Ethical Indian wear is not hard to find, if you know where to look
About a month ago, I nearly gave up on this blog. Many of you may have wondered why I haven’t blogged for weeks. The truth was, I was re-evaluating the blog and its direction and I’ve decided to make a few changes to it come May, for the benefit of Fashionably Kind readers. So keep coming back and I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Today, I’d like to pay tribute to a fellow Malaysian who wrote to me a few weeks ago, lamenting that she has been unable to find sources of ethical Asian ethnic wear, particularly ethical Indian wear. So we put our heads together and dug up some resources for ethical Indian wear, which I am listing here for those who have found themselves in a similar predicament.
Upasana Studio
On its website, Upasana declares its mission is “to create conscious sustainable fashion where we are taking care of our environmental cost and not passing it on to the future.” The brand is also involved in a number of projects to support local communities, which are listed under the Projects tab on its website. For more information on Upasana’s products and philosophy, click here.
Metaphor Racha
A Bangalore-based brand, Metaphor Racha creates all apparel and accessories out of Khadi – a locally-produced cotton fabric spun and woven by hand. This provides sustainable employment to Khadi artisans and keeps the Khadi-weaving tradition alive. To shop this brand, visit: https://www.metaphorracha.com/collections.
Ethicus
Intriguingly, its Facebook page says Ethicus is an ethical fashion brand that offers products made from ‘eco-logic cotton’ hand-crafted by rural artisans. Here’s their story as covered by CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuMiX-s3o9A
The sad thing about this brand is the lack of branding. If you click the link from its Facebook page, you get an incomplete website. I hope this gets fixed soon so more people outside of India get access to their collections.
Bhu:sattva
According to a write-up on the brand by the Ethical Fashion Forum, Ahmedabad-based Bhu:sattva “is a brand that beautifully converges organic fabrics, traditional herbal dyes and ancient, languishing textile art forms with modern, stylish fashion for men and women”.
“Bhu” means earth and “sattva” means essence, the brand has kept alive textile traditions such as Khadi, Jaina and Pichwai fabric painting, and Kantha, Kasuti and Kashida embroideries (source: Ethical Fashion Forum).
To shop the Bhu:sattva brand, click here.
Mother Earth
“When you shop at Mother Earth, you choose to give back and create an impact that goes far preserving art and it’s communities. Every time you shop at Mother Earth, you participate in preserving our heritage of centuries old art and craft; sustaining it for the future and nurturing the livelihood of the artisans.”
That block of text greets you on Mother Earth’s homepage and what a powerful message it is! For more information on their apparel and other products, visit the Mother Earth website.
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If you’re willing to pay premium prices for your ethnic wear, you’ll love this Etsy shop. What’s not to love about hand-made, exclusive pieces that are both modern, yet uniquely Indian?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on ethical Indian wear. If I’ve missed out any websites, please add the links in the comments section, or write me at: fashionablykindblog@gmail.com.
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