Seams sustainable

As with every new year, 2025 also brings new fashion trends. Ever-changing styles prompt people to follow a handful of global brands.

The fashion industry is designed for quick turnover, and the planned obsolescence of what is currently ‘in’. Even with greater public consciousness about the environment, the industry has seldom responded with more sustainable choices of fabric, better treatment of its labour force, or efforts to reduce waste.

The global fashion industry accounted for 10% of all carbon emissions in 2019, and it is the second-largest consumer of water, according to UNEP. Which is why there is now a move towards ‘sustainable fashion’ so consumers can make choices that benefit both the planet and the people making the products.

“Sustainable fashion is a lifestyle choice,” explains Meena Gurung, founder of Bora Studio, which uses natural fabrics and dyes in its clothes. “It’s about how we live and what we choose to wear, being humble, being content with what we already have, and finding happiness in simplicity.”

But Gurung is not too fond of the term ‘sustainable fashion’ because she feels that the concept has been commodified, turning it into a marketing buzzword to greenwash products that are actually about greenbacks.

She adds: “True sustainability requires conscientious decisions made by both seller and buyer.”

Since 2017 at Bora Studio, Gurung has been exploring natural, locally sourced fabrics like hemp, bamboo, nettle and raw silk, along with plant-dyeing and botanical printing. These fabrics provide eco-friendly alternatives to conventional textiles and require less resources like water and chemicals.

Read also: Alternative lifestyle, alternative art, Alisha Sijapati

The other fabric from Nepal that is finding buyers worldwide is सिस्नु nettle, which can be a game-changer, as it grows in abundance even in wild, dry areas and regenerates quickly. Hemp also grows wild, and has proven to be a popular raw material for clothing and bags. Bamboo grows in abundance all over the mid-mountains, and among its multiple uses, its pulp can also be turned into an organic fabric.

Mala Thapa Magar of Himalayan Allo Udhyog is one of the top suppliers of woven nettle textile and clothing from Nepal. She says, “Nettle fabric is smooth, strong, light and durable. It has great potential, although production is challenging because it has to be harvested from remote forests. Transporting it is difficult.”

Stinging nettle grows and decomposes in the wild, and sustainably harvesting the plants has a minimal ecological footprint. Despite its abundance in the forest undergrowth, however, lack of awareness and difficulties in harvesting and transportation means the true potential to turn this plant into a silk-like fabric has not been fully realised.

When it comes to sourcing new fabric, Meena Gurung personally visits various parts of Nepal, relying on small-scale industries and local artisans who weave using traditional material in their homes.

“The quality may not always be perfect, but knowing that the raw material is local and natural gives me peace of mind,” says Gurung, whose company also recycles and reuses what has already come in.

She does not use refined silk because of the larval loss and harm to the environment, and does not source raw silk for bigger projects, purposely limiting its demand. Mass production, she believes, undermines the very essence of sustainability.

Read also: Weaving the fabric of a new life, Sahina Shrestha

“Sustainability doesn’t always have to be expensive or difficult,” she says. “You can start by reusing and recycling what you, or your parents and grandparents have. Swap clothes with friends. You can live sustainably without spending a fortune.”

Gurung and Magar are two women Nepali social entrepreneurs who are making a mark with nature-friendly products that are also socially beneficial.

Their work forces us to question what we eat and wear every day, where the products we use come from, how they are made, where they go, and what happens along the way.

Turning to sustainable fashion in 2025 could be one new year’s resolution that will benefit people and the planet.