Sustainable Textile and Clothing Practices from Traditional Indian Culture

Indian textile and clothing combine improvisation, philosophy, artisanal skills, and collective commitment to managing with little resources. Recycling and upcycling of handmade clothes are part of India’s heritage, which, in its way, is responsible for reducing Greenhouse gas emissions.

Every state in India has a variety of textiles with unique processes, designs, and patterns. Traditionally, the fabrics were produced using local materials. When they were turned into outfits, they were made to be used by all age groups and sometimes even generations. These outfits were also designed considering the local weather. This outfit was recognized for its long life cycle, which featured reuse and recycling. Even when the outfit outlived its function, it was upcycled into something useful.

Clothing and Textile Adapted for Climate

Indian clothing was traditionally made from cotton and silk fabrics. Both fabrics are considered natural and help maintain body temperature due to their cooling effect. Traditionally, men wore dhotis, and women wore sarees.

The loose-fitting designs and cool materials made the clothing extremely comfortable in hot weather. One of the most striking features of both these garments was that it was unstitched, enabling people of all ages to wear them. 

Sarees are draped differently in every state of India, and while it is one long garment, in some parts, there are two-piece sarees worn as a skirt and blouse.

Upcycling Clothing into New Products

Upcycling is a fashion statement that refurbishes an old, discarded item, giving it a whole new life. As the familiar phrase goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is taken too seriously in India.

Hand Me Downs

In most Indian homes, there is a tradition of passing on clothes from the older child to the younger child. It is also a tradition to dress a baby in old clothes handed down from an older sibling or cousin during the first few days/weeks as they are softer and milder for the baby’s skin. 

Some grand outfits, such as sarees and kurtas, are even passed down across generations as heirloom pieces. 

Giving away clothes to the less fortunate is also very common. Clothes (sometimes even new) are donated to festivals such as Diwali through organizations such as U Day Foundation.

Makings Rugs and Quilts

Rugs are made with leftover scraps of cotton trips. The old cotton garment is cut into one to two-inch strips. The strips are assembled and stitched with a crochet hook and thread. The output is a colorful rug that can be used as a doormat or floor mat. This is called Chindi Rug.

Another way of making a rug is using old blankets, which are still practiced in the states of Jammu and Kashmir. The nomadic community involved in this work uses acrylic yarn for embroidery on old woolen blankets and converts them into handmade rugs. It is part of the Kashmiri tradition, where they preserve old clothes by upcycling them into something useful. The Initiative is a group that upcycles old sarees into other items, including laptop sleeves, quilts, and yoga bags. 

Indian quilts, also known as Godhadi, are traditional hand-stitched quilts made using patchwork on old sarees and dhotis. They are full-sized quilts used on beds or also used as shawls. The old sari is folded so that the folds create the quilt, and stuffing is not required. The layers are put together with a running stitch. More decorative parts of the saree are used to create a colourful and vibrant border. 

Using Threads for Embroidery

Kantha work from the states of West Bengal and Odisha was traditionally made using threads pulled out from sarees and dhotis. ‘Kantha’ refers to the style of running stitch on patchwork cloth from rags. It is one of the oldest forms of embroidery originating from India; its origins can be traced back to the pre-Vedic age (before 1500 BCE).

Kantha does not use hoops or frames like embroidery to keep the cloth tight, which leaves a rippled effect on the fabric. Some intricate designs are signature embroideries which are passed on in families as their specialty.

Dhunkifashion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kantha’s work is applied to various types of clothes and various products such as sarees, kurta, mats, quilts, bed covers, etc. The motifs used are inspired from day to day life activities such as birds, animals, folk scenes, and nature. 

Using as a Personal Heat Protector

In modern times, caps and hats form the heat protector for the head from the harsh heat in summer, but traditionally, men used turbans. Turbans are long cloths tied around the head tightly so they don’t fall off and protect the heads of farmers. Old sarees and dhotis were used to convert them into turbans.

Handmade and Handlooms to Reduce Energy

A weaving loom is a tool that can be manually operated to make different designs and cloths of various sizes. Weaving is a tradition practiced by many communities in all parts of India. People hand-weaved on looms to make fabrics made into products such as clothes, towels, and home linens. This tool does not require energy from fossil fuels, thus having a low carbon footprint.

Khadi production by Charkha Spinning 

Mahatma Gandhi used the Charkha (spinning wheel), representing self-sufficiency and independence. It signified dignity of labour, equality, and unity.

Using Cotton Handtowels to Reduce Waste

Cotton hand towels, specifically the cotton handkerchief, are a common component of the dress of Indian men and women. These are reused by washing over a more extended period, unlike throwing tissue paper. Paper products like tissues are harsh on the environment since they use a lot of timber, thus impacting wildlife habitat. The paper and pulp industry is also a significant cause of water and air pollution, often producing dioxins and other cancer-causing chemicals. 

Using a hand towel instead of tissue paper is an environmentally friendly way to prevent deforestation and can be considered a measure to mitigate climate change effects. Using a handkerchief instead of tissue paper increases the life cycle of paper.

Fashion Industry – Did You Know?

The fashion industry is one of the major polluting industries in the world. It produces a huge amount of carbon emissions and pollutes oceans with microplastics. The production and distribution of the crops, fibers, and garments used in fashion contribute more to air pollution, including water and soil pollution.

It is important to be mindful of not buying too much by getting trapped in the fast-moving fashion trends.  Many of these sustainable traditional practices for textile and clothing are still prevalent in large parts of India, which helps reduce energy and minimize waste. It is time to get inspired by these practices and contribute less to the ever-rising pollution.

Read the latest facts and figures about the fashion industry. 

Discuss and Share

While India is a large producer of fast fashion for the western world, many of its traditional practices are still used at home to embrace a more sustainable approach to clothing and textiles. It is time for fast-fashion chains to embrace more sustainable clothing practices and for us, as consumers to embrace slow mindful fashion with concepts adopted from traditional India.

Start a Discussion!

• Go back through and think of ways you can incorporate some of these sustainable traditional practices from India in your closet. Leave a comment with at least one idea below.
• What are some of your favorite ways to upcycle and recycle clothing? We would love to hear about them!
• What is something you learned from this post that surprised you?
• Make sure you save this post to repeatedly return to it as you build on your sustainable journey.

This is part of an ongoing series by Ketki from Ecokats, an Indian ecologist and sustainable travel blogger, sharing lessons we can learn from India’s Sustainable Traditional Practices. We hope that you can pick up some tips to incorporate into your lifestyle by harnassing traditions from India.

Don’t miss the rest of the series:

• Sustainable food practices
• Sustainable housing practices
• Sustainable water practices