ReFashion Hub collaborates with Indian artists to design comic strips addressing sustainability and water consumption

Around 3,000 liters of water is used in making a single cotton shirt while about 7,500 liters are required for a denim jacket. This value is equivalent to the amount of drinking water required for a single person for 6 years! As per Ellen MacArthur Foundation, textile production uses around 93 billion cubic meters (93000 billion liters) of water per year which is equal to 37 million Olympic swimming pools.

7 artists and graphic designers have created a series of specially commissioned comic strips and works of art, in order to raise awareness about the rising issue of wastewater stewardship, in the fashion industry. This focuses on bringing climate-action to fashion. The initiative was done in partnership with ReFashion Hub which is a collective working to bring together multiple stakeholders invested in wastewater reuse and management in the textile industry with long-term positive climate impact.

Divya Thomas of The ReFashion Hub said that fashion will become the second-largest water polluter by 2050. As consumers, it is very essential for us to come together to talk about the consequences of fashion on the environment, as well as what can be done to make fair fashion choices.

The comic strips capture a sarcastic take on T-shirt production, and the resources that it consumes, with a key focus on water wastage. It was designed by Aditi Mali, Mehek Malhotra, Priyanka Paul, Manasi Deshpande, Sonali Bhasin, Vinu Joseph, and Param Sahib.

The absurdity of the fast fashion industry is showcased with their works by hoping that viewers will take note of it, lend a thought to the cause and hence make responsible decisions.

The main focus behind this initiative is to raise awareness along with asking the audiences to question the origin of the clothes they wear; think of clothes beyond the final output. The damaging impact of fast fashion on our natural habitats can be derived from the post. They hope that this will help the audiences to look at developing solutions to bring about change.

Different comic scripts depict different issues like the amount of water that our clothes consume is the main focus of Mehek Malhotra and Priyanka Paul’s script while Sonali Bhasin’s offer an amusing take as frogs narrate the cause of the loss of their aquatic habitat, each leading to the clothes in her wardrobe. Initiating the process of looking out for sustainable options is the main concept of Param Sahib. The sarcastic comic of Manasi Deshpande focuses on the issue of greenwashing in the fast fashion industry.

Param Sahib’s work is composed of colors and everything pop. She is a designer and mixed media graduate from NIFT Bangalore. As a fashion designer and artist, she has around 4 years of experience in the industry. She has also launched her own label called Param Sahib Clothing which has won hearts and appealed to the eyes of many eccentric art lovers.

Sahib said that it’s important for millennials to know that the damage is being done. Talking about her comic strip series, she said that it is fun to take on how things are made and what wrong practices are followed. The Concept of fashion is a trap that captures the mind of the consumer with a backdrop of the destroying environment at a rapid rate.