Did you know that over 95% of all that textile waste that ends up in the landfills around the world can be recycled and in 2014, over 16 million tonnes of waste was created in the U.S.? Since then, this number has exponentially increased and in countries like India, reporting of such statistics is a moot point. With a population of over 1.3 billion, how do we even begin to understand how much waste is actually being created?
One thing that is happening in India today, however, is that young innovators and designers are taking responsibility to make sustainable clothes and somehow reduce their own carbon footprint through methods such as recycling, upcycling, reusing and repurposing. Many NGOs, Seams For Dreams included, are even doing their part to propagate new and creative ways to get people to donate scrap and gently worn clothing to help others.
For Seams For Dreams’ latest awareness project, the SFD Love Bundles, the SFD team collaborated with young and budding sustainable designer Tanya Guppta to take some of her lovely scrap fabric and transform it to make the actual bundles. Seams For Dreams had the chance to catch up with Tanya about her vision and inspiration for her work and the importance of sustainability.
1. The Upcycled Love Bundles designs you have created is undoubtedly fantastic, what has been your inspiration to collaborate with Seams For Dreams?
“When I first read about seams for dreams I really liked the concept of merging design and social responsibility. It’s always an honour to be a part of such a cause and help the people in need. Providing the basic amenities to the people in need is something which a lot of individuals and NGO’s are doing but providing them with something which has been specially designed and crafted for them is a big honour for us.
2. How challenging it is to create clothes out of scrap and recycled materials?
“It is quite a challenge to make clothes out of scrap because finding the correct combination and then adjusting them to the appropriate silhouette is very important. Also, I think it is presumed that the upcycled clothing is something which is old and not worth buying. On the contrary, upcycled clothing will always be an exclusive piece of clothing and it takes double the time and effort to make that piece as compared to the one made from the running fabric.”
3. How has your work evolved since you began your own label?
“Our label “Tanya Guppta” was established in July 2018. In this very short span of time, we have evolved ourselves in terms of fabrics and detailing both. In our third collection for Spring/Summer 2019, we have used all organic fabrics certified by GOTS (global organic textile standard) and we have made our silhouettes more Multi purposed and a lot of user-friendly details are added.”
4. What advice would you give to aspiring fashion designers who want to create up-cycled fashion? Any tips and tricks?
“I think it’s our duty as a responsible citizen that we make optimum use of our scraps. If every designer takes a pledge of using 100% of their scraps, there will be nothing from the fashion industry landing up in the landfills. There are so many things which can be made from the fabric waste apart from apparels. You can create bags, cushion covers, rugs, coasters, wall hangings and there is no end to this list.
Keep exploring, keep challenging yourself and keep creating.”
5. In the future would you like to experiment with more eco aspects like organic fabrics and colors?
“Yes definitely, experimenting with new eco-friendly aspects is always on my list. I would love to experiment with organic dyeing and I also want to introduce new upcycled products from the in-house waste as well as the fabric waste from the fabric suppliers.”
Stay tuned on our SFD blog for more updates on the SFD Love Bundles collab with Tanya.
Keep giving in style!
Team SFD
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