From Rags to Riches: Indian Designer Finds Sustainable Way to High Fashion

A man sorts discarded fabric waste at a market in New Delhi, India, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
A man sorts discarded fabric waste at a market in New Delhi, India, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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From Rags to Riches: Indian Designer Finds Sustainable Way to High Fashion

A man sorts discarded fabric waste at a market in New Delhi, India, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
A man sorts discarded fabric waste at a market in New Delhi, India, November 4, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

An Indian designer is using discarded pieces of cloth to piece together fashionwear for men and women as a sustainable alternative to high-end garments.

New Delhi-based Kriti Tula's fashion label Doodlage collects fabric waste from factories discarded for minor defects and pieces them together to create flowing dresses and sarees, selling them for about $100 a piece.

Tula said the label, which includes a men's line featuring patchwork shirts with denim strips, emerged out of her concern for global warming and the fashion industry's impact on the environment.

Having worked at major textile export houses, the designer said she had seen the environmental cost of high fashion first-hand: waste of cloth and water, and toxins emitted in the production process.

"Everything that we wear eventually impacts everything that we eat and consume and we breathe," Tula told Reuters at her workshop in the capital.

The roughly $2.4 trillion global fashion industry accounts for 8-10% of the world's carbon emissions - more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, the United Nations Environment Program said in 2019.

The industry is also the second-biggest consumer of water, generating about 20% of the world's wastewater, it added.

Tula said sourcing the scraps initially proved complex and the product prices had to be higher than what many buyers may have felt was worth paying for recycled wear.

Gradually though, her business has found like-minded vendors and partners, she said. Besides clothes, her label also makes soft toys, bags, purses and paper out of leftover fabric.



Primark Boss Marchant Resigns after 'Error of Judgment'

A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
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Primark Boss Marchant Resigns after 'Error of Judgment'

A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

The head of fast fashion chain Primark, Paul Marchant, has resigned with immediate effect after he admitted an "error of judgment" towards a woman in a social environment.
Parent-company Associated British Foods said in a statement on Monday that Marchant had accepted his actions fell below the standards expected, and the head of the 14 billion pound conglomerate said he was "immensely disappointed".
Primark has over 450 stores in 17 countries across Europe and the United States, with Marchant growing operating profit from about 250 million pounds to over a billion pounds during his more than 15 years in charge, Reuters reported.
Primark, founded in Ireland and has a huge presence on British high streets, contributes about half of group profit to AB Foods, which also owns major grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses.
Shares in the parent company were trading down 3.5% on Monday morning.
"I am immensely disappointed. At ABF, we believe that high standards of integrity are essential," said CEO George Weston.
"Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term. Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity. Our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual."
The group said that Marchant had cooperated with an investigation led by external lawyers, and acknowledged his "error of judgment".
It said he had apologized to the individual concerned, the group's board and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business.
Eoin Tonge, AB Foods' finance director, will act as Primark chief executive on an interim basis working with the senior Primark management team and Primark's Strategic Advisory Board, while Joana Edwards, AB Foods' financial controller, will act as interim finance director.
"It is, indeed, a very disappointing, to say the least, end for Mr. Marchant and all at Primark and ABF, where he has overseen the development of a fine value-based retailer with strong prospects for growth," said analysts at Shore Capital.
AB Foods said the group would continue to offer support to the individual who brought this behavior to its attention.