It's commonly said that cellulose fabrics such as bamboo, rayon, and viscose are eco-friendly, biodegradable, and hypoallergenic. Buzzwords like these are thrown around like confetti. These materials 'natural' properties are signaled as nothing short of virtuous, and as the only logical alternative to thirsty cottons, oil-based polyesters, or other synthetics. To help you, dear wearer of fibers, make an informed decision when purchasing your next "100% eco-friendly" garment, I'd like to discuss some facts regarding Whakato's fabrics.
Our first and most pampered fabric is Lotus silk. Fibers of lotus stem can be used to produce a fabric with the flawless virtues of silk and linen. Grown in the wetlands of Myanmar and Cambodia, one of the eco-friendly elements that come into play in terms of manufacturing is that the fibers are extracted and spun manually. It is almost mesmerizing to watch the whole process. Women of Myanmar gather the stems in the mornings of harvest and remove the nubbly prickets with a coconut husk. A shallow knife cut is made around a cluster of 5-6 stems, which are quickly snapped off and twisted to reveal 20-30 fine white filaments, drawn and rolled into a single thread, and coiled onto the plate. Another cut is made at a 3-inch distance and the process repeats. The fibers are then rubbed with rice and wax paste and left to dry. And if you are still with me, all of this is done within 24-48 hours of the harvest because otherwise the stems lose out on their natural moisture and start to break.
And we thought our job was tough.
With that thought, every time, we take these fibers from Myanmar to Himachal Pradesh, India, and experiment with yarn twists, handloom weaves, vegetable dyes, natural trims, and our love for the craft. But why not other fabrics? Why lotus? Honestly, because it was there already. We had a proof of concept and our comparison chart showed a thumbs up as compared to other cellulosic fibers. Lotus, as a flower and fabric has always been special. It was once used to make robes for high-ranking Buddhist monks. Back to what I know. Keeping in mind that no fabric is truly perfect, all parts of the lotus are utilized- seeds for making natural dyes, stems for eating, flowers for worship, and using leftovers to make lotus teas, infusions, and flour, which ensures the production process has minimal water and energy wastage as compared to other bast and leaf fibers. What about the price you ask? Our clothes are as fairly priced as they can be. We don't want to price people out of making a difference, but we also need to be realistic about the true cost of a garment. Being a completely manual and laborious process, the lotus can seem like a luxury to many. The scale is also limited since there are only a few trained people involved. We will keep looking for ways to democratize lotus silk without compromising on its natural ways and fair wages. And who knows, maybe someday we'll come up with newer natural fibers with minimum impacts and affordability for the masses.
Trust me when I say this- the role of raw materials in making an eco-friendly product is highly inevitable and occupies an important proportion compared to other elements in the entire life cycle of a textile product. Additionally, employing an eco-friendly raw material can complement the other life cycle phases in terms of reducing their impact, and it helps in terms of obtaining a reduced environmental footprint out of a textile product. Most brands have a very close working relationship with their layer 1 teams (the Cut, Make, Trim part of what we do- the “made in”) However, the layer 2 team members (the makers of our fabrics) are often hidden under blankets of agents and wholesalers. And getting through them is not an easy step. This means that learning more about the people and procedures involved in creating the fabrics we value so highly in our design process necessitates a little more digging and constant follow-up. For us, it's probably the most difficult part of the design development process, but it's also the most rewarding when we get it right.
When it comes to human rights and the environment, the industry largely ignores the raw material production stages—not much thought is given to the people who make the fabrics, let alone the yarns before them and the farming before that. At Whakato, we are determined to change this! Fabric is not churned out of some machines. It’s a very technically involved, creative process and we are so proud of it that we are working tirelessly to bring those deepest in the supply chain into the light.
Shop forever pieces here.
As always, you can get ranty or inquisitive by contacting us here.
Himanshi x
