In the past, orders were packed within paper bags as our delivery partners couldn’t guarantee not staining the bags. However, we are now partnering with a company that will ensure the packaging is picked up post-delivery so it can be reused several times.”

 

The e-commerce industry is pegged to be at $87 billion in India alone, so one can imagine the opportunity and onus that lies on the industry to cut their carbon footprint. CEO and founder of online portal Pinklay, Daisy Tanwani, had pledged to be 85 percent plastic-free by 2021, and has achieved the goal. “We have succeeded largely through improving our packaging. We create fabric bags using leftover fabrics from our mainline production—the quality is high, and our sincere intent is for them to be reused by our customers. They are enclosed with every e-commerce parcel as a complimentary add-on,” she says.

Corrugated, recyclable, and biodegradable boxes/bags also go a long way in replacing plastic bags. “These are our choice of packaging at the moment,” Tanwani says. “It’s important to note that sustainable packaging options come at a premium, but I feel that it is much lower than the price we will pay in the future, if we don’t straighten our consumeristic ways.”