The global fashion industry is a large contributor to the climate crisis, accounting for 8-10 percent of global carbon emissions, and nearly 20 percent of wastewater.
As per a 2021 report by the World Economic Forum, it is the world’s third largest polluter (after food and construction). As attention to the environment is growing, so is young people’s awareness about the impact of the climate crisis and fast fashion’s role in it.
Over the course of the last couple of years, many online stores that operate in thrift and sustainable fashion have come up. One such page is the.susta.act, where Leandra Menezes not only shares posts the thrifted clothes that she sells but also shares stories and insights on how sustainable fashion needs to become a part of our daily lives if we want to mitigate the severe global crisis called climate change
In a free wheeling conversation, Leandra Menezes spoke about sustainable fashion, what drew her to it and why she runs the.susta.act.
<Ishita Bagchi>What is your idea of sustainable fashion?
<Leandra> To me, sustainable fashion is making use of primarily what you already have and I believe in using stuff as much as possible. I may be a little on the extreme but I also think that I am quite fashionable in spite of the fact that I reuse stuff. Another thing that I associate sustainable fashion with is repairing and fixing my existing clothes and accessories rather than throwing them away at one go, and buying secondhand. After that comes all the other options like sustainable fabric, vegan leather etc.
<Ishita Bagchi>What drew you to sustainable fashion?
<Leandra> In 2018 I chanced upon a series of documentaries and videos that made me realise that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries. At that time, I felt I had a little knowledge about it though.
<Ishita Bagchi> When did you first come across this concept?
<Leandra> Since 2013, as far as I can remember, I have been very conscious. It wasn’t based on anything that I watched or read but a sense of conscience that made me have this desire of wanting to save and not waste and I started with saving paper. In fact, in my office people used to jokingly call me “paper officer” or “waste officer.” I think that’s how I started out and gradually I started understanding more about waste and how pollution occurs. And finally, in 2018 I came to terms with the concept of fast fashion. Since then I have been wanting to do something about it. I have been collecting clothes for a long time not because I wanted to start something but because I didn’t want people to waste. In fact, I would do this with my neighbours as well where I used to tell them to not to throw away their clothes and give them to me and I will figure out what to do with them. I started hoarding lots of clothes from people around me because I just didn’t want them to go to waste.
<Ishita Bagchi> What made you start the.susta.act? What was your motivation behind this and why did you want to do this?
<Leandra>The motivation is my desire to not let resources go to waste. My passion lies in sourcing clothes from people’s closets and making them reach another closet without letting them go to waste.
<Ishita Bagchi>What do you aim to achieve through this initiative?
<Leandra> I am really hoping that a lot of people understand the ill effects of fast fashion through the posts and content that I put up on my page as much as I can. I really resonate with this issue and it is very close to my heart. I try to do whatever I can to raise more awareness and encourage people to make the switch to sustainable and recycled fashion.
<Ishita Bagchi>Is there any specific person whom you look upto when it comes to sustainable fashion?
<Leandra> I look up to my mom when it comes to creativity and “jugaad” in general. She has taught me to value things and make the best use of whatever is available in hand and utilize and recycle things to the maximum extent possible. In fact, both of my parents have always been very keen on reusing and recycling things which has led me to internalise these ideas since I was a kid.
<Ishita Bagchi> What do you think is the future of sustainable fashion? What are certain initiatives or policies that you think can help in making the fashion industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly?
<Leandra> I think sustainable fashion is a growing market. But it is a slow growing market owing to the overbearing monopolies of large brands and corporations in the fast fashion world. Unless the government brings up policies about the chemicals and dyes that our fashion industry is dumping on water bodies and landfills in general, then it is very difficult to address these problems only at an individual level. People won’t take it seriously unless governments come up with regulations to address various structural problems in the fashion industry including pollution, working and wage conditions etc. When it comes to policies specifically, it’s important for the pollution boards to indulge in better governance and come up with stricter regulations to minimise waste disposal by the industry, reduce usage of chemical dyes and artificial disposable materials. Regular audits of various companies should be conducted to ensure stricter and better compliance to rules regarding pollution and waste disposal.