Through their comics, artistes discuss damage caused by fashion industry

Over the years we have witnessed a gradual but discernible shift from discarding clothes to repairing reusing or even renting them But statistics show itrsquos not enough According to reports the global fashion industry emits 17 billion tons of carbon dioxide per yearmdashmore than the total emission from flights and shipping across the world in one year To shine a light on the fragility of the planet and the environmental cost of fast fashion a bunch of artists from the country have joined hands to create artworks on the subject The comic strips focus mainly on the water consumption by the fashion industry Organised by ReFashion Hub a collective working to bring together multiple stakeholders invested in wastewater reuse and management in the textile industry this artistic intervention is aimed at bringing climateaction to fashionAditi Mali goodbadcomics InstagramAs a child Mali remembers being more excited about receiving the clothes her cousin would hand her than buying a new piece of garment ldquoI have always practiced sustainable fashion without quite knowing itrdquo she says Her research involved devouring YouTube videos on the topic and reading up on the fashion industry ldquoAnd the more you learn about how things work in the industry the more yoursquore exposed to the selfish moneyhungry side of human beings running giant companiesrdquo The Tshirt in her comic has a ldquotshirt quoterdquo written on it with a smiley face ldquoIt may not look harmful to you but itrsquos got its ways to add more bad to the planet Tshirts with basic quotes are so redundant I hope we can do better as clothwearers and take a step to reduce the damage being done to our planet because of decisions made by giantsrdquoSonali Bhasin sonalidoodles InstagramThe lifecycle of textiles and supply chains has always been an area of interest for Bhasin Understanding the workings of a ldquothirstyrdquo fashion industry therefore seemed right up her street ldquoThey the fashion industry produce 20 per cent of the worldrsquos wastewater Having said that this is a moment when many fashion companies are being examined for their consumption of water and many have started making claims about sustainable products Younger consumers have the potential to be more introspective about what they buyrdquo Through her artwork Bhasin has chosen to ldquoexaggerate the idea of the impact of fashion wastewaterrdquo ldquoWhat if your environment could literally talk back to you about the way you treat it Who would be the spokesperson for the Ulhas river which earlier this year turned turquoise black andred due to textile dye If I were haunted by a group of frogs that had been dyed different colours due to my questionable fashion choices I would certainly think twice about buying anythingrdquo Bhasin says her comic is a nudge to be more mindful of consumption choicesldquoSustainable fashion is not just about the materials but also about how often you choose to buy clothes and how you choose to discard them I want to remind people that everything we do has an effect even if we canrsquot see itrdquoPriyanka Paul artwhoring InstagramTheres nothing quite like humour to drive home a message even if the subject is as serious as colossal water wastage ldquoI think the world is scary which is why humour is the best way to tell a storyrdquo says Paul Her comic tells the story of an average tshirt and what goes into it coupled with comparisons to show how much resources go into creating it and how large a carbon footprint that leaves on the earth and ways to reduce it ldquoIn the process wersquore also critiquing the nature of capitalism and the reduced autonomy it leaves for the individual in this system to be able to make any considerable changerdquoThe project helped Paul explore the ethics of fashion functionality of clothing rise of thrift shops and what makes up ecoconsciousness ldquoWersquove grown accustomed to our textbook definition of water conservationmdashturn off your taps ground water harvesting etc but understanding how the industrial complex specifically the fashionindustry works and uses water is important as consumers play a vital role in the fast economyrdquoManasi Deshpande manasii_d InstagramDeshpandersquos comic portrays a garment worker making a lsquoSave Waterrsquo Tshirt The irony is unmissable ldquoItrsquos an attempt to show the hypocrisy of the fast fashion industry the environmental cost and the water pollution that tags along pun intendedrdquo Deshpande who works in the digital communications space believes the connection between production of cotton apparel and water wastage is grossly underreported ldquoMore than 2700 litres of water is used to consume one cotton Tshirt If this is not absurdity what is A lot of luxury brand companies have admitted to destroying unsold apparels and accessories instead of selling them at a lower price just to protect the brand image and maintain exclusivity Ninetythree billion cubic tonnes of water is used every year and the majority of the clothes are dumped into landfills Yes the clothes might be cheap but no one actually talks about the price environment has to payrdquoThe artwork also addresses the professionals in the fashion industry goading them to consider sustainable options as well as speak up about the issue of fastfashion wastage