How did the idea translate into something as tangible as an organisation?
During my training and career as an architect—spread between India and England for over thirty-five years, I was closely involved with various aspects of green, energy-efficient and sustainably-built environment projects. I was passionate about conservation programmes and heritage support to buildings, people and places. I had opportunities to conduct extensive research, as well as head community-based action programmes from village-level groups to international communities.
In 2006, when I moved back to Ahmedabad—my hometown—after 22 years, my first project was to build a house for my family and myself. Designing my house was the experience of finding my roots again and experimenting at ‘grounding’ myself. These explorations, which also included extensive writing, took me closer to my personal heritage, making sense of new India and my place in it.
In 2008, I set up MoralFibre–Clothing with a Conscience, an innovative business model deeply committed to the principles of environmental and social sustainability. I worked to give a new identity to khadi fabric for today’s generation. The inherent quality of MoralFibre fabric is such that it allows air circulation and it absorbs body’s moisture, making it cool and comfortable against the body in summer, and by using layers it keeps the body warmth trapped within its threads in winter. The feel and wearability of the cloth improves with every wash. Our organic, allergy-free fabric, along with natural dyes is said to have healing qualities.
The cloth is completely made of biodegradable materials. The fabrics are made without using finite energy and resources so that it has less negative impact on the environment. Unlike other industrially-manufactured woven and knitted ones, these handcrafted fabrics involve hand-spinning and hand-weaving using ‘people energy’ instead, and has far-reaching economic and social benefits for the artisans, living in remote villages. MoralFibre is a registered member of Fair Trade Forum India, a part of WFTO–Asia. So far, over 2,500 artisans, mainly women working in remote villages, have been helped by this initiative. Today, with growing concerns about global warming and climate change, this is a unique way of hand-crafting fabric and it is a clean energy initiative.
In the 1920s, khadi making and khadi wearing was promoted by none other than Mahatma Gandhi. It played a pioneering role in India’s Independence movement all through till the fourties. Khadi was the most important and unifying symbol of ‘swatantrya’ - freedom and ‘swavalamban’ - self-sufficiency for India. Our family had a close association with Gandhi, and India’s freedom struggle. Along with her pioneering work in education and women’s empowerment, my aunt and my mentor, freedom fighter Indumatiben Chimanlal was a lifelong worker and promoter of khadi fabrics and the ethical, moral and social values the movement generated. She had set up the first khadi shop in Ahmedabad. And some garment production was operated from home. Due to my close associations, I realised that khadi was in my DNA!
I have been working to re-invent and promote this traditional handcrafted fabric-making industry that supports thousands of spinners and weavers—mainly women living in remote villages, and those who have limited chances of earning their livelihood. Khadi-making is decentralised home-based work that does not use electricity or heavy chemicals. It can give a life of dignity to millions of people. And all this is possible without costing the earth!
I am pleased to see that we have slowly created a quiet revolution in Gujarat. In the last five years,
MoralFibre has been a movement of change in the region. MoralFibre has played a pioneering role in re-invention, revival and creation of the next generation of this almost forgotten fabric-making technology and, it is finding regular buyers internationally.
And yes, why the name MoralFibre? The name MoralFibre will very necessarily mean that you will need to live up to the standard that you set for yourself? How do you plan to do that?
Living in England and in India, I have had an opportunity to see both sides of the international textile chain—from the producer side and from the buyer/consumer side. The global textiles and garment industry is worth about $3 trillion and employs more than 75 million people. It is the second biggest employer in the world and also in India. All of the profit making ‘buyer houses – companies’ are in the US and Europe, while most of the producers are in China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and other developing countries. India is the second biggest exporter of textiles after China and the second biggest employer in this sector, in the world.
When in 2005, the US went into World Trade Organization agreement, the floodgates to outsource manufacturing abroad were opened. It was supposed to be a good treaty to support developing countries, but the ease of unaccountability gave way to greed and soon the benefits became a mixed bag. Many times, garment-textile workers based in developing countries in unidentifiable factories produced them. Due to lack of transparent monitoring, they are underpaid and overworked (faster, faster, more, more!) in factories that are often nothing more than death traps. Many times they are trapped in contract labour, bonded labour, forced labour, and their human rights are violated.
The fashion industry is now one of the most polluting and exploitative industries. The buying houses, distributers and mills show high profit margins for their shareholders, but the people lower down the supply chain are overlooked. Workers are exploited by very low wages and they work in questionable health and safety conditions. The farmers too become victims of buying agents and get paid very little for their toil. Many times greed and apathy play a larger role than equality and fair play.
But khadi is a different story. By introducing khadi in the 1920s, Gandhi for the first time made people of India and the rest of the world aware of the ethical side of what one wears. I felt that khadi—the ethical clothing—needs to be re-invented into one of the most eco-friendly and people-friendly textiles. When we choose to buy something, it is a conscious, personal choice. In that sense handcrafted khadi fabrics offer us a moral choice in what we buy and support. I believe that buying these fabrics is a moral choice and it represents a strong moral fibre in us. That is how we came up with the name MoralFibre.
What type of cotton do you use: Bt cotton vs. organic? How do you ensure authenticity in the cotton supply chain?
MoralFibre does not produce fabrics. We work with some existing khadi co-operatives working with spinners and weavers based in remote villages. We help in capacity building and support them by giving them regular orders. The fabrics include 100 per cent cotton, wool and silk in different counts and GSM of the highest quality.
The primary source of raw material is certified organic cotton and non-certified cotton sourced from local farmers. Natural alternatives such as natural spinning oils that biodegrade easily are used to facilitate spinning; potato starch is used for sizing; hydrogen peroxide is used for bleaching. A good boiling wash removes the cotton wax, and the fibre retains its original characteristics. Fabrics are natural, greige and white, yarn-dyed and fabric-dyed with azo-free dyes. The weaving is single yarn, double yarns, plain or twisted. Handwoven slub is one of the specialties of these fabrics which give a fine texture and feel. The prints are mainly hand block printed by local artisans in Indo-Western and contemporary styles. Bespoke prints orders are also entertained.
The 100 per cent wool used in fabric-making is Australian Merino wool, handcrafted locally. Creating woollen fabric and felt is a lengthy process rooted in the crafts-based traditions of hand-spinning and weaving each with its own specialty and character. Wool has great elasticity and is the most crease-resistant of all natural fibres. Since the wool is handspun and handwoven, it creates a beautiful soft, textural character. Handcrafted 100 per cent silk fabrics are outsourced from the Northeast. They include matka silk, tussar silk, ahimsa or peace silk, soft silk and blends.
The fabrics can be called re-invented, superior quality khadi. Due to popularity of machine-made synthetic and knitted fabrics, this craft has been slowly dying. MoralFibre is making concerted efforts to revive and give a new identity to this home-based craft. Recently, for the first time MoralFibre has organic khadi fabric produced by one of the co-operatives. MoralFibre is well positioned as a quality supplier of fabrics in this unique category.
How and from where do you source your dyes?
We mainly use azo-free dyes and natural dyes are also used when specially ordered by our buyers.
Which are the foreign firms that you supply to? How did those deals come into being?
Our record of social and economic sustainability is intact. The marketing strategy is generally business-to-business. The buyer profile can be best described as garment manufacturers, producers of ethical and sustainable wear, buyers of furnishing materials and products, designers, etc. Buyers also include institutions like clubs and resorts, spas, fitness centres, hotels, hospitals, boutiques, charities as well as industrial and educational institutions. We have full capabilities in choice of fabrics, designing, manufacturing and tailoring facilities (international standards) as well as designing and making of fabric embellishments, all in a sustainable environment.
We have a very good global web presence. MoralFibre is a web-based social enterprise. In keeping with the principles of minimising carbon footprint, we make effective use of technology. On one hand, we work locally with khadi co-operatives based within a 300-mile radius of Ahmedabad and create work opportunities for fabric production, processing, dyeing, printing and tailoring.
We approach buyers and potential buyers through networks. We operate in a B2B wholesale marketplace and we have an international buyer base spread in the UK, US, Australia and many EU countries. With new technologies, connectivity and communication there is a 24/7 contact.
More importantly, with the use of technology, we have been able to bring in transparency and traceability in our full supply chain.
The 2015 fantasy action-adventure film ‘Pan’ used your fabrics. How did that happen?
One of the latest milestones is that MoralFibre has supplied fabrics to Hollywood films. Our fabricswere seen by a sourcing agent at a London shop and she got in touch with us. She was very pleased when she heard about the social and environmental sustainability credentials of these fabrics.
Jacqueline Duran, the Oscar-winning costume designer for ‘Pan’, who has been our regular buyer says: “When working on the costumes for the upcoming film “Pan” for Warner Brothers, I was looking for fabrics to use on the principal character, Hook. In the movie, Hook is discovered working in a mine, and the style of his costume is based on 19th century American miner’s clothing. Finding fabrics that look authentically 19th century is very difficult. When we chanced upon MoralFibre, we were delighted. There are many reasons why the fabrics work so well for us. First and foremost, the fact that the fabrics are handwoven gives them both a look and a feel that is difficult to match with machine manufactured cloth. Shailini has a keen eye, which succeeds in transforming what may appear to be a simple set of stripes, into something that is truly unique. The traditional, artisanal hand methods used to weave these fabrics, married with natural dyes and an array of patterns, is why we keep turning to MoralFibre for a variety of period costumes.”
We are very pleased that this rustic fabric made by spinners and weavers from small villages in Gujarat are now recognised the world over, and we feel good that we have succeeded in expanding the reach and acceptability of these fabrics. After that we have continued to supply khadi fabrics to other Hollywood films and television productions. Apart from that, there are many other interesting buyers and projects we work with. With each of them, we have learnt and grown in different ways.
Sustainability is not just about environmental compliance, but about ethical practices throughout the supply chain especially w.r.t. workers. How do you ensure that this remains ethical and fair?
We have been involved with several projects and new initiatives with different buyers and collaborators. I am pleased to describe one of the most innovative and ground breaking projects here. It started with a standard response to a standard message left on Linkedin. Our message was about unique handcrafted fabrics we promote, made by the artisans based in remote villages. We had a pretty standard first response from a lady from the UK wanting to know about the fabrics and the range of services we provide.
In the first bits of communication, we realised that we both deeply share the same values of sustainability and social justice. Initiated by Jo Salter (founder of ‘Where Does It Come From?’, based in the UK) and myself, little did we know that we were about to take up an almost impossible challenge!
Just like the internet and today’s communication systems connected the two of us, we are now connecting the children and parents of to-be owners of these clothes by “Where Does It come From?” in the UK with artisans and workers who are involved in production cycle, based in remote villages of Gujarat by an innovative system set up by MoralFibre.
By entering a special code and a click of a button, a child can see the pictures and read the story of making of the dress, jacket, skirt or a trouser he/she is wearing. This is the story of a complete supply chain: from farming the cotton, hand-spinning, hand weaving, dyeing, hand block printing, designing and stitching of the garments. They also get introduced to the artisans and have a glimpse of their lives. A child can also leave a message, which we are committed to pass on to the artisan.
And this is just the beginning of the shared dream of making vital connections. We probably cannot change the global trading easily right now, but this innovative experiment shows that with the communication highway we can connect producers and users, living thousands of miles apart. Also, with MoralFibre and its ethos, the users know that there is a total transparency and traceability in the supply chain. The clothes made of 100 per cent cotton, the handcrafted fabrics are almost carbon neutral, allergy-free and made with very little water consumption. The self-employed artisans generally work from homes, they are fairly treated, and money is paid into their bank account regularly based on their production.
Many people believe this is a miracle. And yet, it is so simple! It goes to show that with imagination, commitment and willingness to walk those extra miles, we can reduce the ‘physical miles’ and connect one person to the other. The owner of WDICF Jo says, “Our garments are not sold as B2B or B2C; they are sold H2H (human to human).” If closely connecting with the producers of clothes and other items becomes a norm, the system will be non-exploitative and there will be much-needed emotional connect with what we wear. We will be able to fulfill our promise to our workers, living anywhere in the world, of giving them a life of dignity and bringing them above the poverty line.
Are there any CSR initiatives that you are undertaking?
MoralFibre business model itself is deeply socially and environmentally responsible.
Sustainable development is a lifestyle issue. Sustainable fashion would mean little if lifestyles of consumers don’t change. Are you doing anything about enlightening/educating consumers?
The fashion industry has played a very limiting role in defining what a piece of clothing is and what it means. It has trained some of us to see those ‘sticks’, wooden, expression less, models to look good. It is said that a model's job is to effectively 'disappear' and let the clothes they’re wearing have the attention. That’s why they all look the same and seem indifferent. They don’t have any body fat that may distract the gaze. ‘Fashion is boring as hell to me, but there is a cold logic to this mentality.’
The multibillion—fast, always ’new’, ever changing—fashion industry encourages people to buy new things every week, month and season and throw away the old. The fast fashion industry—by the way it operates in the production chain, and the factories located in the developing countries—many times have been proven to be the most exploitative of the environment and the people.
The clothes we wear can carry several layers of personal significance—where we belong, what we stand for and who we are. It has layers of social, political, geographical, local, and now, in the globalised world, global messages. ‘Clothes are our signature style. ‘Style’, as opposed to ‘fashion’ has a relationship with the internal self.’ If we go with this definition, it’s easy to see that there’s a huge difference in the orientation of our focus on fashion vs style. Fashion takes our attention away from ourselves; style brings our attention directly to ourselves. This definition also recognises where the emphasis is placed. With fashion, it’s on the clothing, the items deemed to be fashionable. With style, it’s on the person. It is about truly knowing ourselves, loving ourselves—not just modifying, covering flaws, etc—but loving us exactly the way we are right now.
Yet our personality is far from simple. In seeking clothes that express our inner style, we steer clear of fast, cookie-cutter fashion, and opt to support personal beliefs, self-expression, locally-produced clothes and meaningful brands. Like fashion, style has a dynamic nature, too, but its dynamism has to do with the expression of who we are and our sense of self. It’s about honouring our uniqueness and having our outside match our inside. It orients our focus toward building our self-esteem and confidence. It is believed that fashion has the capacity to erode our self-esteem and confidence because by its very nature, it assumes a gap between where we are and how the fashion can take us where we should be. Clothing is to express our true self, the moral fibre within us. This is also where the close relationship between clothing and ethics play its part.
India has been a cradle of cotton fibre and fabric for thousands of years. We are probably the only country where we still have more than hundred living traditions of fabric-making spread in almost all regions and many are dying a slow death. We are in a unique position where we are one of the largest producers, consumers and exporters of cotton, yarns, fabrics and garments. We have a responsibility to make sure that our textiles industry supports workers and their livelihood in a fair and transparent manner. We should preserve and promote the wealth of skills and crafts our artisans have developed for generations. Our parents, grandparents and generations before that have supported these skills by following certain traditions and wearing clothes that had an identity of their own. There is a need to revive, re-invent these crafts so that they survive for today’s buyers and markets.
Also, it is very important that the textiles industry does not pollute and deplete our natural resources by excessive chemical use in growing cotton, in producing synthetic fabrics, and in dyeing as well as processing textiles in the factories and mills. It should not waste disproportionate quantity of finite resources like fossil fuel and water. It is a good sign that there is a growing awareness and appreciation for organic, natural and biodegradable fabrics. Today, when the concerns about global warming and climate change are growing, we should be looking for clothes made with less polluting technologies and the ones that treat the artisans and workers fairly.
These fabrics and clothes are not cheap in terms of price. It is time we understand that social and environmental costs for any product must be considered in putting social and environmental sustainability value to what we buy. They are the three ‘P’s—people, planet and profit—‘Triple Bottom Line’. The product must add value to all these three aspects. One ‘P’ should not be at the expense of the others. India being one of the largest producers, consumers and exporters of textiles and related products; if we do not understand, we are hurting our own people and resources of our own country. There is a great need for raising the awareness and making the buyers and the user groups understand the unique value of these principles and buy into the ethos.
We are responsible for what we buy and use. We as consumers have the power to change the world. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness.”
