Toxic Trends

A ₹199 top in a one-day sale, a “new drop” every Friday, next-day delivery at the click of a button, India’s fashion market has gone into hyperdrive. Between 2000 and 2014, global clothing production doubled, and people began buying 60% more garments. India, one of the world’s fastest-growing fashion and e-commerce markets, is now firmly part of this consumption spiral. But this seemingly harmless wardrobe refresh comes at a devastating cost.

The global fashion industry is responsible for nearly 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions—more than aviation and shipping combined. It accounts for 20% of the world’s wastewater, and an estimated 85% of textiles are either sent to landfills or burned. In India, where urban dumping sites like Ghazipur and Deonar are overflowing, fast fashion quietly deepens an environmental crisis.

And yet, while brands and governments must bring about transformational change, Indian consumers are not powerless. Our wardrobe choices can reinforce a broken system or pressure the industry to change.

Cotton is widely marketed as a breathable and natural material. However, large-scale cotton farming requires pesticides and synthetic fertilisers that emit nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. It is also water-intensive: producing a single cotton T-shirt can require up to 2,700 litres of water. This is alarming in a country where farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka battle droughts year after year. Polyester is no better. It is derived from fossil fuels and releases microplastics every time it is washed. These tiny fibres eventually enter rivers, oceans, and our food chain.

Alternative textiles, such as linen, hemp, organic cotton, Tencel (lyocell), eri silk, and handloom khadi, have lower ecological footprints. More Indian brands, especially small, artisanal labels, are considering these options.

According to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report, global fashion production is projected to grow by another 81% by 2030. That means more emissions, water use, and waste unless consumer behaviour shifts. One of the most effective solutions is also the simplest: buying fewer clothes, but using them longer. Choosing versatile outfits rather than impulse-driven trend pieces can significantly reduce waste. Reworking garments, altering them with local tailors, and reviving mending traditions are time-tested, affordable, and sustainable practices—ones

Indian households have historically embraced before fast fashion made constant replacement seem normal.

The global secondhand clothing market is rising 21 times faster than traditional retail. Buying pre-owned clothing can reduce a garment’s carbon impact by up to 82%. This trend has also begun gaining momentum in India, with curated thrift stores and Instagram resellers offering a wide range of items, from streetwear to vintage sarees. Clothing rental platforms are expanding to cater to special occasions, such as weddings and festivals, helping to reduce the demand for brand-new, single-use outfits.

Behind every cheap T-shirt are underpaid garment workers globally, estimated at 40 million, mostly women working in poor conditions with little bargaining power. The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, which killed more than 1,000 workers, exposed the grim reality of the fast fashion supply chain.

India, too, has long-standing concerns about worker wages in informal textile sectors. Consumers can help improve labour standards by supporting brands that publish transparent supply chain data, commit to paying living wages, and treat artisans fairly.

India is home to centuries-old textile practices that were inherently circular and community-centred. Handloom weavers, khadi cooperatives, block printers, Ajrakh dyers, and indigenous fabric makers have always produced seasonally, with minimal waste, respecting both nature and the longevity of their craft.

Globally, Indigenous communities comprise less than 5% of the population, yet they safeguard approximately 80% of the world’s biodiversity. When we buy from artisan-led or Indigenous-owned labels, we support this sustainable heritage while ensuring financial stability for craftspeople.

The future of fashion technology is fascinating, from shoes made from algae to fabrics grown from microbes. Startups are experimenting with orange peel fibres, banana yarn, and recycled PET bottles. But technological fixes are not magic bullets. As sustainability advocate Natsai Audrey Chieza warns, “Drop-in technologies alone cannot solve environmental crises if they reinforce exploitative systems.” Innovation must be rooted in equity, fair labour, and ecological accountability.

In a country as culturally diverse as India, style need not be disposable. Clothing can be a form of storytelling, heritage, innovation, and resistance that is not destructive. The most radical thing we can do is ask simple questions: How long will I use this? Who made it? What will happen to it once I’m done? That question, asked widely and consistently, can turn a trend-driven industry into a future-driven one.