Innovative sunglasses crafted from discarded chip packets win India's Circular Design Challenge, endorsing the transformative power of circular fashion principles in the global sustainability movement
The designer sunglasses look like trendy fashion statements, which doubtless they are. But there is clearly more to them than meets the eye. These shades are a product of an environmentally sensitive process that saves tonnes of multi-layered plastics from ending up in landfills.
They are, believe it or not, made from trashed plastic chip packets. Ashaya, the social enterprise behind this eye-opening innovation, won the fifth annual Circular Design Challenge (CDC) for conjuring these glasses.
CDC is an initiative of R|Elan, a textile innovation brand under Reliance Industries Limited, in partnership with the United Nations in India, Lakmé Fashion Week, and the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).
By winning the award, Anish Malpani, the founder of Ashaya, received Rs 15 lakhs in funding, a trophy, a six-month mentorship, and a stand-alone showcase at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI in March next year.
At the heart of Ashaya's work is circular design, which revolves around upcycling waste into desirable products. In this case, eye-catching glasses that would look perfectly in place on any fashion high street. The focus is on turning around waste for the greater good. Design, for the company, is merely a tool.
As India's most coveted sustainable fashion award, CDC provides a leading-edge platform for designers who prioritise circularity as a crucial design principle. Apart from Ashaya, five other finalists showcased their designs rooted in circularity, which implies reducing the environmental and social impact of the textile and fashion industries by eliminating waste, using recycled materials, and regenerating nature.
Since it is responsible for up to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, or more than the aviation and shipping industries combined, the need for transformative change in the industry is beyond doubt.
The sector is responsible for consuming approximately 4 percent of the world's freshwater supply, often in water-scarce areas. And while emissions must fall by 7.6 percent every year from 2020 to meet global commitments to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions from the fashion industry are still increasing by 2.7 percent every year.
Much of the pollution we see today results from unsustainable production and consumption patterns. People worldwide are purchasing 60 percent more clothes than before, but wearing them for only half as long. Over the past 15 years, fashion consumption has more than doubled, whereas the number of times a garment is worn before being thrown away has decreased by 36 percent. Additionally, clothes are increasingly made from synthetic fibres, contributing to the growing problem of microplastics in our oceans.
The fashion industry must undergo a significant transformation to become sustainable. In India, a country with a rich culture of reusing and repurposing textiles, the fashion industry is leading the way towards sustainability. India's fashion industry sets a global example, from saris passed down from generation to generation to fabrics that have lost shape in the process of being repurposed for household needs.
In 2018, the CDC was established to help India become a sustainable fashion hub and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12, which focuses on "responsible consumption and production". The CDC strives to reconcile sustainable environmental practices with the fashion and textile industry while promoting social and economic development.
The Challenge builds on India's comparative advantages. India is among the world's largest producers of fibre crops, textiles and apparel, with the fashion industry estimated to grow to $190 billion by 2025-26, providing direct employment to 45 million people. India also accumulates 8.5 percent of global textile waste each year, meaning that driving sustainability in the Indian fashion industry will have a global impact.
Speaking at the fifth CDC, held last month at the UN House in New Delhi, Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India, said the initiative "demonstrates fashion can be a powerful driver for responsible production and consumption, weaving together style and sustainability. The CDC reflects India's centrality as a leader in both sustainable culture and climate action. Where India and its fashion industry go, the world will increasingly follow."
The 2023 edition witnessed an expansion of the Challenge to designers and entrepreneurs in the UK, EU, and Asia-Pacific region, with new international partners including the British Council, the Instituto Marangoni, and the Redress Award.
The Challenge is strongly aligned with the principles of the global Mission Lifestyles for Environment (LiFE) movement, launched last year by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
In a world where three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year of being manufactured, LiFE encourages consumers to move towards more responsible conservation and the sustainable use and regeneration of natural resources.
Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi remarked at the Challenge that it is vital to make everyone – whether fashion designers or consumers- responsible for their actions.
Meanwhile, UNEP India is working with relevant stakeholders, including government, industry, civil society, and educational institutes, to mainstream sustainability and circularity in India's textile sector. Some key initiatives include the roadmap development of a sustainable hub in the Surat textile cluster and the development of a sustainable fashion curriculum with the National Institutes of Fashion Technology.