Fashion Sense and Sustainability

Johara Al Mogbel

Look beautiful inside out.  

By Johara Almogbel

Frankly, fashion isn’t known for being, er shall we say… charitable? Prices are big, and the jewels are bigger, and woe be unto you if you’re wearing last season’s duds. How could you??

There’s a lot of waste is what we’re saying, and in today’s climate crisis-ed and war-ridden world it’s time to take a step back and see what it is that we can do to make it an (infinitesimally) better place to live in. Even your buying habits can have a huge impact on at least one person’s life, whether it be an environmental change or a direct one to the factory chain. Here are a couple of options that are both pleasing to the eye and to world peace (sort of).

Loom Mool
An initiative of SEWA Bharat (Self Employed Women’s Association), Loom Mool is a shop in New Delhi that offers the opportunity for weavers and artisans in rural India to translate their handicraft into a sustainable lifestyle, by providing a workplace women can work in even with their children, as well as teaching them how to read basic documents before signing away their rights. It caught our eye when we were perusing the shops in Hauz Khas village with bright, gorgeous embroidery and is definitely one of our favorite stores.

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Herfah
The first multipurpose women’s cooperative in Qassim, Herfah has been wowing us from day one. Leaning more towards traditional handicrafts and embroideries, they are nonetheless a treasure bank of unique wardrobe pieces with lots of potential, like this yarn bag that can be used as a colorful tote to brighten your outfit of the day.

herfah

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Kowtow Clothing
High-end clothes without selling our souls to the devil? Yes, please. Kowtow’s Seed to Garment philosophy works on ensuring that the entire process, from plant to finish, ensures that the workers are given their proper rights. And if you think their prices are high, keep in mind that the prices are reflective of the proper wages and benefits that the humans making your clothes need. Plus, how gorgeous is this trench coat?

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Aware by Printa
Printa is a café, pop-up and design studio in Budapest run by founder Zita Majoros, and their newest collection, Aware, is the result of Zita’s dream of making products from otherwise wasted materials. Employing talented Hungarian seamstresses, Aware is made from repurposed textiles like paragliding wings, military wool blankets and vintage hemp canvas which lessens the amount of perfectly useful materials ending in a dump. And the end results look awesome, don’t you think?

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