COTTON ON
GQ India|October 2021
In a sea of sustainable brands and endeavours, we shine a light on seven labels doing right by what is, quite literally, the fabric of India: cotton
SAUMYAA VOHRA
COTTON ON

Being the biggest cotton producing country in the world has its pluses–and cracking how to work with it sustainably is a big one. Some brands might do the bare minimum it takes for a coat of the greenwash, but several others take the healthy fashion oath seriously. The lens of sustainability has consistently been blurred to suit megacorps, who can’t quite make snackable separates with a tempting price tag if they have ethical, slow fashion costs to reckon with. The labels on our list, however, forgo the quickie formulas in lieu of more thoughtful, responsible cotton-based practices. You’ll find them working with the OG khadi, employing handspun and handwoven cotton weaves, or having straight-up zero-waste POVS that upcycle cotton scraps from older collections and re-energize them for newer ones. The one thing each of these brands has in common, though, is a relationship with the fabric based on respect.

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This story is from the October 2021 edition of GQ India.

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This story is from the October 2021 edition of GQ India.

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